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Wednesday, October 31, 2007

"Forced Homosexuality"?

"United Arab Emirates law does not recognize rape of males, only a crime called “forced homosexuality.”

What does "forced homosexuality" mean?

So a male can't rape another male but can force him to be a homosexual which also means that the forced one will be prosecuted for "being/becoming" homosexual.

This is as bad as Pakistan's notorious rape laws regarding women.

The Wall Driving Christian Palestinians Out

"Socioeconomic hardships caused by the West Bank security barrier [i.e. the ugly apartheid wall] are contributing to the decline in the Christian population in the Holy Land, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. ""I recently met with Christians in Bethlehem, people by no means extreme, and they told of the daily burdens driving in and out of the city that were created by the wall," Williams said...

In other words, the wall has the same effect on Palestinian Christians as on all Palestinians.

Although The Jerusalem Post wanted to blame it all on the Palestinians, the Archbishop didn't budge.


A Toilet Summit

"According to estimates, 2.6bn people around the world lack access to a hygienic toilet."

And half of those who have access to toilets live in fear that, sooner or later, their governments will flush them down these toilets.

Playing With Borders

"But perhaps it was not the thoughtlessness that led to this but rather the colonialist bravado; that those who drew the borders over the generations added and subtracted thousands of people without asking their opinions. To day they are "inside" and tomorrow, when the fashion changes, they will be 'out,'" writes Meron Benvenist on the Israeli border follies.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

"when evil-doing comes like falling rain"

when evil-doing comes like falling rain

By Betolt Brecht


Like one who brings an important

letter to the counter after

office hours: the counter is already closed.

Like one who seeks to warn the

city of an impending flood,

but speaks another language. They do not understand him.

Like a beggar who knocks for the

fifth time at the door where he has four times been given

something: the fifth time he is hungry.

Like one whose blood flows from

a wound and who awaits

the doctor: his blood goes on flowing.


So do we come forward and report that evil has been done us.


The first time it was reported that our friends were being

butchered there was a cry of horror. Then a hundred

were butched. But when a thousand were butchered

and there was no end to the butchery, a blanket of

silence spread.

When evil-doing comes like falling rain, no body calls out

'stop!'

When crimes begin to pile up they become invisible. When

sufferings become unendurable the cries are no longer

heard. The cries, too, fall like rain in summer.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Oklahoma Hubris

"Several Oklahoma lawmakers plan to return copies of the Koran to a state panel on diversity after a lawmaker claimed the Muslim holy book condones the killing of innocent people."

What do these people want? Ban the Koran and outlaw the religion of 1.2 billion people? They are insane.

But I really pity that panel on diversity! Do they have an uphill battle or what?

Abusing Feminism to Bash Islam

When American conservatives like David Hororitz and Ann Coulter start talking about saving Muslim women from their religion and cultures, Muslim women head to the bomb shelters. (thanks KB)

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Alan Johnston Speaks

What a relief that he was freed. But how unsatisfying it is that the thugs who kidnapped him were never punished.

The Importance of Being Manji

Out magazine lists Irshad Manji as one of the 100 most important gay people in the world.

Indeed, Manji is an important member of the "Let's Go Muslim Bashing Team."

Out Magazine is really out of it! I'm canceling my subscription!

Afghani Policewomen

Afghan policewomen hold a fashion show, which offers a chance for yet another article about what Muslim women should or shouldn't wear. My favorite sentence in the article:

"Even today many women in Afghanistan still wear burkas, or are almost completely covered."

Oh, "Even Today"!!! how disappointing. We told them several times to stop wearing that thing but they insist on it! Hopeless creatures! They just don't listen. We give up!

Amnesty: Fueding Hurts Palestinians

"Amnesty International says illegal detentions and torture have become commonplace in both Hamas-controlled Gaza and Fatah's West Bank stronghold."

What Does a Zionist Arab Sound Like?

Here's Nonie Darwish, founder of Arabs for Israel, to tell us. Among her gems:

"Israel really brings hope to the region."

"My greatest fear for Israel is that it will lose the will to fight. Its founders are dying off, and now the same liberalism that is making the West weak is here too. I'm afraid Israel will give away too much, and the country will become too small to defend. Because the more you give, the more the Arabs want; it's part of the Arab culture."

You can see why she is so beloved by Palestinian bashers. David Horowitz had her narrate his ugly u tube film against women in Islam. So much is made of her Palestinianness--to authenticate her and give her words authority. Like Hirsi Ali and Wafa Sultan, she is an "escapee" of her culture, which, paradoxically, makes her a spokeswoman "for" it, representing it in every Palestinian and Islam bashing forum.


Tuesday, October 23, 2007

The Invisible Arabs

"New study finds Israeli-Arabs, who make up 20% of the Israeli population, are practically absent from TV screens, airwaves. Furthermore, media outlets very rarely employ Arabs workers."

Friday, October 12, 2007

"never seen a woman wearing pants in Jenin"

Says the former Israeli military governor of the city, turned "expert witness" against the Palestinians.

Women Still Dying

"Experts have condemned the "appalling" lack of progress made in reducing the number of women worldwide dying during pregnancy and childbirth. Analysis in The Lancet medical journal shows half a million women die every year - little change from 20 years ago. And 20 million unsafe abortions - a major factor in maternal deaths and illness - are done annually."

But there is some good news:

"
n Bangladesh, a massive decrease in maternal deaths has occurred because women now have access to safe abortion services and emergency obstetric care, another study by Dr Carine Ronsmans from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine showed."

And of course the other good news is that although little progress has been on let's save women's lives front, much progress has been made on the Viagra front!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Doris Lessing Wins


The Nobel Prize for literature. I guess Assia Djebar has to wait a few more years! But I like Lessing--the feisty anti apartheid, anti nuclear weapons feminist.

Sufi Music

An important Muslim musical tradition that is still alive.

Update: Noura has kindly provided an example to listen to. Thank you, Noura. It's very nice, indeed.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

"Bab el Hara": Not Good for Women?

It seems everyone is talking about the Syrian Ramadan soap opera "Bab el Hara." I haven't see it, but here's a critical look at it from a feminist point of view. The writer is objecting to the stereotypes of Syrian women in the drama. According to her, all of them are obedient and terrified of men. They are constantly insulted by the men, but they don't fight back. No models of strong women are offered. She interviews Syrian women from the generation of the soap (1930s) and some of them confirm her critique.

Cartoon


from Al Quds al Arabi

El Shater Hassan Vs. The UK Government

"A 60-year-old Palestinian will begin a case against the UK government in the High Court later when he will say that sales of arms to Israel are illegal. Saleh Hassan, who lives on the West Bank, says his land was confiscated by Israel to make way for its barrier. He claims Israel uses military equipment bought in Britain to repress Palestinians which, he says, violates their human rights...He will argue that the UK sale of arms-related equipment to Israel breaks laws that prohibit the export of military equipment to countries where there is a clear risk they might be used for internal repression or the violation of fundamental freedoms."

Moral Police in Ramallah?

"among the buyers one can see the new Ethics Police, which operates during the Ramadan in the center of town to ensure that no Palestinian smokes or eats in public. Women are also prevented from walking around in public in immodest garb."

I spent 25 Ramadans in Ramallah and nobody felt the need then to police people's behavior. Surveillance by the Israeli occupation and its spies was more than enough. But I guess when you don't have anything of substance to offer your people, you unleash a moral police on them to give the impression that you rule.

In sum, when you can't liberate Palestine (or even the Irsal street), bully the women.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

A Tribute to Ahmad Zaki

By Mohammad Mounir via Shadia's "Habibi al Asmarani"

Remembering Che



Latin America


Kerala India

East Los Angeles


France



Apparently, Che Guevara is more popular now than when he died 40 years ago.

Click here to listen to Sheikh Imam's song "Guevara is Dead"

Eid Cartoon

How Israel Creates Dirty Facts on the Ground

"he Israel Defense Forces recently issued an order expropriating over 1,100 dunams of land from four Arab villages located between East Jerusalem and the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim.

The land is slated to be used for a new Palestinian road that would connect East Jerusalem with Jericho. That in turn would "free up" the E-1 area between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim - through which the current Jerusalem-Jericho road runs - for a long-planned Jewish development consisting of 3,500 apartments and an industrial park....
The land is being confiscated from the villages of Abu Dis, Arab al-Sawahra, Nebi Musa and Talhin Alhamar....The plan also noted that the proposed housing development in E-1 would create an uninterrupted urban expanse between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim. Such an expanse would effectively sever the territorial contiguity between the northern and southern West Bank."

Aging and Gay

The prejudice against aging gays in the US.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

How Do You Deal With "Fatwa Chaos"?

You issue more fatwas!!

Are Muslims nowadays so dazed and confused, so hapless, that they need a fatwa for everything, from how long to brush their teeth to how much wallnuts to put into Ramadan's quatayef?

I don't think so.

But some people seem to find much comfort in letting others think for them.

I sometimes wonder how could my grandmother live her entire life, all 88 years of it, without the need for fatwas? When she was troubled that Payton Place, broadcast then on Jordanian TV, had too much mouth-to-mouth kissing, she didn't head to the local sheikh for a fatwa. She just mumbled something under her breath about my grandfather and left to water her lemon tree before evening prayer.

Not Like Any Other Murder

A Palestinian Christian has been stabbed to death in Gaza. Hamas condemned the crime and launched an investigation. Punishing the killers is of paramount importance for Hamas and all Palestinians.

Israel's Concern for Palestinian Children! Not

Gideon Levy writes,

"The concern Israel demonstrates for the fate of one Palestinian boy touches the heart: Again, note what a fuss is being made about the case of the killing of Mohammed al-Dura. Our heart is impervious to the fate of other children who have been killed. Just little Mohammed continues to haunt us. But the question of who killed al-Dura is not important. And maybe he is even alive, as some eccentrics claim. Perhaps he committed suicide, as the strange investigations are liable to suggest.

All of these are tasteless questions designed to divert attention from the truly important issues: According to data collected by human rights group B'Tselem, Israel is responsible for killing more than 850 Palestinian children and teenagers since al-Dura was killed, including 92 in the past year alone."

Friday, October 05, 2007

What Do Cows Have to Do With It?

What really puzzles me is how the cows got into it!

As far as I know, I have not heard about any gay Muslim or non-Muslim who is asking for the right to have sex with cows. Or Giraffes. Muslim gays are asking to be recognized as full human beings with the right to love and desire adults of the same sex, without stigma or punishment.

So what do cows have to do with it!

I racked my brain trying to see a connection. And failed.

Someone must have felt sorry for me in my dumbfounded state and offered the "missing link": "where do you draw the line?" they said. If you approve of homosexuality, why not approve of bestiality and incest and sex with amoeba. Checkmate! We win, you lose. Perverts, perverts, perverts!!

Ah, the slippery slope argument.

Which is a logical fallacy, isn't it? Remember it. We had it in Freshman Composition 101. It seems either people sleep through that class or skip it altogether because lots of them are slipping on the logical fallacy slope these days: I'm thinking here of those who say if you allow Muslims to build mosques in Europe, they will take over and Switzerland will become Switzabad before you can say Allahu Akbar. Where do you draw the line? And there's those who say if you allow a man four wives, why not allow him 7 or 20, or 200. Where do you draw the line on MULTIPLE PARTNERS! Let us not forget those who say if you allow a woman to drive a car, she will give birth to three-headed monsters which would spell the end of the Umma as we know it. Where do you draw the line? And who can forget those who say if you treat one single Palestinian with respect, the State of Israel will wither and die and Palestinian cows will be all over Marj Bani Amer. Where do you draw the line?

The slippery slope argument is slippery indeed. Now, imagine a cow going down this slippery slope. It's hilarious and perverted.

In South Africa the struggle against apartheid went hand in hand with struggle for gay rights. As a result, in the post-apartheid state, gay rights are protected by law. Mandela and his friends didn't do that because the West said it's best. They just did what's best for their people. They've been so busy fighting for justice for all that they missed the cows altogether.

And thank god for that!

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Silencing Tutu

Accused of anti-semitism for speaking up against the Isareli occupation of Palestinian land, Desmond Tutu's speech is canceled at St. Thomas University.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Iraqi Women's Stories

Part of the Open Shutter Iraq project.

Turkish Women: Protection or Equality

" "No we're not, we don't need protection. We need equality and ask for that, not protection."

Stuck!

Why the Palestinians don't have much faith in Israeli courts.

Responsibility to Resist Oppression

"The Jewish citizens who enjoy their democracy are not personally harmed by its other facet. On the contrary, they gain from it - cheap land and quality housing, additional water sources, a cadre of security professionals in demand worldwide, and thriving defense industries. This is the "calm" that even self-defined peace supporters refrain from disrupting," writes Amira Hass.

Cloning Korea

Plastic surgery is thriving in South Korea, mostly women, under 30, who want to look like Korean TV stars. The article does not mention what I read elsewhere that the "ideal" look these women are seeking is western: bigger noses, wider eyes, and narrower faces. (thanks Young)

"Telephone Conversation" by Wole Soyinka

The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. "Madame," I warned,
"I hate a wasted journey—I am African."
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was, foully.
"HOW DARK?"... I had not misheard... "ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?" Button B. Button A. Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfoundment to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis —
"ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?" Revelation came.
"You mean — like plain or milk chocolate?"
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted,
I chose. "West African Sepia" — and as afterthought,
"Down in my passport." Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. "WHAT’S THAT?" conceding
"DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT IS." "Like brunette."
"THAT’S DARK, ISN'T IT?" "Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are a peroxide blonde. Friction, caused —
Foolishly madam — by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black — One moment madam!" — sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears — "Madam," I pleaded, "wouldn’t you rather
See for yourself?"

Christian Zionists and Israel

They love it. Just love it. Really, with friends like these, who needs nukes!

Monday, October 01, 2007

"Aliens in America"


The new sitcom "Aliens in America" premiered tonight. It features a Muslim exchange student from Pakistan living with an American family and befriending their unpopular teenage son. Read a review here and and a relevant article here. You can watch a preview below. (Thanks MP)

I just watched the first episode. The classroom scene with the clueless teacher was the best part. I hope Raja is not going to be too good, though. That would be boring.

What MacCain Forgot...

"The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is dismayed with comments from Presidential hopeful Senator John McCain. McCain said, in an interview with Beliefnet.com, the United States is a Christian nation and that his Christian faith is of better spiritual guidance than Islam.

Beliefnet.com regularly writes about religious issues of almost every religion and denomination. In this interview Sen. McCain was asked about a Muslim running for President he replied, "I just have to say in all candor that since this Nation was founded primarily on Christian principles…I prefer someone who I know has a solid grounding in my faith." After the interview was posted McCain clarified his remarks saying he would, "vote for a Muslim if he or she was the candidate best able to lead the country and defend our political values."

ADC National Executive Director Kareem Shora said, "Senator McCain has clearly forgotten that our nation's Founding Fathers created a government based on the separation of church and state. They based the US on democracy and pluralism, not on theocracy and religion.""

Circulating Du'a to Demonize Enemies

Some guys from Fateh wanted to smear Hamas's reputation. So what do they do? According to this report in The Jerusalem Post they give the Israeli newspaper a video allegedly showing a 16-year-old Palestinian girl being murdered in public by Hamas. The claimed it was an honor killing.

It turns out that the video is of the murder of Du'a, the Yazidi girl stoned in public for wanting to marry a Muslim man. I posted it a while back on this blog.

The same video, according to the report, "was feverishly sent around by e-mail and cell phone last month in Syria. Only the Syrians were telling each other this was an honor killing perpetrated by the Druse minority in southern Syria."

Honor killing is not monopolized by one political, religious, or ethnic group. To use the Du'a brutal murder to demonize political opponents is really disturbing. For those Fateh guys to go to an Israeli paper to peddle their lies is way way beyond disturbing.

Supporting Nukes

"Some 72 percent of Israelis support the use of nuclear weapons in certain circumstances, according to the results of a Canadian survey released Monday."