Stealing More Palestinian Land

"Israel has annexed thousands of hectares of West Bank land beside the barrier it is building, according to an Israeli rights group.
B'Tselem says the land has been taken with the justification that it is needed to protect Israeli settlements. The group says some settlements have seized up to two and a half times more land than they have been designated by fencing it off or through intimidation.

Under international law the settlements in the West Bank are illegal."

Israel's Permit Industry

Yet another permit. Cringe. Bad news. Whenever there is a permit, there is suffering. Palestinians under occupation spend half of their lives standing lines to apply for permits in order to exercise basic human rights, like the right to move, build a house, work, think, and breathe. Permits the majority of applicants don't get.

The other half they spend trying to renew the permits that they did or didn't get.

Now they are calling Palestinians from Gaza living in the West Bank "illegal aliens." They won't let them stay. They need to apply for permits.

The arrogance of the people who come up with these labels is truly mind boggling.

Quote of the Day

"All longing that's stilled by union is not trustworthy."

Ibn 'Arabi

Fighting "Honor Killing" in Syria

"Syria just opened its first official shelter for battered women and has enacted reforms favorable to women in recent years. But safety activists can't rest as long as authorities tolerate families who consider it honorable to kill their kinswomen." Read more.

A shelter is good, but why keep the laws that protect the murderers? We live in police states that control every aspect of our lives, but they tell us they can't touch the one law that reduces to nothing the sentence of a father or brother who kills his daughter or sister. Our governments suddenly become democratic and sensitive. Everybody agrees that "honor killing" is un-Islamic but none of those who are clamoring to apply Islamic laws seem eager to challenge these particular un-Islamic laws.

Stop dancing around women's corpses. Punish the murderer instead of patting him on the shoulder. It's not rocket science.

Another Arab Blogger Goes to Jail

A Moroccan court sentenced a blogger, Mohammad Al Raji, 32, to two years in jail for writing an article critical of some of the king's local policies, which, according to the court, show that he was was disrespectful of the king.

Al Raji was not allowed a defense lawyer. Moroccan human rights organizations protested the case.

Against Early Marriages

A new women's rights group in Saudi Arabia is launching a campaign against early marriages. The members demand making the minimum age of marriage 17 for females and 18 for males. They also demand that the marriage be consented to by both parties and not forced.

Shall We Dance?

Abdur-Rahim Jackson, a member of a renowned American dance troupe was pulled aside by Israeli airport security and made to dance to prove his identity. Twice.

Lucky for him he didn't suffer from stage fright. They would have made him stand on his head.

This reminded me of the story in the early years of the second Intifada when a Palestinian wedding procession was stopped at a checkpoint and the soldiers made the bride and groom dance before they could pass.

Iceland Warms Up To Palestinian Refugees

The world maybe getting smaller, but the Palestinian diaspora gets larger. Now we have people in Iceland. Twenty five of the Palestinian refugees who left Iraq and have been for years stranded on the Iraqi-Syrian border living in hellish conditions have been admitted to Iceland.

Anywhere but Palestine.

No More Cake

The highest religious authority in Saudi Arabia says that birthday parties are un-Islamic, a western influence, and should not be celebrated.

I just love how these religious authorities are always alert. They never close an eye when it comes to the safety, purity, and prosperity of our societies. They really go to the heart of what matters. Those birthday parties that threaten Saudi society at the seam must be nipped in the bud. Those reformers who froth at the mouth at the "marriage" of 9 year olds to 60 year olds are distracting us with trivial issues. The latest fatwa goes to the heart of the matter: cake.

But I was disappointed that he did not elaborate a punishment scheme for those who transgress their religion as it is being interpreted for them by this authority. How many lashes should the woman who celebrated her 18 year-old- birthday with her girlfriends over juice and cake get? 50? 100? How about the guests? Should the number of lashes depend on how many pieces of cake they ate (twenty per slice?) For if birthday parties are a bid3a, a western invention, cake too is a bid3a, especially the kind that comes with icing on the top. (It is worth mentioning that the Algerian branch of an Islamist organization that calls itself "Ramadan killjoy" is issuing a fatwa to ban Zalabia, a favorite Ramadan sweet, as un-Islamic).

But I'm only wondering, and I hope this wondering is not haram. Afterall, I'm not a mufti or a sheikh (or even a sheikha). So I will keep my mouth shut and eagerly await the brilliant religious minds in Saudi to come up with the next fatwa. Until then, I continue to feel lost and in need of guidance.

And of course, no more cake.

Afterthought: how about Qatayef? Are they kosher? Now, I'm in a panic.

Nine or Nineteen?

A Saudi woman researcher, Suhayla Hammad, is arguing that the Prophet's wife 3Aisha was 19 years old when she was married, not nine, as the consensus is.

She's taking this issue on because she's fed up with those Muslims who use "she was nine" to justify marrying young girls. She has an uphill battle in front of her. The patriarchal guardians of the tradition will bulldoze her.

As I said before on this blog, while these revisionist readings are important, they do keep us trapped into the "literal" interpretations of the tradition. A more radical move would be challenging such literalness.

The Occupation...It Stinks!!!

Literally.

They call it the Skunk. It's the latest weapon developed by the Israeli occupation to perpetuate itself. They are experimenting with it against the Ba'lin demonstrators. They would prefer to shoot them point blank, from a close range, and get it all over with, just the way they did with that blindfolded, bound Palestinian man. But Ba'lin complicates things a bit for the occupiers: the protests are non-violent and therefore anything beyond rubber bullets and gas may look a bit embarrassing when there are Israeli and foreign demonstrators marching with the Palestinians.

So they came up with the Scream.

A loud speaker screams and penetrates your brain. It's a standard torture technique. But it seems those operating the Scream didn't like it much, perhaps because it penetrated their brains as well.

There were also sponge bullets and salt bullets. Just in case they run out of rubber bullets.

But the devoted scientific geniuses at Israel's institutions of higher policing worked hard to come up with something else: they call it the Skunk.

The Palestinians, who like to call the occupation by its real name, refer to it as "shit" because that's what it smells like, if not worse. It clings to you for days and days and no amount of showering will remove it. It penetrates your walls and food. It is a form of collective torture and humiliation.

It won't make a difference. The Ba'lin and Na'lin demonstrators are already finding ways to protect themselves from the spray (raincoats and umbrellas). They are also finding their ways of getting rid of the stench (salt helps). The Skunk will not stop them. The lads at Technion need to work harder. So far, they stink.

In fact, the Skunk will be a constant reminder of what the occupation is. Shit. Khara. And the only way to get rid of that stench is to end it.

As to the tireless anti-wall demonstrators, Skunk or no Skunk, you rock!!

The House, the Wife, and the Ad

"Members of the European Parliament ... voted in favor of a report which calls on advertisers to stop portraying men and women in tradition gender roles...Constant images of women in the kitchen while men clean their cars outside are reinforcing sexist stereotypes, the study argues."

While on the subject of sexism, only one in six professors in German universities is a woman and women are paid one fifth less than men.

Go After Him!

A Moroccan lawyer is suing a salafi Islamist leader for issuing a fatwa that permits marrying off nine-year-old girls. The lawyer is charging Al Maghrawi of violating the laws of the country encouraging the sexual violation of children. He also charged him of defaming Islam with such fatwas.

I doubt that Al Maghrawi will be charged with anything. But it is about time to go on the attack against the fatwa industry. Sue them, make fun of them, do something, anything, but don't let them speak in the name of your religion.

No Victory is Small

Iranian women activists are celebrating their success to block passing a bill in the parliament that allows a man to take a second wife without his first wife's consent (as it is the law now).