Nizo's Blog

The "Saw" of Islam (republished, originally from December 2006)

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 00:04:00 +0000

Lirun, a fellow blogger asked me how I felt about an Islamic State in Lebanon. Since I'm neither Lebanese nor Muslim, I'll change the premise slightly and answer the question as it relates to an Islamic state anywhere in the Arab world. Before the vultures start circling and accuse me of being a rampant Islamophobe, take note that the following is nothing more than my perception and a representation of what I feel; rather than a position that fits any particular agenda. My issue is with increased religiosity in general. It just so happens that the most overwhelming religiosity in the Middle East today is Islamic. I have just as many issues with what's happening in the US, but the Arab world is more significant to my personal life than the Bible Belt.
I have picked "introspection" as a label for this entry so as to reinforce the notion that my views towards the matter are in constant evolution, so do not consider any of the following to be finite but rather a reflection of how I feel about it today.

Here it goes:
Have you ever seen the "Saw" series? For those who haven't, it's a trilogy of horror films where victims are tortured and binded to bizarre and extremely painful devices. What's original about Saw is that the tortured characters have a way out, but at an incredible physical and psychological cost. In one particular scene, the standing victim's torso is trapped in a giant metal contraption with metal rings threaded into the person's spinal column. To escape the contraption, the victim has to reach into a jar of extremely corrosive acid and pull out a key. The key is dissolving fast and would disappear within minutes unless the victim is willing to burn her hand to pull it out. To make matters worse, once the key is used to unlock the device, there's no knowing the extent of the damage those metals rings will have on the victim's spinal column.

I'm afraid we are headed towards several Islamic states in the Middle East, the "key", or solution is dissolving fast and the only way out comes at the great expense to the "body of the state".
With pan-Arabism floating like the bloated carcass of a dead whale, Islam is being championed as "The Solution".

I am scared.
Not only do I already feel culturally excluded here in the West, my own Arab world, a long time insurance policy in case I ever want to go back is being pulled from under my feet.

Do not speak to me about the faraway lands of Andalusia and of the once-upon-a-time Muslim tolerance of minorities. Those days are long gone, and there's no knowing what shape Islamic rule will have in the future. Islam, just like Christianity and Judaism has its progressive and its regressive elements. Who will prevail in the end? Will nominally Christian Arabs like me be merely tolerated? or will we live as full citizens with rights and responsibilities? What about citizens who chose to be non-practicing Muslims, or Atheists? Will there be a new Fiqh (Jurisprudence) that adapts to this century?

The Islamic regimes are coming and its only a matter of time before Assad and Mubarak give way to the masses. Before you call me alarmist, how many of you have actually lived in the Arab world? How many of you arm-chair Marco-polos have actually seen first-hand the transformation in an Arab society?

Consider the following personal anecdote:
Growing up in the UAE, we used to have neighbors who were Palestinian like us and nominally Muslim just like we were nominally Christian. Every Eid, my mother would offer them a tray of 'Awameh (عوامة او لقمة القاضي) and every Easter they would bake us a cake. We used to live 2 floors apart and the visits were frequent. Almost every Friday, both of our families would congregate in either living room. Potent Lebanese Arak flowed freely amongst the adults and sometimes they would even allow us kids to have a sip.
Then the day came when their daughter, who was a pre-teen at the time decided to wear a veil. Her mother, a working mother of three, who dressed as any Levantine woman of the time, was horrified. She fought her daughter tooth and nail. But the daughter prevailed and kept her head covering. Just like the "key" in my Saw analogy, the effects were corrosive. In the beginning, the veiled daughter would not join our family evenings since alcohol was served. To accommodate her, the Arak was kept in the cupboard (الله يرحم ايامك يا ابو توما و يا غنطوس). Later on, it was the mixing of men and women that bothered her, so the men came over to our living room and the women to theirs (admittedly, her father was relieved since now he could drink his Arak un-harassed!).

Over the years, the mother started wearing the veil, first during Ramadan and later every day of the year. The father and son started attending Friday prayers at the local mosque. The girl is now married and living in Jordan, she wears a Niqab (full face covering).
What once was a beautiful friendship between our families was reduced to mere exchanges of courtesies in the building's elevator. And it all started with a simple piece of cloth...

11 years ago, when I was a student at McGill, I used to be part of what was once called the Palestine Solidarity Committee (now SPHR - Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights). Our most vocal members were girls.

The other day at an Indian restaurant, I happened to be seated next to a table with a dozen SPHR members. Half of them were girls and EVERY ONE OF THEM WAS VEILED! Will the day come when SPHR gatherings will be completely segregated? How will that effect our image and ability to influence change. Will it cement the perception that the struggle for Palestine is linked to a larger Islamic context?

If the whole Arab nation decides to veil its women, so be it. However, it will not change the fact that all of this religiosity is new and threatening to me.

It scares me.
I'm not used to it.
I miss the days when God was a personal affair and allegiance to Him-Her-It wasn't so explicit.

The Religiosity bug is not limited to Muslims. Some members of my own family have left our allegedly too sedate Melkite sect and joined the more obnoxiously proselytizing Evangelical stream.

Religiosity for me represents fissures at the family level and the greater societal levels. I haven't yet seen a manifestation of it that is inclusive of others who do not share the same opinion. I know I'm not alone to feel this way, there are millions of Arabs and non-Arabs who agree with me on this.

Unfortunately, Islam is indeed the Solution in the Arab world at the moment, as there's no other viable choice. No alternative ideology has the energy, the weight, or the unifying potential of Islam. The question is, which of the many, many versions of Islam will prevail. Will there be a regressive Caliphate or a new brew of Islamic democracies that draw from the positive and inclusive elements of the the Quran and the Hadeeth?

By the time you have finished reading this, the key has long dissolved.

May God save us -- الله يستر

pic credit: http://blog.horror.main.jp/

The Days and Nights of Fatima, Part 1 of a Bedouin Trilogy

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 16:21:00 +0000

Fatima's fart woke up the goats.

"May Allah blacken your face" shouted her husband, Muhammad, from a nearby tent.

Fatima was anxious, and when she's anxious she's prone to flatulence. One of her virulent farts almost killed her 3-year old daughter Tufaha as she slept in her mother's bosom.

The source for her anxiety was tomorrow's trip to the city to see a doctor about Tufaha's persistent cough.

Give the girl a cigarette! urged Um-Muhammad, her mother-in-law and aunt. It will burn the germs in her throat and make her feel better. Fatima gave her daughter many cigarettes, but to no avail. For extra effectiveness, she recited the Quran while Tufaha smoked, then she tried placing the Quran itself on Tufaha's head while Tufaha puffed on a Marlboro red. She tried piling on two Qurans and then three on the girl's head, she even added a candle on top of the Qurans, but nothing happened. Tufaha's subborn cough persisted.

Fatima's life ended when Tufaha's began.

No ululations would pierce the desert silence on the night of her birth.

When Muhammad learned that his first child was a girl he threatened to bury her alive in the sand. Um-Muhammad intervened that day and convinced her son to keep the girl on account of the dowry she would fetch one day. He acquiesced, but showed his disgust by referring to the young baby as "Zagga", Bedouin for turd.

Fatima decided to name her daughter Tufaha, on account of her reddish face reminding her of an apple, a rare fruit she once received as a gift from her visiting uncle, Nizo Abu Issa, a renowned poet among the Bedu.

Muhammad's anger grew exponentially every day that Fatima wouldn't fall pregnant with the boy he so desperately wanted.

A year after Tufaha's birth, Um-Muhammad convinced her son to take a second wife, a cross-eyed cousin by the name of Fassoulya.

Fassoulya fell pregnant on the first night, and nine months later she produced a boy, Salem who looked just like his father, complete with a singular, thick eyebrow.

Ever since, Muhammad would share his tent with Fassoulya and their little boy, while Fatima slept with Tufaha in the goat enclosure.

Fatima drew the curtain separating her from the goats and looked up at the moon. The fresh air filled her nostrils and helped calm her nerves. She shielded Tufaha from the outside air with her bosom, and kissed her head softly, wetting her lips on the rivulets of sweat that ran down the girl's forehead. She poured herself a finjan of cardamom-spiced coffee that had been left on the dying embers of the day's fire.

Looking up at the moon, she recited a poem her uncle Nizo Abu Issa had taught her.

I sat by myself here
Under the light of the moon
Where no eye sees me
Far from genies and humans

My eye doesn't weep
For a lover who left me
For my loyal lover is here
Sitting on the hot coals

I never experienced love
Neither from the Bedouin or the city Arabs
My only love is coffee
Since my young days

I poured myself a cup from him
And my frustrations melted
He accompanied me throughout the night
Until the moon vanished

قعدت بروحي هين
تحت ضوء القمر
ما تشوفني عين
بعيد عن جان وبشر

ما تنوح العين
على خل هجر
خلي الوفي هين
قاعد عالجمر

ما جاني حب
من ورا بدو أو حضر
حبي الوحيد ألبن
من أيام الصغر

صبيت منه فنجان
ذوب عني القهر
سامرني طول الليل
حتى غياب القمر

Tomorrow we go see the doctor, oh Allah facilitate matters and clear obstacles.

Shia-Jewish Black Magic

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 04:56:00 +0000

Video from Saudi Arabia shows men undoing an "Akd Sihir" (literally magic knot), a charm made out of hair, used to cast a spell on a victim. Video title describes the charm as a Shia-Jewish creation.

The act of undoing the charm is believed to void the magic spell.

At 1:30 one man urges the other to recite Surat Al-Falaq, a Quranic verse that specifically protects against black magic.

At 1:56, the men find the head of a bird.

More on witchcraft in Saudi in this link.

Brazilian-Palestinian Poetess

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 03:37:00 +0000

A beautiful and eloquent Palestinian girl in Brazil praises the freedoms in her new homeland while lamenting the treatment of Palestinians at the hands of Arab brethren.

She captures my feelings exactly, since I got my Canadian passport I have had free access to brotherly Arab countries that wouldn't grant me a visa when I was a Palestine Refugee.

Translation her own, in the embedded video.

Israeli flag flies in Sana'a!

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 00:28:00 +0000

Man flies Israeli flag in Yemen's capital to protest the municipality's refusal to collect trash near his house. The flag, bearing the words "The capital's integrity" flew in the main street of Farwa neighbourhood of the capital. Security forces descended on the area and questioned several of the man's neighbours, all of whom declared support for his novel method of protesting the city's shortcomings.

City Mouse, Desert Mouse

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 04:56:00 +0000

The contrast between Hadhar (literally "civilized", city-dwelling Arabs) and Badu (Bedouin Nomads) is a common theme in Arabic literature.

Here's a poem from a Bedouin woman about her loose city sisters:

To the beauty salon I do not go

nor do I apply any make-up

For I am not one of those who purchase beauty

I host the guests and bake bread

And kneel down to the Lord in prayer with supplementary kneelings

Nor do I go to the beach to watch the waves

For I am not one of those who give out their numbers

A bedouin woman, I walk a straight path

For I am not one to shorten my dresses

Those women who flock to the beauty salons in order to empty their husbands' pockets

They herd their husbands like cattle

And direct them as they please

And the men shut up and dare not protest

We say oh Allah, Have mercy on those men who are lost to the evils of such women

R-rated Bedouin poetry

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 03:13:00 +0000

After a 3 year hiatus, I'm back and with a gritty post or else I wouldn't be Nizo.

Here, a Syrian girl recites some R-rated Bedouin poetry about a man who leaves behind the company of boys once he discovers women.

"He says:

Oh boy, stop compounding my problems

or else I shall hit you with a shoe on your head and the back of your neck

A liar is he who says that you cannot be healed

The cure is available in the hips and lips (of women)

No, do not beg me, stop imploring me

Enough, I no longer want you

I shall pound the pussies and forget the asses

And leave you for the celibate men who seek you

For when I approach that girl with the sky-blue panties

She says Welcome, I am happy to see you

In her pussy I shall enter, up to my balls

The sound of our fucking, like the shooting of bullets

What is Israel's Capital City?

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 02:11:00 +0000

Hassan Nassrallah is a Shiite Matryoshka doll, open him up and this is what you will find inside.

Father's voice: Hello, what is your name

Child: Hassan Men'em

Father: How old are you Hassan

Child: 2 years

Father: What village in Lebanon are you from?

Child: Sohmor

Father: What's daddy's name?

Child: Ali

Father: What's mommy's name?

Child: Miryam

Father: Today you will name all of the Arab capitals.

Up to 2:41, the child is asked to name all the Arab capitals, including Palestine to which he responds with "Al-Quds".

At 2:41 the father asks the child to name the capital of Israel, to which the child raises his hand in the air and responds:

"There's no Israel. There is Palestine"

Moroccan Sex Ed.

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 02:08:00 +0000

Proving that Moroccans are eons ahead of the rest of the other Arabs, this sex. ed counsellor shows prostitutes how to coax and cajole customers into using protection by unrolling condoms using their mouths. Slightly embarrassed she actually demonstrates...

IDF Super Star - Druze Vs. Bedouin

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 02:08:00 +0000

The art form these two IDF soldiers are engaging in is called Zajal.

The handsome one who's sitting is from Bani Ma'aruf (an alternative way of saying Druze) and the one standing (he calls himself "Bulbul") is the Bedouin.

For those unfamiliar with Arab culture, here's wiki's description:

"Zajal (Arabic: زجل) is a traditional form of oral strophic poetry declaimed in a colloquial dialect (most notably in one of the many dialects of Arabic) with ancient roots in a number of Mediterranean cultures. The form is similar to Muwashshah... Zajal is semi-improvised and semi-sung and is often performed in the format of a debate between zajjaali (poets who improvise the zajal). It is usually accompanied by percussive musical instruments (with the occasional wind instrument, e.g. the ney) and a chorus of men (and more recently, women) who sing parts of the verse."

Here's a small excerpt of what they're saying (translation my own):

Bedouin Bulbul:

"Oh son of Kafr Smei' how beautiful is your discourse, you speak with a Druze accent but it doesn't bother me. Visit you I shall in Kafr Smei' and stand at your door, oh son of Ma'aruf, you King of men"

Druzeboy:

"Oh Bulbul, you are precious to us, you shall descend from between the trees to come see us. If you were to come to Kafr Smei' to see us, we would welcome you oh King of the Arabs"

Erdogan, Your Fury Shook the Jews!

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 02:07:00 +0000

The Falastinian beoble took a brief break from munching on Erdogan's Shish-Kabab in order to write him this song.

Translation below is my own.

Erdogan, Erdogan

A greeting from among the ruins of Gaza,

We praise this hero, Erdogan

Oh Arabs, oh Arabs shame on you

Enough Sleep!

We don't have a leader today other than Erdogan

Chorus:

Erdogan, Erdogan,

Your fury shook creation

Your fury shook the Jews and their criminal state

chorus

He shook the criminal state

While the Arabs are drunk and asleep

Oh Turkey oh Islam, your pride is Erdogan

chorus

Oh Arabs, have you no shame?

Erdogan trumped the enemy

While you are asking for peace

Enough stupidity and naïveté

chorus

Erdogan you are the decision-maker

Oh song of the revolution

You reject the killing of children

Oh frustrater of the occupation

chorus

etc...

Assad's Female Snake Eaters

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 02:05:00 +0000

Here's a video of the late Hafez Al-Assad watching his female recruits bite off the heads of snakes, roasting them over a fire, and having them for lunch.
(Warning: A puppy gets stabbed near the end of the video)

In other news, the sexy Dr. Hanan Noura Al-Hayek's youtube account was suspended and her videos are down.
She had the following to say on her website. Translation my own:
"I swear by Almighty God, I swear by Almighty God, I swear by Almighty God and I swear by my honor and my faith that I stand by my homeland and nation Syria, working on her behalf and for her advancement. May I be a faithful servant to my homeland Syria, to preserve her independence and security and to seek to fight for the protection of her honor....
Staff Colonel Hanan Noura Al-Hayek, Daughter of Assad's Syria"

A Bedouin, his pick-up named "gerbil", and a dead Hyena.

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 02:05:00 +0000

In this video, a Saudi Bedouin composes a poem on the fly in honour of his pick-up truck, which he affectionately names "gerbil". The hyena - that he just ate, isn't laughing.

Translation courtesy of yours truly:

"In the Name of Allah, The Merciful, The Compassionate

Here's the female Hyena, a gift from Allah. I slaughtered her yesterday at dusk. Today I'm eating her for lunch. Here's the pot, and the bread, naturally. And here's the gerbil (nickname for his pickup truck), it's advanced in age, but I'm content with it. It deserves its own poem of praise:

I shall say that with this gerbil I'm contented
It helps me reach homes that for others are unreachable
If one were to buy a newer model
One would not be able to travel the steeper trails
One's trip would be fraught with difficulties
And as a result one would miss out on invitations in inaccessible places
But with my gerbil, all becomes accessible
He's a loyal brother and serves me well.

Many poems like this one I have for him and he deserves all of them.

So now back to this hyena, a gift from Allah. Here's her meat, and her head. Ooooh, look at that head. Long live he who enjoyed you and your mother as a meal. Praise Allah, look at that meat."

A Syrian Poem for Tzipi Livni

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 02:03:00 +0000

Here's a Syrian Poet who's enamored with Tzipi Livni.
I would extrapolate that Tzipi represents Israel and the poet the misunderstood Arab nation.
Or perhaps he's just after her "rebellious breasts", her "honey-like saliva" and he wants her to know she will "not get raped or hit with a whip".
My translation precedes the video.

An Invitation for Tzipi Livni

I wish there would be no bitterness between us

Or hate-filled battles, or the shedding of blood

I wish for you to be my lover

So I could sing about my love for you

And serenade you with the words of poets

I wish you would wear the dress of love and calm

And shed the mantle of war and hate

And no matter how predisposed you were to rule this land

Your arrogance shall not reach the sky

They deceived you with a small lie

But it grew with you, this pure fabrication

The lie was that I'm a killer who likes treachery

That extremism is my profession

That I'm enamored with the disembowelment of guts

They pictured me as sniper in the night

And as elusive, as you, in the day

But that is the judgement of idiots

They said that once I meet you

I would spread you on the floor

As a rapist without compunction

That I would kidnap you and take you prisoner

In armored-walled prisons in the desert

That I would delight in whipping you

and enjoy the sounds of wailing and labored cries

Did you believe what was said about me?

Oh you with much experience and cunning?

Or perhaps you're hesitant and afraid as usual

And that is one of the enigmas of Eve (women)

I shall take you to a world far away from politics

Away from complication, pretension and deception

I shall accompany you to a windy land as beautiful as you are

With mellow vegetation and red roses

With fresh rivers and green prairies

We would look into each others eyes

My heart suspended between our gaze

My hands on your rebellious and proud breasts

On your cheeks I shall peck kisses

And from your lips honey shall flow

All of it medicine

Bewitched I shall be with the world of love and its secrets

I shall be the preserver of your treasures

And submerge myself in the seas of your longing

Confident that I shall find the greatest of tributes

Together we'll saddle up the steed

And go on a whim to Al-Hambra Palace

We shall head eastwards for a little while

To visit the Damascene countryside

We shall not visit the Empty Quarter

For I fear for you from the scorching earth

For I do not like the heat of the sun

nor the memories of the war of Dahis And Ghabraa*

I love you and only you

I love the breeze that gently ruffles up your hair

With me, your history shall enter a new era

Our story shall be recounted by many writers and literary critics

This is what I have for you, oh Tzipi Livni

I express it to you with sincerity and loyalty

So show me, if you're capable of a challenge

And reply to me with an equally detailed poem

- - - - - - - -

*Dahis And Ghabraa: 40 year war of attrition between Arabian tribes triggered by the contested result of a horse-race; a symbol of endless Arab tribal squabbling. From the gist of the stanza, the poet seems to prefer Andalusia and the Levant, at the expense of the harshness of the Arabian peninsula.

"No She Wasn't Raped"

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 02:03:00 +0000

Libyan TV Response To Rape Allegations of Eman El-Obeidi .

Transcript of Libyan TV's Hala Misrati's commentary on Eman Al-Obeidi's rape allegations.

Best line: "Even the whore has a feeling of nationalism towards her homeland whe she knows it's in danger. Even the whore!"

My translation precedes the video.

- - - -

"Dear viewers, welcome to our show Libya Today

First of all, I would like to apologize for the delay and on behalf myself and of my colleagues at the channel. This lateness isn't intentional, we were late because we were with Mrs. Eman Al-Obeidi, who today caused a whirlwind and confusion.

She tried to worry us and cause a stir for reasons known only to herself.

We went to see Eman today, and we saw that "sister" Eman was being treated very well, in the Directorate of General Security.

We tried to speak with sister Eman, to see what her story is about.

Why Eman went about talking the way she did and why she tried to speak badly about Qaddafi's brigades who allegedly raped her.

She went as far as mentioning the names of specific people.

I would like to speak about the details of Eman's allegations in more detail, specifically for the sake of those following our broadcast from outside Libya.

Eman thinks that she undertook a heroic feat today.

She thinks this is part of Jihad and resistance, and that she will enter the history books as a modern day Sana'a Mehaidli or Djamila Bouhired.

But she will remain merely "Eman" and she doesn't even represent the Obeidi tribe.

Actually, her surname isn't even El-Obeidi.

I assume that the Obeidi tribe, this honorable, free tribe; when they know Eman's history well, they will dissasociate themselves from her. Even if she truly happens to have kinship ties to that tribe from afar.

I would like to apologize to Eman's family because I shall discuss things in full honestly. We shall say everything, as it happened. And I'm used to saying the truth. Whether it pertains to other things or personal issues of mine.

I got a phonecall saying there's a girl who showed up the Rixos Hotel and claimed she was raped in front of journalists.

I told them, what is asked of me.

They said that they would like me to go meet her and talk to her as a woman.

I thought that this is not a correspondant's job, so I declined for a simple reason:

From a psychological point of view. Any person who has studied psychology knows that any girl who experiences any kind of rape, it is impossible for that girl to have such a spontaneous reaction. These aren't my words, this is psychology. Psychologists and researchers in that field know these things. This is known in our Eastern cultures, when a girl is raped, no girl has a reaction so quickly and in front of the press.

The fact that she went up to the press and alleged she was raped isn't the issue. Let us talk about the girls who got raped in many areas in Eastern Libya; in Ras Lanuf, Ajdabiya, BinJawad and Sirte. In Sirte today , I wish people would go see for themselves the families that are taking their (raped) daughters to have pregnancy tests.

This is what is happening. And despite that, those families would die a thousand deaths before allowing this news to be known.

Why because we're warm-blooded and honorable. Because we're Libyans, and Arabs and Bedouin.

We do not reveal such things about our daughters. In fact a (raped) girl would suppress her feelings and get depressed. The family would wail and the mother would be stricken with a heart attack and go into a coma. All of that and they would still not spread the news about their daughter's rape.

And with time they may even kill the girl herself.

I'm talking today about all the Libyan tribes. About El-Obeidat, El-Bura'assa, and our tribes in Ajdabiya. These are our ethics as Libyans. This is the free Libyan.

But then a girl appears in all obnoxiousness and alleges she was raped by Qaddafi's brigades and sheds crocodile tears and makes a story out of it.

In any case, what she's alleging is being reported by Al-Khanzeera channel (Al-Jazeera being insulted by being associated with khanzeer or pig). Reported according to the despicable discourse that is being broadcast by news channels, opposition and outsiders. Those who have interests in Libya and who think they have leaders and who are misleading some Libyan youth.

I would like to go back to Eman's story.

As I said I received a call to meet her and I refused. This is a legal procedural issue and is of no business of ours. This isn't an issue for correspondents or journalists.

Nevertheless, I got a second call, insisting I would meet her saying this girl has a story behind her.

I said: If this girl is oppressed I will talk about her and ask for the interrogation and prosecution everyone who is causing confusion at this time. Even if she doesn't know who that person is.

In Libya, we are all subject to the same law. Especially in these times.

Noone is above the law regardless of connections or kinship.

We are all subject to the same law.

I put my trust in God and we went to see Eman.

Eman adamantly refused to meet with any Libyan channel.

I said let's talk to her without cameras. I went and tried to meet with her and told her we will not be filming her. This was said, and we have witnesses who you will see tomorrow, not today. Because we have a long story to report on and we will tell you how we filmed Eman.

I came and told her, Eman I don't want to film you. You are free, we are not coming to deny you your story. Just tell us the truth. Why did you behave in this way?

She then insulted me in colourful language.

All of this despite asking to talk to her girl-to-girl without cameras. "We will assure you get your rights." I told her.

She then insulted the Libyan channel and said Al Jazeera and Al Arabiyya are better channels and that the Libyan channel doesn't report adequately and so on.

She then insulted me personally, despite her sister telling me later that she has never heard of me and doesn't follow my show.

Her sister then came.

I then asked the Libyan film crew to film Eman as she was saying that she refused to be filmed by the Libyan channel.

Here we were a Libyan channel asking you to tell us the story and may we embarass the official or son of the official reponsible for your rape. If he truly raped you he shall be judged. We shall prove that we have transparency and credibility.

We brought the cameras and asked her to speak and she responded with insults.

Eman in the end is a liar.

I told her that because of her Libya was lost.

We tried again and again and she refused to speak to Libyan channels.

Bring me Al Jazeera or Al Arabiyya she said.

We are not against her appearing in either Al Jazeera or Al Arabiyya. Who is she anyway this Eman El-Obeidi who's not really a Obeidi in either her personal ID or her passport.

There are people calling the channel now asking us to dig up her history.

Even the whore has a feeling of nationalism towards her homeland whe she knows it's in danger. Even the whore!

We tried again and again and she refused to speak to Libyan channels.

Then came Eman's sister. And we told the sister that if Eman has psychological issues and she wants to become a hero this isn't the time for lies and false allegations.

Her sister says she understands the situation and that she will work with Ibrahim Ali. She said that Ibrahim Ali helped her and her family. Her sister was an employee in the intelligence services, said that Ibrahim Ali spent 60,000 on her father's medical treatment.

Her sister Amal El-Obeidi said that they are not truly El-Obeidis but that they belong to the Obeidat tribe.

Her sister said Eman is apprently influenced by others. That she doesn't like to watch Libyan channels. She only watches Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiyya and that she has connections with people in London such as her brother's wife in London.

Where she is held right now her sister and other people there will attest that she is being treated very well and despite that she is still screaming, cursing and making a scene.

In the investigation, they said, that since she was raped, the first normal undertaking would be to get the opinion of a medical examiner. She said her state of mind doesn't allow her to see a psychologist.

Yet her state of mind allowed her to go to the Rixos Hotel and make allegations?

She can undress in front of Al Jazeera and Al Arabiyya yet she can't even speak to our channel?

In any case, tomorrow, what Eman doesn't know is that she was filmed without her knowledge.

We did the work of the hidden camera today, in order to reveal the truth.

Eman was filmed with a hidden camera while she was talking with the warden and sister.

Forgive me Amal El-Obeidi. Your sister has sold out her homeland.

She sold out the Libyan people.

When we told her the Libyan people are being subjected to bombardment she responded: "It's not my problem"

Let the Libyan people witness that Eman El-Obeidi who has been influenced doesn't care except for her interests and the interests of her boyfriend or her friends.

Today we will get justice for the Libyan people.

From the Libyan channel tomorrow, it's a promise from me to all the free people of Libya and the honorable, and to the free Obeidat tribe that will not accept.

You will see the true Eman.

Without beatings or torture, speaking to a warden and sister and saying the truth.

Truly this is a regrettable thing."

Don't Fuck With Hala Misrati

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 02:02:00 +0000

Libyan TV pscyho-villain Hala Misrati strikes again.

After calling Eman El-Obeidi a whore she goes on to grill Rana, a Libyan reporter of Syrian origin, on her "lax" reporting. The conversation is reminiscent of a shark going around its prey, hitting, nibbling on it, bit by bit.

I only translated video 1 of 4. The interesting bits are near the end.

Priceless line: "Sometimes one has delusions or fantasies in one's head. One sees things that do not exist in reality. When you express those delusions of yours even if unconsciously you spread rumours and falsehood. For these untruths, we are paying the price, through bombardment. Because of the untruths you've spread we will have battleships invading Libya."

Rana: I have two bachelor's degrees, one in computer science and one from a military academy. I have resigned from the army in 2005 and I now work in the media institute.

Hala: Which media institute?

Rana: I used to work at Al Ghad Media Services for Libya Press News Agency, and now I work in the cultural segment of Al-Shams Newspaper.

Hala: Only?

Rana: aha (yes)

Hala: What does the homeland mean to you?

Rana: The situation in Libya?

Hala: No, the homeland

Rana: The homeland means a lot to me

Hala: A lot to you? What does Syria mean to you?

Rana: It means a lot. But Libya means a lot to me too.

Hala: I didn't ask you about Libya, I asked you about Syria.

Rana: (Syria) is my homeland, my affiliation

Hala: What does the homeland mean to you, give me a useful sentence.

Rana: A homeland is where I lived and nurtured memories and friendships. It's the land linked to specific memories and a history.

Hala: Only that?

Rana: Of course

Hala: So it's about friends, a period of one's life

Rana: Of course. The homeland is history

Hala: History? History and linked to friends.

Rana: Yes, linked to different phases in one's life

Hala: What do you know about Libya?

Rana: I lived all my life in Libya

Hala: What do you know about Libya? About its people, especially that you can differentiate between the accents of its East and West.

Rana: I know a lot about Libya, like any Libyan national

Hala: What do you know about Libya? There are even Libyan nationals who don't know about Libya. Talk to us about Libya.

Rana: Libya has really good people, with a great society.

Hala: Talk to us about Libya, what do you know about Libya

Rana: Isn't Libya its people?

Hala: Libya cannot be reduced to a mere person or people, talk to us about Libya. As a history, as civilizations, as years and centuries gone by.

Rana: I know a lot about Libya, from the days of the Garamantes civilization and beyond.

Hala: hmm.. good (sarcastically)

Rana: I know it's one of the oldest civilizations. I also know that it faced the ugliest of colonisations, that of the Italians. And it defeated it.

Hala: You know about the Italian colonisation?

(sarcastically)

Rana: of course and I know how they defeated it

Hala: How did they?

Rana: They defeated it with their bravery

Hala: You know that the Italians are wrong when they say that before them there was nothing in Libya. Did you know there were experts in economics who said Libya has the potential to have the strongest economy in the Northern Hemisphere?

Rana: No I didn't know that.

Hala: Do you know about the economics of oil?

Rana: Of course

Hala: Why do you think people defend Libya?

Rana: They defend their land.

Hala: So the land is precious and must be sacrificed for

Rana: Of course

Hala: So why is it that when you deal with Libyan issues you don't deal with it as a Libyan who knows Libya?

Rana: I don't view myself as an outsider

Hala: Whether you say you're an insider or outsider,

by you having lived here for 20 years you're one of our daughters.

Rana: I do view myself as an insider

Hala: So you feel with Libya? You lived in both East and West and saw how much we love each other. You've see the cohesion between East and West.

Rana: It shall never fragmented

Hala: You can go out by yourself and drive your car to the East without anyone stopping you. Then came the events of the 17th of February. Even with that you can still drive your car to the East by yourself.

Rana: These events represent a temporary stage.

Hala: How so?

Rana: It will end in stability, in some way or form.

Hala: I came to talk to you today to understand how you think. We have received many calls and messages asking why you defend the opposition. Yes you may be in the opposition, but surely you cannot be opposed to (national) symbols, or against Libya?

Rana: You need to understand that I lived all my life in the Eastern region. All the people I know in the Eastern region are members of the events (euphemism for rebellion).

Hala: Excuse me, let us not generalize (that all Eastern Libyans are part of the rebellion)

Rana: Let me tell you something, I want to get my point across. The point I want to make is that when you reported certain things on TV, there were people in the Eastern region who disagreed with you. This I know from having spoken to people involved in the events.

Hala: My discussion with you today revolves around your reports. Tell me, did you go to bed hungry a single night in Tripoli?

Rana: No, did I say I went to bed hungry?

Hala: Did you spend a day without having your cell phone active? Did you find a single closed supermarket?

Rana: Yes, sometimes the supermarket was closed

Hala: sometimes, but supermarkets close (at night) even in regular circumstances.

Rana: There was a bread shortage, some suffered by not being able to acquire bread.

Hala: Did you go to bed hungry? Did you not find bread?

Rana: No, thankfully. Perhaps only in the first few days of the events, but then things were OK

Hala: We are now directing this discussion to all people in Tripoli. You are now lying to all people living in Tripoli. There may have been a bread crisis but not to the point of you not finding bread to eat.

Rana: In the beginning, people needed to show up really early to get bread and sometimes having to line up for long hours.

Hala: Considering the events, this wasn't so bad. In the end you never went hungry.

Rana: No I didn't go hungry.

Hala: When you were talking to outside media agencies, you gave them the impression we had a food crisis and stores were closed.

Rana: During a certain period this was true .

Hala: The things you allege are documented and available. Your allegation that communications were unavailable. How could that be when your cell account was always kept active by the Libyan government?

Rana: I did have an active account but the network was down in the beginning of the events.

Hala: The network wasn't down, there was a lot of usage. You were calling during that time and talking to your friends. There was heavy volume and sometimes we had to call 4 or 5 times to get the number, but it isn't true what you allege, that telecommunications were down.

Rana: All I said was that there was a crisis in the telecommunications.

Hala: Sometimes one has delusions or fantasies in one's head. One sees things that do not exist in

reality. When you express those delusions of yours even if unconsciously you spread rumours and falsehood. For these untruths, we are paying the price, through bombardment. Because of the untruths you've spread we will have battleships invading Libya.

Rana: All people changed their positions after the NATO airstrikes. There was a feeling among people that this shouldn't have happened.

Hala: Let's talk in full honesty with each other. I don't know you at a personal level. But we happen to know the same people and have some friends in common.

By virtue of having friends in common, I will consider you a friend, and I will call to your conscience and sense of humanity.

Rana: Among the friends we have in common, I have come to worry for the safety of some of these people after the events. There were many things that we didn't know before.

Hala: Like what?

Rana: We didn't know that there were weapons in the Eastern region.

Hala: You didn't know there weren't weapons in the East and in Zawiya?

Rana: No I didn't know. The first demos in Zawiya were peaceful, since the 19th of February.

Hala: How would you describe a peaceful demo?

Rana: Demonstrators went out in the streets and said "With our spirit and blood we shall redeem you oh Benghazi" and there was no blood spilled.

Hala: How would you describe a peaceful demo? Didn't you know that there were always demonstrations in Benghazi?

Rana: No, I disagree (demos aren't a normal occurrence in Benghazi)

Hala: In any case, Rana, if perhaps you never followed the news I will tell you that there were always demonstrations in Benghazi supporting their country.

Rana: Ok, perhaps since 2007.Even in Tripoli.

Hala: Yes, there were demonstations in Buslim, and despite people verbally attacking national symbols, no body hurt them. Why? Because those truly were peaceful demonstrations.

Rana: Things in the world have changed

Hala: Things have changed only in your head. The world is still the world. The world is operating against us with its security apparatuses, plotting how to occupy us and destroy us. That's the world. We are viewed as the weak and defenceless nation and we don't have a reason to exist. That's the world. This is what they're doing to the Libyans you love. You have recklessly contributed to the bombardment of the people you love.

Rana: I brought this bombardment upon us?

Hala: Yes, you and those who think like you.

Rana: There's a difference between a person who holds a certain conviction..

- Hala cuts her off -

Hala: What is your conviction? For you to feel that Libya will be better off when the leader steps down?

Rana: You know that all people have certain basic livelyhood demands. If you had to see Benghazi and people who live in the slums..(houses with tin roofs) There are people in Benghazi living in slums after having had their houses demolished .

Hala: You have information about this? We have good building compounds.

Rana: They're all under construction.

Hala: No they're not.When was the last time you went to Benghazi?

Rana: 2 years ago

Hala: Surely when we're talking about Benghazi we're not talking about a regressive and unsightly city.

Rana: There are clearly visible class distinctions.

Hala: It doesn't matter, even Tripoli has visible class distinctions.

Rana: Yes, even Tripoli. All I did was talk about people's basic livelyhood demands.

Hala: Your talk about basic livelyhood demands will bring us an occupation.

Rana: The situation went out of control.

Hala: the demanda you talk about is something we Libyans have been calling for in the past.

Rana: I told you I do not view myself as an outsider.

Hala: It doesn't matter what you consider yourself to be you are a Syrian citizen. Your recorded conversations attest that you're not Libyan.

Rana: I don't know Syria

Hala: What is your relationship to the events of 17th February and why do you defend these events?

Rana: We were encouraged by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and we wished for the change to come here.

Hala: What change? specify

Rana: Change for the better

Hala: Specify what change, like you do in your recordings. Say so that people can hear you.

Rana: For us to become a country with institutions

Hala: Answer my question! Be brave like you are on your recordings. As if you're in the US, that democratic country.

Rana: I wanted the regime to change (from 2nd video)

Hala Misrati's Nationalistic Parrot

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 02:02:00 +0000

Even the parrot has a feeling of nationalism towards her homeland when she knows it's in danger. Even the parrot!

- - -

Libya's arch-villain Hala Misrati shows a pro-Qaddafi parrot on TV.

Click on cc: for my translation. This time in the video.

Al-Qaeda's Stance On Tunisia

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 01:58:00 +0000

I offer this humble contribution to the media frenzy surrounding the Tunisian revolution.

Here's my translation of Al-Qaeda's (Maghreb branch) video communiqué regarding the Tunisian situation (exciting sections in red):

Al Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb Countries
Al-Andalus Islamic Productions
Friday, 7th of January 2011
Sheikh Abi Musaab Abd Al Wadud

- - - - - - -

I seek refuge in God from Satan the rejected.In the Name of Allah, The Merciful, the Compassionate. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.Victory is for the believers. Let there be no aggression except against the wrongdoers.I witness that there is no god but Allah, guardian of the righteous.and I witness that Muhammed is his slave, prophet and purest of all His creations.Peace be upon him, his companions, and all who in goodness follows in their footsteps until the day of judgement.

Furthermore,
Says Allah the Almighty:
And why should you not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who being weak are ill-treated? Men, women and children whose cry is: "Our Lord! rescue us from this village whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from the one who will protect; and raise for us from the one who will help!"

And so says the prophet, peace and prayers be upon him:

When you deal with transactions involving interest, and follow the tails of cows, and you are pleased with agriculture, and you give up Jihad, Allah will allow disgrace to prevail over you, and will not lift it until you go back to your religion.

My Muslim brothers in Tunisia:Twenty three years of tyrannical rule have passed today, of tyrannical rule of the criminal Ben Ali, and his ilk crouching on your chests, dispensing with the worst of mistreatment.

So long has been your ordeal, so intense your plight , and so great your calamity. Their corruption and ruin to your religion and your world has reached intolerable levels. The latest uprising and the subsequent widespread popular movement came to Sidi Bouzid as a high cry from a victim in the face of his executioner.

A cry that broke the silence that prevailed in Kairawan, Tunisia since decades. (Nizo: Kairawan is the traditional name of the Arab encampment in Tunisia, and Islam's 4th holiest city). A cry and a long-awaited blessed uprising, coinciding with frequent popular uprisings by your neighbors and your Muslim brothers in Algeria, in the neighborhoods of Bash Jarrah and Baraki and Hayy Al Nakheel, and others. Your mujahideen brothers have found inspiration in your uprising. We recognize this to be an opportunity to inform you on behalf of my brothers the Mujahideen in the Islamic Maghreb of our sympathy to you and our hopes for your victory.We stand by you, in your calamity, with advice and support.

I want to address the following facts:

The first fact is that the tyrant Ben Ali is a contemporary Pharaoh and the biggest of hardened criminals who was propped up by the Crusaders in our nation so that they could continue to slaughter and tear the nation away from its religion. He went beyond his apostate peers in other Muslim lands, by forcefully imposing a secular regime on Tunisia. This regime has been more persistent than others in the fight against islam, by banning the pilgrimage to Mecca, the hijab, and cleansing the nation of anything related to Islam. This regime has has tortured muslim youth in its dungeons and has violated he chastity of the pure women.

It has gone as far as banning mosques in which Allah's name is spoken but allowing instead the building of churches and Christian missionary work. And so the Jews and Christians have reinforced themselves in Tunisia, and have humiliated and insulted Muslims. There is no power and no strength except in Allah.

Not only has this tyrant corrupted the religion of Muslims, he also pillaged the wealth of the country, and imposed hunger and poverty on millions of Muslims. He has covered their mouths, depriving them of freedom, and dignified living. One of the results of his criminal policies was the millions of unemployed and poor downtrodden. In summary, the tyrant of Tunisia sucked the world and religion out of the country.

The second fact:

Rights were taken away, not given. But at "red" freedom's door there's always a hand, full of rings, knocking! This is a historical fact and universal constant.

(Nizo: The imagery of the bejewelled hand knocking on freedom's door is borrowed from a poem
by the great Egyptian poet, Ahmad Shawqi.)

Without an aversion to death and through clamouring for pleasures of this world, we have enabled this criminal tyrant and his brothers to suppress our breaths, and to crouch on top of our chests and to persist in our enslavement, and to humiliate us as they please for years without end.

Jihad and resistance to injustice are the way the Muslim religious mind yearns for salvation, and sacrifice is the price that is inevitable and unavoidable.

So spoke the truth when the Tunisian poet Abu al-Qasim al-Shaabi said:

When I so aspired, I embarked upon my wishes and flew
I did away with caution and paid a price by being burnt
Yet he who doesn't seek to climb mountains is condemned to spending eternity in holes.
The injustice of this apostate,treacherous state it is not the kind that should be met with
patience. It is the kind of injustice that must be fought through personal Jihad. But yourmovement to be effective, it should not be limited to one city or one front at the
same time, but should be extended to all regions of the country and its environs. Because
the tyrant can be extinguish any uprising if undertaken by one section of the ummah (nation), but he cannot fight the whole nation.

The third fact:
Your wealth, Dear Muslims, is either stolen by the president, his family and his gang or wasted at concerts and pagan dance festivals, all in a deliberate policy that is intended to subvert the morals of youth and keep them from their religion. There is no development in Tunisia only corruption and distraction to promote Vice in the Tunisian Muslim community.

The fourth fact:
The battle that you're waging today isn't separate from the universal battle that that is waged by the islamic nation today against local and foreign enemies. That battle is for the sake of lifting the injustices and realizing equality and liberating the lands of Islam from colonizers and the expulsion of their apostate collaborators and the imposition of a sharia.
This is one battle. For we shall not realize justice of freedom except under an Islamic government that looks out for rights and spreads justice. This Islamic government cannot rise except through Jihad against the Crusaders and Jews and the tearing of their collaborating rulers such as the Moroccan King and the Libyan Qaddafi and others.

My Muslim brothers in Tunisia:
The Pharaoh and his soldiers will try to crush your uprising and isolating the city of Sidi Bouzid, which leads us to the responsibility of all muslims to support this endeavor by refusing the rule of such tyrants. To the religious scholars of Tunisia goes the responsibility to wage a battle by directing the angry masses to request more sweeping demands, nothing less than the removal of the tyrannical regime and replacing it with an Islamic regime that would redeem the dignity of the nation and give it back its lost rights.

There is no solution but to confront the injustice through Islamic Jihad in the way of Allah.You shall not fear losing anything after having lost all in this life and your religion. For you are like a slaughtered sheep, and why should a slaughtered sheep be wary of being skinned? For you to die in honour, while fighting this tyrannical regime is a thousand times more honourable than to live in humiliation, cowardice and shame.

Darth Yemen

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 01:06:00 +0000

Darth Yemen shoots to kill.

Her target: Houthi (Shiite) rebels.

The question begs: Can she see where she's shooting?

My Translation in the video.

Gaza's Libyans Hang Lanterns From Penises

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 02:58:00 +0000

There are Libyans living as refugees in Gaza.

Nothing describes this situation better than this vulgar variant of an Arabic proverb:

The unlucky one remains unlucky even if they hang a lantern from the head of his penis.

المنحوس منحوس ولو علقوا على راس أيره فانوس

Here's a video on the topic from Lebanon's Al-Jadeed channel with my translation below.

News Anchor:

In Palestine, they hope for Qaddafi's fall, so that they can return to Libya, after having been forced by Qaddafi to cut ties with their homeland. Mohammed Al Madhoun reports from Gaza.

Reporter:
This man, in the Gaza Strip, is a descendant of the Libyan "Ferjaan" tribe. Not only is it an unusual situation, but it is compounded by the fact that he is merely one among two thousand Libyans living in the Strip.

We went to his home, where we found members of several Libyan families following the events in their homeland and attempting to communicate via telephone with their relatives (in Libya).

The story of these Libyans goes back to the days of their forefathers who arrived in Palestine in order to fight colonialism. Having settled in Palestine, they were eventually deprived, by Qaddafi's mercurial moods, from the regaining of their citizenship.

They conserve to this day, documents from their fathers proving their Libyanness, should they one day return to their homeland.

Libyan Palestinian:

We find ourselves here as a result of our parent's immigration to Palestine in order to fight against the British and Israelis.

There are currently between two and three thousand people belonging to families of Libyan origins. They hail from the "Ferjaani", "Ajeili", "Bar'asi", "Targhouni" tribes and others.

Reporter: Libyans like these have integrated in Palestinian society and shared in its joys and disappointments. However, they are now reviving their primary affiliation, and watching the people they belong to rebelling against the leader who deprived them of their return.

Second Libyan-Palestinian:
We were pained to see Israel's attack on Gaza, but even more so when watching a leader attack his own people.

Reporter:
Their fate is tied to Qaddafi's demise more so than any body else. He viewed their return as a red-line not to be crossed, despite welcoming Libyan Jews back to his country.

Third Libyan-Palestinian:
Qaddafi told the Israelis in an overt manner - "return to your homeland, Libya. We will provide you with everything you may need." All while, we Libyan families on Palestinian land are denied this same privilege.

We have met several delegations who had entered Gaza through the convoys. We were told that the story of Libyans in Gaza cannot be discussed.

Reporter:
Nothing remains for these Libyans except memories, and the hope that their people's revolution would allow them to reestablish a link broken over forty years ago.

One of the virtues of the Libyan revolution is the Palestinians discovering there are Libyans living among them. Libyans who were exiled on the grounds that their fathers arrived here forty years ago without the permission of their country's leader.

Palestinian Child's Message To Israeli Settlers

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 02:31:00 +0000

*updated with part II on 2-6-2011*

It's a sign of our evolution as a people to see this adorable Palestinian Elmo scream that he wants to drink the blood of the settlers, not the blood of Jews or even Israelis. This is a distinction not to be taken lightly.

If anything, this video proves to me that the 1967 green line has entered the Palestinian psyche as the only possible border between the two nations. This is reinforced by the kid's message that the Arabs have forsaken Haifa.

If this is not a call for a peaceful 2-state solution, I don't know what is.

I suggest Israel withdraw to the green line immediately, before this kid gets angry and asks to drink the blood of those in Tel Aviv.

Put captions on to see my translation.

Part II

Exiled Syrian MP Calls for Revolution in Syria

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:46:00 +0000

Video of exiled Syrian MP Maamoun al-Homsi calling for Revolution in Syria: Put captions on to see my translation.

Who is Maamoun al-Homsi? from source:

"Biography:

Mamoun Al Homsi is a former Syrian MP who has lived in Lebanon since 2006. Before coming to Beirut, Al Homsi spent five years in prison as he was one of the first victims of the government crackdown against Damascus Spring Movement activists.
Goverment Relations:

Al Homsi spent his time in Beirut criticizing the Syrian government for stifling political opposition and signed the Beirut-Damascus Declaration, which called on Syria to recall its military force from Lebanon. Now, Al Homsi is facing deportation back to Syria, as his residency expired July 20th, 2010. He has been allowed to stay one more month in Lebanon, after which he will be forced to leave the country. If he is made to leave, he will likely face criminal charges for his criticism of President Bashar Al Assad and his regime."

Half A Catastrophe

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 22:57:00 +0000

I hate the hijab.

To me, it represents Takhalof Hadari, Arabic for Cultural Regression.

I was raised in a Levantine setting in the days where respectable and chaste women, both Muslim and Christian worked alongside men without the need to cover up their heads.

We had once freed ourselves from this detestable rag, why do we need to bring it back?

Nevertheless, the first video below, where the Tunisian Ataturk, Habib Bourguiba goes around uncovering the head of a woman and patting her on the cheek does make me uncomfortable. It's invasive, and the woman seems to be acquiescing out of awe rather than conviction.

But Bourguiba did so much to modernize Tunisia and so he and his actions are still a Nuss-Musseebeh, Arabic for half-a-catastrophe, when compared to the alternative in the second video, where Tunisians are screaming Allahu Akbar and "We are all for the Hijab and the Niqab".

In my heart, I firmly believe that political voids in the Arab world will only bring in the Islamic Brotherhood and their ilk.

And that's a full Musseebeh.

Syria's Assad Belittles Lebanon's Independence

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 23:58:00 +0000

I now add my translations directly to the video...(click on the speech bubble to activate subtitles)

Egypt's Iconic Comedian Backs Demonstrators

noreply@blogger.com (Nizo) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 13:35:00 +0000

Adel Imam, typically close to Mubarak's regime, initially described the demonstrators as "people who hate Egypt" changes course and considers them as "his own children"

The essential:

Interviewer: On the subject of what's happening in Egypt, I'd like to ask about a statement attributed to you that made the rounds on Facebook and Twitter, which alleges that you have called the demonstrations "absurd, carried out by elements who hate Egypt"

Adel Imam denies the above and responds: "These youth should be listened to, when I look at the People's Assembly, all I see is elderly people, I don't see any youth"

"I'm happy with these youth, and the government should listen to their demands"

- - -

This leads me to the Arabic proverb of the day: اذا طاح الجمل كثروا الجزارين When the camel falls, the butchers multiply.