I reached this epiphany just now and thought to share it because it ought to be told.
The most challenging woman I've ever met is my wife. Not challenging as in difficult, but as in gets my mind working all the time. I don't tell people this because I'm afraid of 7asad.
I talk to her about things, I have a strong clear point of view, and she rebuts with her own ideas. All of a sudden my brain feels like a full speed train hitting a mountain. F@#K ! 30 years old and I've never thought of it like this !
A powerful article written by a Saudi commentator about the current situation of moral corruption and hypocrisy in the Gulf states. Very interesting, I will endeavour to translate it when I get the chance. In the mean time just make sure you speak Arabic.
qأقوى مقال سياسي من كاتب سعودي
- لا أعلم كيف تم نشره -
الويل لإيران من شر أقترب..؟
تـنبعث في الأفق إرهاصات "تحدي" بين إيران ودول الخليج العربي ولو غضبت إيران وزمجرت فالويل لها ثم الويل لنا!! لقد أعلن التحدي مع إيران بنيرة الشاعر العربي المفوه:
ألا لا يجهلن احد علينا .. فنجهل فوق جهل الجاهلينا!!
(بالكلام فقط وما زلنا "كلام نواعم")!!
فهذه باكستان الفقيرة التي فتحها غلام من غلمان الطائف امتلكت القنبلة النووية ووضعت لنفسها مركزا في موازين القوى)!!
يا ليت شعري يا أبن كلثوم بماذا ستواجه دول الخليج التحدي الإيراني؟ هل تجد الحل في خنجر عماني مذهب مصنوع في كلكتا؟! أم بأكبر وأطول "بيرق" في العالم مصنوع من قماش مستورد؟!!
أم أن الحل يأتي من عاصمة البغاء العالمية-دبي المدينة النموذج- (لنا النموذج دون العالمين أو القبر)؟!! فهناك في مدينة ناطحات السحاب العربية جيش جرار يعمل على قدم وفخذ من اجل تأسيس صناعة!! للجنس والفجور على أرض الخير والحبور (أهكذا تشكر النعم يا غشم)؟؟! جلبوا العار باليورو والدولار ولم يرحموا الأخلاق والفضيلة بل ولم يرحموا الإنسانية؟!! هاهم قد مسحوا العنصر النسائي الجميل فقط!! من قرى طاجيكستان واوزباكستان (ولأن عربستان محتلة من إيران فقد حمى الله بناتها من تجارة الرقيق الأبيض!!) وانـتقلوا إلى رومانيا وهنغاريا ثم ومن لزوميات الحمية العربية المخلصة عبثوا بالطول و"العرض" في بلاد (من أحرق السفن وقال قولته الشهيرة "العدو من أمامكم والبحر من وراءكم وانتم اليوم يا عرب أضيع من الأيتام على مأدبة اللئام")!! ثم أتوا بالعربيات الماجدات!! يجرجن أذيالهن!! إلى حيث ألقت رحلها الموبقات والمسكرات والمخدرات!! أسطورة مدينتهم هذه أنها قلبت المعادلة فأصبح نسل مضر هم مصدر الجواري والقيان والراقصات والمومسات وجاء المتفرجون على اللحم العربي الأبيض المتوسط؟! من كل حدب وصوب الفرنج والخرنج والعلوج والهنوج .
المدينة النموذج أنـتجت لنا النوع الثالث؟!! من العرب الذين تمنيت أن أموت قبل أن أراهم (العرب العارية- عرب بدون هدوم)!! نموذجهم هذا وصل إلى العالمية من أوسخ الأبواب وقد عمّر صرحاً من خرسانة فهوى في قاع كلخانه (تكرمون)؟!! صدق الوعد يا غثاء السيل، هاهم العرب الحفاة يتطاولون في البنيان ويتفاخرون بأطول برج وأجمل برج وأغرب مبنى وأجمل بناية وإنما في أحشاءها الفجور والخمور وكل ما في العالمين من شرور: أن الأبراج أن طالت مبانيها.. في أحشاءها عند مسيان العطب!!
وكل ذلك على بعد فراسخ!! معدودة من ارض عاد وأرم ذات العماد التي لم يخلق مثلها في البلاد وذهبت في صبيحة واحدة لتكون اثأرا مندرسة تحت الرمال؟!!
ويل لإيران فلدى دول الخليج قناة العربية وأسلحتها الفتاكة الرمحي والقيسي وعيدان و... (لكم الله يا أخوال الرسول)!! وعندما تـنتفض هذه المسماة .. ري.. ري.. (وش اسمها هذي حقت صناعة الموت)!! هذه المدعوة ريما خربانه ؟! فلن يـبقى في إيران حجر على حجر!! وسيشعر الإيرانيون بالحرج الشديد ويمتـنعون عن القتال مخافة أن يتم تصنيفهم مع أطفال حماس الذين يصنعون الموت لجنود العدو الصهيوني (استغفر الله هل قلت العدو الصهيوني!! جل من لا يهمل)!! ثم هناك "العربية نت"، ويلكم يا فارس جاءكم الموت على رأس فأره؟! ويقف خلفها عدد من "مجاهدي النت" وهم رجال!! أشداء على المؤمنين رحماء على الصهاينة؟! تراهم في المعركة سكارى وهم سكارى وسيلجمون التحدي الإيراني السافر بإحصائيات مهولة عن الشواذ والسحاقيات في دول الخليج وربما دعوا إلى الدفع بهم وبهن إلى الصفوف المنبطحة في المعركة المصيرية!!
ولن يهدأ للعرب العارية هذه بال ولن يرتاح لهم سروال؟!! حتى يحشدوا مراكزهم ونواديهم وانجازاتهم الثـقافية لمواجهة التحدي الإيراني؟!! وفي الخط الأول هناك "مركز المسيار الوطني" (ولو نزعت نقطة من تحت الياء فلن يتغير المعنى)!! وهو المركز الوطني الوحيد في العالم وربما في التاريخ الذي يجمع معلومات ويعمل دراسات عن أسرار الوطن وخفايا الوطن وخبايا الوطن وثغرات الوطن (يا عزتي لك يا وطن)!! ثم يـبيعها بالدولار الملعون للاستخبارات الأمريكية والبريطانية والإسرائيلية والروسية واستخبارات سيرلنكا المركزية!! وربما يزود الاستخبارات الإيرانية ببعض المعلومات عن قضية "انـتهاك حقوق الشيعة" في الخليج!! ومشاكل تزويج القاصرات وقصص ظلم القضاة وتسلط الهيئات ولن يتحدث أحد عن تكميم الأفواه وخط الفقر الذي يضغط تحته نصف الشعب الذي يمشي حافيا وتحت قدميه أضخم الثروات في تاريخ الاقتصاد؟!! لعنك الله يا دولار كيف جردت أبناء الوطن من الوطنية؟!!
ويل لإيران فلدى العرب المهووسة ذلك الموقع الالكتروني "إيلاف"(ملاحظة: النقط تحت الياء مع إن وضعها فوق الياء لا يغير المعنى)!! هذا الموقع سيكون حجر (غرشة)!! في طريق الأطماع الإيرانية!! فهم في إيلاف لا يعترفون بالموت ويقولون أن الله يأخذ إجازة (تعالى الله عما يقولون)!! ويعتقدون أن محمد (صلى الله عليه وسلم) كان مقاتلا دمويا تحركه الأطماع السياسية (بأبي أنت وأمي يا رسول الله)!! وعندما تدخل إتلاف ساحة الوغى ضد العدو الجديد فسيدوخ!! الإيرانيون من صور هاي رزلوشن!! لكل ما لذ وطاب من الفنانات والمطربات المائلات المميلات النامصات المنمصات ومعهن جوقة من (حليقي الشنبات)!! ولا عزاء للغيورين فقد رفعت المدينة الحجاب عن قاذورات إتلاف استعداد للمعركة ومنعت المواقع الاباحيه.والصداقات، وهي لعمري أرحم!! على الأقل الواحد ينظر إلي صور البنيات!! وعقله في رأسه وليس في رأس الماسونية؟!! وقلبه في صدره وليس في صدر البيت الأبيض!!
وأين ستذهب إيران من صحافتـنا وكتابنا ورسامي الكاريكاتير وروايات السح الدح امبووو!! وحتى شعبان عبد الرحيم سيقلب الموازين (بكرهك يا إيران أنت وكل العربان العريان انين.... ثم نهيق متـقطع)؟! الويل والثبور لإيران الغبية عندما تـتولاها سياط وأنياب هؤلاء الذين عندما تسلموا ملف "الهيئة" جعلوا الناس بالكاد تنسى (كنتم خير أمة أخرجت للناس تأمرون بالمعروف وتـنهون عن المنكر)!! وعندما تولوا ملف السينما جعلوا من صالات الأفلام متطلب حضاري تـنافسي تـقني سيصعد بنا إلى مصاف موزمبيق؟!! وعندما حشدوا أقلامهم القذرة ضد حماس أصبح الواحد يلعب الكرة بهدوء مخافة أن يأخذ به "حماس" زائد فيصنف (ضد السامية)!! اعتقد انه سيقضي على إيران في ليلة حالكة!! من ليالي العرب الحمراء وسيلاحقهم المخرجون بإنـتاج أول فيلم سينمائي فيه ممثلة خليجية تمتـنع أمام الملأ عن أكل الكباب الإيراني (مرة واحده، يلعن أم التحدي)!! وستهبط النكات على الإيرانيين في "عيال قرية"؟! وليس من المستبعد أن تـنقطع عنهم "روتانا" فيصبحوا على ما فعلوا فرحانين؟! (وهنا نقترح أن تعطي إيران فرصة فليس لها قبل بكل هذه المصائب)!! خلاص، إيران انـتهت ويستعد بعض المثـقفين العرب لعقد ندوة عالمية
هل تذكرون ذلك العربي الجاهلي الذي قاد قومه بني وائل (عنزه) وواجه جيوش كسري وحقق أول نصر عربي واضح لم يأت لتحريك المفاوضات أو لجبر الخواطر!! وكل ذلك من أجل امرأة عربية أهينت في بلاط كسري؟!! وهل تذكرون ذلك العربي نحيل جسمه رثة ثيابه دخل على كسري في قمة عنفوانه ورد على سؤاله (ماذا تريدون يا عرب؟) فقال تلك المقولة التاريخية "أتـينا لنخرج العباد من عبادة العباد إلى عبادة رب العباد"!! هذه عرب هلكت، وابتليـنا نحن الذين نعيش في عصر العرب العارية!! برجال رضوا وهم بكامل قواهم العقلية أن يكونوا عبيدا في مزرعة بوش الأب وبوش الابن وأخيرا أوباما الأسود (ليس عنده مزرعة ولكنها شقة ديلوكس في شيكاجوووو)!! وصدق عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه عندما قال "نحن (العرب) قوم أعزنا الله بالإسلام ومهماابتـغينا العزة بغيره أذلنا الله"!!
I submitted this article to The Intifada Magazine, part of the Students for Justice in Palestine group, in New Zealand.
Wars are won and lost, and the victor takes the spoils. Sometimes the victor is just as devastated by war as the loser. Hence the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 was the biggest military blunder the US ever stumbled into, not JUST because of the haemorrhaging of trillions of dollars into a mirage of a war that has brought the US economy to its knees. It’s not the more than 4 000 US soldiers killed in action since march 2003 (oh and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilian deaths as well, everybody forgets that bit of trivia).
It’s not the chain of bogus claims for going into the war which has irreparably corrupted US credibility. It’s not even the fact that the new Iraq has become a proxy fighting ground for Israel, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia. It’s that today, Iraq has turned from an independent functional state with borders, a constitutional government and the rule of law; to a failed state, an ethnically fractured war zone where the only victors are the US corporatocracies gaining from Iraqi Oil, and the most violent brutal criminal elements of the Mesopotamian underworld.
Much could be written -and has been - about the failure of the Iraq war and the death and destruction it had brought on to the Iraqis. Wars such as this are so explosive, their damage goes much further than their immediate vicinity. This however is a story of blood and tears I was fortunate –or unfortunate- enough to see with my eyes.
In January 2004 I returned to Iraq for the first time in 10 years. Entry into this new lawless state was easy, it took about 15 minutes for 7 people and a car full of luggage to cross the border. The two weeks we spent there were a bittersweet reminder of our roots and legacy and a constant adrenalin rush of bullets and explosions every hour of every day.
When leaving Iraq, we had to wait 17 hours on the Jordan border in Traibeel to be searched and have our papers checked, alongside thousands of others fleeing this dystopia.
The Traibeel border crossing is a most inhospitable wasteland of desert and hot dusty wind that was painful to our eyes and ears even from the safety of the GMC truck we hid inside.
I remember so vividly looking at the scores of Red Cross tents on the side of the road, shaking violently in the dark of the night that fell. Our driver told us those were Palestinians who had been living in Iraq in since 1948. After the invasion most of them had to escape torture, harassment and targeted assassinations by various militia groups. Jordan would not grant them entry and they could not return to Iraq. So they had to wait along the border, indefinitely, a politically incorrect logistic that shouldn’t exist.
The history of the Iraq Palestinians is a long and arduous one reeking of political ploys and lost sentiment.
When the collective of Zionist gangs decided to proclaim the land they took by force as the new state of Israel in 1948. They forcibly removed almost 800 000 Palestinians from their homes by direct expulsion and threat of terrorism. Those ejected were absorbed by the Arab countries around them; Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and others. However because of the immense political, national and religious value Palestine held. This 800 000 could not be allowed to settle in any real way, they were given temporary residence or green papers, never offered a permanent solution as those same governments assured that they would be returning to their homeland once the Zionist invader is ousted.
Half a century of failed governments, failed wars and betrayals. There are now more than 3 million Palestinian refugees in vast ghettos, camps and shanty towns living the same limbo existence, waiting for an honorable reprieve from a whore monger government.
The situation in Iraq was a bit different though, according to Wikipedia
“The birth of the Palestinian community in modern Iraq dates back to 1948, when the Iraqi army, which had been fighting in Palestine, returned to Baghdad with a group of Palestinians who had been forced to flee their homes in Haifa and Jaffa. Following the 1967 War with Israel, a second larger wave of Palestinians sought refuge in Iraq. The third and final wave occurred in 1991 after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, when those Palestinians living in Kuwait and other Gulf states fled or were expelled due to Yasser Arafat’s support for the invasion”
What’s not mentioned here is that in a multiethnic Iraq where Saddam had fractured and brutalized every community and group, the Palestinian refugees were treated very well and given the best accommodation on Haifa street in Baghdad. No official papers were given to them since they were treated as temporary guests, otherwise they were heaped with gifts; subsidies, scholarships, exemptions from military service, and rent freeze in some instances. For a large of sector of the community, especially after the 1991 sanctions, the Palestinians were like Joseph to his brothers. Jealousy and resentment bubbled under the surface.
Fast forward back to the invasion of Iraq and the complete collapse of law and order in a country of 25 million people. A bestial vacuum came to fruition where reprisal attacks and account settling started taking place between different ethnic groups, tribes and even individuals. Where everyone had a tribe or group to back them up, the Palestinians had none. They were orphans, an easy target in a mad house of blind rage and guns.
In the years since the invasions, a relentless campaign killing, torture, rape, kidnapping, imprisonment and threats saw more than 25 000 of them escaping their homes of five decades to find refuge elsewhere. Most of them Palestinians only on paper –or lack thereof - . They otherwise were born in Iraq and spoke with an Iraqi dialect, most had not even been to Palestine.
I mentioned the Palestinian refugees to one asylum seeker being detained at Villawood detention center in Sydney, Australia. To my surprise he saw a perverse justice in their plight. “They lived in luxury off the backs of Iraqis during the Iran war and the sanctions, Iraqi children died and their children lived lavishly” This shocked me and forced me to reassess the war. All this anger felt by victims empowers the militias roaming Iraq to massacre and terrorize justly, creating an endless bloody cycle of vengeance.
The only routes out of Iraq closer to the homeland were Jordan and Syria. Mostly the beaten path of Traibeel, but Jordan wasn’t going to take a further contingent of paperless Palestinians in. They kept them at the border to wait further instructions or an answer from God. At some point they were moved to 4 camps at the Iraqi/Syrian border to reduce their visibility and plight.
For seven years no man answered, nor God was heard.
This is one sad untold story of thousands, the very real chronicle of the nightmare that is current day Iraq. A quagmire so deep it shall soon prove to have brought to great United States to its knees just like Afghanistan downed the Soviet Union a mere two decades ago.
This is not the end of the story though, a most unlikely ray of hope springs forth like a fairy tale.
Enter Yousef Reemawi. A Palestinian Australian radio presented living in Melbourne. He runs a weekly radio show called “From the River to the Sea, news and views of Palestine”. During one show he presented a report about this sad story one day, of his listeners sent in a message, why don’t we do something about it ?
And so it started, a week later there was an organization, ASPIRE (Australian Society for the Palestinian- Iraqi Refugees Emergency). Supporters and members were found. Yousef travelled to the camps over in Jordan and the subsequent Syrian camps, he met the people, took in their stories, their hopes, their dreams and their humanity.
He came back, a submit an application for 147 of them for asylum into Australia.
A massive effort carried out by scores of volunteers, filling out forms, translating, legal wrangling and string pulling. Months and months of solid work.
16 families were approved. 68 of them are in Australia now.
He’s gone back again for another visit. A hero before the age of the Arab Spring. He’s leading the second campaign to bring in to Australia.
Unlike other stories of despair. This is one you actually join to make a difference. Contact Yousef or join his facebook group to take part in the next campaign. Or start your own campaign in New Zealand.
I would like to start by thanking Khaled Jarrar of Tell Me A Secret for first sharing this, I'm copying from his website. Here is the original link
I remember first time I saw the video of Muntadhar throwing the shoe at Bush, I remember thinking this has has some balls doing what he did and that he'd probably die. Only later on did I realize how this was one act has galvanized the whole world.
More than a word, less than a bullet. That thrown shoe was the epitome of anger, the desperation and the rejection of all the romantic lies peddled in the media of the new free Iraq.
I took a taxi in Ajman in the United Arab Emirates, the driver, a Baluchi Pakistani spoke to me in the Urdu/Arabic/English mix that subcontinentals speak so well in the Gulf countries.
Hatha nafar Iraqi ? Are you Iraqi ? Na'am, Nafar Iraq, liesh inta yi'al ? Yes I am, why do you ask ? Hatha nafar munthadhar Zaidi throwing jooti 'ala Boosh, hatha nafar wayed zien That man munthadhar Zaidi who threw the shoe at Bush, he is the man !
since then the same stunt has been "thrown" across the world, once even being likened to that brave mans standing infront of a tank at Tianmen square.
At an episode of QandA in Australia a war activist threw his shoes at then Australian PM John Howard
When I met Muntadhar's cousin at Villawood detention center a few weeks ago I hugged and kissed him like a long lost friend. In respect to the courage and honor of that man.
PS, when I met that nephew person, he wasn't detained at Villawood.
My Flower to Bush, the Occupier
The Story of My Shoe By MUTADHAR al-ZAIDI
Mutadhar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi who threw his shoe at George Bush gave this speech on his recent release.
In the name of God, the most gracious and most merciful. Here I am, free. But my country is still a prisoner of war. Firstly, I give my thanks and my regards to everyone who stood beside me, whether inside my country, in the Islamic world, in the free world. There has been a lot of talk about the action and about the person who took it, and about the hero and the heroic act, and the symbol and the symbolic act. But, simply, I answer: What compelled me to confront is the injustice that befell my people, and how the occupation wanted to humiliate my homeland by putting it under its boot.And how it wanted to crush the skulls of (the homeland's) sons under its boots, whether sheikhs, women, children or men. And during the past few years, more than a million martyrs fell by the bullets of the occupation and the country is now filled with more than 5 million orphans, a million widows and hundreds of thousands of maimed. And many millions of homeless because of displacement inside and outside the country.We used to be a nation in which the Arab would share with the Turkman and the Kurd and the Assyrian and the Sabean and the Yazid his daily bread. And the Shiite would pray with the Sunni in one line. And the Muslim would celebrate with the Christian the birthday of Christ, may peace be upon him. And despite the fact that we shared hunger under sanctions for more than 10 years, for more than a decade.
Our patience and our solidarity did not make us forget the oppression. Until we were invaded by the illusion of liberation that some had. (The occupation) divided one brother from another, one neighbor from another, and the son from his uncle. It turned our homes into never-ending funeral tents. And our graveyards spread into parks and roadsides. It is a plague. It is the occupation that is killing us, that is violating the houses of worship and the sanctity of our homes and that is throwing thousands daily into makeshift prisons.
I am not a hero, and I admit that. But I have a point of view and I have a stance. It humiliated me to see my country humiliated. And to see my Baghdad burned. And my people being killed. Thousands of tragic pictures remained in my head, and this weighs on me every day and pushes me toward the righteous path, the path of confrontation, the path of rejecting injustice, deceit and duplicity. It deprived me of a good night's sleep. Dozens, no, hundreds, of images of massacres that would turn the hair of a newborn white used to bring tears to my eyes and wound me. The scandal of Abu Ghraib. The massacre of Fallujah, Najaf, Haditha, Sadr City, Basra, Diyala, Mosul, Tal Afar, and every inch of our wounded land. In the past years, I traveled through my burning land and saw with my own eyes the pain of the victims, and hear with my own ears the screams of the bereaved and the orphans. And a feeling of shame haunted me like an ugly name because I was powerless.And as soon as I finished my professional duties in reporting the daily tragedies of the Iraqis, and while I washed away the remains of the debris of the ruined Iraqi houses, or the traces of the blood of victims that stained my clothes, I would clench my teeth and make a pledge to our victims, a pledge of vengeance.The opportunity came, and I took it.I took it out of loyalty to every drop of innocent blood that has been shed through the occupation or because of it, every scream of a bereaved mother, every moan of an orphan, the sorrow of a rape victim, the teardrop of an orphan. I say to those who reproach me: Do you know how many broken homes that shoe that I threw had entered because of the occupation? How many times it had trodden over the blood of innocent victims? And how many times it had entered homes in which free Iraqi women and their sanctity had been violated? Maybe that shoe was the appropriate response when all values were violated. When I threw the shoe in the face of the criminal, Bush, I wanted to express my rejection of his lies, his occupation of my country, my rejection of his killing my people. My rejection of his plundering the wealth of my country, and destroying its infrastructure. And casting out its sons into a diaspora.After six years of humiliation, of indignity, of killing and violations of sanctity, and desecration of houses of worship, the killer comes, boasting, bragging about victory and democracy.
He came to say goodbye to his victims and wanted flowers in response. Put simply, that was my flower to the occupier, and to all who are in league with him, whether by spreading lies or taking action, before the occupation or after. I wanted to defend the honor of my profession and suppressed patriotism on the day the country was violated and its high honor lost. Some say: Why didn't he ask Bush an embarrassing question at the press conference, to shame him? And now I will answer you, journalists. How can I ask Bush when we were ordered to ask no questions before the press conference began, but only to cover the event. It was prohibited for any person to question Bush.And in regard to professionalism: The professionalism mourned by some under the auspices of the occupation should not have a voice louder than the voice of patriotism. And if patriotism were to speak out, then professionalism should be allied with it.I take this opportunity: If I have wronged journalism without intention, because of the professional embarrassment I caused the establishment, I wish to apologize to you for any embarrassment I may have caused those establishments. All that I meant to do was express with a living conscience the feelings of a citizen who sees his homeland desecrated every day.History mentions many stories where professionalism was also compromised at the hands of American policymakers, whether in the assassination attempt against Fidel Castro by booby-trapping a TV camera that CIA agents posing as journalists from Cuban TV were carrying, or what they did in the Iraqi war by deceiving the general public about what was happening. And there are many other examples that I won't get into here.But what I would like to call your attention to is that these suspicious agencies -- the American intelligence and its other agencies and those that follow them -- will not spare any effort to track me down (because I am) a rebel opposed to their occupation. They will try to kill me or neutralize me, and I call the attention of those who are close to me to the traps that these agencies will set up to capture or kill me in various ways, physically, socially or professionally. And at the time that the Iraqi prime minister came out on satellite channels to say that he didn't sleep until he had checked in on my safety, and that I had found a bed and a blanket, even as he spoke I was being tortured with the most horrific methods: electric shocks, getting hit with cables, getting hit with metal rods, and all this in the backyard of the place where the press conference was held. And the conference was still going on and I could hear the voices of the people in it. And maybe they, too, could hear my screams and moans.
In the morning, I was left in the cold of winter, tied up after they soaked me in water at dawn. And I apologize for Mr. Maliki for keeping the truth from the people. I will speak later, giving names of the people who were involved in torturing me, and some of them were high-ranking officials in the government and in the army.
I didn't do this so my name would enter history or for material gains. All I wanted was to defend my country, and that is a legitimate cause confirmed by international laws and divine rights. I wanted to defend a country, an ancient civilization that has been desecrated, and I am sure that history -- especially in America -- will state how the American occupation was able to subjugate Iraq and Iraqis, until its submission.
They will boast about the deceit and the means they used in order to gain their objective. It is not strange, not much different from what happened to the Native Americans at the hands of colonialists. Here I say to them (the occupiers) and to all who follow their steps, and all those who support them and spoke up for their cause: Never.Because we are a people who would rather die than face humiliation.And, lastly, I say that I am independent. I am not a member of any politicalparty, something that was said during torture -- one time that I'm far-right, another that I'm a leftist. I am independent of any political party, and my future efforts will be in civil service to my people and to any who need it, without waging any political wars, as some said that I would. My efforts will be toward providing care for widows and orphans, and all those whose lives were damaged by the occupation.
I pray for mercy upon the souls of the martyrs who fell in wounded Iraq, and for shame upon those who occupied Iraq and everyone who assisted them in their abominable acts. And I pray for peace upon those who are in their graves, and those who are oppressed with the chains of imprisonment. And peace be upon you who are patient and looking to God for release.And to my beloved country I say: If the night of injustice is prolonged, it will not stop the rising of a sun and it will be the sun of freedom.
One last word. I say to the government: It is a trust that I carry from my fellow detainees. They said, 'Muntadhar, if you get out, tell of our plight to the omnipotent powers' -- I know that only God is omnipotent and I pray to Him -- 'remind them that there are dozens, hundreds, of victims rotting in prisons because of an informant's word.'They have been there for years, they have not been charged or tried.They've only been snatched up from the streets and put into these prisons. And now, in front of you, and in the presence of God, I hope they can hear me or see me. I have now made good on my promise of reminding the government and the officials and the politicians to look into what's happening inside the prisons. The injustice that's caused by the delay in the judicial system.Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you
The translation is by McClatchy’s special correspondent, Sahar Issa.
We've always tried to acknowledge that within islam there are different opinions and schools of thought. Even with the interpretation of the Quran. I remember the incident when Ali (r.a. k.A.w) sent Ibn Abbas (r.a.) to negotiate with the khawarij he was reported to have instructed
" لا تحاججهم بالقرآن وحده فإنّ القرآن حمّال أوجه ، حاججهم بالسنّة"
Roughly meaning "Do not debate them using the quran for it can be interpreted in different ways, rather use the sunnah"
Also worthy of note is Imam Shafi3i changing many of his verdicts when he travelled from Baghdad to Cairo, because of the differences between the two places in terms of people, geography, politics etc.... This was acceptable and afforded by the complexity of the Quran. As the hadith says that every hundred years there will come reformers of the religion who work within the confines of the Quran and sunnah for the benefit of the Muslims.
Now that I'm done with my preamble, I will tell my story:
I recently received an email from a salafi website. in regards to interpreting the following verse:
Rough translation: "There is no good in most of their secret counsel except (in he) who enjoins charity of goodness or reconciliation between people, and however does this seeking Allah's pleasure, we will give him a mighty reward"
SO: The commentary of this verse according first to the salafi site
This verse shows that there is no goodness in the majority of talk among people. This is either because it is an idle talk, or because it causes evil and harm, such as gossip, backbiting and all sorts of prohibited talks.
It then follows with the exceptions, such as gathering to speak about charity or about reconciliation....
....
That didn't make a lot of sense to me. This was basically saying that if you wanna hang out with your friends, you're only really recommended to speak about these two topics ? and if you don't, then you're counted amongst those who are no good ? I hang with friends all the time ! Muslims, and non muslims. And we talk about a range of things, from history to politics to refugees to TV shows to whatever else. It just didn't sound like such a carpet statement would come from the Quran, Allahu A3lam.
And who are "They?"
Well fortunately I can speak arabic and have access to the commentary of Sayyid Qutb and I looked up HIS commentary for the same verse. It was incredible how different his take on this verse was, how in depth and within context it was. It made sense !
I'm not going to translate the whole thing, just the important bits.
Rough translation " And were it not for Allah's grace upon you and His mercy a party of them had certainly design to bring you to perdition and they do not bring (aught) to perdition but their own souls. and they shall not harm you in any way, and Allah has revealed to you the Book and the wisdom, and He has taught you what you did not know, and Allah's grace on you is very great"
From the commentary " Allah cites His favor to the prophet pbuh in regards to protecting the prophet from those who sought to conspire against him. Because they may hide their secrets from people but not from Allah.
Allah then cites His favor on the prophet pbuh in sending him the Book (Quran) and the wisdom, having taught him what he did not previously know. Ending with the words "Allah's grace on you is very great"
Sayyid then continues that this was one effort of many, by the enemies of Islam then to conspire against the prophet. Every time Allah swt would foil these plans and conspiracies.
THEN we return to the verse in question.
لقد تكرر في القرآن النهي عن النجوى ; وهي أن تجتمع طائفة بعيدا عن الجماعة المسلمة وعن القيادة المسلمة , لتبيت أمرا
Translation: The Quran has repeatedly forbid people from Najwa. Which in this context means for a group of people to gather away from the jama'a and the Islamic leadership, to conspire, or to nurse a grievance.
The idea here is that if there is any issue or grievance a person has, he has to bring it to the prophet. If it is a personal matter then it would be done with private with the prophet, otherwise it would be in public. The idea from this was to avoid the allowance of small pockets amongst the recently established Muslim community. So that if there is an issue, it would not be addressed in isolation and separation from the main group. Which could plant seeds of dissent and fracture
وهذا الموضع أحد المواضع التي ورد فيها هذا النهي عن التناجي والتبييت بمعزل عن الجماعة المسلمة وقيادتها
This was one of the issues in which a ban was placed on conspiring or conferring in small groups away from the main group.
Since the only way to ensure this doesn't happen is to ensure safety when airing grievances. This means what ?
freedom of speech ! yay !
This I thought was a brilliant way of taking theses verses in their proper context to explain them properly. While the first commentary seemed to have been made by a person who did not speak Arabic, did not know much about the seerah, and did not bother to read the verses before and after this verse.
Allahu A3lam, I'm sure their hearts are in the right place. It is dangerous I think to misinterpret or misunderstand verses of the Quran in this way and broadcast it out to people. A ban on just any group of people chilling out, or deeming them to be no good, is dangerous. It means whenever people hang out, they feel guilty because they think they're doing something wrong. It places pressure on human nature.
This becomes more of a problem when you have isolated areas like New Zealand where Islamic theology is limited and online scholarship is the best available source. So then any practicing muslim seeking to be a better person would avoid any type of hang out just because they're not about charity or reconciliation. That person would grow up mu3aqqad, and his kids will become mu3aqqadeen as well.
This is what I think, please let me know what you think.
Jamal Dawoud is the president of the Social Justice Network in Sydney, Australia. A hard intense man with strong views and stronger words. I have a lot of respect for him and for his courage. This is his latest article, I'm not sure if I agree with all the points in it. Though it is a very worthy contribution
I was refraining from writing about London riots for the last week. But the issue is very hot and attractive. And there are tons of questions to be asked about how “democracies” fail so miserably to the point of citizens looting public and private buildings.
My personal experiences for the last few months are clear example of reasons to reach the point of “let us take law on our hands”.
Today was the climax. I received a letter from the State Debt Recovery Office (the most hated state department in NSW) informing me that my drivers licence will be suspended sometime at the end of the month. The reasons were that I did not appear in the court, where I sought court review of parking fine. Then I failed to pay the money determined by the court. When I contacted the SDRO, I informed them that I never received notice to attend the court. I also did not receive any letter of the court decision. Not only this. I never received notice from the SDRO asking me to pay the money, ways to pay the money and how much I should pay.
It is not about the fine, anymore. It is about the system. The system where punch of politicians are using the might of the state (including many security agencies) to oppress the majority of population. All by laws they agreed to adopt and within “democratic” context.
The whole fine issue was about someone with authority has put a bus stop sign on telephone post, where not many people can notice it (as money trap to collect as much as possible for the council). Then the same authority sent rangers to issue fines. Then the same authority sent another office to punish the black goat that refused to put its head with other heads and give up. And if you do not accept the punishment, the same authority sends police to further punish the black goat and threaten with jail if it insists to stay rebellious.
Would this minor issue prompt me to accept the logic of rioters in London?
Let us go back few days in the week. Me and My friend Hussein went to obtain him a licence. Ordinary worker there who had prejudice against his ethnicity and against the unauthorised legal way that drove him to this country, told him that she will not do her job and facilitate achieving this mission. He can go and bang his head against any wall in the street, but no licence will be issued or tests organised. But he still has the right to shout, argue and get upset. But he cannot shout louder, as this would result into fines for “disturbing public peace”.
Is that all???
Of course not. I also remembered how I was treated like criminal when the minister for immigration lost control of his department when detainees in many detention centres decided that enough is enough. The minister so naively accused me of all these troubles and verbally asked the authorities to ban me from entering any detention centre. And racist police officers were leashed with full authority to humiliate me and oppress me to the point that I thought that I am living in Zimbabwe. And to date, I was unable to obtain written ban. And all my complaints against the racist police officers went unnoticed. And I also can bang my head against any wall. This is democracy: you have the right to bang your head against any wall, but not to the point of destroying this wall. That would be “damaging public or private properties”. And we are still in democracy.
And before that I was subjected to some of worst racist and degrading treatment at work. And because there are not enough evidences, the racism and Islamophobia went unnoticed but some very small amount of money to prove that it is still democracy, somehow.
All this in addition to the difficulty finding suitable accommodation, bad experience in public hospitals, expensive food, skyrocketing electricity and gas bills, block of access to decision making bodies, ....
But it is democracy: you have the right to ask, complain and criticise, but them they have the right to ignore you.
And now today at this moment, I wonder if I, as one of the highest law abiding citizen in this country who is doing all within his capacity (and even beyond that capacity sometimes) to help others and help building better society, is subjected to such humiliating treatment, what is about the rest of the society who are more marginalised than me (they are in millions)?
Was this the major reason behind London riots?
You feel humiliated, robbed by different organisations (including your own “democratic” government), cannot have decent life, expensive life style, high taxes, fines in violating laws or not violating any law, ailing health system where you can be humiliated by nurse or doctors for asking why you have waited for long time to see any professional, no decent accommodation .... All these while you can see that the common wealth is robbed by few people, including the politicians that punish you by either more taxes or fines for every move in your life.
And justice is very slow when you want something from them, they humiliated you, they denied your rights or when you need any vital service. They have the right to refuse your request. Then you have the right to appeal. This would take years. And the system is designed for your appeal to fail. Then you can go to higher legal system level. After all these accessed, you will be already lost more than what you will gain.
But the justice is very quick and decisive when they want something from you, when you make any small mistake or they discover that you have accessed more than is allowed for you. The justice fist at that time is very strong, even if they will destroy your life.
So in both scenarios, your life is destroyed. But in the first scenario, if you can prove that they hurt you or caused you any damage, they also do not care. Because they will compensate you from the tax you had paid during your life. Or maybe they compensate you from the taxes paid by your brother, sister, wife or neighbour. They do not lose anything.
Does this give grim picture? Can you imagine that 1 in every 4 Australians has mental health problems.
But all in democratic context. So we should be happy.
But why British were not happy within this democratic context. They are not happy with exercising their democratic rights to be humiliated, robbed and oppressed in democratic way.
Do you think that this is the reasons (or part of the reasons) that thousands of “hooligans” roamed London, Manchester, Liverpool .... in the last few days?
When people lose hope of being respected, listened to, cared for and participated in decision making, they will do this. And it is clearly that British had reached this point.
So the question here: is Australia too far from this stage?
I can declare very clearly here that I am not very far at all from this stage. But apart from me, are there many Australians feel the same?
The result of the last election where the informal vote was very high and people deliberately declared that “all politicians are the same, all are crooks”, is clear evidence that Australians (or large section of them) have reached close to the British state.
It is not British only. Few months ago, Greek, Italians, Spanish and Portuguese did similar things.
We lost the hope. Yes we did, where the laws became very blind, heavy handed and violate basic rights.
Would I participate in any riots if happened in Australia?
I am not sure if I have the courage.
But who cares about me: what about homeless (after the department of housing is telling them that there are cheap accommodation that they can rent, when the market is very dry), unemployed (who are tortured by Centrelink and authorities), marginalised in the suburbs (where laws turned them into criminals because they speed at some stage or they lost nerve at public department), former detainees who need to put up with prejudice and feel of guilt for the rest of their lives, sick people who are treated like trash in hospitals, students who needs big fortune to complete simple study, ....
Would they refuse to stand up for their rights, indefinitely?
After the uprising in most of Western countries, Australians will think about standing for their rights, their future and the future of their children. They are coming into terms with the bitter reality: The democracy will not stop politicians (who act mainly on behalf of big corporations) from taking away their rights and privileges.
Democracy needs power to protect democratic rights, especially after many of these democratic rights were already taken away in the last decades.
It's not often that one is impressed with an arabic television program.
I know this may be harsh, but sadly it's painfully true. The content is quite often lacking, and tries often to rely on telenovella tricks to grab attention. Often times there is overuse of sexuality in innuendo and suggestion (because Arabic Television is hypocritically conservative) or the overuse of screaming to instigate excitement.
Other programs famous in Jordan and the Gulf are those depressingly basic storylines about death, treachery and battles over inheritance. In the end it's difficult to find a good show. A show you want to watch but won't feel guilty about watching.
Khawater is such a brilliant success of a show. Based -of all places- in Saudi Arabia. It delves into real issues of weakness prevalent all over the Arab world. Though the way it chooses to illustrate these issues is not so much confrontational as it is a way of making us laugh at ourselves while learning.
There is a lot to be said about this show and its founder, Ahmad Alshuqairi. Though I'll suffice by giving this link to some of his shows http://www.facebook.com/Khawater.Cheguiri?ref=ts and of course a streaming podcast of the interview I had with him last week ( 28th July 2011). Enjoy
(you can download the podcast here if you don't like streaming)
As I'm writing this I'm still astounded that something like this is so ... I'm speechless actually.
So... In this age of terrorism, Islamophobia and the dominance of terms nobody really understands but peddles anyway like sharia, jihad and taqiya. There is an unending source of interest the media continuously returns to whenever the news cycle is quiet or when the public attention needs to be diverted.
A cycle has now started that is so formulaic you can almost foresee it before it happens. Here is the latest breakdown of the formula
1- A news story breaks out, it's outrageous, it's clearly wrong, illegal, criminal etc... Muslims are involved somehow.
2- A direct or (in most cases) indirect connection is made to Islam. So this crime is sanctioned or caused by Islam.
3- Commentators on talkback radio and newspaper opinion pieces stoke the flames of xenophobia and intolerance. Breaking the story down into a black and white.
4- Spokesmen for the community come out and attempt to clarify, explain, distance the larger muslim community from the act, by this time though there is a strong foaming-at-the-mouth momentum of fear and hate too strong for any logic or sense.
5- Crazies come out from both sides making nutty claims and incredibly divisive statements that are of benefit only to said crazies.
6- The government, hungry for attention and acceptance from the voters and egged on by the media. Come out and make ill informed vague rhetoric statements that call upon the values and integration. In some cases a politician may pass a totally irrelevant or even redundant law that makes lives harder for the whole community.
7- The noise dies down gradually, the crazies crawl back into their holes, the media latches on to another rating maximizing issue, until the next cycle.
So, what's the cycle this week, you ask ?
1- A dude gets lashed. It seems he was a recent convert to Islam who still had a taste for the bottle. Some "brothers" found out and decided to take a law (not the law of the land) into their own hands.
2- The ever present fear of Islam and Sharia is jumped upon again. It's clear whoever did this not in any stretch of the imagination representative of anyone but themselves. That doesn't stop commentators and the scores of hateful trolls on forums and comment sections of news articles and youtube videos to warn of creeping sharia law Muslims going back where they come from etc...
3- The media tirade is too fast to catch up with, just google lashing Sydney (within the time limit) and you'll get plenty to keep you scared and angry.
4- Balanced, educated sane people try to put things into prospective, hence Ahmed Kilani's interview at 2UE radio speaks wonderfully. Alhumdulillah for people like him. He clearly states that Islam is innocent of such savageries. Others I'm sure have also tried to restore sanity.
5-The crazies, I'm not even going into this. (Though I have to say I'm disappointed with George Negus for giving a platform to that individual)
6 and 7 are yet to come, and then I can say I told you so !
The fact is, sharia law is a vast field of jurisprudence that has its own philosophy built on justice and its own purposes, sources and flexibilities. In a very specific context of time, space and culture, flogging a man for drinking was sanctioned. However in Australia, in 2011. This can not be sanctioned for two very simple reasons:
1- Australia does not apply sharia law. We may not like it, but people here (including Muslims) drink, gamble, engage in premarital sex, pee when standing up etc... We may hate it, but other than advising them, we can't do anything about it.
2- Sharia law isn't a stick anybody can pick up and beat up others with. If it's a law of the land. The authorities can apply it.
I don't want to get into the validity of flogging someone drinking if Sharia was applied today in some Muslim country, that's another topic. It is however important to understand that this type of action is not sanctioned at any time. This is plain criminal. I just hope those four guys who beat up the poor convert person weren't ordered to do so by an organization leader or something.
A quote from the movie "Star Wars" episode 1 I think, in which there was literally a bigger fish.
Yesterday I was in a discussion about the old social structures in Iraq and the Arab world before the wave of colonization near the start of the 20th century. It was interesting and insightful in light of the last 20 years I guess.
Previous to Colonization, Countries like Iraq, Palestine, Syria and Egypt were under the control of the Ottoman empire. At the end of the 19century and the beginning of the 20th century that control was waning. There developed a localized system of ... policing I guess you'd call it. Every suburb or every couple of streets there would be a person who would act as the sheriff of that area. He would be a large muscly man with a massive mustache, a 'araqchine or a taqia on his head (similar to but larger than a yarmulke) and a yashmagh scarf over his shoulder. This man would right the wrong, if a girl was harassed by someone she'd go to him and he'd beat up whoever was doing the harassing. If somebody was wronged in anyway he'd go and right that wrong. He operated on the principle of nakhwa or chivalry. I don't know what he did about money, but I think at the time these places were not poverty stricken so whatever he did it was enough to keep him happy. In Iraq this type of character was called Futuwa, in Egypt it's Mi'allim, and in the Sham (Syria Palestine Lebanon) it's Abadhai (I'm not 100% sure about this, if you're from those countries please confirm or correct this fact).
Well when the British, French and other European countries came as uninvited guests for anywhere from 50 to 120 years to the middle east and north Africa. They were there to stay, and accordingly they tried to change the social norms, customers and governance systems to model their own more enlightened system. The causes for these changes are still felt today in the many social diseases and problems in the Arab world,
One change that happened was the change in power structures, the colonizing power was not the police, that or the corrupt indigenous police force under the control of the colonizers anyway. The previous mode of order (Futuwa and the like) having lost their power and I'm guessing since the allocation of resources changed. Evolved to a more deformed image of their previous selves. Now they were known for being the bag guy. The bully who takes people's money and who wrongs people himself and in many cases no one can stop him. Or sometimes they would work for money. So they were be paid to disrupt a rally by a political party asking for reforms etc...
Even when the British and other powers left after installing puppet regimes, those futuwa stayed. Now under a new name reflecting their changed dispositions (Shaqi). However it seemed the puppet regimes were the bigger fish. At the time of Abdul Karim Qasim those futuwa were collected and brutalized through torture and imprisonment and basically to stay home and die. In one year. This phenomenon of the Shaqi died out, never to be seen again.
The government now acted very similarly to a shaqi in all Arab counties. They protected the people from outside danger, they provided infrastructure and policing etc... to give some semblance of a state. But at the end of the day ALL Arab governments siphoned off the majority of their country's money for themselves and their cronies while the masses starved and themselves became deformed. The government was the bigger fish. This has been going on since the beginning of the century.
Enter the new Era, Iraq has been invaded by the US under false pretenses. The old system (secular0 socialism) is completely changed and Democracy is installed. The US is now siphoning hundreds of billions of dollars of Iraq's money directly and indirectly while providing a semblance of democracy while at the same time allowing the corrupt puppet government militias to bully the masses. Bullying now is the form of massacres, rapes, torture and unlawful imprisonment.
An amazing story worthy of sharing for all Arabs. I'll translate it when I have time.
هل يمكن لامتنا ان تنهض؟؟!! - قصه حقيقيه موجهه لجميع العراقيين
كتابات - د.معتز الصباح
منذ نعومه اضفاري كنت اسمع والدي (ادام الله ظله علينا) يردد عباره ( عيش وشوف ازرع كطن يطلع صوف)!! كنت لا اعرف معناها لكن قافيتها عجبتني فكنت ارددها دائما عسى ان افهمها عند الكبر وكان هذا في ثمانينيات القرن الماضى.
مضت الايام ودخلت مرحله الشباب وبدأت افكر في حال الامه وبالاخص مجتعنا العراقي فرأيت دكتاتورا تصفق له الجماهير بمناسبه وبغير مناسبه مع انه اذل القوم وسفك دمائهم صحيح ان هناك من يجبر في مناسبه ما ان يمجد الدكتاتورويصفق له لكون حياته تصبح على المحك ولكن وجدت اناس يمجدوه ويصفقوا له دون مناسبه ويسفكون دماء من اجل ارضاءه ويصعدون على اكتاف الخيرين وعلى جثث الابرياء فصعدت الى العلا الدنيوي اراذل وطمر اخيار.
بدأت ارى في اواخر التسعينات العجب العجاب من سلوكيات ابناء هذا المجتمع اناس تسعى الى الصعود باي ثمن دون استحقاق ويجرفون الخيرين في طريقهم ويقتلون طموحات اخرين وشبان خيرين. طفا الى السطح الكثير من الانتهازيين واصبحوا قاده وشرد الالاف من الكفاءات ودارت الامور بهذه الامه من سئ الى اسوأ.
بدأ الانترنت يصلنا في 2002 وبدأت اطلع على احوال الامم وبالاخص الغربيه ووجدت انهم يتقدمون بنفس السرعه التي نتراجع بها وانا اتسأل نحن امه فضلها الله على بقيه الامم ونحن خير امه اخرجت للناس فنحن اهل الدين ومنبع النبوه والامم الغربيه ليست كذلك . اذن ما هذا التناقض؟
المهم اصبحت طبيبا وبلغ عمري 33 سنه وتغير النظام وسقط الدكتاتور وذهب الظلم واخذتني الغبطه وقلت في نفسي لدينا الفرصه لنلحق بالامم فثرواتنا اصبحت لنا وجاء من يعدل كفه الميزان.
الى ان صادفتني انا شخصيا هذه التجربه..............!
جائتني دعوه لحضور مؤتمرا طبيا في ايطاليا وفرنسا وكانت فرصه عظيمه لشاب طموح مثلي ان اطلع على ما وصلت له الامم ونقل تللك الخبره الى زملائى ومؤسساتنا الصحيه التي تحتضر والتي تمارس بعضها ممارسات ليس لها علاقه بالطب اصلا!!!
اخذت موافقه رئيس القسم وعميد الكليه التي اعمل معيدا بها وذهبت الى رئاسه الجامعه لكي احصل على دعم مالي حسب توجيهات الوزاره التي شجعت المشاركه بتلك النشاطات الثقافيه في اوربا ووافق رئيس الجامعه ومسؤول القسم المالي على هذا التخصيص بعد شهرين من البيروقراطيه والتاخير !! ذهبت بعدها الى قسم البعثات والعلاقات الثقافيه لطبع الكتاب عند السيد............... رئيس القسم فدخلت الى مكتب ( معاليه ) فوجدت رجلا بلغ من العمر عتيا واصفرت اسنانه وازرقت شفتاه من النيكوتين فسلمته الكتاب وقرأه وقال:
انته بعدك صغير على هيج مشاركات اذا انته بهلعمر تسافر لاوربا شخليت للكبار!!!
فاستغربت كثيرا من رده وعذره فقلت له انا مسؤول ردهه الانعاش الوحيده في المحافظه والجمعيه الاوربيه قد اختارتني للمشاركه والمسؤولين الكبار في هذه المؤسسه قد وافقوا على تخصيص دعم مالي لانجاح المشاركه في هذه المؤتمر وكنت اول السباقين في هذا المجال . فاخذ الكتاب وذهب الى رئيس الجامعه وغير هامشه ليلغي امر ايفادي وقال البكلوريوس يحضرون ورشا تدريبيه وليس مؤتمرات!
بعدها بشهر جائتني دعوه من جامعه كوبنهاكن الدنماركيه لحضور ورشه عمل في امراض القلب واخذا الموافقات الاصوليه وذهبت الى نفس العبقري وكان هذا في صيف 2008 فقال معاليه انني يجب ان اعرض الموضوع على مجلس الكليه وهو يعلم اننا في عطله صيفيه وان المجلس لن يجتمع من اجلي !! ثم قال بعد موافقه مجلس الكليه يجب عرضها على مجلس الجامعه وهو يعلم ان رئيس المجلس خارج العراق ولن يعود قبل ايلول 2008 وكان تدريبي سيبدأ بعد اسبوعين فقط من تقديم طلبي وان تاشيره الدخول تحتاج الى اسبوعين في الاقل.
هذا هو الجانب الاسود من القصه لكن اسمعوا الجانب الابيض....
اتصلت بمسؤول التدريب وكان بروفسورا دنماركيا لم اتصل به من قبل قط فاخبرته ان حضور التدريب على نفقتي سيكلفني مبلغا طائلا لا استطيع الوفاء به فاخبرني ان امنحه فرصه ليبحث كيف يمكنه مساعدتي!!
اتصل بي بعد يومين وقال لي ان احد المشاركين قد انسحب وفاض بعض المال لديهم فحوله لي ليدفع رسوم الاقامه واجور المشاركه في التدريب لي !! فسألت نفسي لماذا لم يضع الاستاذ الدنماركي ما فاض من المال في جيبه ؟؟ الا يعرف كيف يضع اسما وهميا و( يلغف ) ما بقي من المال كما يحصل في ( ولايه فرهود!!)
بعده بيوم اتصل بي وقال انسحب شاب اخر وفاض مال اخر!! سادفع لك اجور الطيران كذلك لمساعدتك في الحضور! عجيب قلت في نفسي لماذا يسلك ذلك الدنماركي مثل هذا السلوك معي وانا لست من بلده ولا من دينه ولا من سنه ولا من مرتبته العلميه؟؟
ذهبت الى السفاره الدنماركيه وقدمت طلبا للحصول على تاشيره دخول واجابني القنصل ان نسبه الموافقه هي 1% فقط!!
لماذا ؟ عرفت بسرعه . عادي اني عراقي! اتصلت بالرجل الطيب واخبرته ان هناك مشكله في السفاره فقال انا ساتكفل بالامر!
اتصل الرجل بوزراه الخارجيه الدنماركيه وكفلني هناك واتصل بي وقال ان الفيزا قد صدرت لي فعلا وعلي الذهاب لاستلامها!! الامر الذي اثار استغراب موظفي السفاره حول سرعه اصدار الفيزا وكيف اني عرفت بامر اصدارها حتى قبل السيد القنصل نفسه؟!!
استلمت الفيزا يوم الخميس وكان الجمعه عطله رسميه لم احصل على حجز طيران وعلي الحضور يوم الاحد هناك
فاتصلت بالرجل الطيب وعرضت عليه مشكلتي وقال لي ساحجز لك الكترونيا على الخطوط البريطانيه وستصلك تذكره السفر خلال دقائق!!
وفعلا وصلت !! ذهبت الى دمشق وراجعت مكتب الخطوط البريطانيه وقالوا لي انني لا يمكنني الطيران لعدم امتلاكي تاشيره دخول مؤقته الى لندن حيث ساهبط ( ترانزيت)
كيف احل تللك المصيبه بعد كل هذا العناء لن اتمكن من السفر؟؟!
كيف تعتقدون انى وجدت حلا؟ طبعا اتصلت بالرجل الطيب واخبرته بالمشكله وقد (اعتذر لي ) لعدم معرفته بتلك المساله وبعث لي بتذكره الكترونيه اخرى على متن الخطوط التركيه حيث الامر لن يحتاج الى تاشيره مؤقته!!!
طارت بي التركيه باتجاه كونبهاكن وانا اكاد لا اصدق ما فعله ذلك البروفسور . لماذا قدم لي هذا العون الفائق وهو لا يعرف عني أي شئ وكنت اقارن دائما موقفه مع موقف ( المسلم ابن بلدي ) مسؤول قسم البعثات والعلاقات الثقافيه في جامعتي
في الدنمارك شاهدت قوما اخرين واخلاق اخرى وتوجه اخر يختلف عن ما شاهدته في بلدي اختلافا عظيما!!
عندما رجعت الى العراق سألني زملائي : ماذا تعلمت؟ اجبتهم : عرفت ( ليش الله موفقهم ) الان تم الاجابه على تساؤلاتي منذ الصغر لماذا الامم الغربيه في عليين وامتنا اسفل سافلين!!
A friend of mine complained recently that her visa application to russia was taking for ever because of all the bureaucracy, red tape and paperwork involved to applying for a Visa. I found myself thinking; why on earth would anyone ever want to go to russia ? I found that thought to be very strange, since I usually love travelling to different countries and I don't remember thinking the same about any other country. I was even thinking of going to israel at some point !
Another friend is currently in iran seeing the sights and staying with people. Though I feel sometimes a tinge of tension, I would actually love to visit iran. This acceptance of iran is quite recent. As a person who lived through the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. I grew up on a steady but continuous diet of propaganda against anything iranian or Persian. One interesting thing is that since iraq was at the time a secular socialist regime. Religion didn't feature prominently in said propaganda. I vividly remember comics and cartoons of angry hateful iranians (always referred to as Furce, meaning persians) living a life of violence and paid amongst themselves with the tacit understanding that they want to export that paradigm of hate to iraq. I remember reading a warped version of history in which Iraq was invaded was those hateful alien Furce when the arabs kicked them out at the battle of Qadisya. A completely Arabcentric secular perversion of history completely blotting out the persian civilisation, islam, the centuries of shared culture or the shia sunni issue. I am still impressed by the iraqi government's Orwellian control of young iraqi children's minds through this control of history and media. I even remember there was a species of ants which were especially large which also were able to bite quite painfully. We used yo call them naml farisi-persian ants.
Eventually later on as I developed a passion for rereading history, and of course my migration from iraq to New Zealand and then australia. I started recognizing the propaganda patterns more clearly.
All the while though, due to the cold war. There was a much more subversive and powerful propaganda campaign launched by the US against Russia (the soviet union) during the cold war. This wasn't some small third world effort with second rate cartoons and some history books. THIS WAS A GLOBAL EFFORT TO DEMONIZE A MORTAL GLOBAL ENEMY. So the world's most prolific producer of propaganda and movies gave us such jewels as Rocky4 and Rambo3 and countless other movies and television programs making sure that all Americans and anyone watching those high budget overly simplified black/white good guy/bad guy movies would always root for, and love, and seek to iemulate Americans while at the same time hating, fearing and wanting nothing to do with Russians. It doesn't matter that the cold war is over now. It only matters that at the end of the cold war i am still not at peace with my Russia phobia. And that's what it is. A phobia caused by years of watching American movies. Since then I've tried to read up about Russian history and culture. Yeah...
This brings me to the next wave in American propaganda movies against Arabs and Muslims. Since the 1980s a new campaign of anti Arab anti Islamic propaganda has been gaining momentum. Then after 9/11 it got that catalyst that has catapulted anti Islamism to new heights. Now it's not just movies, magazines editors, writers, academics and failed politicians have found that demonizing Islam and Muslims to be the ace card they need for fame and fortune. Much of what is said is full of misinformation, inaccuracies and sometimes blatant lies, but in a society made fearful for its safety and identity. That is of little importance. It's only important to rally passionately around what we determine as us against this (again) Orwellian orgy of hated and fear.
So now there are expression and terms which are hated and feared whithout a clear understanding of what they mean. Terms like sharia, jihad, khilafa etc..
So now people are scared of me(not so much me because i don't satisfy the look of the classic evil Muslim ). People are scared of my sister when the call her a fucking terrorist at a shopping center or my wife who got told to fuck off with her bomb somewhere else as she walked by a bus stop. This happens everyday to thousands of Muslim around the west because of this sustained islamophobia campaign. Fueled again by Hollywood movies. I apologise to Russians if i caused you offense. I promise to visit Russia at some point, after i visit Iran of course.
