Gaza: What Can You Expect?

April 26, 2008 – 12:05 pm

As it stands, Jimmy Carter’s meeting with Hamas has so far done little to improve the continuous calamity that is Gaza.

Just today, we are getting news of a fourteen-year-old child losing her life after a typically heavy-handed Israeli raid erupted in violence. Israel is showing the Gazans who’s boss. Vote for Hamas? Pay the price.

And yet, who was it exactly that the Gazans were supposed to vote for? Previous attempts at establishing a measure of good government have failed spectacularly. If you feel that your very existence is under siege, who do you turn to? That’s right, the guys with the guns.

I have no love lost for Islamic hard-liners. However, when I look at Israel’s policies toward this region, it seems to me that at this point, it’s as if no one is even searching for an actual solution. Gaza is troublesome and unstable, and who wants to deal with that? Why not just bleed it dry? Demoralize it to the point of it fading away?

The horrors of European anti-Semitism have paved the way for a series of new horrors elsewhere. Read More »

By Natalia Antonova | Posted in current affairs, palestine | Comments (0)

Re-education and Incentivisation: The New Counter-Terrorism

April 22, 2008 – 11:33 am

In a major effort to defeat extremism, Saudi Arabia is re-educating more than 40,000 Muslim clerics in an attempt to both amend and modernise their interpretation of Islam.

Such non-militaristic strategies aimed at decreasing the potential for terrorism are of vital importance and can have enormously positive repercussions: Saudi Arabia is moderating its religious heads with a real hope that the rest of the devout population will follow. These kinds of models must be used in other nations as well in order to reinforce existing counter-terrorism strategies.

Social policies implemented to prevent terrorism from its core provide the only long-term solution to curb its threat. In an article published by the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Dr Andrew Silke, UN adviser and Director of Terrorism Studies at the University of East London, writes: “A remaining critical concern is that the current [UK] legislation is very poor in offering terrorists and their supporters a way out of extremism. There is no system to encourage terrorists to leave.”

Although it is vital that terrorists are stopped and brought to justice, there must also be rewards for their change in behaviour (assuming there is proof that they have denounced their past beliefs and actions).

Dr Silke adds: “Psychology has long known that it is much easier to change behaviour with rewards than with punishment. The UK though shows no sign of introducing a carrot to accompany the many sticks in its legislative approach, and this omission may yet prove costly.” Dr Silke mentions “Penititi Laws”, introduced in Italy in the 1980s, that cut prison sentences and granted early release for rehabilitated terrorists. This helped eradicate terrorism in the country.

By showing a criminal that he can benefit from both denouncing violent fundamentalism and from becoming more socially accepted, we have eliminated his reason to fight. But, meeting a criminal’s violence solely with state punishment only increases the offender’s rage and sense of social alienation, as well as his group’s perceived injustice. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in current affairs, islam, religion, terrorism | Comments (0)

The Mistake Carter Didn’t Make: Why America and Israel Should Listen to Jimmy

April 18, 2008 – 5:50 pm

It’s a sad commentary on international affairs and an insult to the human mind when the terrorism scapegoat is continuously allowed to negate important issues.

The Pope should issue a global fatwa banning newspapers and policymakers around the world from engaging in this infantile, overused discussion of “but what about the terrorists.”

Perhaps then the American citizenry can read about Jimmy Carter man-hugging Hamas official Nasser Shaer with enough neutrality to form an informed opinion.

Carter paid tribute to Arafat by laying a wreath on his grave, before meeting Hamas officials in Egypt after Israel denied him access to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Undeterred, Carter said he would meet with exiled Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal in Syria on Friday. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in current affairs, palestine | Comments (4)

Business News: Angel Investing in the Middle East

April 17, 2008 – 8:04 am

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - On May 4th and 5th of this year, the Arab Business Angels Network will host an entrepreneurs/investors workshop and matchmaking event at the Dubai International Financial Center.

The event is being described as a chance to explore both entrepreneurship strategies and opportunities with up-and-coming businesses in the region, with speakers ranging from Anthony Clarke of GLE Growth Capital to Michael Blakey of Avonmore Developments Ltd. A key part of the happening will involve the actual entrepreneur pitches.

Angel investing is a relatively new phenomenon in the Middle East, and it will be fascinating to see whether or not the concept takes off.

Certainly Dubai, with its present position as the financial capital of the region, appears to be the prime location for such an event.

By Feature Writer | Posted in business world, dubai | Comments (0)

The Arab 100: Politics Is Bad For Business

April 14, 2008 – 3:11 pm

One of the most common criticisms of the annual World’s Most Influential Arabs List is how deliberately apolitical and therefore unhelpful the exercise is.

It’s an assessment that goes to the root of modern critiques of capitalism: the idea that money is power and if you don’t have it, you don’t matter. However, I need to point out that ranking political capital in the Arab world is not particularly inspiring or exciting, if the news are to be believed.

When I was studying in the United States, I noticed that many people who criticized capitalism did not have a concrete alternative to offer, unless “let’s live in a commune, grow our own potatoes, and go to the bathroom in a hole in the ground” counts as an alternative. In the Arab world, by contrast, critics of capitalism are too ready to jump in bed with religious fundamentalists.

Suddenly, an outhouse sounds more and more appealing. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in business world, muslim women | Comments (0)

The Christian Belief in a Nutshell

April 12, 2008 – 11:23 am

The first installment of Grahame Belton’s Christianity series can be found here.

I’ve argued that the apostle Paul’s gospel was not his own invention, but that everything he taught was “according to the scriptures”. Everything he taught could be found in the Hebrew prophecies.

The gospel that Paul preached was precisely the same as the other apostles preached. After his conversion he went away into Arabia and had no contact with the other Apostles. When he came back to Jerusalem he discovered that the gospel that he preached was precisely the same as that which the other Apostles were preaching and so he was welcomed into their number. But what was it that Paul preached?

The text tells us: “… how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

The central theme of the gospel is seen in Paul’s words. Remove the foundational truths of the death and resurrection of Christ and the whole fabric of the Christian belief falls.

It says that first of all he died. Jesus’ death occurred exactly as the scriptures had predicted. “They shall look on him whom they pierced”–The quotation is from Zechariah 12:10; direct from the Hebrew. The choice of the words employed both by the prophet and the Evangelist for “piercing” matches exactly what happened to Christ on the cross. The word in Zechariah means to thrust through with spear, javelin, sword, or any such weapon. And where they nailed him to the cross can also be found in Psalm 22 where we read, “They pierced my hands and my feet.” The word there used for pierced is one signifying to bore as with an awl or hammer. In fact if you read the whole of Psalm 22 you will see a vivid description of the crucifixion of Christ, and it can also be seen written in the prophesy of Isaiah in chapter 53.

When the so called Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, there was much of the Hebrew scriptures found there which actually dated to the time of Christ or 100 years before him. There is a complete scroll of Isaiah as well, and when compared to those copies of which we have today, which are dated to around 900 AD they were to be found identical, with just a few grammatical variations. The entire prophesy was entact. So we have, as did the apostle Paul, a reliable source from which to take our teaching of the gospel.

Now, why did Christ die and why do Christians believe in his death? Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in christianity, religion | Comments (0)

The Radical Notion That Parents Are People

April 9, 2008 – 10:17 am

When my mother was young she was taught that, until she married, she should defer to her father in all important decisions. “Your elders know best” - was what she was told (this was usually followed up with a “and when you’re married, your husband will know best,” but I will not get into that right now).

Today, many people are busy lamenting the breakdown of such traditions. They exist on many levels of my native society, but there is also the fear that they will disintegrate. Alarmists paint a typically dystopian scenario: “elders” no longer exist and society is in shambles. Five-year-olds are snorting crushed Viagra pills, and houses of worship have been converted to seedy “massage parlors.”

I would like to take a critical look at traditional relationships between parents and children without falling victim to reactionary rhetoric that has little in common with reality.

Now, it is true that parents usually want what’s best for their child. However, do parents always know what’s best? If you have been around the block a few times, you know what the answer is.

Parents are people, and people make mistakes. This has been true since the beginning of time, and it will be true in any age and any culture.

When I was younger, my father was convinced that I needed to study engineering or medicine for the sake of having a stable career. It did not matter that I had absolutely no talents when it came to either one of these esteemed fields of study.

I shudder to think as to how miserably I would have failed if I didn’t stand up for myself at a crucial moment, and rejected my father’s well-meaning advice.

Am I a bad daughter?

Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in parenting, society | Comments (0)

The Exploitation of Sufiah Yousof

April 5, 2008 – 3:57 pm

I was looking at Al Arabiya recently, when I came across an article on child prodigy turned sex-worker, Sufiah Yousof.

Now, I am well aware of the fact that prostitution is frowned upon in all major religions, but the wording of this story, and many of the comments following it, struck me as cheap and exploitative. Let’s weep crocodile tears for Sufiah Yousof while enjoying the furtive thrill of seeing a good girl from a Muslim family go bad! What could possibly be wrong with that?

It’s easy to reduce Ms. Yousof to a two-dimensional caricature, but I suspect that her story is as complicated as any story of lived experience. Of course, a nuanced portrayal most likely means that you do not get to make a buck and/or a self-righteous fuss over the matter at hand.

Allowing people to make choices means that, every once in a while, they will do things that go against one’s ideology, perhaps even against one’s spirit. This is why people everywhere (not just in the Muslim world) are so fond of making examples out of women who stray from the fold. Women have long been regarded as property in many societies, and, in many cases, have been taught to regard themselves, their daughters, and sisters as property as well. And who wants “damaged goods”? Right?

In many ways, Sufiah’s story reminds me of the story of Britney Spears, another “good girl” gone “bad.” I am old enough to remember the days when Britney’s much-publicized virginity was the stuff of hotly-traded soundbytes and teasing magazine spreads. We just love to watch those good girls come tumbling off their public pedestals, do we not? Read More »

By Natalia Antonova | Posted in current affairs, islam, muslim women, religion | Comments (37)

Motorcycle Diaries Part XIII

April 3, 2008 – 12:22 pm

This article was originally published in Jordan’s Living Well magazine.

If anyone could deduce anything from the previous Uglification articles (exposing and denouncing the stranglehold that the treacherous cult of Wahabism has tightened around the neck of Islam today), it is the conclusion that such an organized destructive movement could not have been empowered to hijack one of the world’s greatest religions and cultures – with the unprecedented financial power that this movement wields – except through a conscious conspiracy of collusion by the West to resuscitate and permanently sustain such a sect of madmen by installing them to be the official guardians of this awfully disfigured and intentionally falsified religion.

Those who went further in reading between the lines may have grasped the crucial role the Zionist movement played in justifying the barbarity of Israel, through its powerful grip on the world media, by fortifying the message that the victims of Zionism are nothing more than an irrational breed of suicidal savages who loathe every manifestation of culture, from music and architecture, down to children’s kites. In other words, the obvious fact which I may have shied away from blurting out more openly is the unmistakable existence of the “C” word, the great, but nowadays automatically discredited, conspiracy theory.

Yet, a conspiracy is not always directly implemented and constantly monitored by its creators. The conspiracy I’m talking about here is not as one imagines the word, i.e., a group of evil men sitting down in secret in a dark room to dictate the next move of the Wahabists. No, that would be a little paranoid (although on many occasions when an urgent fatwa was needed, this was exactly what happened, such as the custom-tailored fatwa in 1990 that American forces can be relied upon to wage war against fellow Muslims in Iraq).

In the annals of the ongoing Wahabist conspiracy, the wheels have been set in motion a long time ago. While they may continue to be oiled every now and then as the exigencies of empire require, external intervention can be kept to a clandestine, undetected minimum. Today, the backwardness of this Islamist scourge has assumed a life of its own. I’ll give you a live example. Read More »

By Zaid Nabulsi | Posted in religion | Comments (1)

Real Love and Real Life

April 1, 2008 – 12:35 pm

The author would like her readers to know that this piece underwent an editing process by ArabComment.

Finding love isn’t easy in our day of age. It seems to be everywhere, and nowhere, all at once.

People have abused the term in every way; you almost never know if it’s ‘love love’ or just plain old ‘love.’ Is your fifth grade crush considered love? Most people would disagree, but who are we to define it for you?

I’ve heard people swear that they ‘fell’ at the first sight of their beloved. Others report that they joined the lovers’ club through arranged marriage. Perhaps these different stories are a sign that love can be found anywhere, regardless of your lifestyle, provided you look hard enough.

Instead of looking, however, we spend a lot of time fantasizing. Every girl, at one point or another, dreams of the one: that super hunk of a guy (who just happens to resemble her favorite movie star), possessing the awesome qualities of kindness and generosity. He will make her happy because he understands her like no other. Most girls will tell you that money doesn’t matter, love is what counts. Yet, as we mature, demands will become more practical.

A woman wants to be loved and cared for. And yet, why do women often make bad decisions when it comes to relationships? Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in romance, society | Comments (5)