November 22, 2007 – 12:58 am
”A riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma” – these are a few words that Churchill used to describe the many faces of that continent of a country called Russia. That riddle has always, always made me curious. The tickle became an itch that soon turned into an obsession to know more and experience what Russia has to offer.
I just had to pack and explore that massively huge country spanning half of the globe, encompassing hundreds of ethnicities, religions, and languages. A country that pioneered the space age and made great leaps in medicine and other fields of science, while its still-existing shamans practice their own medicine. A place that has historically believed itself as the successor to the great Byzantine Empire and eastern orthodox Christianity yet has a Muslim minority of about 20 million strong, not to mention Jews, Buddhists, Pagans, and Animists. A nation that contributed to the human civilization countless works of art, literature and music, science, the spirit of discovery and that colonial drive that put Europe in the lead for the last two centuries of human history. An empire that died and disintegrated then regenerated and reinvented itself over and over again. Who could resist? Not I. Read More »
October 22, 2007 – 12:27 pm
In Ukraine, the concept of central heating takes on a very different meaning than what I am used to. Getting the heating turned on once the weather becomes nippy is not a simple matter of heading towards the thermostat or radiator switch. Apparently, the decision to turn on the heating is controlled by some (quite possibly vodka-swilling) jerk sitting in a Soviet-era dungeon; it’s the jerk that gets to decide when you are cold enough to need heating.
Well, perhaps not exactly so, but nevertheless, that’s the picture I got when I realized that virtually all heating is centralized and controlled by a special government commission. I am told this is an old Soviet system that would be disastrously expensive to replace (and if there’s anything Ukraine lacks, besides decent public toilets, it’s money).
The capital, Kiev (some spell it Kyiv – which reflects he Ukrainian pronunciation, but I’ll use the Russian spelling, because I feel like it) is a charming place. The city vistas are littered with beautiful Orthodox churches which closely resemble lightly frosted tea cakes. Walking down Kiev’s centre, one comes across the most exquisite Byzantine architecture, topped by extravagant cupolas in bright colours such as blue, green and gold. Do step back for a moment and put the scene in context, however. The churches, chapels and cathedrals, are more often than not located in the midst of the most squalid of environments.
The breathtaking beauty of the soft arches and seemingly billowing domes contrasts sharply with the bleak horror of the Khrushchev-era apartment buildings. The monstrosities in question stretch on for miles, proud and defiant monuments to an era that, in many ways, refuses to die. Read More »
October 1, 2007 – 12:26 pm
I recently watched a video of one of OJ Simpson’s alleged co-conspirators in a Las Vegas armed robbery holding a Bible and claiming that “I’m a Christian man.” His attorney immediately told him to shut up, which was very good advice. You can claim that his actions were just naive attempts at posturing; however, I see something much more interesting going on.
There’s an indelible link between our ideas of religion and our ideas of justice. More than loving your neighbor, more than forgiveness, more than culture and nationalism, the idea of justice is central to any persistent view of religious thought.
So OJ’s alleged partner in crime wasn’t actually stealing anything. In his mind he was righting a wrong, helping OJ get back his memorabilia that was stolen from him. That is justice, and that’s a religious concept, thus the Bible and his righteous proclamation. Read More »
September 25, 2007 – 12:21 pm
(This article was originally published in Jordan’s Living Well magazine)
“So long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, so long will they be a little people, a silly people. Greedy, barbarous, and cruel…”
The first time I heard the above quote by Peter O’ Toole, playing T. E. Lawrence in the epic film by David Lean, I was outraged at the racist tone in this sweeping denunciation of my people – filmed on my turf, in Wadi Rum, no less. How arrogant, I fumed. You see, I always believed that any generalization of whatever nature is by definition prone to mistake, the larger the subjects under judgment, the less accurate the statement is likely to be.
Indeed, any sentence that begins with “ The Arabs are this…” or “The Africans are that…” is at the outset condemned to fallacy. To think in such terms, although very tempting as a simplification of complex phenomena, is nothing short of a foolish dive into the abyss of falsehood. Not only because these pronouncements of opinion are manifestly racist in nature, and we are not supposed to be racist in this epoch of political correctness, but more so because these opinions are most likely to be plain wrong. To lump a vast group of individuals, with different characters, upbringings, abilities, tastes, minds, environments, etc., and treat them as one unit by affording them uniform descriptions and predicting for them common destinies is an invitation for error. Racism is bad not just because it is immoral, but chiefly because it is based upon gross intellectual dishonesty. Read More »
September 5, 2007 – 12:20 pm
I knew when I was in my teens that I wanted to have kids. I would raise them right, they’d grow up to be productive and moral people, and I would feel proud of having raised perfect children.
When I started having kids in 1988, I read the right books, fed them the right foods, bought them the right toys, always put them in a car-seat and went to church every Sunday. And everything went well. They did well in school, they had friends, and people congratulated me on my well behaved children.
And then, something happened. I’m still not sure what, but something definitely happened. My perfect 1st golden boy decided to go his own way. My perfect second boy knew beyond any doubt that he knew more about stuff than I did. My charming and attractive third boy was diagnosed with ADHD, had to repeat the second grade, and endured several summer school sessions in order to proceed to the next grade. Read More »
August 16, 2007 – 12:19 pm
On August 9th of 1997, a young Haitian immigrant by the name of Abner Louima in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn was brought to a police station after being arrested for his role in a brawl at a popular night club. While he was punched, beaten with a stick, had a plunger brutally inserted into his backside causing severe damage to his colon and bladder, while he agonized in a pool of blood, an officer from the New York Police Department told him: “it’s Giuliani Time.”
Two years later, a West African Muslim immigrant by the name of Amadou Diallo had his turn to experience Giuliani Time. The encounter would be brief, and it would cost him his life. The unarmed man was walking home in his Bronx neighborhood and was approached by the NYPD. When he made a gesture to reach for his wallet the officers fired 41 shots, killing an unarmed, hard-working man with no criminal record in cold blood. This was Giuliani Time in New York, a time when the rules and regulations on the police had been loosened and residents of many African-American, Latino and immigrant neighborhoods lived in fear of mostly white elite units in the department who, under the direction of Giuliani, often cracked down brutally on any perceived threats. Read More »
August 13, 2007 – 12:18 pm
For many young writers, activists, and journalists, the internet has revolutionized communication strategies, especially in countries where most media outlets are state-owned. Middle Eastern people in particular have never had the opportunity to voice their opinions freely, which is precisely why blogging is so attractive.
Its main purpose is interaction. For the very first time, we have a media outlet that we can rely on and lead. It is an exceptional source for alternative news and information. This is why bloggers are also commonly referred to as “citizen journalists,” who not only comment on existing media reports but also play a very big role in creating them. Read More »
August 8, 2007 – 12:17 pm
A smashing Halloween costume usually requires a decent investment. But spreading terror can be cheap – if you’re a female in semi-tight clothing who happens to step into an elevator full of male Saudi adolescents. Read More »
January 5, 2006 – 12:16 pm
The recent events that set La Belle France ablaze are rooted in its colonial past; a past full of shame and mortification. The French, who still hold a remarkable sway over their ex-colonies, are conducting their little secret colonial war in Ivory Coast without a peep from the rest of the West which delights in disciplining and punishing at will anyone who does not toe the line: Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan.
This time, though, the unrest comes from within La Métropole : the immigrant who has been languishing to find the stable strikes back with a vengeance. Although it remains doubtful, his late revolt may force Maman Fouance to take a hard look at herself in the mirror and face up to its anti-Semitic, xenophobic, and racist past and present. Beleaguered and sandwiched between Germany to the East, Great Britain and the US to the West, the country that used to be the envy of the world can hardly breathe today. Read More »
“There are no gay Arabs,” a Saudi friend of mine once said to me over lunch, causing Pepsi to shoot out of my nose.
Now, before I write anything else, I’d have to stress that I like to think myself aware of certain cultural differences that lead to misunderstandings. For example, if any of my high school friends from sunny Charlotte , North Carolina , saw two men from Amman kissing each other on the cheek in greeting, they might instantly decide that some sort of homosexual innuendo has just taken place. Obviously, the Ammanites would have an entirely different view of the situation.
Affectionate behavior between people of the same gender is viewed differently by different eyes. A careful observer needs to have a variety of “eyes” for a variety of occasions. Read More »
