Compromise and Tolerance: Are they Words in Islam?

Perhaps the devout Muslim who toes the line has nothing to fear, but woe to all those who culturally decide to stray. Not content with letting Allah be the judge, religious police and ‘Virtue vs. Vice’ commitees are hellbent on punishing blasphemers, government anarchists and plain old hooligans, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a commoner or a celebrity figure.  Just ask Aliaa Magdy, Adel Imam or Al-Haqed.

With a career that spans decades and hundreds of films, TV programs and theatre pieces under his belt, comedian Adel Imam is a bonafied star in Egypt. It seemed every channel I clicked on whilst in Egypt was showing a program featuring him; even the Arabic TV channel here in NYC recently showed his film roughly titled “Take Care of Your Neighbors.” But just recently, Adel Imam was sentenced to several months of jailtime for insulting Islam, proving that even movie stars are not above the cultural police. While blasphemy is punishable in most (all?) Muslim countries, what’s unique about Imam’s case is that the 71 yr-old actor himself didn’t speak ill of Islam: it was the characters he portrayed in films many years ago which were condemned for their immorality.

Say what??

Adel Imam in the film Morgan Ahmed Morgan

Clearly, Egyptian judges are not willing to show tolerance for differences, nor do they have a sense of humor. A film, even a silly comedy, is not just simply a ‘film,’ but it doesn’t mean that by showing a character drinking or doing something “unIslamic” that the film director is promoting vice or encouraging people to be unIslamic. And it certainly isn’t the actors fault, nor do the words he speaks/way he behaves in the film reflect his own personal opinions, although it could be argued that a truly good Muslim would not want to portray someone who was immoral. Clearly, freedom of speech doesn’t even extend to fiction when it comes to ‘insulting Islam.’

Another famous figurehead who recently got in trouble with the law was Moroccan rapper Al-Haqed, whose name ironically means “The Enraged One.” After rapping his contempt for the police on one of his songs, the rapper was sentenced to a year in jail. “You are paid to protect the citizens, not to steal their money,” resonates in much of the Middle East (and, lets face it, most of the developping world), where police take bribes to look the other way. Granted, Al-Haqed could be viewed as promoting anarchy against the state, but the Moroccan court would rather silence it’s opposers and continue tolerating corruption and oppression rather than tolerate the idea of a more pure (and a more Islamic!) Morocco.

Al-Haqed, image sourced from his website l7a9ed.com

Remember Aliaa Magda al-Mahdy, the young Egyptian activist who posted a nude photo of herself online to protest the lack of freedom of speech in her country? Lest one think that receiving death threats and being socially shunned weren’t enough to make her feel pain, legal action was formally started in the aftermath of her exposure back in November by a group of Coalition of Islamic law graduates, accusing her of “violating morals, inciting indecency and insulting Islam.” (If anyone knows more information on the legal procedings or Aliaa’s current situation, please add your comment to the bottom of this article!) Nevermind the fact that Aliaa is a self-proclaimed Atheist and therefore Islamic law shouldn’t apply to her. Forget the honorable act of pardoning, or forgiving, one for their sins: instead of letting Allah weigh on Aliaa’s deeds in the afterlife, Egyptian society would prefer to take matters into their own hands and play the role of God.

In short, tolerance seems to be in short supply in the Middle East, which is somewhat ironic when one considers that, for many years-decades, even-Arabs ‘tolerated’ intensely corrupt governments and leaders without nary a complain. Of course, that could be because-cue Al-Haqed’s case-it is against the law to criticize the state, but herein lies the paradox: government and religion must be obeyed, no compromises made, but individuality will not be tolerated. These three legal situations, two involving celebrity figures, remind us of the T.S. Lawrence quote that I cited in my last blog post on Saudi Arabia, inwhich Lawrence insists (I’m paraphrasing) that Arabs are “all about black and white extremes, no grey areas.” Indeed, grey areas are glossed over: certainly the fact that Adel Imam, whose fictional character he portrayed went against Islamic thought, would be a grey area in the terms of shariah law. By eliminating the grey areas in life, shariah law effectively denounces compromise between the difficult, touchy areas in life which are not easily explained.

Man should not tolerate corrupt governments, theives, murderers or people who actively set out to physically harm others. Man should, however, tolerate individuality and personal choice, as long as those choices don’t hurt others. Freedom of speech and opinion, even if it differs from a strict interpretation of Islam, shoudl be allowed. With Saudi Arabia probably being the one exception (and even there, there exist Christian expats and the much-detested Shiite sect of Islam), most countries of the world are very diverse and therefore compromises must be made so that all people are happy and accepted by the majority. The words compromise and tolerance do exist in Arabic (حل وسط for compromise,  تسامح for tolerance), so let’s see these words and concepts exercised!

S-L-M

Links:

1. http://bikyamasr.com/48732/legal-action-against-egypt-nude-activist/ 

2. http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/01/opinion/egypt-convicted-actor-adel-imam-khalil/index.html?hpt=imi_mid

3. http://insidethemiddleeast.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/13/moroccan-rapper-jailed-for-song-insulting-police/

The ‘What-ifs?’ of the Middle East

There are a lot of ‘what-ifs’ bouncing around the Middle East at the moment: speculation and hypothesis are rampant, but even these are subject to constant change and modification. Witness Syria, which renegged on it’s ‘peace plan:’ civilians continue to die each day. Or consider the Muslim Brotherhood, which has officially thrown it’s hat into the presidential election ring after consistent hem-hawing. News giant CNN has even jumped onto the speculation bandwagon, with articles on ‘Why American’s Should Care About Syria’ (which delved into the possible consequences of both pro-action and inaction in Syria) and ‘What if Israel Bombed Iran?’ which starts with,

 ”Imagine that you wake up tomorrow morning and discover that during the night. Israeli planes had conducted a bombing raid on Iran. How would your world have changed?”

 In honor of the sort of vague wave of speculation and uncertainty that has rooted itself in the present climate of the Middle East (replacing that wild wave of rioting and violence, although rioting and violence are obviously still continuing in certain countries), let’s take a look at some wild-card, vague what-if possibilities, because, as Kate Capshaw so cheesily reminds us in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, anything goes!

“Anything Goes” from Indiana Jones

The negative what-ifs

> What if Salafis overtook the Egyptian government?

Egypt’s Military rulers have pretty much made sure that this won’t ever happen, since they recently disqualified several promising presidential candidates from both the Salafist and Muslim Brotherhood parties. A strong Islamic rule over Egypt thus seems unlikely in the near future, but anything goes in Egypt, where protests seem to ignite every other day and people (a.k.a. the Military government and the police) keep pulling a fast one on the general public. However, if, perchance, this did happen, or a Muslim Brotherhood candidate decided to run less moderately than his party has been appearing to be as of late, the results would be possibly disastrous for Egypt, at least on an international level. Would tourism go back to pre-revolution times, if strict dress was required and Egypt’s clubs and beach resorts disappeared?

 >What if oil disappeared from Saudi Arabia/Middle East?

Ok, so this one isn’t happening relatively soon, but it’s worth throwing it out there anyway. Saudia Arabia itself is not the heyday country of endless public spending that it used to be, back when the oil was first discovered. In some of these countries, oil is the only thing keeping them afloat in the global economy. Take away the oil, and what do they have? Weak economies that don’t even produce food, let alone exports; unskilled (and, in the case of Saudi Arabia, unwilling) workers; and a lack of any other resources. Some of the Arab countries don’t even have natural water supplies, which makes the situation even more precarious. If the despotic and new-regime governments have the people’s (and their own) interests at heart, they should start boosting other sectors of the economy (once the rioting subsides).

>What if Iran bombed Israel?
CNN’s article discusses the possible outcomes of Israel bombing Iran. But what about if Iran somehow managed to bomb Israel? Would there be full-out retaliation (providing that Israel’s weapons weren’t hit?) The USA, in either scenario, would likely get involved-how could they not, seeing as supposed nuclear weapons are at stake and Israel is so closely tied with our government?-but this scenario, out of all the rest, would affect the world the most. Oil prices would probably go up, the Middle East would probably explode (with celebrating? with shame?) into even greater turmoil, and Iran would certainly become even more of a pariah than it already is.
>What if Bashar Al-Assad doesn’t step down?

This is the biggest question of all, and is being asked on a daily basis by the international community. It doesn’t seem likely that the USA/NATO will intervene. The United Nations probably won’t, either; after all, it’s been over a year now and al-Assad is still hanging in there. It seems unlikely that the Syrians will cave in, but a good fact to point out is that, unlike in Libya, where the rebels were strongly against Gaddhafi loyalists, there doesn’t seem to be a huge split between pro-Assad citizens and the protesting body.

…..And now the positive ‘what-ifs’
 
>What if women were granted equal rights?

Would men lose rights? Would children suffer as their mother’s joined the workforce, gained hobbies, spent less time at home? Would houses go uncleaned and fester, would food go uncooked, would families break down and split apart? Would men have more sex, or less? Would society’s morals scatter to the wind? Would immorality reign? Would women become more competitive and self-absorbed? Would Islam be insulted? Would Middle Eastern society, in effect, cease to exist? No, no, no and, oh, no! There really are only positive benefits to this eternal ‘what-if.’

 
>What if Israel gave Palestinian’s the right to govern themselves and withdrew?

 At the moment, this seems highly unlikely, given that France’s Le Monde reported that both countries are at an extreme impasse and unwilling to even talk. What with the constant hunger strikes and international media attention, Palestine on any level seems an impossibility. But if Israel did experience a coup de coeur and decide to give freedom to it’s Palestinian brothers, I could only hope that the Middle East would rejoice, and that Muslims and Christians could live side by side as they did in the past (kinda seems impossible in today’s climate, but if it was possible then, it’s possible now!)
 
>What if Ahmadinejad was no longer president of Iran?

I don’t think it’s a stretch that if the Iranian government was replaced, that Iran would probably embrace freedom and reopen it’s doors to the rest of the world. Is it solely Ahmadinejad that embodies what was started by Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution? Of course not, but it seems that the Iranian government rallies around a central figure to dominate. If revolution did occur in Iran, I believe it would be better organized and a lot more peaceful than the other Arab Spring Revolutions, because the Iranians are proud of their heritage, their religion, and culture and I believe that in the aftermath of such a revolution, that they would quickly unite to form a new, stable government.

All of these what-ifs are important questions. Are my speculations

realistic or not?

Who knows? When it  comes to the Middle East au moment, anything

goes!

S-L-M

Divorce, that Luxury Alternative to Honor Violence or Misery

Marriage can be a difficult decision to make. The decision to divorce is even tougher, even in today’s society, where celebrities divorce after 55 hours (see Britney Spear’s first marriage) or after 72 days (see Kim Kardashian’s arguable publicity stunt of a marriage). In the Western world we’re lucky to have the right to decide to marry whoever we want, and to divorce for whatever reason (although I must ask, why is the divorce process such a lengthy procedure?) In the Middle East marriage is often a more formal, family-oriented affair; divorce, while legal in Islam, is a frowned-upon affair that usually rests solely on the husband’s whim.

Yet even the Middle East shows signs of the Western world’s penchant for making spur-of-the-moment decisions, as is evidenced by the recent divorcing of a Saudi man’s wife over a mall loudspeaker. Bikya Masr reported on a Saudi man who, after seeing his wife accept another man’s telephone number while out shopping in the mall, got on the mall’s loudspeaker system to tell his wife he was divorcing her.

Public humility? Check. Deciding to throw away a sacred vow because of one silly incident? Check. Like many American marriages that are built more on lust than love, it would seem safe to say that this Saudi marriage was built on a foundation of distrust and not love; after all, even if you’re angry, you don’t jump on the mall loudspeaker to tell the whole world that you’re breaking up with the mother of your children. The actions of this Saudi husband are abhorrent, and they highlight a strange sort of contradiction where men are to be accorded the highest honor, particularly in a marriage, and yet this husband decided to publicly air his dirty private laundry.

The preferred method some Middle Eastern men (or the families) take when dealing with misbehaving wives would be honor killings, or honor violence; after all, why let the wife (who was most likely abused or mistreated) go free and have the choice to make a new life? Throwing a troublesome woman into the Nile is a much preferable option, as was the case for one Egyptian woman who was recently tossed into the Nile River to die by her own family after she refused to remarry her abusive, much-older ex-husband.

Honor violence is one of the many tragedies women face in the Middle East, but what makes it perhaps the most despicable tragedy of all is that it is not simply a sexist matter, nor is it a private matter between a couple. Many times honor violence is approved (and even encouraged) by a victim’s mother or other female relative (though I believe sister’s might not be so keen on having their siblings battered, as they can empathize too easily). Countless honor killings are preformed not just by the spurned or cuckolded husband but by fathers, brothers, uncles. It is incomprehensible that a mother could condone the killing of her own daughter; that a grandmother would accept the treatment of her granddaughter as a punching bag.

Sourced from muslimwomennews.com, an excellent and intriguing website.

Divorce is legal even under strict Islamic shariah law; therefore, it should not be as stigmatized and frowned upon as it is. If a man is technically allowed to have several wives under Islamic law, why can’t a wife who is just one of many wives and who is more or less ignored be able to decide on divorcing her husband without risking a violent retaliation, or social suicide? Why does she have to give up her kids in order to be free?

Coinciding with the recent Nile-drowning attempt (the young woman lived), Egyptian Parliament Member Mohammed EL-Omda has decided to push legislation that would overturn the approved circa-2000 bill that granted Egyptian women their right to file for divorce. This shocking bit of news is troublesome for Egyptian women and Middle Eastern women in general; after all, Egypt was traditionally seen as a model country among it’s neighbors. And while the as-of-late ‘moderate’ Muslim Brotherhood is going strong at the moment, the majority of power (excluding the SCAF) is in the hands of people religious enough to call themselves Islamists: in these times of stress and uncertainty in Egypt, who’s to say that confidence-lacking Egyptian men might not pull a Taliban and decide to do away with womens rights, starting with women’s right to divorce, in order to boost their confidence and create an illusion of “security and stability?”

In the West, divorce is difficult because one party may still love the other one, or has been emotionally hurt. In the Middle East, divorce is difficult purely because of a sense of honor, a sense of property and a sense of familial propriety which is hopelessly outmoded. Either way, it’s not a pretty situation, and there is no need to make a difficult decision worse by purposely punishing one of the parties involved.

To conclude with a passage from the Qu’ran, Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow):

And when you divorce women and they have [nearly] fulfilled their term, either retain them according to acceptable terms or release them according to acceptable terms, and do not keep them, intending harm, to transgress [against them]. And whoever does …

S-L-M

Links:

1. http://bikyamasr.com/63265/egypt-mp-calls-for-end-to-womens-right-to-divorce/

2.http://bikyamasr.com/64198/woman-thrown-into-egypts-nile-over-divorce-highlights-honor-violence/

3.  http://bikyamasr.com/63386/saudi-man-divorces-wife-over-loudspeaker-at-mall/

Church: Not Coming to a City Near You

A reader on Bikaya Masr said it best: “Why Islam is afraid that if other religions are allowed, people will find the true religion an leave Islam? I think so, Islam has no self confidence in itself.” The reader was referring to the Saudi Grand Mufti’s declaration that all churches should be destroyed or, at the very least, new churches should not be built in the Arab world.

It would certainly seem that the Islamists-or, more specifically, those who are in ‘charge’ of the religion and region-have little confidence in their religion, despite  the fact that Islam is the dominant religion across the Middle East, and quite possibly the world, given that it’s as far-flung as Indonesia and Malaysia nowadays. Putting down someone else and ill-treating them is often a sign of personal low-self esteem; think of the traditional schoolyard bully, who mercilessly teases his classmates just to feel better about himself. But again, one asks: why are the Islamists feeling down about themselves? Or are their actions simply the result of fear? And if so, what do they fear?

The Bikaya Masr article discussed how the tiny kingdom of Kuwait was considering following the Grand Mufti’s orders, and would ban the construction of new churches. In one fell swoop, the Kuwaiti government denied personal freedom to worship in public; denied diversity and denied a pluralistic society, thereby ensuring more of an homogenization of Kuwaiti society.

A Christian Catholic Church in Kuwait. Sourced from dipity.com

Does it make Muslims more comfortable to live in a country where everyone is Muslim? The religious leaders feel that way, out of both self-esteem and fear that opposition could lead to rioting, or at the very least to questions. After all, an impressionable young Muslim Arab who sees her Christian counterparts living a more free life might start to challenge her religion. But what about the actual citizens of these countries, the citizens of Kuwait, or those in Egypt and Beirut with sizable Christian populations? Do they really want to live in a society where everyone is the same, where differences don’t exist?

Egypt, despite it’s ‘humanitarian crisis’ (really, who can ever forgive the SCAF for shooting the very citizens it’s meant to protect?) has actually extended the olive branch of peace to it’s Coptic Christian citizens in light of the death of Pope Shenouda, who was leader of the Coptic Christian Church for four decades. Bikaya Masr reported that tomorrow, Tuesday the 20th, will be a general “day of mourning” for the deceased pope. This is very encouraging, especially in light of what the Grand Mufti decreed, as it deems the death of this prolific Christian leader as important enough to register on the country’s calendar.

However, all Egyptian Muslims might not be as keen on a pluralistic state. One Muslim I met expressed that he would be concerned about living in a country such as the United States where the population is mixed: he would much rather prefer to live in a predominantly Muslim country, where the people all shared his religion, language and traditions. And the Grand Mufti of Egypt (they seem to all of the same agenda of intolerance, don’t they?) recently said at a youth symposium that Egypt should be a “Muslim state” like Iran or Afghanistan, and that Shia Muslims should not be allowed. Forget Christians-apparently, not even fellow Muslims are good enough for the Grand Mufti!

Living in a country which promotes one way of thinking and one way of living is not healthy, especially in today’s world where we are all hopelessly intertwined. The less exposed you are to other cultures and other ways of thinking, the more narrow-minded one will be; the more fear will instantly root itself in the heart. The Grand Muftis of the Middle East ought to re-read the Koran (which never mentioned destroying churches) and stop harassing the Christians. After all, the only way one becomes better is through competition!

S-L-M

Links.

1. “Christians Angry As Saudi Grand Mufti Calls for Churches to Be Destroyed,” http://bikyamasr.com/62210/christians-angry-as-saudi-grand-mufti-calls-for-churches-to-be-destroyed/

2. “Egypt to Have General Mourning Tuesday for Coptic Pope,” http://bikyamasr.com/62661/egypt-to-have-general-mourning-tuesday-for-coptic-pope/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=WordSocial

3. “Egypt’s Grand Mufti Criticized on State at Youth Symposium,” http://bikyamasr.com/54695/egypts-grand-mufti-criticized-on-stage-at-youth-symposium/

True Lust, not True Love, is behind Orfi Marriages

Valentines Day may be over, but true love lasts more than a day: “forever” seems to be the fairy-tale measurement, at any rate. Per the story book, true love is sealed by a marriage: a commitment that in the past used to actually last a lifetime. And while marriage is certainly more often than not a permanent situation for most couples in the Middle East, there are an alarming number of marriages that end up just as short as a Hollywood celebritie’s Las Vegas wedding. The cause behind these extremely (as in a few hours at times!) short marriages is none other than true love’s just as passionate but much more spontaneous sibling, true lust, whom Muslims are finding harder to suppress despite their conservative cultures.

One way to know when the marriage is real: you have a ceremony, and tout le monde is invited!

“Faux-marriages” are a common practice for those in Egypt who want to be able to legally “be intimate” with someone who is not a spouse. Known as “orfi marriages” these allow couples to live together without being harassed by their landlords (as I found out, non-married couples cannot rent a flat or even a hotel room in Egypt; proof of marriage is required). While the logic behind the orfi marriages seems sound (from a liberal Westerner’s point of view) the underlying problem is that most of the time the woman (more often than not a foreigner) is not told that the marriage actually has no legal standing with the Egyptian government or any foreign government. Basically put, the orfi marriage is designed so that a man can have sex with the female of his choice and leave her when he’s finished, no strings attached.

A recent article on a French-language Tunisian website (see below for link) shed more light onto fake marriages in the Middle East, albeit in a completely different manner. In Tunisia, the practice of orfi marriages exists the same as in Egypt, but with several twists. Firstly, both parties know that the marriage is not binding nor long-lasting; secondly, both parties are usually Muslim (and sometimes of the more penitent type); and thirdly, it has not only become socially acceptable, but fundamentalist Salafis actually support le mariage coutumier.

The article on lustful Tunisians shocked me, mostly for it’s hypocrisy. Although I once again understand the logic behind two young people who want to have sexual relations but can’t because they are not married nor can be married, the fact that both the man and the woman are usually Muslim was kind of hard to grasp, since unlike in the case of the Egyptian marriages both parties knew that was they were doing was “wrong” and in some cases the girls were the religious type who were veiled! Religion is complicated, but I don’t really see how one could consider herself so “close to God” that she must hide her body from men, but yet she willingly submits to a non-blessed marriage (the article called these marriages ‘halal’ but I think not) just because she wants to have sex? Oh, the hypocrisy?

The hypocrisy of course extended to the fact that the extreme fundamentalist Salafi group actually encourages couples to engage in orfi marriages. This statement was not expounded upon, which I greatly would have appreciated, as it seemed to jar with everything that Salafis stand for along with the other commentary that the article provided, such as the fact that orfi marriage is still illegal under law. The article did point to the fact that many of the orfi participants are young, poor and relish the ability to enjoy an aspect of marriage “sans pour autant en supporter la charge financière, généralement très lourde.”

The “charge financiere,” or financial burden, points to a very interesting comparaison between the evolution of a Christianity and Islam. The Christian bible also states that sexual relatons should only be between a husband and wife, yet there are plenty of people nowadays who call themselves Christian but who engage in premarital sex, among other previously “forbidden” practices. Orfi marriage in the Muslim world suggests that some Muslims are challenging the rules that are suggested in the Qu’ran like their Christian counterparts before them. Orfi marriages suggest that even Islam, often seen as a stalwart and stubborn bulkhead to modernity, adaptation and change, is not completely immune to our rapidly changing world. Marriages cost money, and not everyone has money in these harsh economic times. Thus, even those who believe strongly in God have thought realistically and come to the conclusion that they don’t want to end up as the 40-year old virgin.

Will custom be overtaken by personal desire, lust and opinion in Tunisia? The citizens of this tiny country have already proved themselves as trendsetters of the Middle East (hello, Sidi Bouzi and the Arab Spring!) so let’s see if they can start a more cultural, liberal revolution.

S-L-M

Links:

1. “Tunisie – Le sexe hors mariage, désormais « halal » grâce au mariage « coutumier »” by Synda Tajine. 27 January 2012.  http://www.businessnews.com.tn/Tunisie—Le-sexe-hors-mariage,-d%C3%A9sormais-%C2%AB-halal-%C2%BB-gr%C3%A2ce-au-mariage-%C2%AB-coutumier-%C2%BB,520,28998,3

2. Photo copyright:  weddings.divanee.com

A “Code Red” in Egypt

Due to internet problems, I have not been online in almost a week. Today is my last day in Egypt; I will return home tommorow. So much has happened in Egypt that it is hard to know where to begin.

Because I am now pressed for time, I would like to share with you a bulletin about what has been going on in the streets of Egypt, along with links to interesting articles concerning the matter.

One of the Lions that Gaurd the Oct. 6 bridge. Can Egypt rise up again like the lion, and resume it's pride and dignity?

• Top officials barred from Traveling Port Said, a large city on the Mediterranean, was the scene of more than 70 deaths as violence broke out at a football match. Fans stormed the field, attacking the players and then each other. While watching the coverage on TV a million questions ran through my head: what possessed them to attack the players? What possessed other spectators to join in the melee? And furthermore, why didn’t the police try to control the scene? Footage shows them just idly standing, not even trying to stop the rioting. The scene was, to quote my husband, “like crazed animals being released from a cage:” men were just running across the field, not for any purpose such as to run for safety or even to join in the fight; they just ran as though they were at a track meet, or, as an American friend who was over at the time for dinner said, “As though it was their dream to run across the soccer pitch.” Since then, massive protests have erupted throughout Egypt, leading to only more deaths, and top officials in Port Said have been banned from traveling out of the country as they face inquiries as to how this tragedy could have happened. There is talk of conspiracy on the terms of the government/police/military, but from what I can see, it was just a bunch of people rioting for no good reason.
• Fire in Cairo Stadium On February 1st, a fire broke out in Cairo Stadium during a football match (Zamalek vs. Ahly) after officials learned of the fighting in Port Said. Although this article states that the fire was due to a “circuit failure,” videos (youtube) showed hooligans setting off fireworks and running around along the track that surrounds the field. Cairo Stadium is just minutes away from my flat in Nasr City, and I watched the news coverage on TV with utter horror because, yet again, the police on hand seemed to do nothing to control the scene and, furthermore, the acts of the fans were just unbelievable. Fireworks are dangerous and should only be used in a controlled setting. Using them in a public place such as a stadium is poor judgement, and once again, people were both killed or injured in the incident. Personally, for everyone’s safety, I feel that fireworks should not be bought by the public! (This is one NY state rule that I agree with!)
• Gunmen rob HSCB in New Cairo This article includes the link to the video that was shot of the masked gunmen robbing the bank; what I’m curious about is, who filmed the robbery? Some bloke was just looking out the window with his camera and spotted the incident, or was he in on it? What’s disturbing about this incident is that it was one of several robberies throughout Egypt in the past week; similar robberies were also held in the resort town of Sharm al-Shiekh, where two European tourists were killed by Bedouin gunmen.
• Americans Kidnapped by Bedouins 2 Female American tourists were kidnapped for ransom by a Bedouin tribe, according to this article not for money but for the release of political prisoners. I do believe that they have since been released, but seriously: if Egyptians ever want a single tourist (tourism is a vital part of the Egyptian economy) to come back to Egypt, they need to rethink all of this protest and violence. Kidnapping is a surefire way for your country to be on the “Travel advisory” that the TSA puts out; even I, as a ardent traveler with a love for adventure, would not attempt to go to a country on this list!

The result of this week of terror? People have done what they do best here in Egypt: taken to the streets in their anger and frustration. Violence begets violence: more people are dead as a result of the protests. But shouldn’t mourners, those who lost a loved one in these events, be at home, grieving, and not stampeding the streets? Part of me believes that the robberies-for there were many more than the two that I just mentioned-were more than coincidence; after all, nothing like this has happened in the whole past year since the revolution, and now we have all this mayhem in just a week’s time.  I don’t want to believe that the stadium tragedies were the SCAF’s/police’s fault, because it would just show more gross error on their part and surely they would be smart enough (one would hope, but then again, in the past they have proved wrong) to realize that instigating these tragedies would only make the public hate them more. Part of the blame surely rests in the bloody hands of the average Egyptian who participated in the Port Said riots, or the mayhem at Cairo Stadium, and that means, sadly, that they only have themselves to blame.

As this will most likely be my last post on Egyptian soil, I would like to give a bit of parting advice to the Egyptian people, specifically those who feel the need to roam the streets, protest and cause mayhem:

Be cool. Calm down. Ask yourself what you really want, and how it may be achieved. Go to a masjid and pray for hope, pray for an answer. The Koran itself  does not condone violence just for the sake of violence. Roaming the streets, throwing smoke bombs and attacking each other will not solve your problems nor your conscience. Your country was a magnificent center of civilization; let’s restore it to it’s former glory, so that all Egyptians can be proud to call themselves Egyptians. Inchallah, I will be back to Egypt many times over the course of my life, and I hope to find it in good hands.

S-L-M

Tahrir Square January 25 2012: A Year After

“To celebrate or to protest” seemed to be the question on people’s minds as they gather today, January 25th, in Tahrir Square to mark the 1-year anniversary of the Egyptian revolution and overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.  While some people find cause for celebration, others find reasons to be angry, as they accuse the military of not giving in to all their demands. As of now, 1 PM Cairo time, the protest has been peaceful, but I, like I’m sure many non-activist Egyptians, am holding my breath in wariness.

I drove through Tahrir Square on Sunday, 22 January after my husband’s visa interview at the American embassy (they approved him! To which I can only say, thank you God). It should be noted that the line of Egyptians waiting for an appointment for general visas snaked all the way down the avenue, which only proves that Egyptians are wary of their country’s future. Many of them, my husband said, were Copts, although I’m not sure how he could discern that just by looking at them.

Unlike the last time I saw Tahrir Square, back in July 2011, there was activity this time, and by activity I mean protesters. On one of the center circles of the square (surrounded by traffic) protesters had erected red tents and had gathered. It wasn’t crowded, but I was kind of happy to be in the car and not walking on the street. Apparently an activist was stabbed to death right outside  the justice building that day (see link below), which explained why there were several journalists gearing up in front of their cameras as people gathered to watch.

A man preparing food; after all, even Tahrir Square protesters need to eat.

Another man appearing to prepare food, which kills the stereotype that Arab men can’t cook for themselves (his “Boys Don’t Cry” shirt is amusing, I think).

Not sure what this tent was for., but there appears to be someone’s leg and boot coming out of the door. Perhaps it’s a bathroom? If only I could read the sign.

I love this photo. It was taken, of course, as we drove along in the car, and it appears as though the man on the moped is about to drive straight at us! Here you can see a series of Egyptian flags that were staked in the ground, as well as the Cairo Tower ever so faintly in the background. Red, black and white (Egyptian flag colors) were everywhere, as were people selling Jan 25 tchotchke memorabilia and little food stalls.

There is a lot to be said about the 25 January Revolution. In the year since it happened, frustrations have run high, more people have been killed, honor and respect have been replaced with animalistic barbarism and, overall, not much in the way of change has occurred. For me, personally, the Revolution meant having my husband’s visa case delayed, which is not something that I take lightly. The Revolution meant not being able to go outside in Egypt because my husband feels that it is “unsafe.” Had the Revolution not happened, I possibly might be in Egypt to stay, but it is impossible for me to live in a country that at any moment could spark into intense unrest.

Although I disagreed with the methods of both sides of the Revolution, it is here to stay. Whether the demands of the protesters are fully met within a week, month, year or many years, the people will have to deal with what they created. After all, this was the greatest example of a people’s choice, a people’s work, and a people’s unity. Egyptians need to stand unified, forget their differences, let go of the past while still honoring those who died for the Revolution, and charge ahead for democracy.

S-L-M

Links:

1. Bikaya Masr: “Egyptian Activist Stabbed to Death in Cairo”  by Mohammad Abdel Salam, Jan 22., 2012 http://bikyamasr.com/54604/egyptian-activist-stabbed-to-death-in-cairo/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=WordSocial

2. A very interesting wordpress.com site regarding the author’s personal take on the Revolution: http://legalrizk.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/january-25-revolution-a-year-in-review/#comment-3

Rubbish, It’s just Rubbish!

A few days ago, I was in our flat (big surprise; I never get out much in Egypt) when I saw billowing white smoke wafting through the air through the balcony doors. I went onto the balcony (I just love having one,; you get to spy on people without them knowing it) and saw that, along one of the low walls of the “courtyard” someone had lit a pile of rubbish on fire.

Really, I just sighed when I saw this. If I wanted to be cruel, I could easily call Egypt one big “rubbish dump,” to use the British term for ‘garbage’ which they also use here. Cairo is littered with litter: even on the poshest street corners say, in Zamalek near the American Embassy, one will find garbage strewn across the ground. For someone who loves nature as well as beauty and cleanliness (my mother might laugh at that one, but dirtiness does give me the heebee-jeebees!) the site of all this rubbish just makes me scream.

The Egyptians, it appears, don’t care. If they did, they wouldn’t litter in the first place. Litter is just an accessory to Cairo’s, er, great sandy boulevards and weathered, eroding sidewalks and dusty evergreen plants. Whilst sitting on my balcony, I’ve seen rubbish fly by me; usually scraps of paper or cigarette ash, but there also happens to be a black belt and a dirty sock hanging in the tree which stands eye-level with my balcony. On the ground, I can spot a lone hanger, Chipsy’s bright-coloured bags, styrofoam delivery cartons and of course cigarette boxes.

Whenever I lecture my husband and his friends on this, they just laugh. My husband has no qualms about tossing rubbish out the car window onto the street, and neither does anyone else I’ve met. On occasion, I’ve taken the empty Pepsi cans and put them in my purse to throw away in our garbage at home. I don’t see why anyone would want to live in rubbish; after all, they do have garbage collectors here, it’s not like they don’t! I suppose the many alley cats enjoy the rubbish heaps as do the pigeons, but overall, the lack of care over  the environment is pretty sad and non-existant here in Egypt.

Speaking of a lack of environmental concern, fireworks are also legal in Egypt. And although it was kind of nice one day last summer when people set them off in the courtyard, they pose a severe threat in a city that is parched and, well, a desert! They are also not cool when you can’t see them, as was the case the other night. I heard a series of huge booms, and when I stepped onto the balcony I noticed the sound of everyone clinging shut their doors. Perturbed, I went back inside, only to realize that a smell of rotting eggs-sulfur-had filled the apartment. I seriously thought that a bomb had gone off, or at the very least some type of nerve gas, which was only compounded with my fear that one, I don’t have a cellphone to call my husband, who was out and two, I started to have difficulty breathing. Later, I found out that they were only fireworks, but seriously, in Egypt you never know if it’s going to be fireworks, fire or just a burning pile of rubbish!

Note: Although the environment and safety issues in Egypt disturb me at times, I still find the country a beautiful, intriguing place and I am not trying to insult anyone with this post!

S-L-M

Supermarket Treats in Egypt

Food in Egypt is intriguing. Although I have food phobias, I also have a strange obsession with reading about food, or looking at food: as a child, while reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House books, my favorite parts were reading about the food they ate and how they made it (people don’t make their own butter nowadays, that’s for sure!) And when I bought new things for my doll house, it was always the exquisitely-crafted tiny turkeys and cakes. So, although i may not enjoy eating it, I enjoy reading and looking at it and now…writing about it.

One of the tastiest treats in Egypt has got to be Todo. Todo is like the Hostess brand of Egypt: they make all sorts of sweet little snacks just waiting for my sweet tooth to devour. I encountered Todo during my first trip to Egypt, but when we went to the supermarket last week it was the first time I saw the Todo cream-filled cupcakes. Of course, I had to get them!

Below is an example of the more traditional Todo, a little chocolate-covered chocolate cake with a layer of chocolate icing. Perhaps French bakeries would sniff at my Todo obsession–Hostess certainly isn’t gourmet–but Todo is a very good dessert, in my opinion.

Continuing on the sweet-tooth craze, my husband picked these treats up from the market one day after work. The Tempo was like a less-sweet version of the Oreo; the HoHo’s were, well, like Hostess Hoho’s (or maybe they look more like Yodels?) Either way, both were tasty, and an interesting fact is that the packaging on both was in French. Not a word of Arabic in sight!

Froot Loops aren’t an Egyptian brand (although I did try the Egyptian version, Temmy’s, which features a crocodile on the box, and they sorely lacked sugar of any nature) but they are one of the few American cereal brands I’ve encountered in the Egyptian supermarket. It’s also funny to see the box, which I’ve been familiar with since childhood, appear in Arabic.

No trip to the supermarket (in Egypt, I’ve gone to both the giant department-store Spinney’s at the CityStars Mall as well as Metro Market, which has a huge candy section and CinnaBon pop-up shop, as well as most recently Omar’s Supermarket) is complete without President cheese. But what I want to know is: is it Egyptian, or French? My aunt brought over President cheese for Christmas Dinner, which makes me want to assume that it is French. But apparently it’s very popular in Egypt too.

And what do I make with President cheddar cheese slices? Grilled cheese, of course! My husband had never had a grilled cheese until I made it for him (oh, the horror!) That’s perhaps because sliced bread is unpopular in Egypt and, also, rather expensive (they prefer their pita bread, baked in open-air bakeries). Rich Bake is the common go-to source for sliced bread (and other bread goods) and I find that I like it more than regular American white bread (of course, it has nothing on French baguettes, but c’est la vie).

When people ask me, “Can you find something normal to eat?” in Egypt, the answer is not only “yes, in the cafes” but also “yes, at the supermarket.” Metro Market would look identical to something like King Kullen, if only King Kullen had lime-and-pepper-flavored potato chips. Oh yes. More on that later.

S-L-M

Celebrating my Birthday in Egypt

I have decided to keep a sort of diary about my life in Cairo, where I will be spending the next month. For the sake of letting my subscribers know that I have posted something new, I will add these diary postings to my normal post list, but you can also find them in the page entitled “The Cairo Diary.” It’s kind of nice to do a more informal musing on Arab culture. 

Holidays are meant to be fun. They are meant to be times of joy, when people get together to eat, drink, remember and celebrate with their family and friends. For me, holidays do not have a high success rate; the expectations and hype, I feel, are too high, and I have spent many a holiday for this or that reason in tears. So the idea of spending holidays abroad–and thus away from the people who celebrate the holiday–appeals to me.

To date, I have celebrated most major holidays abroad. I spent Halloween in France (I did nothing) as well as Thanksgiving in France (I probably feasted on my glorious ham-and-cheese baguette, which in my opinion is a far better Thanksgiving feast than turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce). I spent Christmas Eve in the Fiumicino Leonardo Da Vinci airport  and then in a hotel room at the Satellite Hotel outside Rome, eating a disgusting pasta dinner (the mineral water, the only thing to drink besides wine which I didn’t want, was awful) thanks to severe rain, and then Christmas Day trying not to fall asleep in Paris’ Charles De Gaulle Airport, with nothing but Pringles and a Pepsi and an endless game of Solitaire. I spent Memorial Day (don’t remember) and the Fourth of July in Cairo, the latter sitting in an American school in sweltering hot heat, where no one seemed to realize that it was July 4th despite being an “American” school.

This was all in 2011. Most recently, I spent New Years Eve/Day in Barcelona, Spain, with my twin sister and university friends as I recently reported. And now I can report that I have spent my birthday abroad here in Cairo, the first birthday I celebrated without my twin (!) or my cousin, who also shares the same day.

Although it was strange to celebrate my birthday without them, it was the first time I really celebrated it as “my day,” which I will never view it as. I spent the day fuming in our flat because there was no internet (again!), then went over with my husband to his parent’s flat where his family, including his older sister and her adorable children, had prepared a small celebration. They lit the chocolate and creme cake twice (as I requested; it’s a tradition in my family) and sang “Happy Birthday” to me, first in English and then in Arabic. We also had a plain cake which his mother had made, which was delicious. I played with the children and declared that I was turning 5 years old, not 23.

Afterward, my husband and I walked around Cairo’s huge CityStars Mall (5+ levels and more awing than any Long Island mall) with his friend before returning home. We were supposed to go to the Cairo Tower yesterday for dinner, but as of yet this hasn’t materialized. Despite the lack of  an “excitement” factor, I had a very lovely birthday with his family and hope that this year continues on it’s upward trend. Our visa interview is coming up in two days, and if I don’t get on here before then, please wish us luck!

S-L-M