The trivialization of Islam

Throughout most of my adult life i have watched Islam being trivialized by none other than its most devout followers.
I have heard speeches and preachers going on and on about:
- entering the bathroom with your right foot or left foot.
- sleeping on your left side or on your right side.
- eating with which hand.
- what prayer to say when you get into the elevator
- what prayer to say when you get into any other mode of transportation
other topics of widespread interest are:
- what to name your pet
- whether you can pray with your nail polish on or not
- whether you can put make-up on when fasting or not
- whether men can wear a golden wedding band or a silver one
- whether deodorant should be equated to perfume or not

do i need to go on?

More and more of those trivial issues get international coverage, coz well Islam is a buzz word these days, it sells!

The sad thing is that there's so much more to religion than this. Why waste your breath talking about those things when you could be talking about more important things. Things that will truly make a difference to people. Things that are also in Islam, values like hard work, seeking perfection in what you do, honestly, treating others.
Or other amazing things like formulating a whole system of inheritance in just 3 lines, the brilliance of the language use in the Koran, the examples of democracy, forgiveness, tolerance and acceptance to other people, feminism and family values.

It's like reading a brilliant piece of literature and spending your time evaluating the font it's been written in. Or eating the most delicious meal and focusing on the decoration on the plate. Or listening to the best orchestra playing and focusing on their looks.

How do we expect people to respect us or our religion if the only things we focus on are things which mean nothing and add no value?
And how can we be that misguided and disillusioned to think that these issues are our calling, and are what God would have wanted us to spend our time on?

Where have peoples' common sense gone?

The Writers Guild Strike

I have been seeing the news about this for a while now but haven't really paid attention to it. This all changed when i realized that my favorite shows are all stopping at Episode 9 and coming on every other week, and we're soon going to be stuck with re-runs!


I watch all my shows illegally. If there was a way i would do it legally i would. I love TV and i would pay a lot to get NBC, WB and ABC on my TV or computer. But that's simply not possible. I tried signing up for sites where you pay, but they're only for US residents. I tried streaming them online, but that too is only for US residents. So i am stuck streaming from illegal sites. And watching their re-runs a year later when they're aired here.
I feel bad, but if i were an artist (like those actors, writers, producers etc) and i had a fan that simply cannot purchase my product - it's not feasible - i wouldn't mind if they watched it for free. Because they can never buy it anywayz.

The Internet offers great opportunity for networks to increase their sales, and reach much broader audiences around the globe. And they get paid, now by advertisers and hopefully it will one day be available for people outside the US in a legal way.

Now that i checked what the strike is actually about, i am appalled at how badly the writers are being treated. They get paid 4 cents per DVD sold, 4 CENTS! so in the words of the writers of Grey's Anatomy "Seriously? Seriously... i mean seriously!!"
And for all the Internet content they get paid,,,, nothing, zero, zilch, nada!
The show without writers does not go on!
Of the ridiculous amounts those shows make - enough to pay actors up to 1 million dollars per episode - couldn't they at the very least keep the core of the business happy? It's not like they don't deserve it..
And for them to go on a national strike for this long, with so many people backing them, things must be very shitty for them,,,

So for the love of god people, pay those writers, and give us our shows back..
and friggin charge ME! i would pay a good deal of money if i got to stream my shows online right after they air in the US.... And i know a good number of people who would do the same. It costs them nothing - no tapes, production etc, they just stick em online and i'll happily pay them for it.

But for now, this sucks for me, and sucks ass for those writers.

hmm interesting

other than smashing my glasses into pieces minutes before i got on the plane this trip, i had something else happen to me.
in the course we were asked to present ourselves and say who we were, what we did, and what we did when we're not at work i.e. hobbies and interests.
that third question just left me speechless.
what do i do when i am not at work?
what hobbies do i have?
sleep? play scrabble almost once a week? go out and sit in cafes? facebook?
shit yaani!
everyone had something to say - ice hockey (yes they were a bunch of swedes), jogging, playing with their kids,,and i had nothing..

so i am on a quest for a hobby. i tried singing in a choir but it was boring. so what do i do? i am unathletic as can be, i am too old to learn an instrument, and no i won't learn to cook - fuck that...
i think i can safely blame AIESEC for not giving me enough time to develop a hobby when i was in college.. but you know i pretended AIESEC was my hobby.
but now AIESEC is over
and i must find a hobby!

count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place

This is what i tell myself when i read yet another article about the Saudi rape victim who got punished for getting raped.

Because if i don't this happens:

I would like to raise a motion for us to swap this "let's wipe israel out of the map" campaign, and turn it into "let's wipe Saudi Arabia out of the map".... followers? anyone?

Or let's list down every Saudi Royal and hunt down each of their mothers, daughters, sisters and wives and put them in a dark room with a bunch of the perveted sexually suppressed egyptian men roaming the streets of cairo and see what happens.

Or better yet, let's just put all those royals in a room with me and a nicely sharpened ready-to-slice knife and see what happens.

See, i told you i would do this....

Ok remember, count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place
count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place
count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place
count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place
count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place
count to 10, breathe, think happy thoughts, go to happy place

Un-Egyo-Ness

So summer of 2008 i want to visit the US, which has been the plan for a while now.
My un-egyptian-ness is that i have started planning from now. Getting advice, planning basic itinerary, plane ticket, cities i will visit, sorting out accommodation and friends' travel plans, you know the basics.
In 2 months time i will start researching the exact places i want to visit before i move on to putting together the daily plan for my vacation; say around april.

Every person i have met finds it absurd that i am doing this. And finds it even more absurd that i am starting this 7 months in advance.

a somewhat promising development

"Egyptian court convicts 2 police officers for torturing a bus driver
Pair jailed for three years
Case came to light after a video of the abuse was posted on the Internet"

CNN Article

While this is no indicator of any consistent effort to eliminate, minimize or even reduce torture in Egypt; this isolated event is still promising.
It's a positive step taken by the judicial court and it's a testament to Egyptian Bloggers and their ability to make a difference.

The Egyptian blogger who posted the horrendous video was featured in this week's Edition of CNN's Inside the Middle East.
So to all the cynics who think one person cannot do anything, that blogger has just made history.

cursed

for trying to be a perfectionist in a place that stretches its arms to welcome mediocrity like a long lost child