Wait! It's not the Eid yet!!!

Another (rather repeated) mistake has been done Monday night by the Saudi (religious) authorities, by announcing Tuesday as the first day of Eid ul-Fitr, which comes at the end of the Lunar month of the Ramadan, and the beginning of Shawwal, the tenth month in the Islamic lunar calendar. 

The scientific resourses, indicated clearly that it was impossible to see the new moon on Monday 29 September 2008 (29 Ramadan 1429AH) simply because it was born right around sunset time, and it would also be difficult to see it on 30 September because the crescent would be so close to the sun, except in the southern hemisphere. But i have no idea how the Saudis (followed by eight other Arab countries) announced that the new moon "was seen", and that Tuesday is the first day of the Eid. 

I have to agree with the Shiites this time, since some of them announced Wednesday 1 October as the first day of the Eid; and Sistani's followers decided that Thursday would be the first day; why, because there is no Eid if there is no crescent; and it is not simply because the Saudi fluff said so!

I know what they want! They want a nation that cannot, or doesn't want to think!

They want us to be "the sheikh's sheeps", or the "Sayyid's sheeps" on the other side of the ally; but it was God who gave us brains, not them!

Misusing Religion

Thanks to Al-Arabiya website, I got the chance to check out some of the latest cartoons published in Arabic newspapers. 

Two of those cartoons really drew my attention, and made me think of today’s topic. 

The first discussed the (still) developing story about Lebanese singer Suzanne Tameem who was murdered about three months ago in Dubai. Now, of course, there is nothing comic about a brutal murder, but the artist found the “comedy” in the news that an Egyptian businessman is accused of paying an assassin 2 million US$ to carry out that crime. The cartoon shows two terrorists talking to one another with the one holding the newspaper saying to the other: “And they give us 100 US$ to kill 100 Iraqis?! It is true when they say that the Iraqi blood is cheap!” This was and is correct from the terrorists’ perspective. The damned (and rotting) Zarqawi said clearly that it was “ok” to kill civilian Iraqis if they happen to be “in the way”, thus killing scores of thousands of Iraqis. Muqtada’s (the dirty) gangs also killed hundreds and thousands of Iraqis, and they’re as guilty as Al-Qaeda. Yes, they both, and all, made the Iraqi blood cheap. 

In another “Islamists” related issue, a (fluffy bearded) clergyman from Saudi Arabia, called “Mohammed Al-Munjid”, was talking on one of the many Arab satellite channels that have religious programs in Ramadan, and he mentioned that the children of our nation have become addicted to “idolizing” Mickey Mouse, whereas the mice and rats are nothing but harmful creatures, and that “they must be killed wherever they were found”, and “Mickey Mouse is no exception”! Here is the link to translated version of this video.

This made an Arab cartoonist present this drawing of “extremist” Cartoon figures carrying out this Fatwa by “beheading” Mickey Mouse!

In my 30 years of life, out of which there are about 20 years of knowledge, I have never found someone who claims to be a “man of knowledge” in religion, or in any field, who cannot really differentiate what is real (a real mouse) and what is imaginary (Mickey Mouse)! If this is “knowledge” then please don’t tell me about ignorance, or let’s say stupidity.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry, comes and fluffs his beard, and we, or other Muslims in our part of the World or elsewhere pay the price. The price may differ from one case of dealing with a fluffy nutcase to the other, but the price that really hurts is that they made this great and most honorable religion a laughingstock for Westerners, and they (the fluffy beards) have verily been the worst possible “Ambassadors” of this religion!

Give me a bearded (or not bearded) Muslim who doesn’t use the word Nasibi (bad word Shiite fundamentalists use to call Sunnis), or Rafidhi (bad word Sunni fundamentalists use to call Shiites); who doesn't judge people prejudicely; someone who knows how to smile and speak kindly to people; someone whose morals follow the kindness and mercy of Prophet Mohammed, and that would be the real ambassador of Islam; certainly not some guy who thinks that killing (innocent) people isn’t enough, so he wants to have a cartoons hit list!!!

Down Memory Lane: 1998: Asala Nasri (I Complain to You)

This was a song that i used to listen to around 1998, ten years ago, and i still like it very much until this day.

Here is the link to its audio (Real Player) version.

BBC News Article: Saudi judge condemns 'immoral TV'

The most senior judge in Saudi Arabia has said it is permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV channels which broadcast immoral programmes.

Sheikh Salih Ibn al-Luhaydan said some "evil" entertainment programmes aired by the channels promoted debauchery.

Dozens of satellite television channels broadcast across the Middle East, where they are watched by millions of Arabs every day.

The judge made the comments on a state radio programme.

He was speaking in response to a listener who asked his opinion on the airing of programmes featuring scantily-dressed women during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"There is no doubt that these programmes are a great evil, and the owners of these channels are as guilty as those who watch them," said the sheikh.

"It is legitimate to kill those who call for corruption if their evil can not be stopped by other penalties."

Royal dilemma

Given his position as the country's most senior judge, the sheikh's views can not be easily dismissed, says BBC Arab affairs analyst, Magdi Abdelhadi.

Clerics like Sheikh al-Luhaydan represent a huge dilemma for the Saudi royal family, our correspondent adds.

On the one hand, Saudi rulers need their support to claim that they rule in the name of Islam.

But on the other hand, fighting militant Islam can be difficult when the country's top judge calls for the beheading of those he views as immoral broadcasters.

3rd Earthquake Hits S Iraq, No Casualties Reported

A third earthquake had hit S Iraq pre-dawn Sunday 7 Sep. 2008, measuring 4.2.

The epicenter of this latest earthquake was only 20 kms N of Amara, the capital of Misan Province.

It was also 135 kms ESE of Kut, also 295 kms ESE of Baghdad.

No casualties or damage were reported although this is the closest earthquake to residential areas.

Hands off Iraq!

Each time the Holy month of Ramadan begins, TV stations in the Arab World enter a very crazy race that includes brand-new soap operas and shows which are almost impossible to track due to their close or even simultaneous times. To make a long story short, it is the 6th day of Ramadan, but i missed the major soap operas, namely "Abu Jaafar Al-Mansour", "Asmahan" & the light hearted "Beini wa Beinak" (=Between You & Me).

 

However, as i was zapping through the channels, an intro of a soap opera stopped me, unlike any other!

 

The channel was (Oscar Drama), and the series name was "Qalb Al-Dounia" (=Heart of the World). Why did it stop me this way?! Well, there were some American Hummers and tanks, along with heavily edited footage from Iraq. Well, here is something interesting to watch now, is it not?!

 

I honestly swear to God that i really couldn't continue watch for more than 5 minutes. Yes, 5 minutes were more than enough to make me extremely disgusted! Disgusted to see such a good cast of Egyptian actors and actresses whom i adored once, but definitely not anymore.

 

One may wonder here: Why the big fuss?

Well, i am going to quote an Egyptian website here ( www.filfan.com ) in describing this thing they call "series about Iraq". It says here that Ehab Fahmi, plays the character of Malik, an Iraqi "mujahid" from Falluja who starts a resistance group against the US occupation.

 

Now that all seems nice... On paper!

 

On the screen, it superbly sucked!

 

First, the actors were all talking in Egyptian slang, but that's not a problem!

 

Secondly, the actors were not wearing Iraqi clothes. Even their yashmak camouflage wasn't convincing.

 

Thirdly, the houses didn't look anything like Iraqi houses. In all of the Iraqi center and south, and in many cases in the Iraqi north; an Iraqi house is not a house unless it had a garden, no matter how small it was. The Egyptian workers who came to Iraq in the 1980s used to say to Iraqis that they should be proud for their houses are "villas"!

 

Fourthly, Not all the Tom, Dick and Harry of the "Iraqi Resistance" were taken to the notorious Abu Ghraib Prison. It just happens to be the most famous one. There are, just for the information of non-Iraqi wannabe-Iraqis, many prisons &/or US camps, such as: Boca, Crooper, Justice, Victory; just to name a few. Not all of them have witnessed horrific acts as Abu Ghraib, although acts there could have been different and less known.

 

This, among many other notes, made the series totally not convincing for me as an Iraqi viewer. I mean, seriously, this series really sucked mainly because it was written totally without knowing the Iraqi perspective. This, in addition to many other lines in the story that are even more silly to the extent i can't even begin to mention here, is nothing but a new crime against the Iraqi people, just as similar as the US, terrorism and militia crimes! Why not, since it's also done by people who have no idea what is Iraq and what's it about!

 

The writer, Ahmed Abu Baker, wrote this series of his probably while he was sitting on the golden coasts of Sharm El-Sheikh or Marina, with air conditioning on and all that he wants at hand; and neither he nor the actors have tasted the bitter experience of living under the terrible conditions of Iraq, where there is no electricity and the temperature is about 50 C / 122 F!

 

As for the actors and actresses Tayseer Fahmi, Ula Ghanim, Tamir Hagras, Rania Farid Shawqi, Izzet Abu Auf, Sameer Sabri, Nada Bassiouni, Mona Abdul-Ghani..... I say to them: I am terribly sorry for i spent a jolly good part of my lifetime as a fan of yours... You guys are not worth it anymore!

 

Oh, and... We say to you the same we say to Occupiers, Terrorists and Militia:- Hands off Iraq!

2nd Earthquake in a Week's time shakes S Iraq

USGS reported again that a 5.3 earthquake had hit the Iraq-Iran border region; the 2nd in a week. The earthquake which took place Wed. - Thu. night at 01:43 Iraq time had an epicenter almost the same place of the earlier earthquake's epicenter (28 Aug., measuring 5.7). It hit almost the same time of day as well. 

The epicenter of 4 Sep. Earthquake was only 68 kms NNE of Amara, 143 kms E of Kut, and 293 kms ESE of Baghdad. 

Aswat Al-Iraq (Voices of Iraq) News Agency reported that the Earthquake strength was measured as 4.9 according to the Basra Seismological Center. The Agency also mentioned that no damage other than some broken glass was worth mentioning. It is also clear that there were no casualties because of the Earthquake. 

Waiting for "Viola"...

Those who know me well enough know that i like cats very much. I am what you'd call a Cat Person. In fact, one of my first photos walking as i was a 2 year-old was that of me running after a big fluffy cat. Cats and i, therefore, share a historical relation, as ultra-Nationalists around this neck of the wood may put it.

I had a cat at our house all along my life, except for 3 months before the 2003 War, and then this tradition was restored. Unfortunately, there is a cut in this tradition when i am in Sulaimaniya. Over there, there are very few cats, perhaps because there are no gardens, or maybe because it's a mountainous city, but the latter reason may not be right because Amman has more mountains, and there are many cats there. 

Anyhow, there was a cat that used to visit the residence where i live in Sulaimaniya, and friends mentioned that she used to come pretty often (while i was in Baghdad). I have seen her a couple of times and was able to snap a photo or two of her. I kept hoping that she could be somehow domesticated one way or another, but i admit failing at this. I even tried "Wara psheela" which is the Kurdish for "Here kitty" a couple of times, but it didn't work. 

However, i have given her a name which is "Viola", which is from one of Shakespeare's plays. 

This time, while i am in Sulaimaniya, i didn't see Viola, but i was told about her route, and i put a piece of cheese right on her passage, hoping that she would come and grab a bite over there. She hasn't come as of yet, and i keep waiting and waiting for that psheela to show up. 

I hope that waiting for Viola would not be something like Waiting for Godot !