Board games, sports, toys, wooden and clay figurines… similar to other times and cultures, really (before electronic games!). Senet is a simple board game, but one gets the feeling strategy can become quite complex.

Some ancient Greek source (missing reference) mentions Egyptians did not practice competitive sports. Not sure where that comes from – an attitude present in the Delta at a specific time, perhaps?

Some specific info here, here, here and here.

Egypt, is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. It is one of the most populous countries in Africa.

For thousands of years travellers have been coming to Egypt to marvel at the Pyramids, the Sphinx, ancient Luxor and the River Nile. Steeped in history, these monuments to a once great civilisation still capture the imagination of travellers today. However, Egypt is not just about monuments as it has much more to offer the modern traveller.

Most people who think of Egypt think of antiquities, but Egypt offers much more. Certainly it is a prime location to see our great heritage from the ancient world, including Pyramids and wonderful temples, but it is also part of the Holy Land, and tours to Christian and other religious monuments are popular. Yet Egypt also offers nature and desert treks, great scuba diving and even golf, fishing and birding expeditions. One may choose to relax on the wondrous Egypt Red Sea or Sinai coasts, take in the high culture of Cairo, or even leisurely float down the Egyptian Nile on a luxurious river boat.

Egypt receives the least rainfall in the world. South of Cairo, rainfall averages only around 2 to 5 mm per year and at intervals of many years. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as 170 mm all between November and March. Snow falls on Sinais Mountains and some of its middle and coastal cities.

Egyptian culture declined and disappeared nearly two thousand years ago. The last vestiges of the living culture ceased to exist in AD 391 when the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I closed all pagan temples throughout the Roman Empire.

It was not until Napoleons invasion of Egypt in 1798 that the wonderful artefacts of the Egyptians were seen in Europe and their ancient culture began to awaken from its long slumber.

Its economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Europe.

Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians lives, as visitors to the country quickly discover. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment

Today, many aspects of Egypts ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture, itself with roots in ancient Egypt.

Well I was in Cairo for all of about one day when I found out that we were going to the Red Sea for two days on site visits.  While I was still extremely tired, I have to admit I was excited considering the only site visits I’ve been on where with Brian Husting to the glamorous San Manuel Casino. 

One thing that’s great about Egypt is the airports.  Actually I’m betting it’s like this in all Middle Eastern countries, but Israel.  There is little to no security.  I walk through with my belt and shoes on.  The metal detector beeps for everyone but it doesn’t matter.  I guess it helps that they’re not quite as scared as Americans about terrorism. 

We landed in Hurghada and it was such a tourist trap that for a moment I felt like I was transported to Cancun.  To compound the matter, the hotel we were staying at had zero Egyptians and a surplus of Russian Euro-Trash.  Men wore mullets and women strode around wearing barely-there tops incrusted with jewelry.  It was almost comical to the point where it turned around and I could see hipsters dressing like this ironically. 

View from my room of the Hotel and Red Sea

There is definitely an underlying class system in Egypt and a huge divide between the rich and the poor.  When we left the hotel, obnoxiously, the company paid for one driver for each of us.  It was an unnecessary gesture which further distinguishes those with money from those without.  In this country having a car is considered a huge blessing.  To assign two SUVs for two people seems borderline obscene. 

At Marsa Alam, we got to tour the hotel currently under construction.  Again we were lavished with drinks and service and I always felt a little uncomfortable.  The food was great and we got down to some pretty intense meetings about deadlines and contracts.  Thankfully, they spoke English during the meetings and I got a sense of how business as a developer felt like.  After a long day of driving and meetings we got to go home to Cairo in style: private jet!  While it was a bit small, the seats were comfortable and we got home way faster than normal.  Plus, you can smoke to your heart’s content which was awesome for everyone but me.  But I’m getting used to that now. 

Hotel at Marsa Alam

Hopefully I’ll be able to settle in now and become adjusted here in Cairo. 

I acted like I always travel on private jet, so the picture was blurry. Had to play it cool!!!

For more than 2000 years humanity has taken advantage of this unique Lily-plant that delivers seventy-five nutritional components including 20 minerals, 18 amino-acids and 12 vitamins.

These unique nutritional components of Aloe Vera deliver an anti-oxidant boost, aid in gastro-intestinal functionality, and help to improve the absorption of core vitamins and minerals.

Aloe Vera has been found described in writings in many different cultures and as far back as the Greek, Egyptians, and Roman eras. References have also been found in writings from the Indian and Chinese early cultures. Ancient records show that the benefits of Aloe Vera have been known for centuries, with its therapeutic advantages and healing properties surviving for over 4000 years. The earliest record of Aloe Vera is on a Sumerian tablet dating from 2100 BC.

Its antiquity was first discovered in 1862 in an Egyptian papyrus dated 1550 BC.  The Egyptian queens and well known beauties Nefertiti and Cleopatra used it as part of their regular beauty regimes. It is said that Alexander the Great in 333 BC was persuaded by his mentor Aristotle to capture the Island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean for its profound aloe supplies, which were needed to treat his wounded soldiers. Antique Greek and Roman doctors Dioskorides and Galenos recommended aloe vera to their patients. Egyptians used aloe juice to embalm their dead.

Every USAloe product developed is, and will be, based on the most-used supplement in human history, Aloe Vera.

One of the worst kept secrets in the United States is the increasing threat coming from homegrown terrorists.  They are the most dangerous since they live and work among us.  However, in the name of political correctness the issue has been swept under the rug since to discuss it requires discussion of the source.  Sadly, the media spends more time on Tiger Woods’ marital problems.

With increasing acts of homegrown terrorism exposed weekly, the issue can no longer be ignored and recent activities are telling.

Five American Terrorists Detained in Pakistan

Last week five young Americans were detained in eastern Pakistan after they contacted al Qaeda and the Taliban.  The five include two Pakistani-Americans, two Ethiopian-Americans and one Egyptian-American.  So much for their diversity: now for the similarities.  All are Northern Virginia students in their 20’s and all are of the Islamic faith.

As reported by Pakistani authorities, the men admitted they went to Pakistan with the intention of joining Jihad and stated that they felt it the duty of all Muslims to wage Jihad against those killing Muslims; i.e. American solders.

Chicago-American Involved in Mumbai Massacre

Also announced last week, an American living in Chicago traveled to India and Pakistan to videotape targets and brief terrorists in preparation of their assault in Mumbai, India last year that resulted in the deaths of 166 people.  David Hedley, a 49-year-old son of a Pakistani diplomat and socialite American mother, was not only involved in the Mumbai massacre, but also planned an assault on the Danish newspaper that published cartoons Muslims found offensive.

Somali-American Extremists

A month ago the FBI charged eight people with recruiting Somali-Americans to join an Islamist extremist group in Somalia.

Afghan-American Extremist

In September, airport shuttle driver Najibullah Zazi was charged in an al Qaeda plot to bomb US targets.  Zazi is an Afghan national with a green card living in the United States.

Fort Hood Massacre

The worst terrorist act carried out in the United States since 9/11 was the Fort Hood massacre perpetrated by Major Nidal Malik Hassan.  13 US solders were killed and 30 wounded in this premeditated attack.  Hassan’s radicalization into extreme Islam played a role in the massacre, but politicians try to sweep such discussions under the covers in the name of political correctness.  The same phobia resulted in the military allowing this avoidable massacre to occur.

If It Quacks Like a Duck it is Not a Bubble Bee

Seeing the pattern here?  Only one blinded by political correctness or extreme leftist philosophies would not.

This Blog has quoted Chinese General Sun Tzu about the importance of knowing ones “enemies and know yourself”.  OK, we seem to have the first part started.  The enemy is defined: a virulent form of Islam that is accepted by a small percentage of the total Islamic community.  However, its tentacles go far beyond the minority and it is evident that a growing number of young Muslims living in the United States and elsewhere are attracted to its Jihadist message.

When considering the reasons behind the radicalization of Islam and its terrorism we can no longer take an “Alice in Wonderland” perspective.  It grows because it is achieving the desired goal; it is working.  Each time an act of terrorism occurs, the Dr. Phil’s in the State Department, Western Europe and the leftist press, seek to understand reasons, i.e. justifications, for the group’s disenfranchisement.  That dog won’t hunt any more!

While our law enforcement and military must take aggressive action, they can only be a piece of the successful effort.  This Jihadist movement will continue to grow unless the larger Muslim communities in the United States and elsewhere stop offering even tacit support for the gangsters.  But, before we can expect these Muslim communities to act, democracies worldwide must stop making excuses for evil.  World leaders, including our President, must publically call our “friends”, the Saudi’s, the Egyptians, and others on the anti-western and anti-Semitic propaganda they promote in their schools and press.

For decades the West employed a head-in-the-sand approach with radical Islam that played a role in creating the ugly Genie.  It will take a long and concerted effort to put it back in the bottle and this must start with clarity.  While George W. Bush made errors, his clarity on the issue of terrorism will be required to win this battle.  As President Bush said in 2001, “You’re either with us or against us in the fight against terror.”  He was spot on!

ALGERIA-ALGERIA VS EGYPT-ALGERIAN FOOTBALL-ARAB TRIKA-WORLD CUP-ALGERIAN RAP-ALGERIAN MUSIC-CHEB TARIK-ALGERIAN FOOTBALL-ALGERIAN HISTORY-ALGERIE EGYPTE-ALGERIAN FOOTBALL SONGS ALGERIA-ALGERIA VS EGYPT-ALGERIAN FOOTBALL-ARAB TRIKA-WORLD CUP-ALGERIAN RAP-ALGERIAN MUSIC-CHEB TARIK-ALGERI…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdsrr811g8M&hl=en

Thanks To : aberdeenshireblog ahomeblog Silberdream Primers http://www.idiskhost.com

Before the glory that was Greece and Rome, even before the first cities of Mesopotamia or temples along the Nile, there lived in the Lower Danube Valley and the Balkan foothills people who were ahead of their time in art, technology and long-distance trade.

For 1,500 years, starting earlier than 5000 B.C., they farmed and built sizable towns, a few with as many as 2,000 dwellings. They mastered large-scale copper smelting, the new technology of the age.

Their graves held an impressive array of exquisite headdresses and necklaces and, in one cemetery, the earliest major assemblage of gold artifacts to be found anywhere in the world.

The striking designs of their pottery speak of the refinement of the culture’s visual language. Until recent discoveries, the most intriguing artifacts were the ubiquitous terracotta “goddess” figurines, originally interpreted as evidence of the spiritual and political power of women in society.

New research, archaeologists and historians say, has broadened understanding of this long overlooked culture, which seemed to have approached the threshold of “civilization” status. Writing had yet to be invented, and so no one knows what the people called themselves. To some scholars, the people and the region are simply Old Europe.

The little-known culture is being rescued from obscurity in an exhibition, “The Lost World of Old Europe: the Danube Valley, 5000-3500 B.C.,” which opened last month at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University. More than 250 artifacts from museums in Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania are on display for the first time in the United States. The show will run through April 25.

At its peak, around 4500 B.C., said David W. Anthony, the exhibition’s guest curator, “Old Europe was among the most sophisticated and technologically advanced places in the world” and was developing “many of the political, technological and ideological signs of civilization.”

Dr. Anthony is a professor of anthropology at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., and author of “The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World.” Historians suggest that the arrival in southeastern Europe of people from the steppes may have contributed to the collapse of the Old Europe culture by 3500 B.C.

At the exhibition preview, Roger S. Bagnall, director of the institute, confessed that until now “a great many archaeologists had not heard of these Old Europe cultures.” Admiring the colorful ceramics, Dr. Bagnall, a specialist in Egyptian archaeology, remarked that at the time “Egyptians were certainly not making pottery like this.”

A show catalog, published by Princeton University Press, is the first compendium in English of research on Old Europe discoveries. The book, edited by Dr. Anthony, with Jennifer Y. Chi, the institute’s associate director for exhibitions, includes essays by experts from Britain, France, Germany, the United States and the countries where the culture existed.

Dr. Chi said the exhibition reflected the institute’s interest in studying the relationships of well-known cultures and the “underappreciated ones.”

Although excavations over the last century uncovered traces of ancient settlements and the goddess figurines, it was not until local archaeologists in 1972 discovered a large fifth-millennium B.C. cemetery at Varna, Bulgaria, that they began to suspect these were not poor people living in unstructured egalitarian societies. Even then, confined in cold war isolation behind the Iron Curtain, Bulgarians and Romanians were unable to spread their knowledge to the West.

The story now emerging is of pioneer farmers after about 6200 B.C. moving north into Old Europe from Greece and Macedonia, bringing wheat and barley seeds and domesticated cattle and sheep.

They established colonies along the Black Sea and in the river plains and hills, and these evolved into related but somewhat distinct cultures, archaeologists have learned. The settlements maintained close contact through networks of trade in copper and gold and also shared patterns of ceramics.

The Spondylus shell from the Aegean Sea was a special item of trade. Perhaps the shells, used in pendants and bracelets, were symbols of their Aegean ancestors. Other scholars view such long-distance acquisitions as being motivated in part by ideology in which goods are not commodities in the modern sense but rather “valuables,” symbols of status and recognition.

Noting the diffusion of these shells at this time, Michel Louis Seferiades, an anthropologist at the National Center for Scientific Research in France, suspects “the objects were part of a halo of mysteries, an ensemble of beliefs and myths.”

In any event, Dr. Seferiades wrote in the exhibition catalog that the prevalence of the shells suggested the culture had links to “a network of access routes and a social framework of elaborate exchange systems — including bartering, gift exchange and reciprocity.”

Over a wide area of what is now Bulgaria and Romania, the people settled into villages of single- and multiroom houses crowded inside palisades. The houses, some with two stories, were framed in wood with clay-plaster walls and beaten-earth floors. For some reason, the people liked making fired clay models of multilevel dwellings, examples of which are exhibited.

A few towns of the Cucuteni people, a later and apparently robust culture in the north of Old Europe, grew to more than 800 acres, which archaeologists consider larger than any other known human settlements at the time. But excavations have yet to turn up definitive evidence of palaces, temples or large civic buildings. Archaeologists concluded that rituals of belief seemed to be practiced in the homes, where cultic artifacts have been found.

The household pottery decorated in diverse, complex styles suggested the practice of elaborate at-home dining rituals. Huge serving bowls on stands were typical of the culture’s “socializing of food presentation,” Dr. Chi said.

At first, the absence of elite architecture led scholars to assume that Old Europe had little or no hierarchical power structure. This was dispelled by the graves in the Varna cemetery. For two decades after 1972, archaeologists found 310 graves dated to about 4500 B.C. Dr. Anthony said this was “the best evidence for the existence of a clearly distinct upper social and political rank.”

Vladimir Slavchev, a curator at the Varna Regional Museum of History, said the “richness and variety of the Varna grave gifts was a surprise,” even to the Bulgarian archaeologist Ivan Ivanov, who directed the discoveries. “Varna is the oldest cemetery yet found where humans were buried with golden ornaments,” Dr. Slavchev said.

More than 3,000 pieces of gold were found in 62 of the graves, along with copper weapons and tools, and ornaments, necklaces and bracelets of the prized Aegean shells. “The concentration of imported prestige objects in a distinct minority of graves suggest that institutionalized higher ranks did exist,” exhibition curators noted in a text panel accompanying the Varna gold.

Yet it is puzzling that the elite seemed not to indulge in private lives of excess. “The people who donned gold costumes for public events while they were alive,” Dr. Anthony wrote, “went home to fairly ordinary houses.”

Copper, not gold, may have been the main source of Old Europe’s economic success, Dr. Anthony said. As copper smelting developed about 5400 B.C., the Old Europe cultures tapped abundant ores in Bulgaria and what is now Serbia and learned the high-heat technique of extracting pure metallic copper.

Smelted copper, cast as axes, hammered into knife blades and coiled in bracelets, became valuable exports. Old Europe copper pieces have been found in graves along the Volga River, 1,200 miles east of Bulgaria. Archaeologists have recovered more than five tons of pieces from Old Europe sites.

An entire gallery is devoted to the figurines, the more familiar and provocative of the culture’s treasures. They have been found in virtually every Old Europe culture and in several contexts: in graves, house shrines and other possibly “religious spaces.”

One of the best known is the fired clay figure of a seated man, his shoulders bent and hands to his face in apparent contemplation. Called the “Thinker,” the piece and a comparable female figurine were found in a cemetery of the Hamangia culture, in Romania. Were they thinking, or mourning?

Many of the figurines represent women in stylized abstraction, with truncated or elongated bodies and heaping breasts and expansive hips. The explicit sexuality of these figurines invites interpretations relating to earthly and human fertility.

An arresting set of 21 small female figurines, seated in a circle, was found at a pre-Cucuteni village site in northeastern Romania. “It is not difficult to imagine,” said Douglass W. Bailey of San Francisco State University, the Old Europe people “arranging sets of seated figurines into one or several groups of miniature activities, perhaps with the smaller figurines at the feet or even on the laps of the larger, seated ones.”

Others imagined the figurines as the “Council of Goddesses.” In her influential books three decades ago, Marija Gimbutas, an anthropologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, offered these and other so-called Venus figurines as representatives of divinities in cults to a Mother Goddess that reigned in prehistoric Europe.

Although the late Dr. Gimbutas still has an ardent following, many scholars hew to more conservative, nondivine explanations. The power of the objects, Dr. Bailey said, was not in any specific reference to the divine, but in “a shared understanding of group identity.”

As Dr. Bailey wrote in the exhibition catalog, the figurines should perhaps be defined only in terms of their actual appearance: miniature, representational depictions of the human form. He thus “assumed (as is justified by our knowledge of human evolution) that the ability to make, use and understand symbolic objects such as figurines is an ability that is shared by all modern humans and thus is a capability that connects you, me, Neolithic men, women and children, and the Paleolithic painters in caves.”

Or else the “Thinker,” for instance, is the image of you, me, the archaeologists and historians confronted and perplexed by a “lost” culture in southeastern Europe that had quite a go with life back before a single word was written or a wheel turned.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/science/01arch.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2

By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD

Published: November 30, 2009
The New York Times

In response to the article The Minaret Debate please see the following comment:

Comment:

The minarets, like the burqa, represent an oppressive ideology that teaches hate and violence. In case you don’t know or care. Islam discriminates everywhere it dominates.

Liberals and people like you want us to turn our backs to the hate and violence that flow from mosques everywhere. In the name of “diversity” and political correctness, Liberals want us to ignore discrimnation, abuse of women, honor killings, female mutilation, the evil messages in the Quran and the simple fact that Mohammud, a man that according to islam’s own writings (ahadith) murdered, plundered, tortured, enslaved men women and children, raped and even beat his child-wife, is considered a great moral example by Muslims. That should tell any honest person all they need to know about Islam.

Muslims talks about diversity, freedom of religion and human rights in Switzerland, but seem to have no opinion on what Islamic societies do and how they treat others. The evils that Muslims do everywhere they dominate are simply ignored
.
“Islam as an exception” may have something to do with the fact that islam teaches hate and violence. I notice you are in Greece. I bet you don’t want to go live in an islamic society where your vile religion rules.

Tell me, Xenia, does the hate and violence in the Quran bother you? Do you have an conscience at all? any morals? Can you use your brain? Well, we both known what your dear prophet said about women. Maybe he was right.

Pathetic

My Reply

Quote: [The minarets, like the burqa, represent an oppressive ideology that teaches hate and violence.In case you don’t know or care. Islam discriminates everywhere it dominates.]

My reply to you will be with a question: What is Islam? and The answer;

The first thing that one should know and clearly understand about Islam is what the word Islam itself means. The religion of Islam is not named after a person, or a place, a tribe, a mountain or a river. Nor is the name just another –ism among the many that exist in the world today. The Arabic word Islam means the submission or surrender of one’s will to the only true god worthy of worship, Allah (God in Arabic). A Muslim is the one who submits or surrenders his will to Allah. Hence, it was not a new religion brought by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Arabia in the seventh century, but only the true religion of God re-expressed in its final form. In other words submit and worship One God Only, my Creator and yours.

Islam is not a new ideology or religion as mentioned above. God sent His Messengers from  the beginning of time with the same message.

Submit and worship Only The One God without partners. As there is Only One God of course His message remained the same from the beginning of times. Unfortunately through the years His Message got corrupted or forgotten by the people thus the need to sent more and more Messengers as a mercy to Humanity. As Muslims we believe in all the Prophets, from Adaam (AS)…, Abrahaam (AS), …Moses (AS),… Jesus (AS) … To The Last and Final Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

You are right when you say Islam as an ideology dominates: Every body who hears about Islam , wants to know More. People can not stop talking about Allah, Islaam, Muslims, The Holy Quran, the Prophet of Allah Mohammed Sallallahu Alaihi Wa’salaam, everywhere you look people are talking about Islaam.  Islaam is the fastest growing Religion in the West.

When Allah’s (SWT) Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, was raised as a Prophet, the same kind of racism, under the name of tribalism, was prevalent in Makkah. The Quraish considered themselves in particular, and Arabs in general, superior to all the other peoples of the world. Allah’s (SWT) Messenger came with the Divine Message and proclaimed that no Arab is superior over a non-Arab, and no white is superior over black and superiority is by righteousness and God-fearing alone (Surat Al-Hujurat, 49:13). He also declared that even if an Abyssinian Black Muslim were to rule over Muslims, he should be obeyed.

Allah’s (SWT) Messenger eradicated the problem of racial or colour discrimination so successfully that superiority is not by birth or colour or blood, but by God-fearing and righteousness.

The message of Islam is for the entire human race. According to Islam, Allah (SWT) is the God of the entire world and the Prophet Muhammad (saw) is a messenger for the whole of mankind. Islam unites the entire human race under one banner without any kind of discrimination.

Allah (SWT) says in Surat Al-Hujurat, “O Mankind! We have created you from a male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you in the sight of Allah is he who has most Taqwa among of you. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.” Noble Qur’an (49:13)

In surah Al-Room Allah (SWT) says,“And one of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your tongues and colors; most surely there are signs in this for the learned.” Noble Qur’an (30:22)

With this verse, Islam declares equality among people as one human race, one humanity, that is because Islam respect a human for being a human not for any other reason; Islam does not distinguish between two races, or two groups of people, or between two colors, and the Prophet Muhammad (saw) addressed the people signifying that concept during the last Hajj pilgrimage, saying: “O People!Your God is one; your father is one; no preference of an Arab neither over non-Arab nor of a non-Arab over an Arab or red over black or black over red except for the most righteous. Verily the most honored of you is the most righteous.”

QUOTE:[ Liberals want us to ignore discrimnation, abuse of women, honor killings, female mutilation]

Regarding women’s rights my answer is:

Misinformation and misconception about Muslim women proliferate in the world today among non-Muslims and Muslims. We hope that instead of falling into the typical stereotypes and cultural innovation, the information here will pique your interest and help you to understand the true stance Islam takes on gender issues and the role of women.

For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast (and deny themselves), for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in God’s praise — for them has God prepared forgiveness and great reward. [The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 33, Verse 35 ]

And my own personal view is as follows:

I have been often asked, what makes a woman born in the West accept a religion like Islam that oppresses women?

And I totally sympathise with the questioners as I had the same questions before I got to know and accept Islam as my religion and my way of life.

The only thing I could see in the days before Islam was the ” poor” fully covered Muslim women subservient to their husbands and slaves to their duties as wives and mothers .

As a lot of people  sadly still do today, I had my own ideas and misconceptions about  Islam and the treatment of women in Islam in particular.

“Oh no,” I was thinking. “I would never accept that!.”

The first thing most people pick on is the women’s Islamic code of  dress . How many times have you heard “ Why does Islam degrade the women by keeping them behind the veil ?”

And  the status of women in Islam is often the target of attacks also in the secular media. The hijab  is considered as an example of“subjugation” of women under Islamic law.

People often forget the history of earlier civilizations and how the status of women in those eras was very low.

And then I read the Holy Qur’an and everything started making sense.

Allah SWT  in his infinite wisdom and for the protection of the women , morals and values prescribes the Veil.

The Holy Qur’an has a lot to say for women and to women.

In fact, the Qur’an has two surahs (chapters) dedicated to women: surah Al-Nisa’a (4) and surah Maryam (19).

I was surprised to read that Hawwa (Eve), the wife of Adam, was not solely responsible for the original sin but jointly and equally responsible with her husband.  Equally she was forgiven as well as her husband  by Allah SWT after their repentance.

In the Holy Qur’an, there are women mentioned, some who were true believers in difficult circumstances such as the wife of Pharaoh and Maryam (May Allah be pleased with them) the mother of Jesus (pbuh), and there were also women like the wife of Nuh (Noah) who betrayed her husband and is held up along with the wife of Lot as an example of a disbeliever (Al Qur’an 66:10-12).

And all through the Qur’an we find passages that make it obvious that the women are equal to men. Equal but of course different in their roles.

Islam forbade the Arab custom of their time to bury their female infants as they were considered an embarrassment to the male egos of the time.

In the Holy Quran we find that it is good deeds and awareness of Allah which make the believer, male or female, noble in the sight of Allah.

“Indeed the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most pious.” (Al Qur’an 49:13 )and

“Whoever does right, whether male or female, (all) such will enter the garden. ”(Al-Qur‘an .in 40:40:)

The works of male and female are of equal value and each will receive the due reward for what they do:

“ Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you, be male or female.. (Al Qur’an 3:195)

“Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, verily to him will We give a new life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such their reward according to their actions. ”(Al Qur’an 16:97)

The same duties are incumbent on men and women as regards their faith:

“For Muslim men and women - for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast (and deny themselves), for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in God’s praise – for them has God prepared forgiveness and great reward.” (Al Qur’an 33:35)

And these are just some examples.

Also the Islamic law makes no demand that women should confine themselves to household duties.In fact the early Muslim women were found in all walks of life. The first wife of the Prophet, mother of all his surviving children, was a businesswoman. In fact, the Prophet (pbuh) when he received the first revelation, he  ran frightened to his wife for comfort and asked her to cover him with a blanket. This shows how our Noble Prophet (pbuh) valued, and trusted his beloved wife Khadija( May Allah be pleased with her).

So as  I got to know more about Islam, and I found  out more and more, I established that a Muslimahs could have all the following rights:

- personal respect,

- respectable married status,

- legitimacy and maintenance for their children,

- the right to negotiate marriage terms of their choice,

- to refuse any marriage that does not please them,

- the right to obtain divorce from their husbands, even on the grounds that they can’t stand them

- custody of their children after divorce, and expect support from the absent father (maintenance)

- independent property of their own,

- the right and duty to obtain education,

- the right to work if they need or want it,

- equality of reward for equal deeds,

- the right to participate fully in public life and have their voices heard by those in power,

and much more.

What other religion, political theory, or philosophy has offered such a comprehensive package?

So this is just a brief explanation of why, I as a Greek female, had no problem accepting my position as a woman in Islam.

Not only I had no problem but I was and I will always be  eternally grateful for  Allah showing me the way and getting to know Islam.

[QUOTE The evils that Muslims do everywhere they dominate are simply ignored]

Answer: It is a very common misconception.

One of the many short comings which has arisen in the West, is judging Islam by the conduct of a minority of its people. By doing this, segments of Western society have deliberately played off the desperate actions of many Muslims, and have given it the name of Islam. Such behaviour is clearly not objective and seeks to distort the reality of Islam. For if such a thing was done Judge a religion by the conduct of its people) then we too could say that all Christianity is about is child molesting and homosexuality ,whilst Hinduism was all about looting and breaking up mosques . Generalising in such a manner is not seen as being objective, yet we find that the Western world is foremost in propagating this outlook on Islam. So what is the reality of Islam? How does one dispel the myths which have been created and spread so viciously? The only way to examine Islam is to simply examine its belief system. Look at its sources, the Qur’an and Sunna, and see what they have to say. This is the way to find the truth about what Islam says about terror, terrorism and terrorists. One who is sincerely searching for the truth, will do it no other way. We forget and I repeat that  Islam is a religion which is based upon achieving peace through the submission to the will of Allah. Thus, by this very simple linguistic definition, one can ascertain as to what the nature of this religion is. If such a religion is based on the notion of peace, then how is it that so many acts done by its adherents are contrary to peace? The answer is simple. Such actions, if not sanctioned by the religion, have no place with it. They are not Islamic and should not be thought of as Islamic.

Jihad

The word jihad sends shivers down the spines of many Westerners. They readily equate this term with violence and oppression. However, it must be said that the meaning of jihad, as a ‘holy war’, is something which is totally foreign and not from Islam. If anything, such a description belongs more so to Christianity and its adherents. It was terms like this which were used to justify the slaughter and pillage of towns and cities during the crusades by the Christians. By simply looking into the sources of Islam, one is able to know that the true meaning of jihad is to strive/make effort in the way of Allah. Thus striving in the way of Allah can be both peaceful and physical. The Prophet Muhammed (saws) said: “The best jihad is (by) the one who strives against his own self for Allah, The Mighty and Majestic” . In the Qur’an, Allah also says:

“So obey not the disbelievers, but make a great jihad (effort) against them (by preaching) with it (the Qur’an)” The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 25, Verse 52.

By controlling and fighting against ones desires, the Muslims can then also physically exert themselves in the path of Allah. It is this physical or combative jihad which receives so much criticism. Because of the sheer ignorance of this type of jihad Islam is regarded as terror, and Muslims are regarded as terrorists. However, the very purpose of this physical jihad is to raise the word of Allah uppermost. By doing this, it liberates and emancipates all those who are crying out for freedom all over the world. If the likes of the pacifists of this world had their way, then the world would indeed be full of anarchy and mischief. The combative jihad seeks to correct this as Allah says in the Qur’an:

“And if Allah did not check one set of people by means of another, the Earth would be full of mischief. But Allah is full of bounty to the worlds” The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 2, Verse 251.

Such would be the corruption on this Earth if there had never been a combative jihad that Allah says:

“For had it not been that Allah checks one set of people by means of another, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is mentioned much, would surely have been pulled down. Indeed Allah will help those who help His (cause). Truly Allah is All strong, All mighty” The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 22, Verse 40.

This combative jihad being both defensive and offensive, is something which is commanded by Allah upon the Muslims. Through this command the oppressed and weak are rescued from the tyranny of the world:

“And what is the matter with you that you do not fight in the cause of Allah and for those weak, ill treated and oppressed among men, women and children whose only cry is; ‘Our Lord, rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors and raise for us from you one who will protect and raise for us from you one who will help”‘ The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 4, Verse 75.

Anyone who knows the early history of Islam, will know that all those nations and empires which came under the fold of Islam were indeed previously oppressed. When the companions of the Prophet Muhammed (saws) went out for the offensive jihad against the Egyptians, the Persians and the Romans, we find that the people did not resist against them at all. Rather, they accepted Islam on such a scale, that it is inconceivable that the jihad of Islam could be anything other then a liberation for these people; a liberation from centuries of tyranny. In fact, with the Byzantine Egyptians and the people of Spain, the Muslims were even beckoned to come and liberate these lands from the oppression of their kings. This is the glorious track record of the Muslim jihad Compare this with the brutal track record of warfare in the Western world over the centuries. From the crusades against the Muslims to the days of colonial warfare, the Western world has killed, destroyed and plundered everything which has come in its way. Even today this merciless killing goes on by the Western nations. While claiming to be about world peace and security, Western nations are ready to bomb innocent civilians at the drop of a hat.

“… when it is said to them; ‘Make not mischief on the Earth’, they say; ‘We are only peace makers’. Indeed they are the ones who make mischief, but they perceive it not” The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 2, Verse 11-12.

The hypocrisy of the West is indeed astounding.

By looking at the rules and regulations of this combative jihad it will be clear to any sincere person that this is indeed the religion of truth. When fighting an unjust enemy, no matter how unjust they are, it is forbidden by Islam that their retreating forces are mutilated, tortured or slaughtered. The treacherous violation of treaties and carrying out assassinations after a cease fire, are also prohibited. Allah says in the Qur’an:

“And fight in the way of Allah those who fight you. But do not transgress the limits. Truly Allah loves not the transgressors” The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 2, Verse 190.

QUOTE:[Mohammud, a man that according to islam’s own writings (ahadith) murdered, plundered, tortured, enslaved men women and children, raped and even beat his child-wife, is considered a great moral example by Muslims. That should tell any honest person all they need to know about Islam.]

And finally I will answer this:

Considering the qualities and teachings of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, testified to by some many people throughout history and even testified to by Allah Himself, we conclude the following to be only a partial list of the qualities, morals and virtures of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.

A. Articulate – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, although unable to read or write throughout his entire life, was able to express himself in clear and decisive terms and in the best of classical Arabic language.

B. Brave – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was praised for his courage and bravery during and after his life by his followers and opponents alike. He has always been an inspiration to Muslims and even non-Muslims throughout the centuries.

C. Courteous – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, always put other people’s feelings ahead of his own and was the most courteous of hosts and the best of guests wherever he went.

D. Dedicated – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was determined to carry out his mission and present the message with which he had been sent, to the entire world.

E. Eloquent – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, claimed he was not a poet, yet he could express himself in the most concise manner, using the least amount of words in a most classic manner. His words are still quoted by millions of Muslims and non-Muslims today everywhere.

F. Friendly – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was noted for being the most friendly and considerate of all who knew him.

G. Generous – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was most generous with his possessions and never wanted to keep anything if there was anyone who was in need. This was true of gold, silver, animals and even food and drink.

H. Hospitable – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was indeed, noted to be the most gracious of hosts and taught his companions and followers to be the best of hosts to all their guests as a part of their religion.

I. Intelligent – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, has been proclaimed by many commentators who have studied his life and actions, to be of the most intelligent of all men who ever lived.

J. Just – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was most fair and just in all of his dealings. Whether in business or in giving judgment in any matter, he practiced justice on all levels.

K. Kindness – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was kind and considerate to everyone he met. He tired his best to present the message of worship of the Creator instead of the creations to all he met in the kindest fashion and most considerate manner.

L. Loving – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was the most loving toward Allah and to his family members, friends, companions and even those who did not accept his message but remained peaceful to him and his followers.

M. Messenger of Mercy – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is proclaimed in the Quran by Allah, as being sent to the entire world as the “Mercy to all mankind and jinn.”

N. Noble – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was the most noble and distinguished of all men. Everyone knew of his fine character and honorable background.

O. “Oneness” – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is most famous for his proclamation of the “Oneness of Allah” or monotheism (called “Tawheed” in Arabic).

P. Patient – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was the most steadfast and forbearing in all of the trials and tests he lived through.

Q. Quiet – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was often very quiet and never was heard to be boastful, loud or obnoxious on any occasion.

R. Resourceful – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was most clever and resourceful in handling even the most serious of difficulties and problems confronting him and his companions.

S. Straightforward – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was known by all to speak directly to a subject and not twist things around in his speech. He also used a minimal amount of verbiage and considered excessive talk to be vain and unproductive.

T. Tactful – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was the most delicate and tactful in his dealings with the people. He never scratched the dignity of someone, even though unbelievers often insulted him and maligned him.

U. Unmatched – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is known throughout the world today as the man who most influenced the lives of so many people during his own time and for all times to come.

V. Valiant – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, gave new meaning to the word valiant and he was always most honorable in all of his affairs, whether defending the rights of orphans or preserving the honor of widows or fighting for those in distress. He was not intimidated when outnumbered in battle, nor did he turn away from his duties in protecting and defending the truth and freedom.

W. Wali – The Arabic word, “wali” (plural is owliya)is a bit difficult to bring into English without some explanation. For this reason I decided to leave it in Arabic and offer from my humble understanding one of the most important aspects of the character and personality of the prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Some say the word means;“protectors” and others have said “darlings” or “those in whom you put full trust and confide everything” like the Catholics might do with their priests. While still others simply offered the word “friends.” While discussing this subject with one of my beloved teachers, Salim Morgan, he mentioned to me the meaning might be closer to the English word, “ally.”This is perhaps, a lot closer in meaning because when a person gives their pledge of allegiance to someone he or she is taking that person as a “wally” and this is called giving“bay’ah” in Arabic. Allah tells us the Quran not to take the Jews and Christians as “owliya” in place of Allah. While we understand the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) are the closest to us in faith, at the same time we are instructed here not to take anyone as our “confessor” or “intimate ally” or “one to whom we give our pledge of allegiance” in place of Allah or His messenger, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was the living example of the most trustworthy and loyal of all human beings who ever lived on this earth. Anything mentioned to him in confidence would never be divulged nor shared with others. And when he was put in place of authority or “wali” over the people, they found him to be the best of those to be trusted.

X. “X” – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, could neither read nor write, not even his own name. In today’s world he would have to use an “X” to “sign” a document. He used a signet ring worn on the little finger of his right hand to seal any documents or letters sent to the leaders of other lands.

Y. Yielding – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, would yield his own desires and forego his own ideas in favor of whatever Allah directed him to do. While considering opinions from his followers, he often accepted their ideas over his own, preferring to yield in favor of others as much as possible.

Z. Zealous – Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was the most zealous of all the prophets of Allah, in carrying out his mission of “Peace through the submission to the Will of God.” He truly was the most enthusiastic in regard to delivering the message with which he had been entrusted by Allah; the message of “Laa elaha illa-allah, Muhammadar-Rasoolulah” (There is none worthy of worship, except Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah).

Alief. “AJEEB” (AMAZING) – We couldn’t resist the chance for one more letter – even if it is the first letter of the Arabic alphabet (”|” alief).

Muhammad was truly amazing in every respect. He delivered a message of a complete and total way of life, encompassing everything from the time a person wakes up until time to sleep and from the cradle to the grave. And if someone were to follow this Way of Life (”deen” in Arabic), they would achieve the greatest success here in this life and the greatest success in the Next Life as well.

So you see, is not about the minarets, or the burqa or about the west feeling sorry about the poor oppressed Muslim women. It is about ignorance and Islamophobia.

Xenia

Cairo’s shopping frenzy ahead of Eid al-Adha festival… From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: shopping tips. For a different topic see best corn bread recipes. The blog is also related to: michigan shopping.

Rami Khouri, Agence Global, Nov 18, 2009

CAIRO — The atmosphere in Cairo this week tells us much about the contemporary Arab world’s view of the Palestine cause in relation to domestic issues in every Arab country. Ordinary Arabs and their governments alike seem fed up with the incompetence of the Palestinian leadership, while remaining strongly committed emotionally to the justice and rights of the Palestinian cause.

Fittingly, it’s emotionally satisfying for Palestinians, but not very promising politically.

The contrast is vividly reflected this week in the national frenzy over the Egyptian football team’s World Cup qualifying playoff match against Algeria in Sudan, in contrast with little attention being paid to the condition of the Palestinians. Years ago, thousands would have marched in the streets of Cairo to express support for Palestinians against Israel’s occupation and colonization policies. Today, it is a sign of the times that the Egyptian border with southern Gaza remains firmly locked. The Palestinian threat to seek support for an independent state at the UN Security Council receives only passing attention, while the authorities are busy organizing an airbridge to send supporters to cheer on their Egyptian national football team in Khartoum.

In many ways it is hard to criticize the Egyptians, who broke away from the Arab pack three decades ago and signed their separate peace agreement with Israel — to be followed 15 years later by the Jordanian-Israeli peace agreement, after the Palestinians tried to negotiate a permanent peace settlement with Israel via the Oslo agreements. That attempt failed, for many reasons, the primary ones being the Israeli lack of seriousness about an end to colonization of Palestinian land, insistence on annexing much of Jerusalem, and refusing to deal with the Palestinian refugees seriously, while on the Palestinian side the use of suicide bombs against Israelis added a fatal blow to the negotiations.

Many attempts to negotiate comprehensive peace in the last three decades have failed, and each time the Israelis and Palestinians fall back on the same rhetorical positions: Israel says it is prepared to discuss peace arrangements without preconditions (its colonization and strangulation of Palestinian land and society being set aside, presumably, as a non-reality), while the Palestinians accuse Israel of not being serious about negotiating peace. Because Israel is militarily stronger and in control of daily life arteries for Palestinians — like entry and exit points, water, food, electricity and fuel — it tends to define conditions on the ground. The Palestinian leadership, for its part, appeals to the world’s conscience and respect for international law, but with little impact, and even less credibility.

The world has slowly tired of the Palestinians in their current political mode, and focused on other issues, because the prospects of a negotiated Arab-Israeli peace seem slim, as diplomatic attempts to reach a full peace have repeatedly confirmed in the last three decades. It is no wonder that Egypt became weary with this and went its own way. Now it cheers enthusiastically and naturally for its national football team, while keeping the gates to southern Gaza firmly shut.

The astounding thing is that the Palestinian leadership over the years has not woken up to the fact that however just and powerful is the cause of Palestine, it is not an inexhaustible well of emotional and political support from others in the Arab region or abroad. We are likely to witness this demonstrated again in the Arab and international shrug of the shoulders in response to the latest Palestinian idea of seeking Security Council recognition for the political fact and formal borders of a Palestinian state. It is hard to imagine a more unrealistic and fanciful idea than this, given that Israel controls the actual land where the borders should be drawn, and the United States — with its veto — controls the decision-making capacity of the Security Council.

It would have been much more productive for the Palestinian leadership to go to the UN and fight for adoption of the Goldstone Report on the atrocities committed mostly by Israel during the Gaza war last year. Having flip-flopped on the Goldstone Report and now threatening to make a meaningless approach to another UN body, the current Palestinian leadership persists in its legacy of living in a dream world. It is deeply detached from its own — and fellow Arab — people who should be its core support. It is also totally disrespected by the Israeli government, and largely ignored by the rest of the world.

This prevails at a time when Israeli war crimes and colonization continue unabated, but are marginalized politically because of the incompetence of the Palestinian leadership. No wonder more and more Arabs and others turn away from the Palestine issue, and give it only perfunctory rhetorical support without making more costly political moves to oppose Israeli policies or help the Palestinians. Israeli national criminality and Palestinian political incompetence are a deadly combination.

Rami G. Khouri is Editor-at-large of The Daily Star, and Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, in Beirut, Lebanon.

This month’s National Geographic features an awesome article about the Egyptians’ animal mummies. Be sure to check out the beautiful and fascinating photographs!

Click here for the article.

Don’t forget to hug a witch today… It’ll bring you good luck if you do!

To Pagans the numerological significance of the number thirteen is a good thing. In the ancient Pagan world the number thirteen was venerated because it was associated with the lunar year, the Pagan “year and a day.” There are thirteen new Moons or thirteen full Moons during every solar year. There are thirteen days of the waxing Moon culminating in the Full Moon on the fourteenth day. There are, in like manner, thirteen days of the waning Moon cycle culminating in what is called Dark Moon (no moon visible in the sky), which is also known as New Moon. There are also 13 weeks in each of the four seasons.

The ancient Egyptians held the belief that the number 13 was lucky. They were aware of the fact that there are 13 Full Moons or 13 New Moons in each year, and this seems to be the source of their belief. They also believed the number 13 was associated with everlasting life. This association relates to the waxing and waning of the Moon. They thought the Lunar cycle to be associated with the god Osiris, and with his life, death, and resurrection. They saw that from Dark Moon to Full Moon, which is the waxing lunar phase, 13 days intervened and culminated in the Full Moon on the 14th day. In like manner, they saw that there were also thirteen days during the waning lunar phase which culminated on the 14th day in the Dark Moon/New Moon. I have read that the Egyptians believed there were twelve steps on the ladder to eternal life and that they believed taking the thirteenth step was to go through the process of death and resurrection. It seems therefore that they associated the number with immortality and held it to be lucky. One of the calendars they used was a calendar of 360 days. They also used a festival calendar of 365 days and a more accurate calendar of 364 1/4 days for their agricultural dates.

The Celtic Druids used a lunar zodiac of thirteen signs, rather than the solar zodiac of more recent times. The movements of Sun and Moon seem to have been well understood by the ancients and there seems to be more and more evidence indicating this all the time. The knowledge of the cycles of the Sun, Moon, stars, and seasons is reflected in the ancient megalithic sites of Britain and Ireland. Stonehenge marks precise alignments of the seasonal changes of the rising and setting Sun, and in Ireland, Knowth, Newgrange, and other locations, images of snakes and crescents show the concept of cyclic time. There are also ancient European carvings made on bone and on antlers depicting lunar crescents and spiraling snake imagery that date as far back as 5,000 BCE, indicating an understanding of the cyclic nature of time and the seasons.

The Moon goddess was associated with the number 13 due to the fact that there are either 13 Full Moons or 13 New Moons in every year. The number 13 is also associated with the death of Jesus. The last supper, which preceded his death was attended by the 12 disciples and by Jesus making a group of 13. This seems to be the source of the fear of the number 13. Also, the Moon Goddess and the Old Religion were considered a threat to the growth and success of the new religion, Christianity. (Sadly, they where not crushed)

In northern Europe the Goddess Freya was held in great esteem so She was seen as a particular threat to the success of the new faith. Freya is the Goddess who gives her name to our Friday. The number 13 was held to be unfortunate by the Christian monks and priests. They believed it unfortunate because of its association with the last supper and the death of Jesus. The number 13 was also associated with the Moon and the Goddess. Because the monks and priests of the new religion believed that the goddess Freya was a threat to their religion, Freya’s day, Friday, was called the devil’s day. So this seems to be the origin of the view that Friday the 13th is particularly unlucky.

The number 13 is also associated with the Death card of the Tarot. The first known Tarot deck appeared in Europe about five hundred years ago. Some feel that the cards are based on ancient Egyptian wisdom. It is known that the Tarot is a repository of Hermetic mysteries, astrological lore and Pagan religious tradition. The Death card has a bad reputation but its true meaning speaks of transformation and renewal.

Many people fear the number 13:

• This fear is called “triskaidekaphobia“.
• Many do not wish to attend a dinner party where there are only thirteen guests.
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt was among the many who fear the number 13.
• Many buildings do not have a thirteenth floor.
• NASA’s Apollo 13 flight, which took off at 13 minutes after the hour on April 13, developed a number of problems on the way to the Moon. Miraculously, the crew was able to return unharmed. Even though this may be viewed as a manifestation of the unfortunate attributes of the number 13, the crew did have the good luck of safely returning despite all the obstacles and difficulties they had to overcome.

Those fears have deep roots in the collective unconscious but one need not adhere to the fears held within the unconscious. With conscious, positive, focused intent, we are the ones that determine if today brings fear or fun…

Have a happy Friday the 13th!

It’s the end of another long workday at RLAP, I rise from my laptop, in conversation with another coworker across the room.  As I walk by *Samira, a favorite Iraqi woman who has worked in our office as translator, in St. Andrew’s library and most recently as one of our start cooking teachers, pokes my right hip.

“Ahh you are getting fat!” she scolds me.Her inquisitive eyes look over my stomach, covered by a thin purple t-shirt and draped with a veil going down to my thighs. She shakes her head with concern. “Your form, ” she mourns, “it’s because you sit at a desk all day,” she concludes.

Our legal director, Stephanie, and the other remaining intern in the office look on horrified.

After being in Egypt, and in particular with Iraqis, for over 6 months I’m neither concerned or surprised by Samira’s remarks. At a party a couple months ago a different Iraqi woman poked at another interns fat and similarly advised a course of action. Once, twice in a day, clients asked Stephanie if she was pregnant when she wore a slightly baggy shirt.

A former figure skater and someone who takes pride in her body, I’ve reached the point where these comments are amusing rather than traumatizing. Though I don’t go to the gym here,  (no time!) I do yoga at home (occasionally,) walk a lot and eat a relatively healthy array of foods. (Well if you subtract all the oil and frying). Plus, I cannot be too concerned since my clothes still fit!

Not limited to Iraqis, I’ve had similar experiences with Egyptians. After not seeing an Egyptian friend for a couple weeks, he greeted me with an enthusiastic, “You gained weight!”

“What?!” I said, not reacting with the same nonchalance I showed to Samira today.

“No, it’s good,” he tried to assure me. “It’s in the right places. Egyptians like women who aren’t too skinny.”

Though I explained how my American culture typically views weight, how the youngest boys know women don’t like to hear such comments, he was only amused.

As we walked out the door moments later he commented on how my butt filled out my jeans.

Though my Egyptian friend might have approved, Samira is having none of it. ”You must do 10 minutes of Arabic once a week,” she prescribed.

“You mean aerobics,” I correct. “But I don’t think it will help.  If I’ve gained weight it’s because you cook me too much delicious food.”

Brendan, a fellow Northeastern student and coincidently RLAP legal intern, draws her attention to his stomach. Our Iraqi friend is undeterred.”You’re a man. It’s Ok…but Lily! ” Laughing, trying not to, I nod seriously in agreement. “Obviously women like men with bellies.” Missing my sarcasm, Samira insists any weight Brendan gained is inconsequential.

I ask Samira if the aerobics can be belly dancing and she raises her hands and slightly shakes her hips.

“So, is your only concern my stomach?” I ask, remembering another time when an Iraqi commented that my cheeks looked fuller.

“Yes,” she verifies, seemingly slightly concerns I’m stuck on the subject. “Here in Egypt, you’re normal, you’re how they like it.” Unlike my Egyptian friend, she at least has one part of American tastes right. “In America they like skinny,”

She does a model walk,  raising her hands and shaking her hips slightly. “You must walk like this in your bathing suite in America. I’m tempted to point out I’m destined to spend the next few months in freezing Boston. Instead I just smile, nodding at the severity of my new challenge.

” You’re Ok now,” she confirms. “But I like you. I want you to be number one!”

The last word: I’m looking forward to some belly dancing classes!

*I’ve changed her name in an effort to not put her on the spot. Though, I actually think she’d be flattered by the attention.

I’ve decided pomegranates were created to piss people off.

I spent an hour peeling TWO pomegranates yesterday. An HOUR.

AN HOUR.

I want to make sure that really sinks in: AN HOUR.

Why bother? Why not just leave the little bastards on the shelf in the grocery store? I mean, not only are they a pain the ass to peel, they also stain the shit out of EVERYTHING. The little section of wall behind the kitchen sink is now permanently decorated with pinkish splotches and I had to wear gloves for a week while out in public cause one look at my hands and everyone would think I had leprosy.

Well, it turns out that pomegranates have magical powers imbedded in their tough ass flesh that come in the form of tiny ruby colored beads that do things like shoot out little fairies to clean the house and fold the laundry and, oh, fight prostate cancer.

And that last one…damn I wish I would’ve never seen it in an article on our google news homepage (yes, we’re awesome like that and have NEWS on the homepage…not cartoons or videos or anything fun…). Because now, technically, I have to suffer through all the peeling and swearing or I’m pretty much just helping the cancer along all, “Here! This one! His wife didn’t feed him the pomegranate!”

You’re welcome, wives. Come, join me.

I even decided to do a little research, since we spend so much time together these days. I mean, the pomegranate knows plenty about me and how I feel…but I knew nothing about how they became so damn ornery.

It didn’t take long to figure out that they’ve always been a pain in the ass and everyone – even the Egyptians – developed their own I-hate-you-but-you’re-so-good-for-me-so-I’ll-continue-to-be-your-friend relationship. I mean, had God made a pomegranate tree instead of an apple one, Eve would’ve never strayed and we’d all still be happily running around naked in The Garden. Just sayin.

But now I totally understand why the Egyptians invented so many tools.

Like this one:

They were trying to create a pomegranate peeler. Because it also happens that the Egyptians found these magical fairies too…and the wealthy people were all, “Hell, if the fairies know how to carve stone, then bring on the little pixies!” I mean, who wants to spend half their life carving their family history into a hard ass rock when it could all be for shit if a tiger or something eats you? So they made the poor people go into the forest instead:

(Personally, I think those look like pears, onions and a pail of cement, but whatever. It looks like they also thought to bring along a miniature caribou for protection…or a distraction… incase they ran into the tiger)

I told Tim I’d pay for someone to peel the pomegranates all, “It’s totally so you don’t get cancer. Think of it as life insurance.”

He said I could hire one as soon as I made a million dollars.

And don’t think for a second I didn’t add that to my list of Things to Do After I Win the Lottery or Become Obnoxiously Famous.

You have to be prepared for these things.

And nothing says prepared like a list.

By: PressTv

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi says Arab states, as well as Palestinians, should be allowed to have nuclear weapons, as long as Israel retains its nukes. “If the Israelis have the nuclear weapons and the nuclear capabilities, then it is the right of the Egyptians, the Syrians, the Saudis to have the same,” Gaddafi told the British Sky network on Sunday night. “Even the Palestinians should have the same because their counterparts, or their opponents, have nuclear capabilities,” the Libyan leader added. He stressed that the only way to prevent proliferation of nuclear arms in the Middle East is to disarm Israel of its nuclear weapons. “If we don’t want this situation, we’ll have to disarm the Israelis from their nuclear weapons and capabilities,” Gaddafi said. Most experts estimate that Israel has at least between 100 and 200 nuclear warheads, largely based on information leaked to the Sunday Times newspaper in the 1980s by Mordechai Vanunu, a former worker at the country’s Dimona nuclear reactor.