Leila El Solh, vice chairman of Alwaleed Bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation in Beirut, was awarded the Pontifical Medal by Pope Benedict XVI on March 12, 2008
"A Saudi veteran of the first Gulf War, unable to pay rent, is living destitute with his wife and nine children in a tent in a derelict part of the Aziziya district of Makkah.
"Taxi driver Abdullah, 50, says he prefers to live with his children in a tent than ask for help and depend on charity. The father of five girls and four boys — who are all of school age with the oldest being 15 and the youngest two — participated in the war to liberate Kuwait. [...]
"Speaking about the circumstances that led him to live in the tent, Abdullah said he receives social security benefits totaling SR2,800 a month, half of which goes toward paying for his taxicab. His monthly rent used to be SR1,200. Left with only SR200 and profit from his taxi being very low, Abdullah said he found it difficult to meet expenses, especially as his family grew large.
"Finally, he was forced leave his rented accommodation and move to a tent.
"Abdullah said his family relies on street lamps for light at night and that he uses the trunk of his car to store clothes. The family rents a house for a day every two weeks to get some respite and wash their clothes. They then return to the tent. [...]"
Most Saudi universities will switch from a traditional system of education to e-learning next year. The Ministry of Higher Education has set up the National Center of E-learning & Distance Learning (ELC) to oversee the change and prepare e-learning material.
"[Sayed Kashua, Arab Israeli author, in his book Dancing Arabs] takes us on an eye-opening tour of the Arab village of today (especially in the Triangle) in search of what was, and is no more.
"He writes about flirting ('Modest girls are supposed to walk straight ahead, not even responding to a loud honk'); hospitality ('Offering a hot drink is mandatory, no matter how brief the visit. You never let someone leave without saying: `What, you're going already? You haven't had tea yet.''); crime ('You ask kids in school what they want to be when they grow up and without batting an eyelash, half the class says they want to belong to a gang'); religion ('Hey, what mosque do you pray at? `I pray at home,' I mutter'); schools ('kids probably have no idea who the pioneers are ... I was sure they were glorious, brainy heroes who deserved to be venerated because they invented important things like screens for doors and windows, keeping out the poisonous mosquitoes that bit babies and made them die.'
"One of the most disturbing issues in the book is the relationship between Palestinians living inside the Green Line and those outside it. Arab readers will find it very easy to attack Kashua on this issue, but it is worth reading what he has to say and giving some thought to how this invisible pseudo-border has managed to mercilessly divide an entire people.
"The second focal point of the book is the sudden closure imposed on the village, paralyzing life and leaving the population hungry and thirsty. It sounds like a fantasy - the figment of some politician's wild imagination - but in the end, thanks to Kashua's skillful storytelling, it becomes an entirely credible, even normal, situation.
"The closure gets increasingly tighter, affecting the water supply, electricity, telephone lines and cell phones. [...]
"The style of Let It Be Morning is sharp, focused, powerful and uncompromising, whether he is dealing with the people of his village, the Jews, his fictional narrator or his family. His descriptions of family relationships can be brutal: 'She [the mother] was waiting for him [the grandfather] to die. I couldn't understand why anyone would want his father to die' and When Grandmother wasn't around, my big brother would take a stick and poke Grandfather with it. Sometimes he would poke the stick into his mouth, sometimes into his nose, and then laugh wildly when Grandfather didn't respond.' [...]
"Kashua does not shy away from the harshest, most painful indictments. He describes how the villagers strip the Arabs from the territories and serve them up as a sacrifice to the soldiers encircling the village. [...]
"For the narrator, the final straw is when the neighbors attack his home and the home of his older brother to steal food. This scene plumbs the depths of the human tragedy of loss, greed and survival at the expense of others - evil incarnate. This is the moment of climax, when the hero turns into an anti-hero, a helpless creature who collapses in tears on his childhood bed in the face of the insanity all around him. 'How I hate myself now for not being strong and intimidating, for not behaving like a real man.' [...]
"The ills of the village take on a new guise at the end of the book, when the final solution rolls around: You wanted to be Palestinians - go head, enjoy. The villagers wake up in the morning and discover that the electricity, the water, the telephones - everything is working again.
Little by little, however, they realize that Israel has annexed them to the Palestinian state established in the context of a permanent peace accord between the two peoples. When the Israeli tanks and soldiers leave, they leave for good (or until the next conflict). The Triangle and most of the Arab towns are now part of the Palestinian state. It is a day of mourning and lamentation in the village: 'Oh, God. What do we do? That's it. It's all over now.' The brother says things are better this way. Now all the criminals who have taken over the village will be put in their place: Who wants to mess with Preventive Security Services?' [...]"
Source: Haaretz (Israel), by Ala Hlelhel, February 13, 2004
With 45 short, documentary, and feature films, and 30 directors from all parts of Kurdistan, the Fifth Kurdish FilmFestival will be held in Berlin from May 24 to June 1.
"A court in Mauritania acquitted journalist Maoulaye Najim, editor of the independent weekly Points chauds on charges related to articles he published revealing a prison porn film scandal.
"Najim had been charged in 2005 for 'failure to inform the authorities before publication' of an article that revealed that prisoners in Mauritania were making pornographic films inside the West African nation's jails.
"He was arrested in October 2005 and spent one day in jail before being provisionally released to await his trial.
"The trial opened on April 22 [...] He added that he also presented proof to the court in Nouakchott that what he had reported was true. He was acquitted of all charges against him.
" 'I am happy, I believe this is a victory for all media in Mauritania,' Najim told journalists as he left the court building. [...]".
"Have you heard of Ingie Chalhoub? If not then you'd be surprised to know that as President of Etoile Group, she's spearheading a luxury-goods industry boom in Dubai. [...]
"There's no question that her Etoile Group luxury brand line-up has made her stores a hot spot for wealthy Middle-Easterners and tourists [...].
"As president and managing director of Etoile Group, which licensed Tod's, Hogan, Valentino, John Galliano, Ralph Lauren, Valentino, Chanel, Christian Lacroix and many other brands in Dubai, Chalhoub is in her element. Fashion has been a passion for her since she was a child devouring glossy magazines [...].
"Wanting to ensure the right brand image, with obvious aspiration for geographical expansion later on, she took her time establishing the brand's identity. Taking inspiration from places like Colette in Paris and Dover Street Market in London, Chalhoub worked on every detail of her concept brand store, and unlike her franchised stores, Etoile La boutique is so closely linked to her own personal identity and ripe for a possible future ready-to-wear line.
"With Etoile La boutique, she can aspire to be a regional and global powerhouse by building its image and identity with precision. [...]"
Source: Arabian Woman (UAE, Saudi Arabia), April 2008
Sayidaty, the most popular and top-selling Arabic language magazine for women [published in Saudi Arabia], has launched its English edition. The first English issue was out in December, which was received by readers and advertisers with great interest.
Source: Arab News (Saudi Arabia), February 8, 2008
"Although the general strikes of April 6 and May 4 drew limited public participation, they have revealed an important new political phenomenon in Egypt: political mobilization by young, second-generation internet users via blogs, YouTube, and Facebook.
"After two years of intensive government efforts to outmaneuver the opposition, this mobilization caught the regime flat-footed. It highlighted the possible role of interactive non-traditional media in bringing about political change in Egypt, just as the government's heavy-handed response to the strikes revealed its failure to find new forms of political control aside from the usual repression by the security apparatus.
"The growing role of non-traditional media has pushed the state to try to curb them through various mechanisms. Several bloggers have been arrested, including Moneim Mahmoud (editor of the Ana Ikhwan or "I am Brotherhood" blog). Isra Abdel Fattah, who started a Facebook group calling for Egyptians to join the April 6 strike (over 74,000 joined), was also arrested and held for 16 days.
"The blogger Wael Abbas (editor of the Al-Wai al-Misri, or "Egyptian Awareness" blog) has been vilified in the government media due to his success in documenting Egyptian police brutality inside detention centers in video clips he posted on YouTube. And in February 2007, blogger Karim Amer was sentenced to four years in prison in 2007 for criticizing President Hosni Mubarak and religious institutions. [...]"
"The military takeover of Hezbollah is still making headlines in the Arab world as competition grows fiercer between Arab channels.
"The major channels competing in the region are the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya, Qatar-based Al Jazeera, U.S.-backed Al Hurra, and British broadcaster BBC Arabic. Added to those is Lebanon's Future Television which was out of contention until today after Hezbollah militias set the building on fire and closed the station by force.
"Hezbollah—which usually commands the respect of Arab media—has won the military battle on the ground, but lost the battle in the satellite world. Popular broadcaster Al Arabiya reported events in Lebanon under the title "The Hezbollah coup."
"Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya's arch rival, started slow and unsure and only broadcast for a couple of hours a day, unlike Al Arabiya which was virtually the only channel to broadcast breaking news and special interviews around the clock. The BBC has not managed since its inception to attract any sizable audience and has had no real impact in the current crisis. [...]"
"A two-day conference on domestic violence ended yesterday with participants saying there is no justification in Islam for abuse of women and children. They also came up with a list of demands and recommendations to tackle the problem.
"Experts from across the [Saudi] Kingdom participated in five sessions of discussions at the first National Experts Meeting to Fight Domestic Abuse Against Women and Children, with all participants agreeing that Islam does not condone abuse and that the problem should be brought to an end.
" 'Traditions that allow abuse should be brought to an end,' said Dr. Maha Al-Munief, executive director of the National Family Safety Program (NFSP), which organized the event. 'We will start training courses for people who work with abuse victims... We need cooperation from all NGOs,' she said in a press conference held to announce the recommendations. [...]"
"The Ministry of Culture and Information has launched an archives center to document all print and broadcast media from across the world, primarily from the Middle East, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported yesterday. [...]"
"Weddings in Jeddah usually end when the bride and groom walk down the aisle hours after midnight. Following the walk, the buffet begins, people eat and then the guests go home.
"Midnight weddings annoy many people, including husbands and drivers who have to ferry the women folk home, and the elderly who are unable to stay up late. In order to encourage people to hold weddings earlier in the day, members of the Women’s Cultural Forum have started a campaign entitled 'Our Weddings Are for Our Happiness.' [...]"
"Lebanese superstar Haifa Wahbi held a concert with Lebanese singer Fadel Shaker in Bahrain. [...]
"According to the London daily Elaph, Haifa appeared wearing a conservative green dress, as determined by the concert planners.
"The concert found great press coverage in Bahrain and throughout the Arab world.
"The concert was held despite requests by Islamic parliament representatives to ban Haifa’s performance. The parliamentary requests were declined by the government.
"Representative Muhammad Khaled threatened to bring the ministre of Communication before the Parliament for questioning."
"As Egypt's Hosni Mubarak celebrates his 80th birthday [on the 4th of May 2008] and more than 27 years as the country's president, Al Jazeera visits the country and in a special programme examines why for many ordinary Egyptians their country is still a nation in waiting."
It is clear that when you want to celebrate the coming of spring, you must pick topics and words that are pleasant to the ear and that infuse your reader with a sense of hope; otherwise, how can you greet the New Year the way spring deserves.
I know that we promised ourselves not to nag about things, to write in a way that others can also.... Ah! I can't feign happiness, lie, and give my writing the semblance of joy. Here, outside Iran, I am away from the gray streets of my birthplace. When I get nostalgic, I go on-line, click on websites to read the news of my home country. I click to replace my home-sickness with sorrow and regret. I am not sure what's happening to this city, to its citizens, to its students, workers, teachers, women, journalists, to its writers and intellectuals, to its "thugs."
I click and read the news of executions, stoning, prisoners, boycotts, and inflation. I click and remember my nagging and I continue to nag. I click and remember the glacial hell of traffic and a citizenry ready to get at each other's throat. I click and remember the dreams and hopes of the thousands and thousands of youth and the neglect of elders. When I click, I become acrimonious towards myself.
"Mohammed Bin Rachid Al Maktoum Foundation has announced the launch of Turjuman Programme, which is listed under the theme of culture, one of the Strategic segments of the foundation's work.
"The programme is aimed at contributing practically and effectively to upgrading the levels of translation in the Arab World by means of producing and training translators with the aim of improving their performance and production. [...]"
Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Shari'a
By Prof. Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im
"What should be the place of Shari'a—Islamic religious law—in predominantly Muslim societies of the world? In this ambitious and topical book, a Muslim scholar and human rights activist envisions a positive and sustainable role for Shari‘a, based on a profound rethinking of the relationship between religion and the secular state in all societies.
"An-Na‘im argues that the coercive enforcement of Shari'a by the state betrays the Qur'an’s insistence on voluntary acceptance of Islam. Just as the state should be secure from the misuse of religious authority, Shari'a should be freed from the control of the state. State policies or legislation must be based on civic reasons accessible to citizens of all religions. Showing that throughout the history of Islam, Islam and the state have normally been separate, An-Na'im maintains that ideas of human rights and citizenship are more consistent with Islamic principles than with claims of a supposedly Islamic state to enforce Shari'a. In fact, he suggests, the very idea of an “Islamic state” is based on European ideas of state and law, and not Shari'a or the Islamic tradition.
"Bold, pragmatic, and deeply rooted in Islamic history and theology, Islam and the Secular State offers a workable future for the place of Shari'a in Muslim societies."
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im (from Sudan) is Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory Law School. An internationally recognized scholar of Islam and human rights, and human rights in cross-cultural perspectives, Professor An-Na'im teaches courses in international law, human rights, and Islamic law. His research interests also include constitutionalism in Islamic and African countries, and Islam and politics.
Professor An-Na'im directed the following research projects which focus on advocacy strategies for reform through internal cultural transformation:
- Women and Land in Africa, - Islamic Family Law, and - Fellowship Program in Islam and Human Rights.
"The divides are not Islam and western society, the divide is between people who have different values. We must promote connections between people who want to contribute to human values. People who share that commitment can collaborate across cultural divides."
Daoud Hari was born in the Darfur region of Sudan. After escaping an attack on his village, he entered the refugee camps in Chad and began serving as a translator for major news organizations including The New York Times,the BBC, as well as the United Nations and other aid groups.
Hari, a Zaghawa tribesman, is the author of "The Translator, a tribesman's memoir of Darfur".
"The Translator" is a memoir "of how one person has made a difference in the world — an on-the-ground account of one of the biggest stories of our time. Using his high school knowledge of languages as his weapon — while others around him were taking up arms — Daoud Hari has helped inform the world about Darfur".
"Mohammed Choukri, one of Morocco’s great contemporary writers, died November 2003 of cancer. He was 64 years old. As a child in Tangiers he scavenged for food in garbage bins, but on the day of his death his loss was felt deeply across the Arab world. He had become such a renowned figure that King Mohammed VI paid tribute to him, saying: 'The cultural scene of our country has lost one of its pioneers in the art of the novel.'
"Mohammed Choukri is known mainly for his debut novel For Bread Alone that was published first in English, translated by Paul Bowles, in 1973 after being banned by the Moroccan government. It was eventually published in Arabic in 1982. The book broke all taboos in the Arab world, being a stark autobiographical novel of a young street kid’s struggle to survive and get an education. At that time no other Arab author had written so openly and honestly about the outsiders of society, the prostitutes, homosexuals, the destitute, thieves and conmen. [...]
"Choukri was born into a poverty-stricken family in Beni Chiker village in the Rif mountains, during a devastating famine. The family were forced to move to Tangiers where, because of the violent abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, Choukri left home when he was only 11 years old. In spite of his terrible circumstances, he was determined to learn to read and write, and eventually started school at the age of 20. [...]
"Moroccan poet Mohammed Bennis recalled that Choukri always greeted him with the words “I am your spiritual father”. He often told Bennis he feared dying at home, where he lived alone, because he would lie there forgotten. He was to live his last hours in the Military Hospital in Rabat."
