Egypt... Get Thee a Queen!

Watching the Queen's Diamond Jubilee has inspired me with the perfect solution for the political conundrum Egyptians have found themselves into. The solution is so simple, so brilliant, and so elegant that I'm surprised that none of the activists on the ground have thought of it.

Egypt needs not elect a president, since doing so seems to be so darn hard. Egypt needs to get itself a queen!

I'm not a royalist--last I checked anyway--but I see this as the ultimate solution for the leader-worshipping Egyptians out there who, unfortunately, form the majority of the voting pool. Most people are looking for something much more than a president. They are looking for a savior and a leader that will lead Egypt from the darkness to light. They want him strong, invincible, and all-powerfully capable of vaporizing his enemies should they ever dare to exist. They want someone they can adore and even God-ify.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia 

If you seek proof to such claims, look no further than the mysterious case of Hazem Abu Ismail. The charismatic sweet-talking Santa Claus figure who ran for presidency, gathered supporters, and spent millions of Pounds on electorial posters and banners despite knowing that his running for presidency inspite of his mother's American Nationality is in direct violation of the Egyptian Constitutional declaration which bans citizens with dual-national parents from running for presidency.  His supporters went crazy over him, many of them even to the point of pledging their life to him and threatening armed conflict if ever asks them for their support.

Hamdeen Worshipers 

Another, even more mysterious case, is  Hamdeen Sabahy, one of the leaders of the "old" (i.e.pre-revolution) opposition parties who had no popularity whatsoever and then , suddenly and mysteriously, rose to the spotlight. Now all you could hear is Hamdeen this , Hamdeen that. His worshippers liken him to his role-model, the late Gamal Abdel Nasser, who squandered Egypt's wealth on silly wars and died leaving a huge chunk of Egypt occupied, but is still, for some odd reason, worshipped by the masses.

Adore this Sucka!! 

Worshipping masses... listen up!

I hate to burst your bubble but... there is no savior, there is no deliverer, there is no champion! YOU are the champions.  Conscience  is the champion. No one person is ever the answer. The answer is a system. A system that is not self-righteous, but just. A system that can hold those in power accountable for the failings and mistakes. A system where no one in executive position is above the law.

But since Pharaoh worshipping has been sort of our "thing" since the dawn of time, then by all means, elect a cardboard queen... One you can admire, adore, and glorify all you want but let her hold no royal prerogative.

Freedom: A New F-Word ?

Article first Published on BikyaMasr


I'll let you in on a little secret. When I was a dreamy teenaged my parents --especially my dad-- itched when they heard the word Freedom. 


And I believe that most, if not all, Egyptian and Middle Eastern parents still shudder in fear when they here their young one speaking of their demands for Freedom.


"FREEEEEE???? What do you meant you want to be FREEEE?" A parent from our culture always says. 


"Do you want to be homosexual? Do you want to have sex? To do drugs?? Istaghfaro 'llah *asking God for forgiveness*" The parent usually breaks down into tears at this point. "What have I done to deserve such a child? God help me! Why can't you be more like me at your age huh?"


One said parent might've even had a normal adolescence with mistakes that they hate to admit. And if you were ever to confront them they'd say: "well, I want to you to be better than me. I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did." 


The examples are many. But one very common and almost ubiquitous example is the hijabi and/or Niqabi mama who forces the islamic dress on her daughter. 


The mother who, in her day, wore whatever she pleased and dated the guy she eventually married asks her daughter to "cover it all" and abstain from even talking to boys. 


"My parents were not very religious so they didn't teach me right from wrong. But I'll be DAMNED if I watch you be promiscuous!" This, naturally, reads "Do whatever you want as long you're sneaky enough to fool me."


To most of the 'older' generations, Freedom is promiscuity and promiscuity is the root of all evil. 


And the pseudo-liberals we have roaming round in the land of the Nile have a curious way of fighting for Freedom. They offer up assurances that when granted our freedom, we will be good boys and gals and use it properly and respect the social norms and rules and what have you. 
HA!
Freedom, people, is the right to be FREE. To choose your way and find that spark in your soul that's worth living for.


Those who deny us our Freedom do nothing, other than frustrate. Because whether they like it or not, or want to admit or not, we ARE free. Each and every one of us is free to wake up and go rob a bank, or kill our neighbor, or chop our ex in tiny morsels. But we don't because we CHOOSE not to, because we accept moral responsibility and cherish righteousness, at least most of the time. 


And this is precisely why we, as opposed to animals, are responsible for our acts before God. God gave Adam and Eve Freedom the moment he gave them Free Will. He told them not to eat the Forbidden Fruit but left the tree right there in front of them. Their test, as is ours, is fighting temptation. 


So dear Salafi Wahabis or whatever you can call yourself today, please remember that, in the words of William Wallace (aka. Braveheart), you can take away our lives, but you can't take away our freedom!

George Clooney Arrested in a Protest: Just Like Egypt?

Yes. We're talking about THE George Clooney, super star and dedicated human rights activist. He was arrested while protesting in front of the Sudanese Embassy the inhumane mass murder and genocide in the Nuba mountains. That's the Nuba mountains in Sudan, not the Egyptian Nuba of course.

PHOTO: REUTERS

George Clooney was arrested like any common protestor--except of course for the fact that hundreds of cameras were recording every second of the arrest. Now, I can hear all the pro-tyranny people in Egypt rejoicing: "Seeee! In your face! Protestors get A-R-R-E-S-T-E-D even in the United States of America. So quit blaming our most beloved Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) for arresting protestors!"

I hate to burst your bubble O' you anti-protest peeps. Mr Clooney was arrested for an act of civil disobedience: he and the other protestors were blocking the entrance to the Sudanese embassy. The police warned them three times not to cross "the police line" and when they did, police officers on site arrested George Clooney and a few other activists. George Clooney &Co were taken away in plastic handcuffs (also known as Zip Ties) and they continued their chanting against the criminal Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir.

George Clooney had planned this protest, and knew that they will be arrested. Clooney knew that the arrest of a mega star like him would bring his cause to attention. So he accepted the cuffs willingly.

Mohamed Hassan: Even the Poor should donate to 'save the economy'

And to compare this to the sad situation of Egyptian Super Star Sheikhs such as Mr. Mohammed Hassan who rally for their cause by asking poor people to donate to it, you begin to understand where my undying appreciation for George Clooney comes from.

Even though many people would just disregard this arrest as a 'media stunt.' I like it, because it is a stunt that works.

Now, thousands of people worldwide will google George Clooney's arrest and try to find out more about why he did. Thousands of people will now know that somewhere in Africa, Omar Al-Bashir is murdering and starving the People of the Nuba Mountains. And if this is how Clooney uses his fame and stardom, then all the power to him.

Misogyny in Egypt: More than Attitudes

A few days ago I came across a disgusting picture on Facebook (and of course it has many), but this particular one had hit a chord. It was a picture that portrayed Egypt in a sort of damsel in distress situation where a ghoulish hairy hand in trying to strip her naked in the name of freedom. 
And who was that freedom ghoul? You guessed it! 
The United States of America and its alter ego (NGOs), Israel, Youth of the 6 of April movement (pro democracy group of kick ass Egyptian activists, and the news services which regularly cover violations by thugs of the Egyptian government).

The misogyny and patriarchy of the general Egyptian population is now used for political propaganda.

Here is the offensive picture (the translation is mine.) Look at the shaming and xenophobic messages implied! Outrageous!

 They like to portray Egypt as a woman, because they want to keep her 'covered', facts and all. They want to shame freedom seekers into submission and call upon the "men" of the country to protect their so called honor.  Just as they do when want to incite sectarian violence

Well, I say shame on them! And their women-belittling ways! 

When Radio Silence Is All You Need

Yes, it's true! Radio silence has been broken and I'm out and about again.

I can't tell you how thankful I am for all the wonderfull people who emailed/texted/twittered me to ask whether everything is fine. It is nice to feel like you are not alone in cyberspace!

It's not just that I've been extra super busy lately.
I also felt really down since that freedom flotilla incident. I felt like the world is generally a very depressing place; a place where writing and words have very little meaning if you do not own a lobby that controls the media ( hint..hint).

So I will steer clear of politics as of now-- I don't feel like sinking into the deep pits of depression just yet.

Next posts will be more on the light-and-breezy side!

Florida Mosque Bombing A Hate Crime

I hate hate crimes, especially the ones that escape the mainstream media radar.
AOL has an article about the bombing of a mosque in Jacksonville, Florida. The explosion shook the mosque at the time of the evening (isha) prayer, and luckily none of the 60 Muslims inside were hurt.

The FBI has some leads--including a video recording of the incident, and the The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)has put out a monetary reward for anyone steps forward with information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator.

This bombing took place May 10th, and media coverage remained mostly local. CAIR says that there has not been adequate national media coverage.


This is again a classic case of  use/misuse of media power that I talked about in my previous post.


Media, journalist, and bloggers skillfully choose which hate crimes to ignore and which ones to dwell upon for months--depending on what suits their purposes of course!


So what are your purposes?


P.S. Special thanks go out to Naaila Hassan and Dena Shunra for bringing this to my attention through their tweets.

Girl Vs. President

Standing up against a sea of troubles is never easy. But how many people have the courage to do what this young woman here did?

I am not about to discuss the political aspects of the picture, because this is not what struck about it. My first impression, like many of you, was 'WOW! This girl has guts!!'

Not too many people have the courage to stand up against their oppressors; the beaten woman, the abused child, the underpaid employee usually end up just taking it laying down.

We always need little inspirational tidbits, be it a quote, an article, or a picture. I think this is as moving as the 'Shoe' journalist who tossed at G. W. Bush what he deserved.

The imagery of it is beautiful too. Look at the girl, veiled, so small, and standing up against a huge crowd, a big car, and the one of the most oppressive b political forces in the world: the Iranian president. Ahmadinejad is looking as pretentious as ever, arrogant, and surrounded by bodyguards who could not protect him from this woman's courage.

I received this in an email titled "woman of the year". Well said.

This girl SERIOUSLY got game!!

Water Politics and What Citizens Should do

I like what Helmy Sharawy wrote in Shorouk newspaper about the water geopolitics being far from a 'football match' where Egytians will just go about the streets ranting and raving and the government will let steam blow over. This is a serious matter that needs serious interventions; nothing is more ridiculous, in my opinion, than the whole israel-is-behind-this-all sharade.

Conspiracy theories aside--although I myself am a HUGE fan-- our fellow African neighbours are pissed! And if we were in their shoes, we would be pissed too. They think the Nile is theirs, and they want to capitalize on it. We think the Nile is our God-given right; hey, just because Herodotus thinks so doesn't mean the whole world has to agree!!
Compromise is in order here, and real negotiations on our part.
It is imperative to re-educate citizens on the vital importance of reducing wasted water ; there were many campaigns in the past, which I vaguely remember from my childhood,  that unfortunately stopped, for some unknown reason. We tend to view the Nile as infinite, well, it is not!
Stop taking the Nile for granted!

Shoot Em Down : MPs in Egypt

As a sort of a twisted come back at the esteemed MPs suggesting that Egytian protestors should be shot down, I will argue that these members of the so-called Egyptian 'parliment' should be hanged in public display. Why you ? Well I have a whole bunch of reasons:

• 
  
  1. Legal grounds:  Since we have the death penatly in Egypt, it should be applied here in this case, with no reluctance or regerts because the above mentioned MPs have caused political apoplexy in Egypt for the past 3 decades or so.
• 
  
  2.Religious:  "al ifsad fi al ard" which translates to 'spreading mischief/corruption in the land', what corruption is worse than killing a bunch of innocent protestors??
• 
  
  3.Added bonus: there will be many more 'treatment at the expense of the state' decisions available for other MPs to fiddle around with!

So, what do you all think?