Saturday, October 29
Ramadaniyat
Yesterday, while I was visiting my parents for fotoor, I got into a conversation with my father about the diversity of Quran interpretations and how this issue became, since the death of the prophet, the main reason for the collapse of the Islamic institution. Moslems got divided into sects and each sect divided into organized entities. Each would interpret Quran to the benefit of his entity; Ikhwan, Wahabiya, Alawiya, Ithna3ashariya, etc. And if that looks innocent enough on the outside on the slogan of freedom to practice one’s faith, it sure created hatred and prejudice movements, most of which are imbedded and waiting for a sudden outburst of disgusting languages or even physical assaults. And these people are supposedly following the same religion and the same prophet!Since the beginning of the month of Ramadan, I started watching three TV series; althahir baibers, Nizar Qabani and Molook Altawaef. But by the middle of the month I ended watching only Molook Altawaif. So our discussion (me and my dad) drifted to the waste of the Islamic empire on the hands of its greedy rulers. And I told him that watching that series reminded me how much yesterday is like today; history is repeating itself, Almorabitoon for example were no different than the fanatic organizations of today although historians polished them with sheer vibrancy. And we both agreed that the end of this nation is on the hands of its rulers and how much they allow the misuse of religion to dominate its policy.
Anyway, by the end of our conversation my dad threw at me an anecdote before going to take his usual after fotoor nap. And I thought I’d share it with you because as funny as it may seem, unfortunately; it manifests our situation today:
He said: there was this mullah who preached in the Mosque and a lot of people followed him. And although he was poor himself that he barely made his living, he managed to distribute money almost constantly on the poor who attended his mosque. This raised a lot of suspicion and some nosy people set to follow him to see where is he getting all this money from. They found out that he stole from the rich and distributed it all on the poor. When he was brought to court, he explained that he is applying the preaching of Islam to win heaven. When the judge demanded an explanation he said” Quran says that God grants a reward worth of 10 times for one good deed ( wa nati bil 7asanah 3ashr amthaliha) and God had also promised that to each misconduct there will be a punishment equivalent to it ( wa nati bel sayiah mithliha), so if you do a simple Arithmetic calculation here you’ll see that by my conduct I’m gaining nine rewards each time I steal, and that Grants me heaven.
Now you will say that this is our fate, and what can we do about it?
The answer is to think, use your heads and don’t allow anyone to lead you like goatherds lead goats.
Religion should be separated from politics; it should remain where it belongs, in the heart of man and his sacred bond to God; the Great. The Merciful. The Love.
Wednesday, October 26
7ijab; is it a must in Islam?This issue has been a matter of controversy for centuries. I tried to research it so many times before to answer these question :
1- Did Islam actually set 7ijab (covering all women’s body except for the face and the hands) as a must ( (واجب )for Moslem women?
2- What are the punishments/ rewards that a woman is getting if she refuses to wear 7ijab provided that she is dressed decently?
In my quest I only found two verses in Quran which were vaguely addressing this issue:
- "Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them; and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their chests and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers..." [continuing list of family members and others in front of whom women are exempt from covering] (Qur'an 24:30-31
- "O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons...that they should be known and not molested." [Chapter 33, verse 59]
First; in both verses I believe God is addressing the prophet regarding his women (omahat elmo’mineen) especially in the second verse, but let’s say for the sake of argument that the quote “believing women” is an address to all Moslem women, but where does it say that the head and the entire body should be covered except for the face and hands?
Second; to me; both verses are addressing virtue in society as a whole, and specifically asking women to be virtuous and decent with their clothing. In the first verse there was a direct address to cover the bosom and I don’t see any thing about the head or any other parts of the body.
Then where did the notion of 7ijab as is worn today come from?
The only explanation I received was what mentioned in the verse “and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear” which, in my opinion, was left short for man to contemplate as he wishes. And that’s what most Islamic preachers used for stating a rule that was not clearly mentioned in Quran. And the fact that all 3olama were men, actually until today, that explains why so much stress was exerted on women when it comes to the issue of 7ijab.
As it came to my knowledge that these preachers took their rules from tradition (7adeath), mostly from this one:
"Ayesha (R) reported that Asmaa the daughter of Abu Bakr (R) came to the Messenger of Allah (S) while wearing thin clothing. He approached her and said: 'O Asmaa! When a girl reaches the menstrual age, it is not proper that anything should remain exposed except this and this. He pointed to the face and hands." (Abu Dawood)
And although a lot of Moslem refer to 7adeath as their base in explaining facts in Quran, I don’t see why rules should be applied as per 7adeath, especially when it’s not clearly stated in Quran, for many reasons:
First; Quran is explicit in its rules; for each and every action of all social issues was clearly explained and rules were set, moreover punishment and reward is stated for each and every action. Then why were the rules of 7ijab left to man? unless it was put by man and not by God.
Second; it is ironic that the 7adeaths that were documented in the most reliable source; AlSaheeh for example were mostly written on the tongues of people who hardly accompanied the prophet for long. For example; Abo Horayra who wrote more that 5,000 7adeaths did not accompany the prophet more than a year, while the rest like the prophet’s students (elkholafas and others) who accompanied him all his life did not write one tenth of those 7adeaths mentioned in AlSa7a7.
And let me quote Dr.Kamel AlNajar in his book “ قراءة نقدية للإسلام click here” and his logical analysis for not considering 7adeath as a credited source:
“وهناك بلا شك احاديث عديدة ملفقة ومنسوبة للنبي، باسنادٍ جيد. وحتى كتب الحديث المشهورة مثل صحيح البخاري ( توفي عام 238 هجرية)
يصعب الاعتماد عليها لانه جمعها بعد حوالي مائتين عاماً بعد وفاة الرسول ويقول المستشرق جولدزرGoldziher )
أنه لا يمكن القول ان أي حديث هو حديث صحيح قاله النبي، لان صناعة الحديث وصلت ذروتها في الدولة العباسية التي حاول خلفاؤها تبرير اغتصابهم الحكم من الامويين، فأوعزوا الى علمائهم باختراع احاديث تساندهم وتذم العلويين.[109] وقد جمع بعض رواة الحديث أكثر من ثلاثمائة ألف حديث، بعضها مناقض لبعض. وأعتمد البخاري ألفين فقط من كل هذه الاحاديث واعتبر البقية منحولة. فإذا كذب الناس في الاحاديث المنسوبة للنبي، كيف نصدق رواياتهم عن جمع القرآن؟”
My conclusion to the first question is that 7ijab is not a must (واجب) as women are lead to believe, although virtue is, God did not enforce it on women, why did man do that?
Most probably because we never had a woman preacher (3alimah) throughout the history of Islam, and if you can convince me otherwise, please feel free to do so.
As for the second question I personally did not find any directed punishment toward the refusal of wearing 7ijab (covering all but hands and face).
Tuesday, October 25
Sorry, I Can Only be a Friend
Fate united them together, yet it was blasphemy that congealed that unity; an oath of love they both shared for one person; a person whom God blessed with both aspects and linage. A person who had once given the oath of love to her, yet he could not resist the advantages that his qualities brought forth; there was too much fish in the see for him to settle with one, so he left her with a broken heart and a kaput ego reciting:
He left me in silence
He left me again in silence
He left me without a clue in silence
On the other hand; he was also in love with that person (her lover); his long time, summer camp friend. You could say that he is a gay; he revealed it in so many occasions, but he never directly announced it. His secret love for his lover only remained a secret when sought in his eyes. And knowing that his pseudo lover is straight, and that he did not have any hope, he never crossed the boundaries with him although he was pounded with surges of jealousy many times while witnessing the presence of another woman in his beloved’s company. But she sensed that; women have the sixth sense. And once; she even had mentioned that to her lover, but he only pushed that thought away not wanting to believe that his friend is infatuated by him, and not wanting to judge his friend’s sexual tendencies.
The lover left his girl although his soul never did, and he kept his loyalty to his friend as best friends can endow.
As much as he was happy to see her go, as much as he was sad; he yearned to know her more, partly because he wanted to discover the secret that made his beloved seek after her, and mostly because; among all the others that the lover had courted, she was the only one who felt his pain. She did not blunt it out in any occasion, but he knew that her love for that person equated his love for him, and their agonies paralleled in this trio relationship. They shared love, agony, remorse and lost hopes for a single person. And so they grew to be best of friends.
But as time elapses so do people change, these two became even closer than close until that day when he started giving her mixed messages. How is she supposed to react towards him now? Was he changing? And if he was, how could you resume your relationship with some one that you considered in the past as your own gender, and now you are expected to change your attitude towards him?
If this is a very sticky situation that you can’t find a solution for, then let me ask you a simpler one:
How would you react when you find out that your best friend is changing course and expecting more into a relationship that you want to halt at a certain limit? You don’t want to raise his/her hopes, yet you don’t want to lose his/her friendship. How can you make him/her realize that you still love him/her but in a different way without causing heartbreak especially when you know that your friend is sensitive and that he/she had his/her share of misfortune in matters of the heart?
Saturday, October 22
I Forgive but Never ForgetWhy did you put him in command?
Why did you me shun?
Is it because he is your son?
Or is it because he’s a man?
Not a chance, you gave me none
Desperately, you made me run
Now it’s too late
At least for him
To conquer hate
For years to come
But in spite of all that
Heart drums beat fast
Deafening my ears
When your voice I hear
It’s love mother dear
To whom I succumb
Wednesday, October 19
love
She: tell me about loveHe: what is love?
She: a feeling
He: does it hurt?
She: very much, like a bite
He: does it excite?
She: to no limit
He: does it wake you up at night?
She: all night
He: does it make you hallucinate?
She: to lunacy
He: does it make you lonely?
She: very lonely
He: how do you know all that?
She: I don’t know
.......
.......
She: why are you so quiet?
He: words escape me, in the presence of love
Full moon was here last night
Monday, October 17
Slavery in KuwaitIn my last post, Shosho asked a very interesting question about the history of slavery in Kuwait. I tried to dig-out information on the Net but was unsuccessful. Thanks to my fellow blogger KUWAITI DEMON for the invaluable information that he provided:
Chapter 10 from H. R. P. Dickson’s “The Arab of the Desert” :
10 Slaves
In Kuwait town the 'abd, or slave proper, who has been bought for money and is therefore owned by his master, is rare, but domestic slaves, born in captivity of slave parents who may have been in one family for several generations, are commonly to be found in well-to-do households. This state of affairs is not peculiar to Kuwait, however, for as many, if not more, domestic slaves are to be found in the best households in Basra and Baghdad, not to mention many towns in other Muslim countries. As early as 1924 the Shaikh of Kuwait decreed that the import or export of slaves for purposes of sale would be treated as a crime, and this brought about the effective end of the traffic in bought and domestic slaves who at one time were brought into Kuwait from the interior and sent from there by dhow or steamer.
The buying and selling of born domestic slaves in Kuwait is a very rare occurrence, and only takes place if the slave happens to be unhappy and asks to be sold, which he has the right to do. Very occasionally, and very secretly, a person returning overland from the Hajj pilgrimage may manage to smuggle in a newly bought slave from Mecca, but if the offender is found out he is heavily fined and the slave taken from him and freed.
Masters in Kuwait town are as a general rule kind to domestic slaves born in their families, whom they bring up much as they do their own children. These family slaves hold positions of trust, and are provided with wives and husbands, as the case may be, when they so desire. When slaves marry they go through the same ceremonies as the freeborn, the master and mistress of the slave acting the part of the parents of the bridegroom. Furthermore, the family will evince as much interest in the marriage of one of their slaves as in that of one of the family. The slaves' children mix on terms of affection and equality with the master's children, and the lady of the house will very often treat her slave's progeny with more apparent affection and care than her own.
There are occasions, of course, when slaves are treated unreasonably, or even cruelly, by their masters, but in such cases they may appeal to their shaikh. The Shaikh of Kuwait always took pains to listen to any slave who came to him with complaints of ill-treatment, and if he decided that the petitioner could not safely be returned to his owner he would buy him himself, giving him ii monthly salary and encouraging him to look upon himself as an ordinary servant.
As a bought slave girl is a man's personal property, it is not wrong in the eyes of the law for the master to take her as a concubine if he finds her attractive. This can happen only in the case of newly bought girls, however, and is practiced only among town Arabs. The custom does not exist among the badawin. Should a slave girl become pregnant by her master, the Sharia law lays down that he must immediately give the prospective mother her freedom, so that his child shall be born free. For the future, both will hold honored positions, the mother as a free woman who can no longer be carnally touched by her late master. Usually such freed women soon find husbands from among other freed slaves. The child, if a boy, remains and grows up as his father's son but is, however, debarred from marrying a pure-bred Arab girl when he grows up. Slave-born daughters receive equivalent treatment. If an Arab woman suckles her little slave child, that child can never be sold as a slave; it is henceforth free, like her own children.
A domestic male slave's duties in the town are legion, but all honorable. He is doorkeeper, he looks after stores, household supplies, holds positions of trust, keeps account of the home water supply, makes coffee, accompanies the ladies of the house when they go out, and look after the needs of the harem. The lot of the female domestic slave in a nice family is an easy and privileged one. She looks after her mistress and her robes and always dresses her. She is often the cook or seamstress, she goes down to the seashore and does the family washing with the younger women of the house and accompanies her mistress on her calling expeditions. Like the male slave she of ten holds positions of considerable responsibility and trust.
Slaves may rely on the protection of their master, for they know that their lord will avenge himself on any stranger who harms his slave, more than if he were his own son.
Among the badawin tribes almost every shaikh or well-to-do member of a tribe has his male slaves, whether born in the family or bought, and their 'womenfolk have female slaves. Speaking generally, bought slaves are the rule. The slave in the desert is normally treated well, although he has, of course, to work and take his full share in drawing water for sheep and camels and in cutting brushwood for the use of the tent. Since he can stand the summer heat better than the Arab, he does a lot of the work connected with the care and tending of camels when his master and mistress are camped on water during the hot season.
In the desert during times of war, slaves are considered to be good spoil, much like camels. Normally a body of riders on a camel-lifting expedition will not carry off a single slave man found in charge of grazing camels as he would hinder rapid movement. Instead they will merely bind and leave him. It is considered lawful, if you are at enmity with another tribe, to steal slave children and make them yours, but the same unwritten law insists, however, that such children be over ten years of age. Of course, the owner will attempt to effect a rescue and will kill the stealer if he can, even if he has to wait years to do so. If in a raid a freed slave, male or female, be carried off in error, it is the duty of the raiders to return him or her as soon as the mistake is found out.
No true Arab may lawfully marry a freed slave woman as we have noted, nor will any pure-bred badawin ever demean himself by having sexual connection with any of his bought female slaves. They consider this very disgraceful, and refuse to accept the argument of certain noble and princely semi-badawin families, such as the Al Sa'adun of Iraq, that because a slave girl is your property entirely, she is yours to do with as you like without sin. The badawin calls this town sophistry, and it is one of the things that causes him to despise the town-dweller.
Saturday, October 15
A Snowball in my FaithI remember one time in high-school I asked my Islamic mythology teacher this hot question:
Did Islam prohibit Slavery as it did other sins like drinking alcohol and/or Man slaughter ?
And after some beating around the bush, with needed and unneeded arguments to get away with the answer I was seeking. She finally admitted that Islam definitely prohibited it, but INDIRECTLY. And she justified the reason behind this indirectness by saying:
Islam came at a time where the whole society was totally dependant on slaves. And it was not possible to prohibit it and collapse the whole system. That’s why it strongly encouraged freeing slaves, and threatened the ones who might abuse this right.
That was the most provocative answer I heard in my life. It opened a Pandora's Box in my head; it busied my mind with millions of other unanswered questions and doubts.
How could this be?
If the verse “there is no God but one God” is the first sentence a Moslem recites to declare his deity to Allah; the one and only.
If it is the first vow that he takes in his shahada*.
If from that moment he is to understand that he and all others are equal before ONE God.
If his worshippers are to seal a sacred bond to the belief of equity before him.
Then how can this great Allah allow the sovereignty of man over man when he orders us not to bow but to his holiness. To his almightiness. To his ONENESS?
If God; The Equitable , who equates Arabs to none-Arabs and judges none, but each and every one’s individual deeds, then how can the JUST be unjust?
No, that just didn't make any sense; forbidding alcohol was a very sensitive issue in that same society, yet Islam approach it in "stages", Couldn’t then slavery be treated in the same manner?
It was then when I felt this urging need to seek the answer in Quran and 7adeath li ya6ma’n galbi**.
And in my quest for truth I found out that Islam handled the issue of slavery in a very peculiar manner wa lam ya6ma'n galbi ***
It did not prohibit it as our text books conditioned us to believe. Slavery existed for decades after Islam. It did not prohibit practicing its market. Free people were owned at times of war as Sabaya****, and Islam did not stop it. Islam even gave the owners of female slaves the right to mate as many of them as they owned. And regardless of how kind their masters were to those slaves, the fact remains that they were slaves; they didn’t have any choice.
But nevertheless, Islam did encourage freeing slaves and threatened the ones who might abuse this right. But it did not forbid owning slaves.
This is more like prescribing a Panadol for a patient that suffers from cancer.
Quran is explicit in postulating Islam as the antithesis of jahiliyya*****. It institutes legislation and determines principles of right and wrong conduct. If this is a known fact, then how come, according to Quran, drinking alcohol is considered a sin that leads to hell and Slavery is not?
Nothing can be as valuable as one’s freedom; taking a man’s freedom is like taking his life, may be even worse.
God, the mercy, the love, the just is much mightier than to allow such a brutal act, he created me a free soul, not to be enslaved by anyone but his ONENESS.
And the snowball continued to roll
* Shahada: to become a Moslem you have to recite and seal your bond to your faith by the verse: there is no God but Allah, and Mohamad is his messenger.
** li yatma’n galbi: to reassure my faith
*** lam yatma’n galbiIt: decreased my faith
**** Sabaya: in victory, the wining party were permitted to own the losing party’s men and women as slaves
***** jahiliyya: the ignorant time before Islam
Sunday, October 9
Just an opinionStatistics have shown a remarkable rise in divorce rate in Kuwait especially in the first few years of marriage. And although these facts and figures are considerably high, they would still multiply if we consider the nonofficial divorce cases (separations) where some couples live together under the same roof and lack any means of communication.
Factors of divorce could be many but there is one important factor that I believe had not taken its fair share by the analysts and family social researchers; this factor is FINANCIAL.
Like many other aspects of our life, our social laws in Kuwait is based upon the Islamic law ( Elsharee3ah Elislamiya) which denotes man as the sole provider of the family while woman are free to participate in financial expenditures as per their wish, and all other financial lows like inheritance and such are distributed according to this role.
These laws are ancient and may have worked fine in the early stages of Islam, but the world today is one of economic globalization; it is the world of internet, mass communication and inflation, to put it simply; it’s a world of change, and unless the husband has inherited a bundle, he could not single handedly support the family, women have to participate, and the issue of financial support does not become a choice for women anymore, it becomes mandatory, and the man no longer assumes the role of the sole provider.
This is becoming one of the main conflicts between a working couple, because, to enforce financial support on women, other laws like inheritance which segregates between men and women based on the Islamic notion of the roles has to change, and government social securities and other financial laws that fit into this category would also have to change or else she would be the looser in this marriage contract, what is she getting out of this marriage if she spends her life savings and all her income to support her family? What if the union did not work?
And to compensate for this, most families try to waiver these laws by demanding a high postponed dowry (moakhar sadak) and some would go as far as demanding a separate house that is registered (at least 50%) under their daughter’s name just for security reasons in case the marriage did not have the chance to survive.
Most newly weds try their best to adapt to these laws, but whether they are successful or not depends totally on the individuals, but you can easily sense the financial tention in almost every household. Family interference in this specific issue becomes another important factor that we cannot overlook.
As long as we abide to these social laws, divorce rates will continue to rise.
Wednesday, October 5
Lets Play
Since this weekend is the first in the holy month, I want to make a confession;when I write a poem I do not like to comment about who or what was behind the original idea or the inspiration, I like to leave it to the reader's imagination and the way they interpret and relate to it because I believe that once a poem is published, it becomes a reader’s experience and it does not belong to the poet’s personal life anymore, and to me, that’s the beauty of poetry.
Having said that; today I will break that rule and I will confess that the poem written hereunder was written to God (with the use of metaphor), but what inspired it? I could say many, but what if I get out of inspiration?
When this happens, I read other poet’s work and feel it, this feeling would create my own inspiration.
Meaning; my past experiences are different than that of the poet who wrote the poem and yet, I can feel a connection to his poem in my own understanding; it could be a sentence or it could be a word that provoked an episode from my past experiences, or a certain memory , I immediately write down whatever comes to mind mixed with present emotions that has nothing to do with the poem I read, and the outcome is something that is completely different than that of the original poem.
I’m sure that many of you who have read the poem I’m posting here have never suspected that this was a spiritual poem because he/she connected it to his/her experiences.
I Only Have You
To be with friends
And abandon you
To soar high, and dip low
To reach beyond what's attainable
And above what may sound reasonable
Yes, I might do that
I even might melt the sun
And glorify the moon
And dart the twilight
To catch the flocking birds
And make them fly with no wings
Oh yes, I have countless faults
And much more friends
Yet, I only have one lover
And that lover is you
Whom to me is indispensable
OK, you know the rules of the game by now;
-Stick to the title "Reverie".
-Write a poem of any type or just a paragraph to materialize the inspiration you had in your own sense of grasping the poem or may be just the title that triggered your own experience
-Use any language that you feel comfortable with.
-Write as many pieces as you like, the space here is all yours.
-There will be no judgment of any type, remember; it’s not a competition.
Looking forward to joyful readings during the weekend in my quarters; soaring in your work of art.
Have a lovely weekend with your loved ones :)
Tuesday, October 4
Few words about Ramadan:
- Month of peace? Who said that? my country was invaded by another Moslem country in a holy month as I recall.- Month of worship? Pretending is more like it; some are pretending to fast, some fast from food and drinks but not from bad manners, traffic goes nuts and accidents increase due to low morality which is noticeable during this month, street flirting also is more palpable during this month and I’m not talking about night time, I’m talking about broad daylight, some would even stash alcohol for Ead even though black market prices shoot rocket high.
- Month of family gatherings? Yes for more gossip and envy, not to mention showing off wealth.
- Month of longer nights and TV shows? Most TV shows are repetitive, crap and boring, not to mention how brain damaging they are.
- Month of charity? Why? Does charity have only one month/year? One look in the garbage bins tells you how much food is going to waste while there are thousands of people around who don’t have a bite to eat, notice how much stray cats increase during this month.
- Month of mercy? Sure, where is mercy when I impose my rituals on people of other religions forbidding them to eat or drink in public, even in the gyms where people sweat and need to drink have to go to the locker rooms for water coolers.
- Month of less working hours? Sure, and with it less productivity; as if Kuwait needed that, yoba; Kuwaities are lazy by nature.
- Month of health? May be for some who use the rituals to lose the extra kilos, for most it’s the month of over indulgence, over eating and higher mortality rate.
- Month of girgai3an? Sure along with drivers, fancy cars and maids taking kids from door to door.
- Ramadan kareem? Yeh, it used to be; now Ramadan is a hypocrite that I don’t know and can’t relate to anymore.
Sunday, October 2
Sameera / the struggle of a single woman “VIII"
Indecision:A continuation
For two days Sameera did not hear from Alberto and she did not update her friend Fowziya about the new developments knowing how critical she could be at times and also, she was waiting to see how things would turn out, but one early morning she had a call from Fowziya who yelled at her as soon as she picked up the phone:” what the hell do you think you’re doing?
Sameera:” What? What did I do?”
Fowziya:” What is this thing between you and Alberto May I ask?.....Girl, he has a girlfriend, no, a fiancé to be more precise, what were you doing with him in a Public place?”
Sameera replied after pausing enough time for the adrenaline to shoot up to her head rendering her voice a pitch higher:” what are you saying Foziya? Should I ask your permission every time I want to go the bathroom?”
This kind of dialogue was ordinary between the two friends, but Fowziya noticed Sameera’s sarcastic tone and realized that the situation was much more serious than she had thought and that made her sympathize with her friend; she deliberately readjusted her tone to a pitch lower:” cut it off, you know what I mean, I don’t care if you see the devil himself, but why do it in Public, someone might have seen you here or there and that’s not good; not for you, nor for him, after all, this is Kuwait, remember?”
Sameera seemed a bit calmer now and replied dreamily:” well, he chose the place not me, and I just wanted to please him, wi bani o banich, ana ma sadagt inah dag”
Fowziya:” not in public dear, not in public, anyway, this is not why I called, I called to tell you that Waleed is going crazy over this whole thing, he did not stop calling me from that night you had a date with Alberto, and I was waiting for you to tell me what’s going on, but you didn’t, and I honestly think that you shouldn’t lose your chances with him for a relationship that doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere”
Sameera:” excuse me? If you think that he’s Mr. Perfect then, why did you dump him?”
Foziya: ”ah ….come on, I didn’t dump him, with me it was different, first, he’s a friend that I could never see as a partner, and second; he only mentioned that as a passing friendly gesture and I don’t think that he really meant it, but the situation with you is different, he really thinks that you are right for him and he is serious about it” and with mockery she added: ”and I sensed his jealousy when he was talking about your date with Albertooooo.”
Sameera:” you see, that’s exactly what turns me off when it comes to Arab men, they invite you over or do you a favor, and then they think they own you, why would he feel jealous, for God’s sake. I never implied anything to him.”
Fawziya:” try to see his point of view dear, he is worried about you, he even said that although he wants you, but he doesn’t care if nothing develops between you and him as much as he cares to see you using you head and acting maturely, he said that you shouldn’t hang out with someone who has no future for you, who does not come from your ethnic background and although you might not see it now but soon enough you would realize how hard it is for a Kuwaiti girl to marry a foreigner, what if the relationship took a serious turn, and what cost you have to pay with your children upbringing and nationalities and all. And I think he is right….. besides, what about his girlfriend? Do you think that his girlfriend would just let you have him? Hell no, she’d always hunt you because she is the one he loved enough to have a serious commitment to, Waleed said that Alberto is known amongst his friends to be in love with his girlfriend and because of her, he never visited his friends nor answered their phone calls unless she was away”
Sameera: ”that doesn’t mean that he loves her, it only proves how bossy she is, and to be honest with you, I don’t care what the hell Waleed thinks or says, but the girlfriend issue is bothering me, I can’t deny that”
Fowziya:” ok then?”
Sameera, as if she was hearing Alberto’s soft voice singing in her ears :” then, I don’t know, I’m so attracted to him, it’s beyond me, it’s a supernatural power that’s working its freaking way between us, may be I’ve known him from a previous life or may be in my subconscious mind he is the knight I was always waiting for, I don’t know” and then with a giggle:” I think I’d better Google that out… heheheee”
Fowziya:” I don’t really know what you’re talking about, but it sounds beautiful, may be because I never experienced such things, but still, I’m worried about you, and although I agree with Waleed, but his reaction to this matter is not comforting, he could harm you , you know”
Sameera:” how could he harm me, he does not have any right to…”
Foziya:” don’t forget that Alberto is Waleed’s best friend”
Sameera:” ah… you guys are going too far, Alberto will not start a relationship with me until he breaks up with his girlfriend, he is that type of guy, and before he does that, he wants to be sure that, that’s exactly what he wants, got it?”
Fowziya:”ok…. Whatever, wa ma 3ala alrsool illa albalag”
And while she was still chatting with her friend, Sameera heard another caller’s beep coming from her mobile, and when she checked, she realized that Alberto was on the other line. She immediately finished her call with her friend and delightfully answered Alberto’s call.
Alberto’s call was formal and brief; he called to set a date for the following day to see her in his apartment for Tarot’s reading session and dinner as he had promised.
Her excitement was immesurable; first because she did not expect him to see her in his own apartment, at least not so soon, second; because the fact that he did invite her to his place, to her, implied that Alberto was doing some serious thinking, and he really cared not to lose her, and that thought was enough to make her feel ecstatic.
But Fowziya’s words kept buzzing into her ears; did Waleed say anything to Alberto? Would he do something stupid to ruin her happiness? And what are the consequences of her action if this relationship develops? She was not in this for a fling, neither Alberto was the type, she realized that not only Alberto had an issue to resolve, she had forgotten herself in this whole chaos, yes she had to think about the consequences on the long run and how much is the cost to pay. It was a shame, for a girl her age, to think with her emotions rather that her mind, what if Alberto was a lie that she was creating in her head, after all she did not know much about him. And with that thought Alberto’s image passed through her mind and her heart skipped a beat; Alberto could never be a lie.
And between ecstasy and fear she drowned the whole day in her never ending, opposite’s pulling, and ironic thoughts.
So what do you think? Should she listen to reason? Or should she listen to her heart? And what are the consequences of both decisions in the long run?
To be continued
Saturday, October 1
3amal khair oreda bihi ba6elYesterday, I read this article that really disturbed me in Algabas, it was published on the first page under the title:
لجنة العمل الخيري: إزالة مظاهر التبرع غير المرخصة و منع صرف اللإستحقاقات دون ختم
Translation; The charity committee: removing the charity ads that are not registered and forbidding pay slips without the official seal. (I hope my translation is fair enough)
In brief the article stated that a committee consisting of six ministries ( Shouoon, Interior ministry, media ministry, Commerce ministry, Municipal ministry, and Awgaf) have approved the activities of a plan to control donations during the month of Ramadan, and that accordingly working teams in each ministry is formed, each to his specialty, to implement the plan which starts at the beginning of the month of Ramadan and ends after Ead.
And as I read further I learned that the goal of this plan although was not stated clearly, was to fight terrorism. This was implied by the statement made by Mr Alwigayan; the head of the committee who stressed that the goal of this plan is to ban any donations collected by illegal sources that he described as the ones that enter the country on commercial visas and send the money to UNKNOWN SOURCES OUTSIDE OF KUWAIT.
Well chances are, Mr. Wigayan, that 50% of these donations you are banning is going to the real needy, but nevertheless; a good move concerning the other dangerous fifty percent, but what is the consequence of your action?
Channeling more money to legalized sources; that here I’d like to refer to as the monster.
If you are serious about fighting terrorism and want to do your homework right, draw a long term plan of action to fight the monster; chop the base of terrorism, do not kill the sheep to feed and empower the monster.
Your plan sounds great only you have to alter it to include the head, monitor his assets, control his cash flow and audit its final destination, mo bas gadereen 3ala lisgar.
Name::AyyA
From::Kuwait
I AM WHO I AM AS I ARRIVE AT YOUR DOOR WHETHER I COME OR I GO IS NOT UP TO ME FOR I HAVE LOST SIGHT OF ALL DESIRE "Walled Garden of Truth",Hakim Sanai
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