Super Hunter Moon 2017

In November 2016, there was a beautiful full moon, known as the "super hunter moon".

I had a video, which for reasons I won't get into I didn't publish then. So, here it is now,
I hope readers will enjoy the short but dramatic video! 

I love gazing at the stars, and have always wanted to buy a telescope since I have lived in Bahrain. 

My parents had often said, we can see the same moon even though we are far apart, which always puts a lump in my throat, even today as I fondly remember the times we shared. 

Our family lost my mom last June, she was 82. 

Dad always encouraged us to look at the starry sky with him, and we even saw planets and other phenomena, sometimes weather satellites! I hope to share the siting of the moon video with him and many others, during my coming travel to Canada, and through Northern Ontario end of this year, God willing.

I will also edit this post, to add the awesome and really "great" "super hunter moon" photo my daughter took, when she was in one of the restaurants overlooking Manama, on the night of the super moon last November.

The Supermoon In Photos

What Are You Doing 4 Earth Day?

I'm sharing this Earth Day Network link.

A couple of years ago, before I started a blog, I used to write for a ladies ning as a volunteer; it was a fun experience, and gave me some confidence to start writing for the general public.
But what I had wanted to do was get more involved in environmental activism in Bahrain.
I got sidetracked, and honestly haven't been doing much in the way of that for a couple of years, apart from recycling our paper; there is a company that will do take your paper off your hands and make it into something else, or sell it; not sure exactly... we bought a shredder last year, so I could manage all the paper we have at home (school exercise books, notes, homework sheets, text books, etc.) Sometimes we send our used text books overseas, to Africa or other places where they can be used (usually Arabic books, but sometimes Primary English readers, or activity sheets, etc.)

activism;

As the head volunteer (who started the environmental group for the ladies ning) I also asked a friend of mine who was more computer literate than me, to put some of the country's recycling pickup spots onto google maps - specifically in areas where we have high concentrations of expats, like Manama, or areas where we have high concentrations of  Bahrainis who own their own homes and gardens, such as Riffa'a - there are some pickup spots used by businesses (in the heart of downtown) or schools in East or West Riffa'a.

After that was done, we felt good about ourselves.

the three r's;

I also wrote several posts about what and how to recycle; my sister gave me more detailed information about specific types of plastic, with no's 3,5,7, 2, y'know. There are some that can be recycled and others that can't. (Wish I had that particular post handy now; it would be troublesome to search for that information; again I'm not as good at computer searches as others might be).

I also wrote about gardening, particularly reusing water from Ac's and other things, which are good to do, and how to make compost. I wrote that with some friends in mind who own their own homes and/or said they had an interest in gardening.

the guilty conscience;

Why did I do this, if I wasn't going to get involved myself for the long haul? It was educational, for one thing. And I felt guilty about waste and not helping the environment, which eventually wore off. I still try not to waste water, too, but it isn't something I worry about daily like I did then.

I initially did some research about groups in Bahrain who promote recycling or environmental awareness, etc. I found one website, whose owner lives in Bahrain (or used to) and when I kept on reading, eventually I saw posts denouncing the governemnt and the royal family. I stopped following the website, and didn't share it with others because I was so angry about the political opinions of the person. She really did turn me off her blog, and her sincerity seemed to be in question.

I think it is okay for environmentalists to be political but not to the detriment of the overall political/social 'environment'. Most expats here really like living here and would not think to criticize the government; many believe Bahrain is one of the nicest countries they have ever been.  I have a group (which is inactive) I called “Muslims in the Gulf States”, which I set up on Pal Talk when I left the ladies ning for personal reasons. The acronym is MIGS, which I didn’t realize at first, and which is not really the kind of image for a Muslim group I want to promote (obviously).

The last thing I thought to do for the environment was to get MIGS up and running, to begin group activities like recycling, etc. But I'm not a group leader by nature; later I was going to start a chapter of “FOEI” in Bahrain. I may still do that some day, so it is appropriate to announce that on Earth Day Int’l. (Even if it never gets off the ground, like some of my other plans didn’t).  IF anyone else IS interested, they should go ahead and start a Bahrain chapter of FOEI themself.

Little baby steps… they say. But I have tried in recent years to make lists and do things by a certain date; I find that helps me to accomplish more of the things I want to and keeps me focused. I have a page from a book taped to my wall, beside my workstation at home, which my son pulled out, from the book “Getting Things Done”, which I recommend for people who want to get organized and who want to “get things done” (sooner than later, is the idea).



Flickr Is Worth Browsing More Often

It's been a very long time since I have been to my Flikr account. Well, this morning I finally took the opportunity to see some amazing photos on Flikr. In particular, the first photostream I happened across was by Kijal. My favorites are some taken at the Masjid Al Haram, as well as many pretty photos of flowers. I'm not done browsing yet, but thought to do a quick write up on why I think browsing is a worthwhile activity. Browsing on Flikr is enjoyable and one is bound to come across many photos of interest and artistic value.

Browsing is something we can only do online. To make it a good experience and not something stressful, which it shouldn't be or you are not doing it right, you should have accounts in the best places for browsing which are of course, Flickr, for photos, Pinterest, I suppose (which I don't have) and places for videos, which might mean YouTube, but also might mean other online sharing, such as your email account/s and the useful and popular apps like SkyDrive or the Cloud apps. People complain that browsing videos takes a lot of time, which is true. Watching videos can take a lot more time than one anticipates as well (particularly if the internet connection is very slow). Every cloud has a silver lining, or in this case every action on the internet has it's good and bad. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kijal/

Many people prefer not to share their photos on Facebook, Twitter or the other usual places. They allow you to grab a link though (copy/pasted as above) and while you can't display the photo on your own site, you can still share it with others, which is an easy way of "sharing the love". You might be inspired to take more of your own photos, and publicly display those, which will showcase your own particular interests and any special talent you might have in photography. I haven't found many photos of my own which deserve special mention, the few I have shared from several different accounts (emails, Google+, Flickr) are noteworthy; on Flickr, perhaps the most memorable (possibly the ONLY photo I've ever posted there (a milenia ago) is of a pigeon. It was taken out our apartment's balcony and shows a pigeon, probably migratory, roosting on the corragated tin (or aluminum) roof above our parking space (at the time, we lived in East Riffa, in a third floor "flat" (Bahrainis say flat, not apartment). It fills me with nostalgia still, because around the same time it was taken, I started my first blog (My IslamFeed) which ended (and was removed).

For me putting myself out there (especially writing) is kind of like pulling off a bandaid. It has to be done, because I continue to want to write publicly, but also it isn't something I would describe as pleasant. I often feel ill at ease or trepiditious when posting something new; I suppose it comes from the desire to please others, and not disappoint, plus the fear of a public flogging (or readers scorn).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kijal/

[Revising: I couldn't find the pigeon, maybe I had two accounts and one is now obsolete, rather I forgot about it and created a second account, which is still there. (But that means no more pigeon photo, I will have to dig into my old digital photos to find it, which could take some doing!)]

If You Believe in Magic

The Sun Is a Big Ball of Fire (even though the Quran doesn't say as much)

No Muslims (who understood the Quran properly) believed the sun rotates around the earth, because the Quran states that the day and the night “wrap around each other” and “follow each other” in the way that a turban goes around the head; they imagined that this “following in quick succession” meant that day and night were occurring simultaneously, that one part of the earth was in darkness while the other was in light (night and day, happening together). If this was true, they also knew that the earth must be round. In fact, they knew for sure, because the quran says as much; the earth is ostrich egg shaped. They also observed the shadows (obviously, if the earth were flat, would mean that the sun is turned on and off like an electric light, with a switch) and change during the day, as the earth turns (away from the sun) and because during different seasons the sun is farther away (which maybe they didn’t imagine as early on, or someone else later proved this, I don’t know these facts myself e.g. who invented the astrolabes and why?) I only know some of this (how seasons occur) because I studied first year astronomy, which is something everyone should do at some point in their university careers. Probably I had slept through it in high school astronomy, one of my electives (that course had nothing on the university level course, which afforded us to see the sky at any time of the year (any time) while leaning back in our chairs). Earlier Muslim science details facts, not fiction. As civilizations ventured to travel the globe, it became apparent that travellers on sea voyages never fell off the earth’s surface, which was a fear early travellers by ship (or their land loving people) had, they were however likely to be attacked by pirates or drowned in terrible storms at sea (drowning and disappearances, attributed by some to sea monsters). Muslims would have been silly to think so, too, because they could see the moon, a great sign, which once was split (I saw photos of this, whether they were real or photoshopped, I can't say) I could also see Muhammad written in arabic, and we all know about the one (the face) of Mother Theresa. Anyway, the moon or solar eclipses show that obviously the earth is round (or I also barely remember some science fact like that that proves the earth is round for early people, who used telescopes). (Today) We know it's round because we live in the modern space age and study space in gradeschool, if not any further, otherwise most of us wouldn't know the moon from a flying saucer.

The Sun Always Sets

Now that we can test and prove with science that there is a “barrier” which science of large water bodies proves (oceans and seas are meant; the “seas” do not “encroach”; where the sweet and salty waters meet, e.g. the “barrier” (barzakhun) is a “homogenizing area” as explained in the book This Is The Truth, by Capt. Al-Rehaili, published in Saudi Arabia. Both “seas” (or water bodies) meet, pass through the homogenizing area in their meeting, and then compete the passage to the other side (since salinity affects this passage, there is a visible slanting where the less dense is on the bottom and the more dense is on the top, but in a way that they do not meet like a wall which is standing upright, but like a fallen structure – a fig. would be handy about now.) Dawkins didn’t lie when he said that two waters, one salty, one sweet will mix, nor does the Quran say that “mixing” doesn’t occur; Mixing occurs e.g. “maraja al Bahraini” means, loosely translated, “the two seas (Bahraini, “ain” being “the two”, e.g. “bahr” is one “sea” or “ocean”) mix” (I could be wrong about this, but I think “bahr” is used generally to mean seas and oceans, the Quran isn’t particular about which is spoken of, as far as I can tell, also proving my assertion that it is first a “religious text” and not a text book, the fact that there is some science in it doesn’t make it the science text Muslims prefer,(though we can defer to it occasionally in discussions) it is our Holy Book.) The topic being the meaning of words in the verse, we know that “maraja” is mixing, and that early Muslims didn’t quite understand or couldn’t picture how the seas “meet without mixing” (Dawkins or others are so far unwilling to investigate or admit this) so they continue (the first or earlier Muslim exegesis)to have two opinions on it, the first, that the seas meet but don’t mix (they couldn’t explain how); second, that the seas meet and mix, but without “encroaching” on each other (again a conundrum, in that era, especially for those who never would travel to the sea).

The Encroachment of Muslims

What happened later on, but much later in places where Muslims encroached, as islands like Bahrain, where many people intermarry between Indian and Arab and of course people of African descent (the first to call themselves “Bahrainis” prior to migration to the island by other permanent residents; the original people are what is taught as “dilmun” in schools) is that some pearl divers used to go to the sea floor and gather sweet water to drink, either in utensils with a small mouth or a leather bag, or a plastic bag; I don’t know when this occurred, but it was in the Persian gulf area, where many Muslims, Arabs and Indians prospered by the pearl trade. The best pearls were traded not in Bahrain, or the GCC, but in India, apparently. Therefore, by diving only were many men able to get drinking water on these boats (fishing or pearl boats) while they stayed many months on their tours. Especially the pearl divers wouldn’t go ashore for long periods, then how can we explain how they survived other than that they collected sweet water from below the salty water?

Even though the ancients could possibly have guessed at some of the things which are found in the Quran, they couldn’t have avoided making some mistakes, but there isn’t a mistake in the Qur’an. It is also a reasonable person who will admit that since pearl diving happens in salty (and sweet water - revise) (there are fresh water pearls, too, but are they only man-made or cultured pearls?) water or large bodies of water, that Muslims would have to have known about this practice of gathering sweet water from other people. But do we find literature on this subject. There is apparently more to learn about this and I look forward with anticipation, until I can try and Google it. In any case, there is no proof that Muhammad, pbuh, learned about the availability of sweet water within the ocean from others, because there is no proof; no one has written anything on this subject which we definitely know of today is ancient writing. This means that at least we do know that whoever revealed the Quran didn’t “invent” the verses by accident, nor did the author of the Quran make a mistake about it, because these are either extremely unlikely propositions or clearly untrue, no matter how much you want to debunk the existence of this verse in the Quran, the Holy Book of Muslims which “claims to be revealed by God”.

Quranic Styles, Scientific Evidence

As for verses which are less scientific and more literary, that doesn’t mean that definitely, they don’t (in many instances) speak to real things e.g. just as we cannot see Allah, we cannot see other “invisible” or “the ghaib” (unseen things) which Allah has created, heaven and hell, the angels, and so on.

Someone might say they are pure fiction (many people say that), but others (again, many people), say that such things exist, whether or not we can ever prove by science (not happening as far as “showing God” to everyone) that they do exist.

A verse which Muslims all agree is purely “literary” in nature is that the sun set in a murky pool of water. It doesn’t matter if non-believers argue that Muslims actually believed (as the Arabs might have in ancient times) that the sun rises and sets (not that the earth turns away from the sun) below the horizon, like an egg might fall off a breakfast table. But that isn’t what early Muslims scholars or scientists believed, and it is proven by what they did say early on. If the sun sets by falling under the level of the earth or into a body of water, then we would imagine that the sun, which was very great (it looks very big at times, just as the moon looks very big at times) would have caused a lot of steam to rise and the Arabs should also be able to see steam rise, because the sun also sets on the desert nations (they see the sunset, believe it or not, sometimes). They would also have imagined from the verse (if they believed the sun sets inside a body of water) that they should see a lot of steam as the hot sun descends and immerses itself into the water, but that doesn’t occur, does it? Also, why doesn't it get cold even though the sun is gone? Muslims and others must have wondered about this and other phenomenon a lot..noone thought there were two suns, or even five, even though it's possible that everyone could have seen a different sun in the sky because they lived so far away in separate nations, but we don't probably find this belief, except maybe in some indigenous writings, if at all; definitley Muslims were intellilgent enough and inquisitive enough to investigate and also reason about the sun and the moon. (The Qur'an mentions one moon and one sun, but many other possibilities exist in verses for interpretation about other worlds. It isn't beyond Muslims expectations, who have imagination, that aliens or other beings, (besides the djinns) exist on other planets far away in the cosmos in other solar systems, we can't see. Just because we don't see them, doesn't mean they don't exist, again.

One might argue these things are purely made up, but even the “unseen” (ghaib) have support in our own experience, for example, as the falling stars appear to die, or fall, while they once lived above. We cannot see oxygen, but we have the ability to prove that it exists; while we won’t prove God this way, we can use our imagination a little; something God given which comes in useful occasionally, and which some scientists seem too much lacking in – only six percent of scientists believe in God, I could be wrong (about the exact %age)

Smelly Gas, Imagine That

Some gases smell, and yet we can’t see them. This is also an example of something (a gas) which the ancients could have pondered and wondered, e.g. if something smells, does it have an invisible form or a molecular level? If gases which we don’t see can create smells, or asphyxiation, etc. why can’t a being we can’t see create us? The fact is that we are here, so there is some explanation, and the “creation” “theory” isn’t any more farfetched than science, and of course I believe it isn’t farfetched, or impossible to prove (through examples, and proofs, as you see here) but that we can almost certainly prove to many people that God revealed many signs in the Holy Quran. It isn’t the only book which has some proofs, for example, the Bible mentions the coming of “Ahmed” (another name for Muhammad, which is a prophecy; who revealed this Prophecy to Jesus, God or a fortune teller? It is strange that some new age worshippers believe in fortune telling or astrology, or numerology, but don’t believe in revelation (it’s too improbable or stories only, and because Science opposes all religion in general, which the numerologists and others are not immune from believing is more “rational” than earlier “monotheistic” and pagan religions.)

Even our imagination is a sign of what could be or is, but that we can’t see; how is it that people can “invent” or “imagine” new things and yet, we go about our business without much thought as to how this all takes place, sometimes in the twinkling of an eye, or the “inkling” of our mind. If we are so creative as to be able to make something almost from nothing, but not quite, and for example, bring data from the computer and send it elsewhere, through cables and this data is basically ‘nothing’, doesn’t that in a way support the existence of God? (David Icke believes it points to something other than us, or we are not seeing the world as it really is because we only rely on our five senses; he calls this reality “the matrix” - he also believes in “aliens”, some ppl would say they are “djinns”) We are going to die someday, but God never dies, and it is a fact that we once didn’t exist, but appeared (it seems) from nowhere, but like cybernetic data (is that a good metaphor, I don’t know, WT… is it?) we were somewhere (in the past, Allah created humankind, and brought them all forth from their parent (Adam) and asked them if they believe in Him, and they all said that they do, so If they after that deny Allah, despite their innate ability to know him, then they will end up in Hell) and God “pulled” us out just like David Icke describes “data” being “pulled out” from a computer to a network, or from the internet to a computer.

Let the deniers work their magic, but they can’t prove that God doesn’t exist; it is more plausible and with more research and effort we can prove (to many minds) that the Quran is a miracle.

Next: If I feel like it, Abraham Lincoln, aka “vampire slayer”, in historical perspective (working title)

Note:

If you email me, know that I use email sometimes in my writing ideas or as direct quotes, though I won’t mention you by name (if you submit emails with your real name in future), your IM might show up on the blog or in other places on the internet, where I quote you. I think this is okay as far as laws about “fair use”, and readers might suggest to me how I could better give “sources”, e.g. or how to better give references for material that isn’t mine.

Comments, suggestions (for revisions or blogs) and submissions related to Islam and Muslims in the news are encouraged.



Reverence for Revolution

Reverence for Revolution

Much has been made of the Arab Spring uprising. The hoopla overshadows everything – the good, the bad and the ugly – for one thing; history is being rewritten before our eyes; Barely no one will notice, just as Orwell had warned us, it happens seamlessly; the few that notice have to have been in the right position, in a position from which they notice things. Non-Muslims, or Westerners, in particular, are not at that special vantage point, because they see things through a lens which paints everything that Americans have done, by and far, anyway, as “rose-colored”.

The vantage point I’m speaking from, writing this - is from the vantage point of an outsider, someone who is neither here nor there; but maybe it’s easiest when you can have one foot here and one foot there; that would be the easiest thing. Unfortunately for me, my feet are neither in the West, nor in the East. As far as physical boundaries are concerned I’m from the Arabian Peninsula, having lived here for 14 years; something I told myself many times, would not happen. Stay in Bahrain; never for too long. In the humidity of an island, beaten by the sun most of the time, drenched by the humidity all year long, it would almost seem, except for a few weeks of reprieve in ‘winter’; but this season, now it is January, and already I feel winter is ending, or never came (the fault of Global Warming, I must assume). The only reminder of winter we have is the off chance that we can turn the ACs off for a few days at a time, between the heat and the humidity or the cold nights and rainy days - when temperatures manage a slow crawl downwards, and a slow crawl upwards - almost go unnoticed this year; as I say, the weather is odd. Some of our joints ache with rheumatism, an all too common ailment in this neck of the woods.

Oh I almost forgot to mention the pollution; there is a thriving, if we can call it that, aluminum industry here, for who it will be most profitable is anybody’s guess; I like to think it is a joint ‘profitability’ being shared by a local wealthy company and some foreign investors. Anyway, irrelevant to me, except for the part about too much dirty air, and also the smell of the gas burning in the distance which wafts over the landscape; this past fall, for what it’s worth, saw a flurry of activity in the drilling sector. Wonder what that’s all about? Many foreign companies that drill the wells here, trucks lined up, we thought would head for the highway just before sunset, then turned up towards more fields ready to drill some more, in virgin areas we used to use for camping grounds (tenting) which will now be uninhabitable. There are also snakes in these mountains, and maybe scorpions that come not from Muharraq, but fly on the air currents form Saudi Arabia, it is not only birds that can fly.

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Neither here nor there; physical boundaries aside, I must mention, that socially, like many families, or even more so, having rarely seen any of my family at all in the last decade, it is not only sad, but causes one to forget her roots. Mental, emotional and physical reminders or landmarks have all but vanished. A few letters, some written in beautiful cards, a hand or mouth painted picture on the front, are some of my precious but hardly visited physical mementos, and best kept for rare occasions when I dare to remind myself that I have a part of my life that waits like a window, for one bright day when I might open the lock, or slide the pane up and greet some of the family I haven’t seen in over twenty years of marriage, some but once, or twice. I’m filled with sadness and melancholy as well as lingering hope, at the same time. Some cheer even adds some rosiness to my cheeks on occasion. But I don’t dare to go there to that window in my mind’s eye very often. I say, some day I will go to see them, not in my mind, but with my physical body; to visit, remember, cry, hopefully not sob, and reconcile.

When one’s family are far away, or even a short plane trip away, but seen rarely, or when the time has long passed when one should have gone home and didn’t until one of his significant family, a father, an uncle, or a sister has died, or even grown up, married had children and then grand-children, one wonders what has happened to his humanity; why has he changed so much, that even a phone call seems to be a burden? For a while absence does make the heart grow fonder, but too long of an absence will make close relationships not stale, but at peril of being unrecoverable, a distance which can’t be crossed no matter how many miles are flown, gifts purchased, memories reviewed, or turned over like a garden of delicate or dying flowers, which can’t even be called mulch. There will be nothing. The problem is that he has changed, and they have changed drastically as well, but differently; they have changed of course physically; they look older, fatter or thinner, less handsome, or tired and worn, not lively and happy as they were in their youth; which can perhaps be partly blamed on the human condition of age and force of gravity; but they have changed recognizably on the inside, too; the spring of their youth full of dreams and hopes replaced with the cynical realization of reality growing old under occupation, never having been freed, until it was too late or even impossible, from the tyranny of the mind above all, but also imprisonment, torture and physical taxing of body, and mental taxing of mind, some raw emotions which won’t find expression except in callous disregard for others; wealth, property, family position, religion, and the social order, even ceasefire, are all equally permissible targets of their anger, equal to disdain and pilfering. What do they care for the other; his condition or his children? What do they care for his religion or peace of mind or his property? Where has he been all this time? Didn’t he leave us? Didn’t we raise him, and he abandoned his parents? Didn’t his previous friends spend their youth in a cell? Or suffer tortures? Didn’t his father die without a son to bury him, because he was the only son? And he never came, even after ten years, to place flowers, or holy water on the grave (which he wouldn’t have done, if it was forbidden, even if his mother ordered him to). Blame the government, but you didn’t come; in twenty-five years, you saw your parents twice, once in a foreign country, once, just before you decided to emigrate to the west and never return; he didn’t know how things would turn out. But it doesn’t matter; excuses are not enough to an old woman. Nor can he make reparations or even promise that if he were young again he would come back more often to visit; they know, it was not ever possible for him to stay. Life was not completely his to do what he wanted in all things; that was the condition of many, many young men and their families, and others who left Libya in the 80s and 90s and swore they couldn’t return, wouldn’t return. Until the dictator was removed, the video was on television, and it was true that finally Gaddafi was gone for good.

******** 

The Arab Spring didn’t succeed in Bahrain, there will be no Shiites Intifada, not this year, not last year, and I hope not ever. I like the status quo in Bahrain, except for the anger of the Shiites which is hurting the country; unfortunately it can’t be avoided; they are people who have a land, but don’t want to go there, so they prefer to stay here; but not civilly and quietly like so many other ‘foreigners’; they want us to believe that this is their homeland; from Iran, they come, they also travel – Lebanon, Syria, they are hired mercenaries, they fight in other peoples countries, kill Sunnis in Syria, in Lebanon, kill people even here, in Bahrain, or mutilate and cause panic and fear. I know, I have seen and even felt it.

Despite the anger of some of their more ‘orthodox’ members, the larger community of Shiites is not to blame, or one doesn’t know, maybe the numbers are not self-evident; its possible that even a thousand protestors here or there doesn’t justify the calls for reform we hear in the papers and in the world media. Bahraini television for the most part, broadcasts the government line; but this time, the government line is the more rational; it is obvious to those of us living here that the Shiites are an extremist element that wants to stop at nothing to take down the government, a legitimate government, despite their claims, and replace it with something far more sinister; who would then protect the citizens and residents of this country from their ‘reform’?

I’m not a politician, nor have I studied politics, I just know life. We have seen extremism in the media, enough to know that it isn’t always propaganda; sometimes extremism is a real deal. We can peer into the souls of the living dead; people who have no conscience, no feelings of remorse, no shame, nor disgust at their actions, only blank stares; their eyes are mirrors into souls which have nothing but hate for the other; nothing but what they have had driven into their brains, seared into their hearts of hate for the other. It is like seeing a monster; a human but remorseless, angry beast raised in darkness. Sometimes, the most shocking thing is that their children, often marked with scars on their childish faces, scars which are not the result of battles with an enemy or torture by brutal rival gangs, but the result of parenting in the school of extremism - whether it is their actual parents, though quite possible, or the parenting of significant others or done to themselves - reveals in all cases mental disease, or illness. This disease is the self induced and socially fostered hatred of Sunnis. Hating Americans or others comes with the territory, too. But they reserve their most wounded, angry, occultist sentiments and hate for other Muslims; the Muslims who they have hated for Millennia, since the Shiite sect created by Abdullah bin Salul, came into being; the remnants of a Fatimid dynasty which disappeared long ago, and was followed by another equally extremist religious autocracy; a Persian dominated religious authority and outlook. One of their cornerstones of belief is their detest for the Arab race and the largely Sunni Muslim religion of the Arabs.

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The Bahraini government is the first to build on promises. It is the first nation to have begun implementation of its plan in accordance with humanitarian and international standards; the Bahraini government’s 2030 vision is working towards the future welfare of the state and all citizens and peoples living in the country. If the citizens are reasonably happy, content, free and able to pursue their dreams, within the permitted and in all cases reasonable boundaries of law and order, society will find that peace is possible, differences must not always mean division, or schism. Cooperation between different peoples, differing but reasonable groups, and all religions or sects can meet and work together without fear or contempt or injustice done to anyone. It is reasonable to suggest that the government tries to implement most if not all of what it envisions. But none of the dreams or pursuits of free people will have a chance if hatred festers and grows and seeks an outlet in rage-induced, hate-filled attacks on society; or the other, and especially for no just cause and for no alternative vision of freedom, but a hope of anarchy, or the delusional hopes of conquering free people and enslaving them and installing a puppet government, or a corrupt regime which never belonged in this country. Their own vision is a lie, perpetrated on a free population, to assuage their own demented version of history, and their own self inflicted state of “hopelessness” and a “masochistic” political-religious ideology.

His family plans to finally leave Bahrain, move to Libya, build a house on some land he has recently purchased, maybe do a little farming, and begin afresh. At least his youngest children can experience life as it should be; in a real family, with real relatives; but it will take patience. Their extended family or Libyan society is not as welcoming as it should or could be.

********

Political reform is not new in Bahrain. From many decades, Bahrain has seen social movements, the progress of women, in particular, and also economic advancement. The Kingdom was an emirate, ruled by a prince, until after the death of Issa bin Al-Khalifa, the late father of the present King. After some years as the ruler, the emir, Hamad bin Issa Al-Khalifa was made King of Bahrain in a ceremony. This was so that the government could be a democracy instead of the entity it was previously, which also was not bad. In retrospect, many good things have happened before and since the Kingdom and rule of King Hamad, as he is fondly called by many of the Bahraini citizens and others. This is true for every modern society.

Two generations before, in the decades preceding this new reign, the government opened schools, girls schools were also included in the progress of the island state towards inclusion in the modern world, technological advancements, business studies, teachers colleges, and so much have paved the way for even further studies in other fields of study and further advancements built on the previous technologies and the groundbreaking structures introduced in the previous generations, which saw many of today’s grandmothers here as young women in intermediate or high schools working diligently towards degrees and then continuing onto higher learning. They became doctors, teachers, engineers, business women, politicians, etc; all with professional qualifications, and later came the experience to formulate changes which benefit the young women today. The present generation also hope and strive to further their own dreams and aspirations, to contribute to the future success of their country whether they are citizens of this country or non-citizens, but equal participants in many spheres and having an important stake nonetheless in the future of the Kingdom.

He hopes that Libya, his homeland, will also be able to modernize many of the failing or fallen infrastructures, and move into a new phase of globalization and modern politics. What the people decide and which course of action the new Government takes will have an important initial impact, which might steer the course for future endeavors, understanding, political reform, or the kind of leadership which emerges for the next phase in rebuilding the country, or rejuvenation. Ghaddafi’s rule did a lot to dismantle progress it had originally made. Many things his government did to punish its people for their very existence and their sacred beliefs. He was not a Muslim by any stretch of the imagination. His ignoble end was well-deserved and proof of his people’s hatred of him. The camp which supported Ghaddafi to the end must now also cooperate and help in the restoration and growth of a new and different society based on freedom of religion, freedom of expression, human rights and social cohesion, etc. Already this is starting to happen. People are returning to claim a share of their country, their future as one nation.

Yusuf Estes live in Bahrain

http://fancystreems.com/guide-us-tv-usa.php

Go to the link for live streaming.

Br. Yusuf Estes

 

He is speaking at the Fateh Masjid in Manama Bahrain tonite, at this minute its streaming live on his channel.

Guide Us Tv.  Like. Share.

Jane Dughatir: Dumb Waiter - satirical, but true

 As if to answer a question on “You want to be a billionaire”, "What is the GCC"' is my answer, the Question is “It’s not an Arab monarchs club".

Read this slightly humorous post, to find out what the oil money is really good for...
(There's more to life than oil... or oil money).

This is one of my older posts, which readers might like.

As always, I invite your comments, or criticisms.

J. D-N

Originally posted in 2011

Sharing My Stats; Qatar is now officially reading my blogposts.



Qatar is now officially visiting my blog.

My best audience is Bahrain/USA, and USA /Bahrain later on when the Americans wake up and the GCC is asleep.

Also, some Brits are visiting my site, regularly, as well someAustralians, but at the moment, 10 pm here, the traffic should shift to North America.

I should be posting some original writing tomorrow. Insha allah, if I get some typing done early tomorrow morning.

Today was Friday and I took the day off to be with the kids.

Jane D-N



American Interference And Life (Part One)

More summer reading by DD

It’s Inappropriate for AI to speak of Shias Freedom of Expression and Association

Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa director, says, the Bahrain government “must not make the same mistake” it made in the February – March period, when “largely peaceful” protests were stopped. He is speaking without correct information. It is just like the Westerners to stick in their noses where they don’t belong. This is “meddling” and a dangerous precedent here.

In the earlier protests, the government waited till the following month, from Feb. 16, until early March, to dismantle the protests. There were found machetes, knives, Molotov cocktails, and iron rods, etc as weapons used against the government police and army personnel. The Shias burned sections of their makeshift ‘tent city’ at the Pearl Roundabout when forced to disperse.

Therefore, telling the King of Bahrain or the government to again allow protests is not any of Smart’s business. If protests seem in any way a disruption to the government, or the normal running of the country, hurt businesses, or affect tourism, etc. of course the government will have to cease the actions. Bahrain is hoping to get the F1 again; it is not going to be possible if the Shiites insist on demonstrating at this time. The local economy is already in worse shape since February and March. Tourism by Cruise Ships and tourism companies’ business has been badly affected. Just as George Bush junior told the Americans, and New Yorkers to “go shopping”, Bahrainis can see the F1 back, if that’s what they want.

While martial law has been lifted, everyone in the society should try to allow some normalcy to prevail in the Kingdom again. We can see that the situation in Bahrain was not what it was in the case of other countries in the Arab Spring. For one thing, this is not an Arab Spring type protest, by Arabs, but a Shiite led protest, with Iranian backed leaders. It is a ‘foreign’ protest, for all practical purposes. Recently, an Iraqi flotilla was planned, but the Iraqis in demonstrations here demanded Iraq’s “hands-off” approach to mediation. It is just another attempt at ‘propaganda’ by Shias not directly involved.

Now some, such as Wefaq are calling for “Shiite and Sunni” demonstrators, “sons of both honored sects”, to join the next planned Peaceful demonstrations to “take their right…of self- determination” AFP. They know full well, however, that the Sunni Muslims do not want to be involved in their demonstrations ‘calling for reform’ (now), which is just a “whitewash”.

The government should allow the people to “’peacefully’ exercise their right to freedom of expression and association”, says Malcolm Smart, of Amnesty International. It’s a little late for that AI, don’t you think? Most likely, there would be less support for these protests than there was in February and March.

Still, Al Wefaq, says the “revolution has and will not end”. AFP

Bahrain's National Safety Is Key to Peace

Obama Welcomes Inclusive Bahraini National Dialogue

In Washington City, US President Barack Obama last night (Tues., June 7) welcomed His Majesty King Hamad’s call for a comprehensive national dialogue and hailed lifting of the State of National Safety.

    

The President expressed his support for the royal’s initiative as he met His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander, in the American capital.

    

“He also expressed strong support for HRH the Crown Prince’s efforts to initiate the national dialogue and said that both the opposition and the government must forge a just future for all Bahrainis,” a White House statement said, as reported by the Gulf Daily news in Bahrain, today.

  

  “To create the conditions for a successful dialogue the President emphasized the importance of following through on the government’s commitment to ensuring that those responsible for human rights abuses will be held accountable,” reports the paper. (Gulf Daily News, Wed., June 8, 2011)

New World Order - Part II

In the abscense of politics

A new world order might be a positive step forward; it depends on who is dictating it. Of course, America although in supposed decline, still holds the reigns as far as World Leader, No. Uno Imperialist regime and despot. While it is a “democracy”, it is not most people’s idea of an ideal government or moral authority, not any longer. Several years, I think after 911 the blinders came off for most thinking people and most thinking Americans, who are at least outwardly not afraid to admit it, or take a publicly moral stand. Not everyone is cut from the same cloth, and no one believes exactly the same as another. We are like our fingerprints, that way. But think about this, what would be likely to fill the vacuum, in America? If not a democratic government, or at least not a republican or democrat’s government, no left or right, or even centre, what will be the New Order (this could be as far off as you like; kind of an Orwellian future, but without North and South as the steady constellations we see now) in world politics, or without politics (I mean no political debate)? If they could have a menu, what would most Americans choose in a new world order? Buddhism? Unlike countries with monarchies, I’ve noticed this, Americans can’t agree on anything. They never choose a President who can remain popular with anybody for very long, or that’s the impression we are always left with, as outsiders. After the Kennedys did Americans decide that there was no person to fill the shoes of JFK, or Robert? Is that why no woman has yet been President? To be fair to some of the past Presidents, maybe they were fighting an uphill battle, think Bill after Monica, you might know what I mean.

On the other hand, with some pride, I say that monarchies seem to do better and always remain popular with the majority of the people. Being from Canada, I recall a portrait of the British Queen in every grade school, usually in a corridor, in an angle where it would be visible even on school’s closed days. I can say that it never bothered me when I was young. In high schools we also had a portrait, at least in the principal’s office, an imposing reminder of our own dilemma as students. Sure, as we got older and more free thinking, we questioned why Canada still had a Queen; we were told by our Grade 11 History teacher one of the special benefits of being an independent (British appendage)  is that if Hitler, or someone of his ilk, ever tried to override the authority of the legal government and put in place a dictatorship, that Queen Elizabeth would write a letter (probably a decree) or merely command the army, “We…” to capture and kill the audacious madman. It was a good enough reason in my view, and I never bothered about the seemingly under-democratic or lack-of-modernity facet again. While most democracies, Western states, and much of the rest of the free world, seem to loathe the oil producing nations’ royal families, (with the exception of George Bush, George Bush senior, the Bush family, in general, and probably countless of their friends who have benefitted from the Georges’ tight relationship with the Al Saud family), most of the Muslim citizenry in those countries, the original inhabitants, and especially the Sunni majority populations, respect and encourage the monarchy. Even about an issue as benign as women driving, many Saudis, and Saudi women still believe it is their duty to support and adhere to the decision of the Islamic Government, the legitimate ruler in their view, be it represented by the King, the royal court or the legitimate heads of government, whether local or national. Thus, even when it comes to a debate about elections, whether or not women should be voting in local elections, or any elections, it is the government which decides, and the decision being final, most Saudis willingly submit. Being mostly Sunni Muslims in Saudi Arabia, it is natural, that a patriarchal system still exists and dominates. While many women might complain about fewer freedoms compared to other women in other parts of the world, including the most dictatorial and extremist theocracy, Iran, at the same time, they must realize that their nation has been blessed with great wealth, some of which they are the recipients as well. I think anyone would be hard-pressed to find homeless or penniless Saudi women with no one to support them. It is really unimaginable. While there are drug addicts, and alcoholics aplenty these days, which is likely to erode family structure and close family ties, these are symptoms of the decay in society, which resulted from the misuse of wealth and openness to and easy acceptance of outside cultural influences, not from the desperation or dissatisfaction which lack of means, or materialism, respectively, that often leads to addictions in other societies, like in the West are the mitigating reasons.

 Other Muslims might be heard to complain on occasion, with some jealousy, that they wish they were rich, or could share some of that wealth, which belongs to ALL the Muslims. Even in Bahrain, there are very many poor local people - not (only) among the Shias, but also in the Sunni population. However, on the bright side, the government has often stepped in and even, individual members of the Al-Khalifah have offered their personal wealth, or in the case of the government, made provisions for low-cost housing, or temporary low rents, (supplementing incomes by paying a remarkable 80% of the cost of rent) for poor families. Some modest, or above average income families are victim to the corruption of officials who will try to help their own relations, or close personal friends, even if it means infringing on the rights of others. For example, there are building codes - how high, or how much - and one of the sticky problems is a stipulation that a building owner (upon receipt of his permit) must allow some of his land, bought with his money, for the placement of one of those electrical stores (with a warning attached to call in case the red light is on/off?). If he doesn’t like this, he will usually go to one of his well-connected friends and try to get out of the stipulation, so someone else in the neighborhood, in effect another person in this situation, will have to accept the electricity box on his property, and lose some space which he would prefer to use for something else, like a garage, or another small store. If however, he is unsuccessful and continues to refuse, he will be hard-pressed to get electricity in his building, or any of his shops. He won’t be able to rent his apartments, or shops, and will be forced, eventually, to submit or leave his property empty and of no present or future benefit. So, even then we see that it wouldn’t be easy to try to get around the law.

Despite the drawbacks, many would agree that the benefits out way those. There are ne’er any homeless, even in Bahrain, among the desperately poor. Most children are in school, which is mandatory. There are many places, societies, and charities to offer assistance. There are training, and retraining programs, supported or maintained by the government, even programs for women who have not had the opportunity, or for some other reason not studied formally in any institution before. Of course, failing even these, there are caring neighbours who will gladly provide for hungry or needy people if they are aware of the situation. More visible, are the poor residents from other countries trying to improve their situation back home by working for often meager wages. For these unfortunates there is some aid and support, again from societies or charities, but fewer opportunities, perhaps than what Bahrainis can receive. Often some of the guest workers are here on illegal visas. These problems and more are quite well known, and generally understood by the population to be “a fact of life”, however sad.

How horrific it was then, in March and April, following the demonstrations in the Pearl roundabout and in Manama, as well as in other-lying districts, that a Bangladeshi man was brutally beaten, and killed. That some others of different nationalities were likewise attacked for being non citizens, or most likely, because their attackers also took them for Sunni Muslims, (whether or not they were), frightening the rest of the populations in those areas, and generally causing mayhem and an unsettled environment; perpetrating the most heinous of crimes (five actual murders) and causing an unacceptable situation which cannot stand.

The fact that Bahrain requested, or permitted some of the Saudi armed forces to enter, not “storm” the Kingdom, and help her deal with this inside threat, terrorism really, to protect not only its own citizens, but these very weak and easily targeted citizens of other countries who in fact had nothing to do with any of the Shias complaints against the government. They were beaten, or killed merely to frighten everyone else, and served as easy targets on which to vent the Shias’ misplaced anger and frustration. Most if not all Sunnis will agree with the governments’ stand, and if not, they have been friends with the Shias long before the recent demonstrations, and because of this, were persuaded to lend support to the protests, but NEVER can I believe, that any of them would deliberately provoke the police, or attack others, or even wield weapons in the faces of Bahrain’s police force. I don’t believe any Sunnis did anything violent above an unarmed scuffle at the protest, or maybe a middle finger at the authorities, which in my view is bad enough. It shows, obviously a waning national pride, or some other perhaps psychological or social illness, and misdirected  self respect; an imitation of the Western way of protest, which usually ends by unarmed demonstrators being dragged away in handcuffs, or else dispersing quietly before that happens.

In this instance, a few arrests of Sunnis were also made, because they were protesting along with other more violent members in the same crowd. I suppose we should say, let this be a lesson to them (leave it at that), but somehow with the killings, it would be trivializing what happened, in those first few hours, days and the past week’s events.

What happens in the next while could be pivotal for the Kingdom, if the monarchy is able to control the population (of extremists), contain outbursts of violence, and remains in control in the long-term despite the difficulties. It is the will of half the population that the King remains the official state leader, and that the monarch stands as the respected head of the royal family until such time as he is unable, or dies. It is not unusual and is the way in other monarchies; even many Christian countries have a successful monarch at the helm. It can be a great source of pride for the people to have a reigning King or Queen, and princes and princesses.

Let even the American people recall Grace Kelly, who herself held the title of Princess Grace given to her at the time of her marriage to the Prince of Monaco, closest resembled by Princess Di in her Cinderella story transformation and life, as well as death. I remember the Hollywood production of Princess Grace to be quite moving and a truly enchanted tale. I also saw the documentary which explained the details of her life before and during her marriage. Her sister spoke of how proud they were of her; her family and friends envied Grace Kelly, and admired the jewel studded crown she received as one of many impressive gifts from the Prince which was displayed for the camera.

Despite what say the voices of opposition, Bahrain also has elected officials and government ministers (MPs) in addition to the Shura council. It is not only a monarchy, but has a constitution and working government. Because of the distorted world view that monarchies are outdated, some people seek to use that as their main platform to disrupt the present (democratic) government and the ruling family, when what they really want is for the Shias to be able to challenge the status quo in Bahrain and eventually split the government or replace it and the ruling family with a Shia autocracy. Who would be the real head of such an imposed government in Bahrain?  Iran or the Khomeini (Ayatollah Ali Khameini at present) is a likely guess. Would it seem far-fetched to suggest that maybe, Bahrain being an oil producing country, wealthy and with a small population, only 400,000 citizens, the rest of the residents being foreigners with visas, and a small percentage of illegal migrants, perhaps the civil strife is an excuse for someone’s plan of initiating a takeover? Should this be one of those theories that is called in banter a “conspiracy theory” to make its likelihood unlikelier, and its proponents or supporters lunatics, but I believe it is now the ‘talk of the town’. Not to mention the HRW and its role in all the mayhem which you can read plenty about in the GDN pages.

When David and Solomon reigned, the Jews were quite at peace and happy, or one would think. I guess it is only when others are enjoying the benefits that the Jews or Christians, as world leaders and (in)famously respected (or despised) as a result of their Imperialism, shout “down with the King!”, or “out with you (insert name)!” Of course, they don’t do it that obviously when it comes to Bahrain, or Saudi Arabia, or the Arab Emirates, etc but they convince the people through propaganda and enlist professionals to teach the local ‘disenfranchised’, or challenging sect(s), journalism, public speaking  and “talking to the camera”. If all goes well in stage one, they might even provide them with weapons, later on.

I was on a website a few days ago, I wanted to add some links – you will find them on the left of my blog, and noticed the warning that comments should be done carefully or not have unnecessary personal details because that could be a bad move on the part of the owner of the comment, maybe putting him/herself in a dangerous position. The situation here calls for some care, yet people speak out on the internet more freely than they can at this time anywhere else (Happily I noticed many letters to the editor published in the GDN, Wednesday, May 25^th in support of the government, etc.). The impression one is left with is that some Sunni Muslims at least are refusing to let the Shias impose their corrupted version of history, more especially recent events. While 250 years of Sunni rule might seem harsh to them, it is the present reality, and not one that could easily, or should hastily be replaced with something else, probably undesirable to the other half. If you drive around Bahrain, you won’t see poor children living off the streets; you might see a Hindu delivery man taking a siesta under a company truck, which seems like a listless activity in this heat. The Shia sect has clearly exaggerated the desperation of their lives. There are no destitute (Shia); look at their buildings and neighborhoods.  Recently an entire compound was told to evacuate, having built on government land, their homes, horses’ stables, and farms. It was only by permission of their locally elected official, a Shia, that they were able to develop the land, quite illegally, in the first place. Will these people  now moan and groan about how the government has forced them out of their homes and properties (probably a purely retaliatory move)? They could bring the BBC to record on film, while putting on a desperate show, and explain how they used to live here, and had a farm here, and a horses stable here…wait, you have built, owned, and developed all this, on your own? But you are destitute, have nothing, are the disenfranchised, are you not? Something smells fishy, maybe this is not such a good idea after all… cancel the BBC. Many of the Shia must have come to Bahrain only recently from Iran or bordering Bahrain, from Saudi Arabia, that’s obvious. Not all are born in Bahrain, yet they complain and demand their constitutional or human rights. I’ve lived in Bahrain for a decade, yet demand no right (above or beyond basic rights) whatsoever, how could I? Many of them are in the same situation; we are not Bahraini, but working, studying and living in Bahrain only. (I’m not suggesting we don’t enjoy the basic rights which are guaranteed in the United Nations Charter of Rights and Freedoms here in Bahrain, we do)

Propaganda is the reason, and the victims are the real citizens of Bahrain, the law-abiding honest people, who only want to let the status quo remain, not to take what others claim is their right, but to continue to enjoy life in the Kingdom as their families have done for two centuries, peacefully minding their own business, if only they will be allowed. If these two groups can learn to live and let live, if some people will forget their sectarian predisposition to violence and hate, then there is hope that even with the status quo, everyone can build a better future for all the country’s citizens, and permitted residents.