FIGHT and Intermission

Ok, its over now...there was a bit of actual action but it got broke up pretty soon. It reminded me of fights in Bangladesh though - lots of the guys had taken off their belts and were using this as a weapon...!lol

Ok...i've just asked the internet cafe owner to explain what the fight was about and what did he say...? Hashish...universal problem it seems.

Anyway, this is my 100th post on this blog and for many a reason i've decided im gonna take a break for a while from this blogging malarky, and the 100th post provides a nice milestone i think.

Dont know how long the intermission will be for; a few days, a week, a few weeks...(im thinking about returning to the UK early..not sure how early..) but i' sure you'll survive without me. If your desperate for some "al-tarf" fix, feel free to read some of the earlier entries about Bangladesh or to re-read the Sh Nuh notes. Otherwise feel free to go to Abdo's blog which is very entertaining.

Adios.

Salaam... ;)

FIGHT

Oh, wow, theres a big group of guys chasing another group of guys down the road where this net cafe is...and there fighting now...best go check it out..

Salaam

Hal Antha Muthazawwij...? (part II)

I don't know know if he works on a commission basis for these families or not but he seemed quite aggressive - when he asked and I replied no and then he inquired if I wanted to get married and I started giggling like a little girl he replied "akhi, why are you laughing, I'm being serious, if you want to, just say the word". And then he proceded to describe girls of all heights, sizes, skin colour and so on that he knew who wanted to get married.

Although quite tempting at first (there's lots of girls above 5ft 7 tall here...) Obviously I said I would pass on the offer, but the incident in itself seemed to emphasise the acuteness of the situation; that there are all these families willing to have their daughters married off to some random "foreigner" because prospects in Egypt look so bad. Marrying someone from another country is another debate for another day but obviously this problem in the middle east needs to be solved somehow. Should the women request less? Should the guys work harder and save more?

One solution might be the "mass weddings" that are sometimes held where lots of couples get married together and thus cut costs in terms of hosting the wedding itself, but even this doesn't go far enough. Whatever is done, it needs to be done ASAP, as otherwise the side effects of this; the huuuuge problem of homosexuality in the middle east, will continue to flourish...

Salaam
Ps, I have the brothers email address (the one who asked me) so if any of you guys out there are keen...LOL

Hal Antha Muthazawwij...? (part I)

Salaam,

Marriage. That seems to be the hot topic. But to be honest, since iv been living with single brothers ranging from 18 - 27 years of age in the last few months, i shouldn't be too surprised that this Is the hot topic on everyone's minds, should I...?

Then we have the middle east - my location for the last few months (For Americans: Jordan and Egypt are in the middle east). The problem starts though when you combine Marriage and the Middle east.

There is a huuuge problem of epidemic standards which is occurring in the middle east - that is of people who want to get married but can't. A local brother told me that in Egypt alone there are over 5m women who are over 26 and not yet married. Similar problems are faced in other middle east countries. The reason? MONEY. It seems that for a guy to be able to get married in these parts (as with in other countries) he has to have a furnished flat for him and his wife to live in. Then there's the wedding itself which needs to be paid for, on top of that there's the dowry and so on. Since the average Egyptian guy earns 800 Egyptian pounds a month (80 English pounds) this is virtually impossible to do and thus we have the situation we're in.

The side affect might not be too bad though. It means that westerners (with their western passports) have become hot property and many guys who come to the middle east to learn Arabic, end up returning home with a wife. In Jordan this wasn't too bad (as Jordan is doing pretty well these days) but in Egypt its ridiculous. Just from the people i've met in the last two weeks, 4 of them have got married here, and a Lot of other students are thinking about it. And this seems to be with the approval of the Egyptians since they actively seek out westerners for their daughters to marry.

So the killer question is "Hal antha Muthazawwij?" - "Are you married?". Most brothers have been approached by one person or another and yesterday was my turn (I shant say which number this was...lol). It was a friend of my flatmates who's been living in Cairo for six years, who also has a Egyptian wife (he's from the US). He works in a posh English language school and when a lot of these families found out he was American, they started inviting him to their houses for food etc as they knew he would know single guys from the west. And so he asked me yesterday...

This entry is getting long so i'll split it up...
Salaam.

GP Pay

Salaam,

"Some GPs are earning as much as £250,000 a year after expenses under their new contract...GP wages have risen by up to 25% since the contracts were introduced in 2004"

If i EVER hear another medical student complain about low pay in the medical profession and about how bankers are overpaid..

Salaam

From Doogy

Salaam,

Below are two funny pieces i recieved from the one, the only, Doogster;

http://www.planetdan.net/pics/misc/georgie.htm (press refresh to see a different sequence..quite good fun..)


HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY? (written by kids)

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming. -- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with. -- Kristen, age 10


WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?
Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then. -- Camille, age 10

No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married. -- Freddie, age 6 (very wise for his age)


HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids. -- Derrick, age 8


WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
Both don't want any more kids. -- Lori, age 8


WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
Dates are for having fun and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough. -- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure)

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that Usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date. -- Martin, age 10


WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?
I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns. -- Craig, age 9


WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
When they're rich. -- Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that - - Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do. -- Howard, age 8


IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
I don't know which is better, but I'll tell you one thing. I'm never going to have sex with my wife. I don't want to be all grossed out. -- Theodore, age 8

It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them. -- Anita, age 9 (bless you child)


HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?
There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there? -- Kelvin, age 8



And the #1 Favourite is........

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a bus. -- Ricky, age 10

On that note...Salaam.

In Memory of Ivan

Salaam,

Ladies and Gentlemen its happened.

After 5 months of eating the most unhealthy food i could find, doing absolutely nothing which would could be classified under "healthy", taking part in no sports whatsoever and thus leading me to gain TEN kg in weight, i have joined a gym.

Now lets not get carried away here. When i say "gym", i use it in the loosest sense of the term...but then again im paying 3pounds fifty per month so i suppose i shouldn't have expected much more.


But yes, Ivan, it has happened, im back in the Gym. Obviously it wont be the same without you, how could it...? I remember fondly the days in Cambridge...constantly being late in meeting up with you, the many times i gave up half way through and let you carry on on your own and constantly beiong interupted to take business calls... ; )

Many tried to set up rival training groups and failed. Miserably. Others tried to join us (Rizla) but could not keep up with the pace. And from the many training groups that were there at the beginning, it was you and i who survived untill the end.

So this entry dedicated to you is the least i can do to show you my appreciation. I was also thinking of putting up "The Picture" (you know the one im talking about..the one Baqs sent out...LOL) so people can see the face behind the name, but i feared i would be inundated with requests for your details from admirers so am not doing so.

May Allah grant you all that is best for you and keep at a distant all that is harmful for you,

Yours,
Gunter (or was i Ivan...? Lol)

Danish Man

Salaam,

Firstly to clarify; this isn't about a man from Denmark (i would feel sorry for any Danish guy stuck in the middle-east at the moment) but the "Danish" in terms of the food item.

As some of you may know, in the summer of 2003 i also came to Qortoba to "study" (i ended up having a 6 week holiday as my university paid for it) and lived in pretty much the same area.

Anyway, Egypt is a relatively poor country and there are lots of beggers just wandering the streets asking/pestering you for money. When i (and two friends) were here in 2003, everyday when we used to walk from the masjid to the institute their used to be this old man on the way, just sitting their on the pavement with his hands out. So on a regular basis we started giving him stuff; some days money, other days fruit, some times dates, and then one day some danishes, then the next day some more danishes (i dont know why this was chosen) and so we continued to give him danishes on a daily basis (we also gave him other stuff too - a balanced diet is very important you know) and thus he became known as "Danish man"

Now that the title of the entry has been cleared up, where am i going with this you may ask. Well on a few occasions whilst taking the same route back from the mosque, i've seen this old man who looks a bit like Danish man, just sitting on the pavement (in a different location to before mind you) and whenever he sees me he raises both of his hands, and then proceeds to raise and lower them (in a kind of "we are not worthy" manner. The first few times i didn't really bother to think about it, and just walked on...but on second thought now, i think it may well be Danish man...

What to do? what to do...? Is he the real Danish man, or is he just an imposter? or maybe he's Danish mans brother...? (If so i was thinking of giving him Swedes every day and calling him Swedish Man...poor i know..lol). I dont know, but somehow i need to solve this. I cant really go upto him and ask "are you Danish man..?" can i...??

Hmm...i'll think about what to do, but feel free to send in any suggestions you may have.


Salaam!

Arabic and the Arabs

Salaam,

Despite the many problems in Arab society, their supremacist ways and the treatment they dish out to Asians, one thing I used to think is at least they speak Arabic, the language of Islam, meaning they have a grasp of the meanings of the Qur'an and have access to the classical Islamic texts. This fact in itself is something the Arabs have used as their leverage for many a century, claiming that as they spoke the language of the book, they had a natural advantage over the rest of us. So in a lot of ways non-Arabs have been at the beck and call of Arabs in terms of gaining sacred knowledge.

How things have changed. Long looong ago, Arabs were famed for their command of their language and this, alongside things like astrology, poetry and other such arts were what Arabs prided themselves on. But now...

Basically the Arabic that Arabs speak now is pretty much a different language to the Arabic (fus'ha) of the Qur'an . All my teachers have been first to say that the standard Arab on the street wouldn't have a clue about the grammar and make-up of the Qur'an as the Arabic they speak is so far removed from its roots. Another very interesting comment made by a teacher was that in classical times, the very definition of "Arab" was one who could speak Arabic, thus if you or I were to be able to speak Arabic we would be defined as Arabs, whereas a person who was born and bred in a "Arabic" country but was unable to speak the language would not be called an Arab. Therefore with the majority of "Arabs" not actually able to speak or understand the classical Arabic it raises a question on their identity... it also smashes the concept that they love to put forward that they as "Arabs" have a natural advantage over the rest of us. I think it was Imam Shafi who said that a little knowledge is worse than a lot of ignorance. Why? Because with a little knowledge you think you know it all and start running off and coming to your own conclusions whereas with ignorance at least you know you don't know anything to begin with.

Therefore my teacher was saying that this is a big problem in the middle east; that a lot of its people who think they know Arabic start reading Qur'an,hadith etc and coming to their own conclusions when actually they know very Very little of the language their trying to comprehend ending up doing things which isn't anywhere in the texts. This is also a reason for why so few Arabs study Arabic at university; as they think they already know it all.

The problem gets even worse in that not only do the Arabs speak a language alien to the language of the Qur'an, but around 40% of people in the Arab lands (I know theirs big discrepancies between countries eg 55% in Egypt and 20% in Qatar) are illiterate in this secondary language. this I was shocked by because what does this mean...? that these Arabs can't even read the qur'an. I know literacy rates are bad in non Arab countries too, but at least their the primary language isn't Arabic so a person may not know how to read and write in Bengali say but can do so in Arabic as this is the language of their religion (I know many people in this situation). So in a weird way it becomes an advantage in not having Arabic as your mother tongue as if you illerate in this, you lose the Qur'an whereas if your illiterate in Bengali you may still be literate in Arabic.

So where are we today...? We are in a world where Arab students of knowledge go to Pakistan to learn Urdu so they can gain access to the books of the Indian subcontinent ulema. Its true, its true, I have friends who have met these Arabs. Why has this dire situation occurred...? Due to the lack of importance put on the language in a lot of these countries where speaking English (alongside French,Spanish and German) is all the rage and you only study Arabic at university if you didn't get into any other course. Its a very sad state of affairs that this beautiful, rich language which is the key to gaining Islamic knowledge from the classical books but more importantly gaining an insight into the Glorious Qur'an, our manual on how to live our lives, has been demoted to this position.

Alhamdulilla though, i think there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel. Recently (as my teacher was saying) there has been a general resurgence in interest in Islam and with that to learn fus'ha (even though most of the teachers in Al-Azhar teach in a'miya..), and the "market" for teaching fus'ha to non-arabs has surged many times in the last few years, so inshaAllah the language of the Qur'an and of the books to which we owe so much will continue to flourish long into the future.

Salaam.

Dead Cat

Salaam,

Add to my list of things i've seen; a dead cat lying next to the pavement (although i once saw this in Cambridge too)

I was gonna go home and return with my camera to take a picture of it so that i can share it with you folks ( the remnants of the cat was pretty gruesome; there was blood everwhere and its eyes were knocked out (i think it got hit by a car))..as my good friend was kind enough to do with his little incident...but i didn't think the locals would take too kindly to me taking photos of dead cats.

Ahh well, i hope you too get to see a dead cat soon,

Salaam.

Egypt so far...

Salaam,


Haven't written anything properly for a while so i thought i'd delve into what Egypt is saying to me. These are the things i've seen so far*:

1) Several men urinating in broad daylight outside
2) A semi-decapitated sheep lying on the floor, wriggling side to side with blood splirting out
3) Prostitutes **
4) More men urinating outside in broad daylight
5) A decomposing emaciated dog


This said though, i dont know, there's this certain thing about egypt which captivates me. I think it started in primary school when we were learning about the ancient egptians (The Egypt Project) and was fuelled by watching that Indiana Jones film and The Mummy and it still continues here and now.

Even though at first sight/smell there's a lot of negative issues with Egypt/Cairo, there's a certain allure about the hustle and bustle nature of the city and its people. Also in terms of people, everyone, in the area i live in anyway, always look like they need a good bath and to clean themselve up...i just want to go upto them with a scowrer and scrub them clean...and the thing is there's no water issues in Egypt so i dont know why they dont cleam themselves more regularly.

Anyway the area i live in is called Nasr city, and in that area in Area 10 and in that area (Cairo is Big) in Swisri A. I think its quite a unique area though as these parts of town is the hotspot for all the foreign language institutes so there's quite a lot of foreigner knocking about. But then there's the Somalis and the Malaysians. They run this place. I don't know how and why but i would say at least 30% of the people in my area are from Somalia and another 30% from Malaysia (yes thats a total of 60%) and then 10% from "The rest of the world" leaving only 30% for the Egyptians.

This fact has certain repurcussions; it is quite normal to see malaysian guys walking around and going to pray wearing brighty coloured lungis (the national dress of Bengali men; the sarong - I didn't know Malays wore it too, but they do), huuuge groups of Somlian youth standing around street corners, loooooads of malaysian restaurants, lots of people with dreadlocks (the Somalians, not the Malaysians...but That would be sight to see; a Malaysian guy with dreadlocks) and so on with lots of other things which are non-Egyptian.

Its pretty weird to think your in Egypt at first with all this going on, but alhamdulilla its grown on me now, this diverse population, and im liking the advantages of this diversity (i ate this amaaaazing fish curry yesterday at a malaysian restaurant yesterday).

Thats enough from me now.

Salaam.


* - please feel free to ask me to clarify these points
** - just to clarify, this was from a distance, and my good egyptian flatmate was kind enough to clarify that this womans behaviour of walking up and down the street, talking repeatedly to random men in cars, and then getting into a car etc was indeed the actions of a prostitute.

Italian Election Insults

Salaam,

This is hilarious... a selection of them below:


Opposition leader Romano Prodi on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in a face-to-face TV debate on 3 April:

The prime minister clings to data in the way a drunkard clings to lamp-posts - not for illumination, but to keep him standing up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neo-Fascist leader Alessandra Mussolini addressing the trans-gender communist candidate Vladimir Luxuria during a TV debate:

Better to be a Fascist than a poofter.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Berlusconi on left-wing voters at a conference of retailers on 4 April:

I trust the intelligence of the Italian people too much to think that there are so many pricks around who would vote against their own best interests.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Berlusconi on Piero Fassino, leader of the main opposition party Democrats of the Left:

Fassino is very sought after by the lobby of funeral directors, they want him as their main promoter.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Defence Minister Antonio Martino on the opposition:

We have the duty to prevent Italy ending up in the hands of this gang of scoundrels.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roberto Calderoli, leading member of the right-wing Northern League, on left-wing plans to allow same-sex unions:

Enough of these absurd demands by poofters for privileges.


Salaam

We're everywhere...!

Salaam,

I think the guy next to me in the internet cafe is Bengali. No he most likely is as he's speaking to someone in Bengali via the internet...how on earth do we get everywhere...???!

A local had told/warned me that their were loooads of Bengalis in this area - there were loads of Bengalis in Amman too. The old Bengali saying (fabricated I think) "Bengalis are everywhere - you lift a rock, and you'll find a Bengali under it"

Also, very very excited at this:

"One of the biggest upsets in cricket could be on the cards after Bangladesh seized control of the first Test against the world's top team Australia."

It would be the upset of upsets, the mother of all upsets, could it happen..? could it...??

(for non cricket people; Australia are unbeaten in test matches since August and Bangladesh have won once in 6 years..)

Salaam
Ps, iv just found out the guy next to me is called Tipu...with a name like that he's definitely a Bengali..

Technology

Salaam,

Alhamdulillah the videos below seem to be working now so play away...!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There seems to be a slight technical glitch with the videos but in the mean time they can be viewed with the following links:

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3


Salaam

Swirling Dervishes

Mosques

Another nice mosque (can't remember the name..)

Sulimani Mosque

Blue mosque and Istanbul University

Pretty Designs

Jordan

Salaam,

"War in Iraq has brought an influx of western visitors and investment to Jordan. Prostitution has become more common, although it remains discreet. Amman even has a lap-dancing bar, although the dancers remain fully clothed and there is no physical contact with clients"

I was gonna write a piece like the one on Turkey summarising what i thought of Jordan but i think this article summarises many of the things going on in this country very well.

The main thing one notices about Jordan is that it seems very well off; apparently 90% of the buildings in Amman were built in the last 15 yrs and you can see this is. Although i studied economics at uni i have no idea of how to explain what's going on in Jordan. This country is supposed to be a "developing" country at best but all the prices are like that in the UK if not more expensive - 5pounds for a box of crunchy nut cornflakes....! Criminal. And in terms of material wealth it's not doing too bad; i have never seen more mercedes' and BMWs anywhere than i saw in Amman. Literally every street had at least half a dozen, many of them being brand new.

When i spoke to the locals about this they had one group of people to blame - the Iraqis. During and after the war around 500,000 Iraqis fled their country for jordan, often bringing with them $m they had robbed. So suddenly there was an influx of all this money and so all the prices went up.

Alhamdulilla in many ways though Jordan is a country that other middle east countries should try and emulate; many of the things there in terms of efficiancy, cleanliness, beauracracy etc are much better than most other middle east countries making the whole experience of living there much more pleasant.

The danger with all this wealth though, as one could predict, is that its leading to divisions in society and much more fitna to be apparent on the streets. Just a five minute walk down Abdoun or Swehili, the two rich areas, and you cannot help notice the change in demeanour of the people and for example all the liqour stores standing there proudly with their alcohol advertisements.

As with many with of the countries in the middle east, most of the population in Jordan are under 21 so it is very worrying that so many of this age group seem so distant from their Islamic roots and are more interested in watching MTV.

Again, i think it will be interesting to see what happens to Jordan in the next few years.

May Allah guide us all.

Salaam

Turkey

Salaam,

Well, what did I think of Turkey...?

On the whole I had an amazing time there and to some it up in a few words, I think its definitely a country where the east meets the west.

I'd seen pictures of the the main Islamic sites in and around Istanbul before but I was totally blown away by actually visiting them and being able to witness the grandeur and sheer beauty of most of these sites. For all those people who complain that the Islamic world has not given anything back to the world I would say just go visit some of these sites in Istanbul and then speak.

I had previously read some stuff about the Ottomans but in Istanbul do you really get to appreciate the power and might of the empire they ran. Also I don't think a lot of Muslims realise or appreciate all the good things the Ottomans did for the Islamic world and instead are quick to criticise them. If you think think about it the Ottomans were at the forefront leading the Islamic nation for a longer period than the actual Arabs from the middle east so they probably have had a greater impact in terms of the Islamic ummah than the original Arabs from the middle east.

Another thing that obviously pops to mind is the political nature of Turkey; the fact that its a secular country resulting in the scarf and beard being banned from all government institutions. This has led to the country being very diverse in terms of Islamic practice. In some parts eg Eyup, the local population are very conservative, most women wear the scarf and the masajids are packed out, in other areas (unfortunately the majority of areas...) most women don't wear the scarf, huge mosques have attendances of around 20 people for salaats, alcohol is everywhere, the dress sense is very much like in the west etc. So its pretty weird that by taking a 10 min ride you can go from a religious conservative area to one which is pretty much like the UK. I think this fact reconfirms why people call this country the meeting place of the east and west, something I would strongly agree with.

The above being what it is, I really don't know how the religious Muslims get along in Turkey; to think that their in a Muslim country but cant grow a beard or wear the scarf, and to be surrounded by "Muslims" who openly behave like people from the west and it some cases it seems they are going out of their way to behave in an anti-Islamic manner. Thats why one thing I've found on my travels is that the more "Muslim" countries I visit the luckier I feel with living in the UK.

On the whole I think Turkey is a very very interesting country with a lot of history and culture which I think many Muslims don't appreciate. In the recent past its gone through a lot of political turmoil with the "Islamist" party coming into power which the locals say is a sign that a lot of people want to go back to their religious roots. I think it will be very interesting to see what happens in Turkey in the coming years.

Salaam