Two Muslim-Americans, Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq, got to better know the Muslim Community in New York by going to a different mosque to break the Ramadan fast for each day of the holy month. Its an interesting little blog and, since I have not really written anything on Ramadan (Eid Mubarak to all my Muslim readers, by the way), I think it is nice to highlight on this sort of journey. Check out their website documenting their visits here.
An example of a young Kuwaiti man making a difference in the community. Bravo! This is a press release from the Kuwait News Agency written by Ahmad Al-Rifaie:
Kuwaiti mountain climber Faisal Al-Nakib successfully climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa, in an attempt to raise awareness on cancer and how to prevent it.Speaking to KUNA, Al-Nakib said that on July 3, he was able to reach the highest point on Mount Kilimanjaro along with seven contestants from different countries, out of a total of 19 who had begun the climb on June 26. He expressed his great joy at having succeeded in reaching the top.
"I was the first to reach the summit, and I was able to endure the harsh climate conditions - the severe cold and the difficulty breathing - during the eight hours of night climbing," he said. He noted that this was a great challenge for him, as Kilimanjaro was 5,895 meters above sea level. "My strong will and strong desire to succeed made me reach the top," he added.
He explained that 70,000 pounds were collected for the Orchid Cancer organization, aimed at raising awareness over this condition. "
Certainly the title of the article, "Kuwaiti Citizens Prefer Marrying Thai Women" caught my attention, with emphasis on the use of prefer in the choice of words. However, while I was hoping this article would maybe be one of acceptance for marriages between Kuwaitis and Asian women, and particularly to their children, who often face an uphill battle of stigmatization in school, the piece really threw me off.
"I realized that my friends were right when speaking about Thai wives and their dedication to their marriages. Her husband is her top priority in life. She is very obedient, she is keen to see he is comfortable, she adores housework, she is very keen and willing to learn Kuwaiti cuisine, she is very quiet, never shouts and she always waits for her husband's rage to subsist before she calmly continues a debate"
"They also pampered and treated their husbands well. Through my fifteen year marriage to a Thai woman, I never felt she lost any interest or that her care for me lessened. To the contrary, she pampered me more than our kids. She used to put me to bed and sing to me and she was very dedicated and creative in making me more comfortable"
Two articles came out recently that blew my mind. The first, from the Associated Foreign Press, discusses one Saudi man's purchase of the most expensive sex item in the world, "a solid 18 carat gold penis enlarger worth nearly 50,000 USD"..."encrusted at his request with 40 diamonds and several rubies".
"We were approached by the customer who insisted on a solid gold version of our product because he claimed to have a severe skin allergy to stainless steel."
Later, the buyer asked to add diamonds and rubies to it.
"There is something tremendously selfish about the male ego, and subsequently 50,000-dollar orders may become the norm for companies like X4 Labs."
The second article, from The Independent, deals with a Saudi man who is getting in trouble with the law for having bragged and talked about sex on a tv show for a Lebanese-based LBC satellite tv station, after which more than 200 people filed complaints to authorities.
"The segment began with the 32-year-old Saudi Airlines employee apparently talking about the first time he had sex – at age 14, with a neighbour. Then he leads viewers into his bedroom, dominated by red accessories, where the divorced father of four says "everything happens".
Another shot shows him in a red shirt and red slippers, with a stylish goatee, holding up blurred sex toys, a sex manual and a bottle he took from a box. "It's used for women who do not have sexual desire," he explains.
In another sequence, he greets three male friends at the door of his apartment in the western seaport of Jiddah. The four, who have since been detained by Saudi authorities, then briefly discuss what turns them on and how much "comfort" they get from sex. "One million per cent," notes Mr Abdul-Jawad."
Just returned from the celebration at the Kuwait Sea Sports Club of the return of the Kuwait traditional pearl diver's expedition to Bahrain. It was an amazing thing to witness and I hope to have pictures up soon. I think my friend and I must have been the only foreigners there. I had a great time. For those of you who don't know, Kuwait was a huge pearl diving nation before the discovery of oil. This trip aims at teaching male youth about their ancestry and the traditional way of living before the introduction of petroleum. I think its a really great experience.
I just became aware of a television show that apparently aired on the Sundance Channel called "On the Road in America", a combination of "Road Rules" and a public diplomacy project to send Arab youth to the United States to instill greater faith in the American image in a time when the US is having a rebranding crisis in the Middle East.
I discovered this on chillnite.com . Really worth watching through all the five videos. Surprisingly, the re-enactment is not super cheese. It tells the story of a young British national, who at 19 at the time, was busted (framed) by a police sting operation that sent him into a Kuwaiti jail. His sentence was cut short, however, with the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, as the prisoners revolted and managed to let themselves out. His story is riveting.
Last month I tried to highlight on untangling issues of women, religion and fashion, an issue brought to my attention by President Sarkozy's comments on the burqa.
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