"The responsibility of protecting any religion lies on the shoulders of the State and not on certain individuals. The UNESCO has identified and promulgated religious tolerance since it does not call for indifference or blindly following what others believe. But what is happening today is that we are blindly following what others are practicing under the pretext of religious tolerance.The Christmas tree is not just an ordinary tree but a lifestyle; and imitating the West and adopting its concepts without judging what suits our societies; weakens our loyalty and compliance to Islamic issues. I think that the best solution is to raise new generations that will be able to maintain their thoughts and beliefs and strengthen the Islamic identity armed with culture."
I have been to many stadiums and many packed venues in my life, but I have never seen something like this. Not only were people locked from getting in, creating commotion among crowd with paid tickets who were denied entry, but people were also locked in. One of my friends had to jump a fence just to get out since he had to leave early. Where is the fire code? Where are safety measures. Just another startling reminder of how dysfunctional things can get here and how personal security is often the first thing to go.
To the disappointment of Kuwait's liberal front, the Ministry of Interior has banned Egyptian liberal Islamist thinker Nasr Abu Zaid from entering Kuwait. As soon as he arrived at Kuwait International Airport on Tuesday evening, Abu Zaid was told that his visa was invalid and informed that he would be sent back to Egypt on a return flight the same night.
Abu Zaid had been invited by the Women's Cultural Social Society to give two lectures on Islam and democracy. Abu Zaid, who is known for his radical theories on Islam, has previously been accused of abandoning the Islamic faith, leaving in the mid 1990s for Europe, where he now lives.
The Ministry of Interior's decision to ban Abu Zaid from entering Kuwait appears to have been influenced by pressure from Islamist MPs, most of whom had adopted a negative stance against Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, whose no-confidence vote session in the parliament is due to be held today.
Talking to the press, Islamist MP Walid Al-Tabtabae said that it is surprising that a person like Abu Zaid was invited to Kuwait in the first place, questioning the intentions of whoever organized this event. "Kuwait does not need to import issues; these radical views on religion are alien to our society and are not welcome," he said.
MP Ali Al-Omair asserted that Kuwait is a land of faith, where religion figures hugely and thanked the Ministry of Interior (MoI) for its efforts, saying, "Such radical ideology has no place here in Kuwait.
Tribal MP Mohammad Al-Mutair said that a "blasphemous irreligious person like Abu Zaid is not welcome to enter Kuwait with his beliefs because it is damaging to our society," adding that religion is a red line that cannot be crossed in the name of freedom. (for full article click here)
Are you for real Al-Watan Daily?! Embassies have very little authority in handling the issues of labor. First of all, recruitment is done in labourers' home countries, none of the recruitmet process has to do with the destination embassy. Secondly, Kuwaiti newspapers never have the "cojones" to use the word "blame" with any sort of Kuwaiti government institution when it comes to the pitiful labor record in this country. At the end of the day, this reputation is a reflection on the country's internal institutions and regulations. Embassies have nothing to do with that.
Most of Europe's Muslims want to live in mixed communities, not segregated neighbourhoods, a new report says. The work by the Open Society Institute (OSI), an independent think-tank, looked at the social integration of Muslims in 11 West European cities. It calls for improved efforts to tackle discrimination. Europe's Muslim population is expected to double by 2025 and could reach 40 million. But data on them is very limited, OSI says. The report says religious discrimination remains a critical barrier to their participation in European society, and the situation has worsened in recent years. The OSI says its aim is to promote tolerance and fairness. (for full article, click here)
UN HABITAT now has a facebook fanpage. Its a great place for people to meet and discuss urban issues in the city. Check out their discussion topics and updates.
Although this song was written in 1971 as protest anthem against the Vietnam War, somehow (in an age of tepid climate change talks by leaders with immense carbon footprints and swift citizen punches to Berlusconi's spray-tan, spray-hairline face) the frustrated tone of this song really continues to resonate. If you want to hear the melody, see the video starting at the 0:11 mark.I'm sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritics
All I want is the truthJust gimme some truthI've had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of hope
Money for dope
Money for rope
No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of soap
Money for dope
Money for rope
I'm sick to death of seeing things
From tight-lipped, condescending, mama's little chauvinists
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth now
I've had enough of watching scenes
Of schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, prima-donnas
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth
We never stepped on the plane
Iranian opposition supporters have launched an online campaign to free a student activist accused of dressing as a woman to try to avoid arrest. Hundreds of men have posted photos of themselves wearing Islamic headscarves as part of the "Be a man" campaign to show solidarity with Majid Tavakoli. He was arrested during protests in Tehran on Monday and state media showed images of him in headscarf and robes. The opposition say the pictures were staged in a bid to discredit him. They say he was not wearing the headscarf and robes when he was arrested. Iranian state media say Mr Tavakoli was arrested as he sought to leave Tehran's Amir Kabir university "disguised as a woman" after Student Day protests. He is a leading activist who spent 15 months in jail along with two fellow students after being arrested in 2006 on charges of insulting religion and the country's leadership in student publications, AFP news agency reports. "Iranian men are showing their solidarity with Tavakoli by wearing a hijab and posting their photo on the web," reads its appeal to send in photos. Some of the website's readers argue that the campaign is also a gesture of solidarity with Iranian women, who are obliged by the authorities to wear the hijab in public. Many of the contributors openly show their faces, in headscarves, while some have all but their eyes covered. "Life is so short and so many fine, fine men around," one woman reader quipped. "It is getting harder to be a girl these days."(For article link, click here)
Kit Kat has gone fair trade-with the certification label to prove it. Here is an article by Rebecca Smithers of The Guardian explaining the move.
The UK's best-selling chocolate biscuit bar, Kit Kat, is to receive ethical certification through the Fairtrade quality mark, it will be announced today.
After lengthy talks between the UK arm of the Swiss food giant Nestlé and the Fairtrade Foundation, the familiar blue and green logo will appear on the wrappers of Kit Kats in the UK and Ireland from January. Initially the certification will only apply to the larger four-finger Kit Kats but it will be extended to the smaller bars.
The move represents a major coup for Fairtrade, which earlier this year certified Cadbury's Dairy Milk, and means chocolate is now a mainstream Fairtrade product alongside bananas, tea and coffee.
It follows the October launch of Nestlé's global Cocoa Plan, a £65m investment programme over the next 10 years to tackle the key economic, social and environmental issues facing cocoa farming communities. Farmers living and working in Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producing country, will be the main beneficiaries.
As well as the Fairtrade price (or market price if higher) for the cocoa, farmers' groups receive extra Fairtrade premium payments to invest in long-term community and business projects of their own choice, such as education and healthcare. The sugar in the product will also be Fairtrade certified, sourced from Belize.
I read on the Foreign Policy Blog that several guest workers in Dubai were fired via a text message-and all this just in time for the Eid holidays!
``It was early morning when I received a text message from my office, Al-Hamid, telling me that I need not bother returning to Dubai. My contract has been discontinued and my work permit stands terminated. It said my dues will be sent through post and my belongings will be duly returned.''
Thats 50,000 non-active workers in total in the public sector. Reading an Economic Brief by NBK I see that as of 2008 262,700 Kuwaitis were employed in the public sector. If we do some arithmetic, this means that about 20% of the total labor force is deadweight!Al Watan has learned that 30,000 government employees in the public sector have not reported to work for several years, and that 20,000 employees attend to their duties for one or two hours a day maximum. Many are to said to report to their department merely to sign in while other individuals sign them out on their behalf because they are relatives or friends, or in some cases, even for money.
Here in Kuwait, we note the change in season not by the turning of colors in the leaves, but rather the phasing out of white and cream-colored dishdashas for ones of dark gray, navy blue, and all the possible shades of tree-trunk.
Watch out for BANGS, and his Sudanese rap, moving up the massive belly of the youtube expanse. Combining the stream of consciousness, dork factor of Lazy Sunday, coupled with the innocence of some early LL Cool J, I present to you "Take U to Da Movies." Hat tip from N.C.A.!
I would normally get fair trade products for certain key items, such as coffee and bananas that are personally important to me (I used to live in several countries in Central America). How can we get grocery stores, particularly for example Sultan Center, to incorporate more fair trade products on their shelves. Anybody have thoughts?
The Kuwait Transport Public Company has a bus fleet comprising of some of the most polluting, exhaust-emitting vehicles on the roadways. While some of the buses are more modern, the older ones really need to be phased out. If you have ever been behind some of the more "antique" buses, they produce a horrendous black cloud behind everything they pass. Honestly, flowers and plants must wilt instantaneously in their path-they are like the shadow of the Angel of Death! Please continue the modernization and updating of these remaining buses. With many people fighting to decongest the roads by cutting out the number of old, run down vehicles on the streets, these buses set the wrong example to residents and citizens!
I read an op-ed article last week (I am sorry but I cannot recall in which paper) stating that ideas are circulating to privatize co-ops. Let me just say that I love this Kuwaiti institution and do not think they should be privatized. It's a great source and potential channel for community engagement and I believe the model, as is, should be only expanded upon.
I saw this movie last night and really was mesmerized. Similiar to Persepolis, the soundtrack of the movie takes on a central role, so I am including the track listing below, along with the German and American trailer for the movie. It is an Israeli film depicting the role of the army in the Sabra and Shatila massacre during the 1982 war in Lebanon.
Transparency International has come out with its rankings of perceptions of corruption for the year 2009. As you can see, Qatar ranks lowest in terms of perceived corruption, while Kuwait, unfortunately fares the least well for the Gulf Region. You can see the interactive map here.
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