6th Anniversary of Intifada

Cyrine Abd Al-Nour

I left Egypt in 1985 and my family and I didn't consider installing a satellite dish until recently. I was very shocked at the musical videos and their explicit nature. There were a few times where I had to blink and rub my eyes to believe what I saw. I think I'm the only one in the M.E. or maybe the world who doesn't think that Haifa Wehbe is attractive or talented. Her raccoon make-up and glassy eyes makes her look like she died thirty years ago before taking this picture. Even Nancy Ajram with her innocent and playful look, didn't convince me of her talent.

A month or so ago I came across this music video of a Lebanese singer with the name Cyrine Abd Al-Nour. After watching I could see how she is different. She is very attractive with little make-up and knew how to draw the line between sexy and cheap. The lyrics are matching the theme of the video which many arab singers neglect. The clothes were perfect, the scenery and the dance were suitable and she had a very passionate look on her face which helped her video to stand out.

Watch it yourself so you know what I mean ( If you can't view it on my blog due to blogger tech. difficulty you can watch it here)

Flowers and plants of Ancient Egypt

Lotus (water lily) and Papyrus, symbolizing Upper and Lower Egypt. The Egyptians used to sing for their lotus, they had a feast for lotus


Water lilies open in the morning and close again at night. This was probably the reason that the ancient Egyptians saw in them an image of rebirth and regeneration, important concepts in their religion


To the Egyptians, the papyrus became the symbol of fertility and life itself


They were given as gifts of love and worship, to lovers and gods


Ancient Egyptians were the first to recognize their "national plant"


Ancient Egyptians adored fresh floral arrangements, but were also one of, if not the first civilizations to immortalize them as artificial flowers made from durable materials

Ahlan Ramadan

Ramadan in Egypt is very special and the fanous (lantern) has many memories in my childhood. May this Ramadan be spiritual, peaceful, and joyful to all my Muslim readers and friends. Let us hope that during the fasting month people will remember the poor around the world.

Hopefully during the month of Ramadan I will have the chance to reminisce and post about my experience as a Christian in Egypt in the month of Ramadan.

Happy Ramadan.

God does NOT speak through you Mr. Bush !

On July 9, 2004 Mr. Bush visited the offices of the Lapp Electric Service plant in Smoketown, Pennsylvania. Mr. Bush was talking to a group of about 60 local Amish, one of whom had made a quilt for the visiting President. Mr. Bush shook a few hands, tried on a straw hat, and then made his announcement to the small crowd. “I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn’t do my job.

The best reply I can muster for Mr. Bush was already eloquently stated in a 2004 article in CommonDreams.org by Karen Cobb. I am paraphrasing the majority of it here with my own images.

"I was told in Sunday school the word "Christian" means to be Christ-like, but the message I hear daily on the airwaves from the “christian ” media are words of war, violence, and aggression............. I hear church goers call in to radio programs and explain that it was a mistake not to kill every living thing in Fallujah. They quote chapter and verse from the old testament about smiting the enemies of Israel. The fear of fighting the terrorists on our soil rather than across the globe causes the voices to be raised as they justify the latest prison scandal or other accounts of the horrors of war . The words they speak are words of destruction, aggression, dominance, revenge, fear and arrogance. The host and the callers echo the belief in the righteousness of our nation's killing. There are reminders to pray for our “Christian” president who is doing the work of the Lord: Right to Life, Second Amendment, sanctity of marriage, welfare reform, war, kill, evil liberals. . . so much to fight, so much to destroy."

"Let me tell you about the Christ I know. He was conceived by an unmarried woman. He was not born into a family of privilege. He was a radical. He said, “It was said an eye for and eye and a tooth of a tooth, but now I say love your enemies and bless those who curse you.” He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5: 3-9) He said, “All those who are called by my name will enter the kingdom of heaven." He said, "People will know true believers if they have the fruit of the spirit--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control."

"He knew he would be led like a sheep to the slaughter. He responded with “Father forgive them.“ He explained that in Christ there is neither Jew nor gentile, slave or free male nor female. He explained that even to be angry is akin to murder. He said the temple of God is not a building, but is in the hearts of those are called by his name. He was called "the Prince of Peace." His final days were spent in prayer, so that he could endure what was set before him, not on how he could overpower the evil government of that day. When they came for him he was led away and didn’t resist his death sentence."

"I cringe as many christians vote for policies that deny help to the poor in our own county, who vote to support the war and military strength, assuring the latest weapons are developed and that the heavens will be dominated by the military of the United States. We develop electromagnetic weapons to shatter skulls , split the earth and silently destroy a body as a thief in the night. Studies are even now searching for the frequencies to override the freewill. These unbelievable technologies are a reality and DNA specific weapons can or soon will target a specific nationality.I weep as the waters Jesus walked on become contaminated with uranium. I grieve as the missiles fly through the atmosphere on the continent where Jesus rose into the sky, defying death and the grave and where the Holy Sprit first descended. I cry out at the horrors of war and the indignity of the prisons so close to where He took captivity captive. So I am no longer a Christian if Christianity has become what is presented to us by our Christian president and Christian media. I cannot support the right of the United States and Israel to develop and use the most heinous weapons ever imagined. I want no part of a temple built on the blood of the innocent. The sheep have been lead astray by the teachings of prosperity and misinterpretation of the final battle between good and evil. Many no longer can recognize the voice of the good Shepherd."

"Even the wrathful jealous God of the old testament spared whole cities for a few righteous souls. For Christians, to support mass killings as a way to prevent future deaths is not at all like Christ. He would not say,"When I am talking about war I am really talking about peace," like the self professed Christian President proudly states. Who but God has the right to determine what price a people should pay for their freedom? The religious leaders on the airwaves today respond to the voices of the few brave peacemakers who dare to speak out. They say that pacifism is insane, and that it doesn’t make sense, but what is forgotten is that logic and faith are separate entities. I believe in the example of Jesus and his admonition to love your enemies and bless those who curse you . Do I understand how this works on the global scale? Do I know what Jesus would say to all the world’s leaders? No, nor do I totally understand how the example of Christ’s life and his message of love works in the world today. That’s why I need faith. Am I always correct in my assessments and actions? No, that’s why I need grace. Am I brave and unafraid? No, that’s why I need the perfect love that casts out fear. Some put trust in Chariots and some in horses but I will remember the name of the lord our God--the Prince of Peace. Perhaps politics has no place for imitators of Christ."

"Who will show the face of Christ to the world? Who will speak His radical message? I hear from these so called imitators of Christ that the pacifists are a collection of kids, hippies, socialists and communists who haven’t got a clue. Some of us, however, have come to our beliefs as a result of careful and prayerful study of the scriptures and admonishment from our elders. Many are Mennonite, Amish, Quaker and other Anabaptists, whose ancestors did not resist their torturers and were drowned, burnt at the stake and flogged for their pacifist stand. They truly followed the example of Christ, and their resistance against the catastrophic effects of the merging of church and state cost them a great price. Churches today have signed onto the government plan and have agreed to look the other way in exchange for tax free privileges. The true message of Christ still exists to some degree in the quiet of the land to peacemakers, but sadly these good people have been deceived by the angry words from a righteous sounding religious media majority broadcasting in cars and trucks and tractors all over our land ironically preaching the “good news of war for peace“ and convincing 24-7 “liberal“ bashing. I suspect there are many who share my sorrow at the loss of what it means to be Christ-like, but our voice is seldom heard. The blaring rhetoric drowns out the still small voice of the mighty God. Peace used be the opposite of war, Conservative used to mean the tendency to conserve resources. Liberal used to mean kind and generous, and Christian used to mean like Christ."

"So I am no longer a Christian but just a person who continues trying to follow the example of Christ. I’ll let him call me what he wants when I see him face to face. Until then, I will pray that someday people like me will be able to reclaim the meaning of Christ’s identity, and the world will see the effects of the radical message of Christ‘s love--the perfect love that casts out fear."

Article by Karen Cobb, No longer a Christian, October 25, 2004 by CommonDreams.org

RIP Fouad El Mohandes (1924-2006)

Theatre remains the true vocation of this 'comprehensive artist'. From stinging satire to social criticism, pedagogy to pure parody, he has been making audiences laugh, think -- and feel -- for over 40 years.



Egyptians are known for their sense of humour -- for laughing loudly in the face of adversity. Laughter carries them through the hardest of times. If the ability to laugh is a talent, however, the ability to make people laugh even through their tears is a gift, and Fouad El-Mohandes is exceptionally gifted in that respect.



"I shall never forget the day when my mother came to attend the annual ceremony at school and saw me on stage doing a comic scene. She was so horrified by what I was doing that she shouted at me to get off the stage at once. Actually, I obeyed her," El-Mohandes recalls, laughing.



Even as a child, El-Mohandes was aware of this magnetic power of his: he could draw people in and make them laugh with almost frightening ease.





Fouad and Shwikar, as she is now known, were married in 1963, and their work together yielded one of the most successful artistic partnerships in the Arab world. She was the quintessential coquette of the 1960s; he was the man tortured by the love of this pretty and difficult woman.



"It is only natural that my heart should begin to suffer. I have often lived with my heart, rather than my mind." Fouad El Mohandes says

Goodbye A'mmo Fouad!

Photos credit(www.videohat.com)
Comments by Ahmed Bahgat Al-Ahram Weekly

Flash back 9/11

On the beautiful morning of 9/11/01 (My office in Pennsylvania)

8:15 am M. and I walk to the coffee shop as usual, bought our favorite toasted bagel w/cream cheese. My co-worker, friend and neighbor M.

M: It is such a beautiful day let us walk a bit longer D.
D: I know, it is a crime to be indoors today but, we have so much work to do today, march! march! march! girlfriend!
M: Alright, I know, I know.....

8:45 AM checking my e-mail I find a new message from the secretary, reading the message, I look at M. and ask what is going on?

M: Did you read this e-mail?
D: yes, she is saying a plane flew into one of the towers in NY?
M: She is reporting from one of her relatives from NY, what appears to be a terrorist attack on one of the towers of the world trade centers.
D: The e-mail is very vague, check CNN, and I will check BBC.,..... Darn it! I have no access to the internet
M: Me neither! both sites are down.

Few minutes later, we found three employees K.,S.,T. storming into our office angry almost screaming at me.

K: It is the Arabs, it must be, they are responsible for everything aren't they?
S: (looking at me) I can't even look at their faces they are so sick.
T: Something needs to be done about them.


Suddenly we hear screaming everywhere, loud crying, employees wailing, my e-mail inbox keeps alerting, my brother W. from Canada, my cousin S., my cousin N., I rush to open my e-mail inbox and they are all asking me what is going on?! Please tell us you are Ok.

I page my husband R. he is not replying, he is in the same hospital but won't reply, M. and I are shocked, scared to go out of the office.

M: What do we do now D.?

D: We have to go out and find out M. I can't access any news sites, Radio is not working for some reason, we can't just sit here.

M: I have a feeling this is bad, since the three witches walked in and said what they said you need to stay here, let me go out and find out.

I agreed with M. and started replying to e-mails from my brother W. I write :- " I don't know, I don't know please tell me what news you have, it seems like I'm a prisoner in the office, people are angry, screaming and crying, I'm hearing bad comments directed at me and can't understand what is going on outside, I can't reach R. I'm worried about him, he is not replying.

Few seconds later I get an e-mail from my brother W. "the US is under attack, there is a war going on I heard"

I reply back "War, what war? give me details" I start shaking as I write "I can't find R., I have to go, I have to find R."

I rushed out of my office and see all office employees, in the hallways, talking to each other, risk management team running around. Security staff on walkie talkies, VP's are called for an emergency meeting.

M: (meets me in the hallway) You will not believe this D., some terrorists used commercial planes and flew through the two towers. The White house is under attack, there are rumors that there are more airplanes are going to hit, we don't know where they will hit next but they seem to target big buildings, here is a radio I found that works.

D: (crying hysterically) I don't understand why R. is not responding?!

M: Please calm down they are on the OB rotation (obstetric), they can both be delivering patients, in normal times we can't reach them, I don't think it is a good idea for you to try to exit the doors, this is a hospital and you know how they react to situations like this.

D: ok I will call the operator and let her get me connected to the nurses station, and if he is not to answer my call for no obvious reason, I'm walking to the main hospital to find him.

I call the nurses station and they reply in a rude tone, "we don't know where he is Mrs. A."

D: M. I'm going to the hospital to check on him are you coming or not?

M: Yes the radio is a mess I can't get it to work, we need to be with our husbands let's go, let me just call the nurses station one more time.

M: (To Nurse B.) Is Dr. A. or Dr. W. there?

Nurse B: I just told Mrs. A. we don't know where he is

M: With all due respect to my retired Catholic priest father, Don't you bitch with me and find me either Dr. A. or Dr. W. RIGHT NOW!

M: Here is your husband D. I will transfer him.

D: Hi honey, I have been looking for you.

R: Just got out of the delivery room beautiful baby boy 7 lbs 8 ounces (always sounds cheerful and describes the baby to me)

D: Honey listen to me, there has been planes hitting buildings all over the country while you were delivering the baby.

R: Planes? What planes?

D: Some horrible events and I feel a bit uncomfortable being in the office.

R: Ok, let me find out what the heck is going on and I will call you right back.

D: M. thanks for helping me.

Phone rings in few minutes

R: You need to go home now. I want you out of your office

D: What happened you sound very upset.

R: Yes, I am very upset and will e-mail the CEO of the hospital immediately to report Nurse B. and the three employees.

D: What did she do? Please calm down, you have excellent relationships with everyone, emotions are high, and people might say things they don't mean.

R: Well, as I hung up with you I heard Nurse A. Saying "we should go to war with them" and Nurse B. replied looking at me "why would we go to war, we have them right here".

D: let us just wait and see what the CEO will say or do.

Few minutes later I check the intranet with a message from the CEO warning employees from backlash on employees.

Phone rings

R: I did e-mail the CEO and there is an official announcement on the electronic bulletin board to warn from any attacks on us, I still think you need to go home. We will not be treated like Japanese Americans during WWII or like Iranians during the 80s hostage crisis.

D: Ok I'm leaving (M. overheard me and packed her stuff too..)

M: I'm coming with you, I want to make sure you get home safely.

D: I need to stop by the church across the street, I have to pray, I feel terrified.

M: Good idea, I think many people today will need our prayers.

M lost her cousin in the Towers, I had a big BDY party for R later that week that was planned before 9/11, I sent an e-mail to cancel the party due to 9/11, amazingly enough, M all physicians and their wives insisted that the party takes place.

Their reasoning, "Our lives will not change, we will continue doing what we do."

To M. and the friends of R. I will always remember you on 9/11, thanks for making America a better place to live.

Photo credits:
1. Palestinians East Jerusalem (pbase.com)
2. Schoolgirls in Palestine pray in a moment of silence. (September11new.com)
3. Marwa Adel Al-Sharif, 10, holds on to her mother, Sahar Al-Sharif, before the start of a prayer service at the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford in Berlin, Conn. (Washingtonpost.com)
4. Lena Beck, foreground, joins in a candlelight vigil Wednesday at McKenzie Park in Panama City, Fla. (Timesunion.com)
5. Palestinian children holding candles and flowers take part in a vigil Friday in front of the U.S. Consulate in East Jerusalem, expressing support to the victims of the terrorist attacks in U.S. (Timesunion.com)

Protecting God's Child sexual abuse awareness

I'm considerably a new mom, I'm learning as I go. This year J. our older daughter turned three so my husband and I decided to send her to a part-time program (Pre-k) in a nearby Catholic School, I've been overwhelmed by the experience and suffering from separation anxiety. Once I read the school handbook and knew that they require 100% volunteer participation from parents, I was the first to sign up for their program Virtus. With all the new information they throw at you in the first week of school, I haven't had the chance to read more about Virtus and thought it is a kind of orientation to the school, activities, rules, etc.... And boy, I was wrong!

The training session is about Protecting God’s Children from sexual abuse. The session starts by showing us a video that utterly shocked me. In the video they show sex predators, victims, and parents of victims. As I start watching, my tears started rolling down my cheeks, I could hardly see the screen but my tears didn’t prevent me from hearing how the sex offenders did what they did and how the victims explained the trauma. As I was shrinking in my chair I looked around me and everyone in the room (I would say 120 people) were either sobbing, shaking their head, disgusted, some expressed anger and muttered “please God protect our children”.

After the video ended there was silence. We started group discussion, it was very hard to focus as we all shared our shock about what we just saw in the video. I realized how vulnerable our children are and how uniformed I am, beliving many myths about sexual abuse. We were given questions and we answered them, shared our thoughts and the instructor announced that it was time for a break.

All of a sudden the world around me vanished and all what I could think of is how to protect my children. My priorities suddenly shifted and my brain went into defense mode. I prayed for God to protect my children and said in Arabic “Ya Rab Wahyatek dool awladak ahmeehom” (Please dear God protect my children they are your children.)

As disturbing as this is I feel compelled to share a few points with any parent who would visit my blog. Please feel free to visit Virtus' site to learn more about this topic and become aware and informed.

How big is the problem?

At least one in five girls and one in twenty boys are sexually abused in their childhood

500 thousand cases of sexual abused children are reported each year in the US ( please consider unreported ones)

Myths

Most sex offenders are NOT homosexuals, most sex offenders are mainly heterosexual.

Most Children are not lying when they mention sex abuse only 5% are lying.

Catholic priests don’t sexually abuse children because of their vow of celibacy, they abuse them for the same exact reason others do.

Sex offenders doesn’t look like criminals, in most cases they are normal looking people.

Sex offenders can be as young as 10 years old.

Sex offenders can be your neighbor, babysitter, teacher, priest, friend, relative, they are no strangers to our children.

Some confessions of Sex Offenders

“ He was five I was ten and he looked up to me and I trick him, I lure him, force him to take off his clothes and rape him”

“I would make sure I work around children, I volunteer everywhere, schools, skating rings, pizza places, I study my victim for months and calculate every move and make sure I get him/her even if it takes several months”

“I will dismiss my class early and keep her with me, I will be very nice to her parents and manipulate and intimidate her to never open her mouth with lies about me.”

“I use toys, fancy clothes, to bribe my best friends son to stay with me as long as I can keep him, I throw pornography magazines for him to view and then rape him/her”

“I’ve been doing this for 26 years”

Testimony of abused children

"I just didn't wanna' go on living. I just…I hated myself. I blamed myself I just… I just thought it was unbearable, the pain was just unbearable".

"I felt dirty, I lost my manhood, I wanted to kill myself at the age of 15"

"he always wanted me to take a bath. And…and then he'd start. And I couldn't move. You know, I'd try to scream or do something. I just couldn't do anything, you know?
And so what I did was I'd try to distract myself by looking at different things like, uh, the…the faucet in the bathtub, or, you know, little cracks on the walls. I just look at the cracks in the walls or I'd look behind…
try to imagine what's behind the cracks in the walls just to get my mind off of it…just to get my mind out of my body for a minute. And then he'd leave. And then I'd go to bed— shivering— and, uh, I'd try to fall asleep just to forget about it all, but I couldn't."

"I thought that everyone that looked at me knew that my manhood was gone. I felt… dirty, used, disgusted..."

How do we protect our children?

Control, Control, Control, be in control of your children schedule, children they play with , families of the children they play with, and more importantly who they spend time with alone.

Listen to your children, if your child comes home and doesn’t want to attend his English class, hates his teacher, always fails in this class and you notice a change in behavior, talk to your child and don’t force them to excel in school and play the power game.

Don’t drop off your child to any activity without accompanying them, stay until the teacher shows up.

Love your children, pray with them and for them, make them your friends and be available to them.

There is a way to protect our children, educate yourself, be aware, prevent sexual abuse before it happens.