Rule of thumb: in an interview, if you are starting to sound like an idiot and your publicist does not tell you to stop being an racist douche bag, then it’s time to fire him/her. It may be “hip” to tell the the Queen of England to piss off, but lashing out on people living under the only occupation that still exists in the 21st century is not quite that brave. Rotten vomits these words: “If Elvis-fucking-Costello wants to pull out of a gig in Israel because he’s suddenly got this compassion for Palestinians, then good on him. But I have absolutely one rule, right? Until I see an Arab country, a Muslim country, with a democracy, I won’t understand how anyone can have a problem with how they’re treated.” Umm, the last thing I want to hear right now is a racist Brit’s opinion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Have you not done enough damage?
Dear Church, will you marry me?
In Egypt the line between politics and religion is as blurry as my windshield on a rainy day (remind me to replace my wipers!). According to the orthodox Coptic tradition, divorce is frowned upon and remarriage is an impossibility. Therefore, when a Coptic man thought this was supremely unfair (and unconstitutional), he went to the Administrative Court to force the church to marry him–a step he needs to be legally married that is. In an unexpected and controversial ruling, the Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff forcing the Coptic church to abide by “constitutional” rights. The church then appealed to the Supreme Constitutional Court. This begs the age old questions: is marriage a religious institution? Is the state interfering in religious freedom? Is religion intruding on constitutional rights? Why the hell does this man want to remarry given the church probably gave him hell for divorcing? Ok never mind on the last question; afterall, who doesn’t deserve a second chance? One hopes this case brings to light the absurdity of religious intrusion in personal life. And similarly state intrusion in personal life (such as declaring a religion on ID card, switching religions, not allowing Egyptians to marry Israelis, not allowing Muslim women to marry non-Muslim men, etc.). Unfortunately, the insatiable need to regulate identities and human behavior is an obsession of religions and states alike, and their marriage is as overbearing as a used car salesman.
Flotilla Pirates
Videos of the Israeli raid on the flotilla show the activists throwing objects at Israeli soldiers and trying to throw them off board as well, but is that not what you would do if pirates landed on your ship too? George Bisharat has more astute analysis of “self-defense” claims and all your legal inquiries. Meanwhile, NBC has taken a rare turn into reality by showing the inhumane treatment Gazans face in prison, and Pixies, Elvis Costello and Gorillaz cancel their performances in Israel in boycott to the recent events. Then Helen Thomas loses her job for “letting it all out” so to speak. This is great precedent, I think, because I too am thinking of ending the career of every person on television who says something racist or anti-Arab. But I am afraid the only thing remaining on television will be “The Hills,” which leaves Arabs, blacks, Mexicans and all minorities altogether off the show. Thankfully, of course! This is all very fascinating, but I am still wondering in what world can IOF IDF soldiers claim to be the “victims” of hippy humanitarian workers and the very populace Israel besieges?
Barra, Barra
Ever since I went to Paris in December 2009, I have had a mild obsession with Algerian music or Raï, which literally means “opinion” in Arabic. It was so interesting to see the North African community in Paris, and in the short time I was there I developed an affinity for them and their Franco-Arab culture. Raï originates from a town called Oran in Algeria and is a folksy type of Bedouin music that began in the 1930s. Learning about the history of raï is fascinating insofar as it weaves gender relations with the present religious extremism and the past colonization. The rural soul of this type of music fuses art with social and political issues that narrate Algerian history better than any book. It also incorporates French and Spanish musical influences as part of the reality of European presence in the region. A raï singer is often referred as Cheb (male) and Chebba (female), which means “young one.” So you have Cheb Khaled or Chebba Fadela in contrast with the traditional titles like “sheikh” (referred to older people to indicate wisdom). The title of this post is a song by Rachid Taha and it means “Everybody Out” or literally “get out, get out” as it refers to the troubling conditions in Algeria that led many to flee to France. Many raï singers therefore now reside in Paris since their persecution by Islamists after Algeria gained independence in 1962. However, I will leave you with a song by the French-born Algerian singer Faudel called “Eray” since it has been stuck in my head for quite a while now.
Women Must Judge
Women protesting in Egypt holding a sign that says, "No to Discrimination."
The headline reads, “Council head faces judges’ ire over female appointments.” It was music to my ears as I read it out loud. Surely, not the part about the Council head facing ire; rather the fact that a daring soul decided to appoint females to the Council. At the risk of gloating, I could not be more proud of my uncle for standing up for women’s rights today and issuing a decree to appoint female judges to the State Council. We’ve had our disagreements over multitude of issues, but when it comes to confronting the parochial norms of holding women down from certain professions I could not agree more.