http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4693292.stm
Last year, a popular Denmark newspaper company printed an issue containing cartoons that had been drawn, depicting the Islamic prophet Mohammed in series of different situations. These cartoons had both comical and political resemblances. The cartoons had been drawn after a Danish author made public his quest for an illustrator of his children’s book about Mohammed. This act, of showing the face of Mohammed is strictly forbidden in Muslim culture. The author had “complained” that he could find no illustrator, because everyone was afraid of breaking this Muslim rule. The cartoonists for the newspaper however showed little restraint. One of the main cartoons shows Mohammed in a police “line up” along with a few other men wearing turbans. Also in the cartoon is a witness saying “I don’t know which one he is.” The cartoonists used this image to send the message that drawings of the prophet should be considered “harmless gestures” since nobody should know what Mohammed looks like. The article in the link above hosts different opinions about these Danish cartoons. Some people, such as this Muslim critic claim that “Freedom of expression is not about doing whatever we want to do because we can do it.” Others claim that the cartoons are a sign of Western nations being more open and comfortable around the Islamic religion. Trying to put myself in the shoes of the Muslims who were angered by these cartoons would be pointless because (not being Muslim) I personally have no feelings of allegiance towards the rules of their religion. I do think it is fair to say however, that visual satires are made on a daily basis of different important figures around the globe, yet since the Islamic religion strictly prohibits showing the face of Mohammed, then why do it? Is it worth stirring up this much trouble?
BD
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Hypocritical or Not?
http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/hsc0488l.jpg
Its common for people, at least it is for me, to associate the Middle Eastern countries with severe violence. When I think of excessive weapons, I usually think of the Middle East. So far, Tony Horwitz’s novel has proven this generalization to be not extremely far from the truth. Most of Horwitz’s chapters have mentioned the sale of weapons, especially his chapter regarding the culture of Yemen. According to Horwitz, if the weapons are not being sold, then they are being carried or used. This cartoon represents these issues of violence. In this cartoon, a Palestinian and an Israeli are drawn and said to be carrying different types of explosives. The drawing is representative of the conflict between Palestine and Israeli, but upon seeing it, I couldn’t help going back to the issue of the Middle Eastern weapons issue. What I find interesting in this issue is the stand that the United States has on it. Obviously, the issue of smaller arms like rifles and machine guns in the Middle East is shocking to Americans, because no sane person would dare walk through a United States city openly holding a rifle. The production of larger weapons, such as nuclear bombs raises a different question for me. I have extremely limited knowledge on this subject, if any at all, but does it seem hypocritical that the United States can have whole nuclear arsenals yet our country doesn’t allow another country anything? I am completely against the production of nuclear weapons anywhere, but I always question this issue.
BD
Its common for people, at least it is for me, to associate the Middle Eastern countries with severe violence. When I think of excessive weapons, I usually think of the Middle East. So far, Tony Horwitz’s novel has proven this generalization to be not extremely far from the truth. Most of Horwitz’s chapters have mentioned the sale of weapons, especially his chapter regarding the culture of Yemen. According to Horwitz, if the weapons are not being sold, then they are being carried or used. This cartoon represents these issues of violence. In this cartoon, a Palestinian and an Israeli are drawn and said to be carrying different types of explosives. The drawing is representative of the conflict between Palestine and Israeli, but upon seeing it, I couldn’t help going back to the issue of the Middle Eastern weapons issue. What I find interesting in this issue is the stand that the United States has on it. Obviously, the issue of smaller arms like rifles and machine guns in the Middle East is shocking to Americans, because no sane person would dare walk through a United States city openly holding a rifle. The production of larger weapons, such as nuclear bombs raises a different question for me. I have extremely limited knowledge on this subject, if any at all, but does it seem hypocritical that the United States can have whole nuclear arsenals yet our country doesn’t allow another country anything? I am completely against the production of nuclear weapons anywhere, but I always question this issue.
BD
Egyptian Air-Travel: A Strange Affair
Whenever the security of airports or of aircrafts is mentioned in the United States, people become uneasy and cringe with some sort of remembrance of 9/11. Air travel can be sensitive topic in the United States. This doesn’t at all mean that the conditions of the airports or the planes are unsanitary like those of the Arab world, but in the United States, factors in airports or in the skies which compromise security are not taken lightly. Airport organization is taken seriously, to say the least, as to minimize the risk of a terror attack. The terror attacks on 9/11 were carried out by men from the Arab world, and I found it very interesting to learn about the conditions of airports in the countries where terrorism is almost ominous. Horwitz depicts the airports in the Arab world as a whole, specifically in Egypt and Sudan, to be prime targets for terrorist attacks. His accounts of his experiences in the Egyptian airport were not only shocking, but were absolutely hilarious. He creates a sense of complete chaos and gives the reader the feeling that not even the airport officials have any idea what is going on. If there is one word to describe the airports, it’s ‘inconsistent.’ No traveler ever knows when their plane is taking off, what terminal it is taking off from, whether or not the aircraft will run out of fuel at 30,000 feet, or even whether or not the plane will make it off the runway. Along with the uninformed travelers, the flight crewmen themselves seem completely clueless. Horwitz tells of a flight out of Cairo where it didn’t become apparent to the pilot until part way through their journey that they had forgotten to fill the plane with fuel. They made an emergency landing somewhere in the dessert, where it became evident that a lack of fuel wasn’t the plane’s only problem. After hours of repairs, Horwitz asks a crewman what had been wrong with the plane. The crewman’s response; “they are not sure.” It’s safe to say that no American Airline would have let the passengers re-board a plane after an emergency landing in the middle of the dessert. When I read these chapters on Arabian air-travel, I was confused as to whether the airlines in the middle east are simply not concerned with the safety issues and just don’t mind taking chances, or if they are plainly not aware of how unstable their “system” is. One thing that I am sure of is that (according to my newfound knowledge), an Egyptian airplane would be my last choice for a mode of transportation.
BD
BD
The Bigger The Better?
In Chapter 6, Cairo Nights: Dancing Sheik to Sheik, I found a very interesting difference between Middle Eastern culture and that of our nation. The view on women in Cairo is the exact opposite of the view on women in America. Here women are pushed by society to be as skinny as possible. Many people take drastic measures to loose just a few pounds. Eating disorders are everywhere, especially when it comes to celebrities. Our country is painted with pictures of rail thin models and women see them and think that it how they are suppose to look. As I thought about this more, I found it contradictory that our nation is in the top 10 most obese countries in the world. The only way I can explain this is that although 57% of American adults are overweight, the small percentage of influential individuals have affected the public so much this is the view we hold on women: the skinnier the better. I do not believe that it is men so much that are pushing for the rail thin women, I feel it is a lot of pressure and competition among women.
The view on women in Cairo is very much different. “She must be feminine, that is all,” Samy said. “Otherwise the men do not like her.” “And big,” I said. “Samy looked at me quizzically. “Big? These are not big girls.” This is a prime example of the cultural difference. The American is disgusted by the women dancing while the locals are screaming and loving it all.
“Dancer #2 looked like a fat women at a circus freak show. Fat bulged from beneath her shoulder straps and cantilevered over her low-slung skirt. Even without the midriff veil, her navel would have been obscured by rolls of
flesh. Belly dancing, it seemed, was not a slimming occupation.”
This is an Americans description of a women locals of Cairo paid to see dance. There is no explanation for the different likes and dislikes, it could be anything from what culture suggests or the influence of celebrities.
-DPD
The view on women in Cairo is very much different. “She must be feminine, that is all,” Samy said. “Otherwise the men do not like her.” “And big,” I said. “Samy looked at me quizzically. “Big? These are not big girls.” This is a prime example of the cultural difference. The American is disgusted by the women dancing while the locals are screaming and loving it all.
“Dancer #2 looked like a fat women at a circus freak show. Fat bulged from beneath her shoulder straps and cantilevered over her low-slung skirt. Even without the midriff veil, her navel would have been obscured by rolls of
flesh. Belly dancing, it seemed, was not a slimming occupation.”
This is an Americans description of a women locals of Cairo paid to see dance. There is no explanation for the different likes and dislikes, it could be anything from what culture suggests or the influence of celebrities.
-DPD
Monday, February 26, 2007
Killers
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/109072
-an article
This article refers to a terrorist fraud in Kana, Lebanon. The supposed ‘genocide’ has killed 57 Lebanese citizens, including little children in majority in a brutal air attack in the city. This incident was seen as Israel’s overreaction to Lebanese bombardment of Israel. However, this attack never took place. According to the evidences that are mentioned in this article, it is obvious that the Isrealis did not plan this attack. It turned out to be a conspiracy to draw the sympathy of other nations for the Lebanese people. Although I am firmly against the violence involving Israel, Palestine, and this time Lebanon and do agree with many that the nation of Israel should be put under the responsibility for causing most of the chaos, this fraud tries to stimulate anti-Semitism among the public viewers. It is up to the individuals to take the side and support it. This incident is only an example of the history of anti-Semitism over many years in the Middle East. In Baghdad Tony Horwitz is not welcome because he is Jewish. The hatred that he brings with his identity as a Jew is resulted from this kind of information that provokes one’s emotions against a certain group of people. I think that this fraud is terrible in that it might have been able to worsen the world’s view against Israel, giving disadvantages to other irrelevant Jewish individuals around the world such as Horwitz.
SL
-an article
This article refers to a terrorist fraud in Kana, Lebanon. The supposed ‘genocide’ has killed 57 Lebanese citizens, including little children in majority in a brutal air attack in the city. This incident was seen as Israel’s overreaction to Lebanese bombardment of Israel. However, this attack never took place. According to the evidences that are mentioned in this article, it is obvious that the Isrealis did not plan this attack. It turned out to be a conspiracy to draw the sympathy of other nations for the Lebanese people. Although I am firmly against the violence involving Israel, Palestine, and this time Lebanon and do agree with many that the nation of Israel should be put under the responsibility for causing most of the chaos, this fraud tries to stimulate anti-Semitism among the public viewers. It is up to the individuals to take the side and support it. This incident is only an example of the history of anti-Semitism over many years in the Middle East. In Baghdad Tony Horwitz is not welcome because he is Jewish. The hatred that he brings with his identity as a Jew is resulted from this kind of information that provokes one’s emotions against a certain group of people. I think that this fraud is terrible in that it might have been able to worsen the world’s view against Israel, giving disadvantages to other irrelevant Jewish individuals around the world such as Horwitz.
SL
Women at War!?
I thought the culmination of the book in the last chapter was very interesting. As Horowitz was hitching a ride on a U.S. transport carrying Saudi troops home he noticed a servicewoman monitoring their takeoff. I thought this was a really interesting last minute comparison between Middle Eastern culture and our own. The way Horowitz described the situation was also very interesting. He said, “the other Saudi soldiers were rigid as well, eyeing the lithe, pony tailed service woman with an unabashed mix of lust and terror.” This scene must have been mind blowing for these soldier who have probably seen only one woman’s face before. I thought it was really interesting that he not only described their emotions as lustful, but also that they had a look of terror. I thought it was weird that country of people who have oppressed woman for all of their existence would be afraid of them. Not only did a veil not cover this woman, but also she was working, and was at war. These soldiers must have felt incredibly confused and apprehensive about the situation. A woman was taking them home, to a country where woman cannot even drive a car let alone a military transport. This confrontation in the plane makes me wonder what an Iraqi soldier might do if he were to see a woman in combat against him. My guess is the shear confusion and shock would get the soldier killed. It would be an interesting situation to see played out.
D.P.S.
D.P.S.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6277982867673096hl=en457&q=iraq&
This video is pretty long but it perfectly portrays the instability in Iraq and the middle east. It is a movie about what type of effect the war and the instability of other nations is having on the young people of Iraq. This Video shows the awful truths that the people of Iraq face many dangers each and every day. The little kids are being taught to hate the Americans and the effects that the war is having on the people.
This video is pretty long but it perfectly portrays the instability in Iraq and the middle east. It is a movie about what type of effect the war and the instability of other nations is having on the young people of Iraq. This Video shows the awful truths that the people of Iraq face many dangers each and every day. The little kids are being taught to hate the Americans and the effects that the war is having on the people.
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