فيروز من يوم اللي تكون يا وطني

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A steaming cup of tea, Fairouz playing in the background, and a breakfast of Zeit w Za'atar, olives, labneh. With the sun shining and the birds singing in the garden I begin to get the distinct feeling that things just might be ok...Sabah al kheir!

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Live all you wish, for you will die
Do what you wish, you will only sow what you reap
and love who you wish for you will part with them

-Gabriel to Muhammad... .

The "Firanj" and the "Saracen" - still at it.

I'm not sure I agree with a lot of Usama Hassan's article in the Guardian today, "East is not always best". But I do sympathise with it. What did strike me is the level of anti-Islamic vitriol that is becoming standard in the comments section of the Guardian. I mean with The Times that might be something that is expected, but in a supposedly progressive, left leaning newspaper? Very interesting, but not worrying. European culture has in my opinion, been historically unable to deal with foreigners, or the other, very well in spite of all the claptrap about harmonious multi-faith societies. There is also a deep rooted perception that Islam spread by the sword. That Islam is a religion which is anti-cultural.

When one looks at the history of the Roman empire after becoming Christian, the actions of Teutonic knights, the ethnic cleansing of the entire Balkans (both past and present), the Holocaust, the "Reconquista" which ethnically cleansed the Iberian peninsula, Malta and Sicily, the entire continent of South America and of North America oh and that small thing called the Crusades, Russian pogroms against Jews, the elimination of entire Middle Age communities of Muslims in Italy (refugees from Sicily and Andalusia who settled there for almost a century) and of course the entire period of European colonialism, with the French occupation of North Africa being particularly brutal, one quickly realises that Islam was actually quite mild in its spreading. We also forget that at one time two thirds of the world's landmass was controlled by European powers (through the barrel of a gun).

Now comparatively the oldest Jewish communities in the world lived in Islamic countries, the oldest Christian communities (which in fact predate Islam's arrival) are still in the Middle East (the language that Christ spoke is still used as a first language in some villages in Syria). Refugees from Armenia, Circassia, the Balkans and Malta have all settled throughout the Levant quite happily until the Turkish nationalists (not the Ottoman's) decided to ethnically cleanse their empire of Armenians. There were communities of Greeks throughout the region until fairly recently as well. Why are some of these communities not there? I will ask you to take a guess (hint: arrival of European colonialism and ideas of nationalism). In fact the arrival of nationalism(this secular ideology that is touted as the wonder drug for the Middle East) is the start of much of the tribulations of the Arab and Islamic peoples.

Secular means religion and the state are separate but can somebody please point out which Arab country is actually ruled by Islam? Yes there are rules which are Islamic that are applied, but European countries also have a legislation which is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition so that is inescapable. Do you want to say Saudi Arabia? Where in the Qur'an does it say that you should ally yourself with countries that are attacking Muslim countries, or that you can use fabulous oil wealth for gambling, prostitutes, alcohol and ostentatious riches whilst there are Muslims living in utter poverty all around you. So Saudi Arabia is NOT a country ruled by Islam, it is a kingdom belonging to a family, the Saud's (who gave it its name) and which happens to be Islamic. So which Arab country is actually ruled by "religion"? None, and nobody seems to realise that the Middle East is in fact a secular region where it is nationalism and not religion that has caused the problems of the twentieth century. Particularly "Arab" nationalism. The Lebanese can probably be heard howling with indignation, what about our civil war? Well, I think that somebody honest enough will find on close examination that it was a battle of nationalisms. The phalange, for example, are Christian nationalists, they wished to have political power for people who happened to be Christian, and not to create some Kingdom of Heaven in Lebanon.

Is the East perfect then? Of course not. Neither past nor present are so, but we should be careful about putting a three hundred year period of "Western" hegemony as some model which is better than the "Eastern other". In fact just using the terms "West" and "East" is to use the divisive language of this quite exclusivist culture. We have a saying back in Syria:

ضربني و بكى, سبقني و اشتكى

"He hit me, he cried

Then he complained about me"

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Such a strange feeling, to look into a window from the outside and see another man living your life. It is particularly cold in London tonight... .

انا لله و انا اليه راجعون

I've just heard that the Sheikh of al Azhar, Mohamad Sayid al Tantawi, has passed away. I think he was a frail old man in a difficult position, and that was what made him say some of the ridiculous things he did regarding Palestine, or shaking the hand of Peres. I think that whilst the sensationalism of these mistakes has gotten a lot of attention, he should also be remembered for his work as the head of the second oldest university in the world. The oldest being al Qaraween in Fez, Morroco. The duty and responsibility of a man in his position was never going to be lightly accepted and in a time when the Arab and Islamic world's lights have never been so dim, even that such institutions exist is an achievement and defiance.

الله يرحمه و يغفر له .

When I have time I will be writing a post about my experiences and perspectives as an Arab ex-patriate living in the West. There are many things which we culturally adapt to and notice about living in these lands that range from the comical to the outlandish to the absolutely horrifying. Perhaps my post, which I'm considering putting in Arabic as well, would help Arabs about to travel here or thinking of settling here, so they can be better prepared and perhaps ease the culture shock. More about this in my next post. .

Britain's class system - alive and well

I must say, studying law in London with "Oxbridge" students has opened my eyes to the often stated fact that Britain is a society deeply divided upon class lines. Oxbridge is the term given to students who have graduated from Oxford or Cambridge and who usually come from a public school background. Public school in England is what people in other countries would call private schools, the most notable of these public schools being Eton. If you'd like to know what these schools are like, just watch a Harry Potter film, because that is almost the kind of environment those children are raised in. The only difference is that the *muggles* (people who do not understand or practice magic) in the film are really just the ordinary people who have to work for a living, unlike those special ones who understand magic.

It is remarkable for me that some people look you up and down before speaking to you, or that they would look the other way or purposely ignore someone not of their "class" even though they are standing next to them. I know now more than before that their smiles are fake, their compliments a lie and their generosity is non-existent. These are the people who will grow to fill the ranks of British government, industry and the defence establishment. There are rich foreigners who are allowed to the fringe of their social circles, and these are foolish enough from what I can see to really think they are being accepted as equals. I have never been prouder of being a Muslim, of being an Arab and of my working class clothes, background and struggle to be where I am today. In fact I revel in being as natural and common as possible around these ice cold automatons and I never, ever apologise or make myself defensive of my religion or background.

I made it very clear my deep amusement when the class elected to have a moment of silence for remembrance day, me...an Arab would stay silent whilst Britain supports Israel and helped occupy Iraq? On another day I found out that the Islamic society of the university had its prayer facilities shut down and they were offered smaller facilities that were inadequate. The Friday prayers as a protest were held in the square in front of the university. I noticed how these well heeled arrogant nincompoops looked with utter disgust at these bearded, working class, brown Muslims, and I took off my shoes and went to sit right there with everybody else. There was a bemused look of horror by many as we got up to do our prayers. I don't think I could have lived with myself if I just hid inside or, even worse, stood there with those same English upper class nits whom I resented, whilst they looked with disgust at my people...I'm an Arab and a Muslim, it isn't my problem if some people are stupid enough to think that is an insult. .

Arabic poetry

It has been extremely difficult to stay abreast of political developments or some of the rubbish being written by Middle Eastern experts. Studying law in such an intense and short period is taking up a lot of my energies. I will try to keep things going regularly and I apologise for being a bit silent here, in the meantime enjoy the classical Arabic poetry that I've been discovering. I had no idea, but the 10 معلقات (mualakat) were called so because they were hung from the Ka'aba before the arrival of Islam. The language used is mesmerising, but the poems themselves also hark back to an Arab culture that was deeply chivalrous and which still is in many ways, if you look hard enough. Reading these poems is like reclaiming something that is a part of my heritage. The other set of poems I am enjoying is Abu al Tayib al Mutanabi. The way he conveys ideas and sentiments is simply breathtaking at times (I downloaded sound clips from the internet with professional readers who sound fantastic) and there are so many verses that now come to mind for many occasions. If you can read Arabic, go memorise at least one poem now, you do so only for your own benefit and it is worth it. Great stuff.

Read more about the Mu'allaqat here (it seems a bit shaky here, I have read that there were ten, but the entry states there were only seven. Somebody please let me know).

For more about al Mutanabi, click here.

I have some excellent Arabic articles on these two subjects, but obviously I have very little time to translate and post. Perhaps later. .

رائعة المتنبي - قصيدة : واحرّ قلباه !

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Ghawar al Towsheh Sunday - Enjoy

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