Marwa El-Sherbeeny May she rest in piece

Dr. Marwa El-Sherbeeny, an Egyptian woman living in Germany with her husband and child was brutally murdered in cold blood by 18 stab wounds to the abdomen in a courtroom in Germany just a week or so ago.

The man who killed her, and stabbed her husband six times in front of their young child's eyes allegedly did so out of hatred to Muslims, and was only present in the courtroom because he had attacked Dr. Marwa earlier that week in a public park and tried to rip off her head-scarf.

This post is not a tribute Muslims, or women, but a to any human being's basic right to practice their religion wherever, whenever, and however they want to do so. What happened to the young doctor is a tragedy, and what is even more of a tragedy is her country's response to the tragedy. Egypt has done literally NOTHING to avenge her family. Sure, the media has done more than its part to criticize the incident, and persuade people to voice their concerns to officials, but what has any of it amounted to? Nothing! If the person who was killed was of any other nationality, any at all, economic relations between the two countries would come to a standstill until all the guilty parties were punished. However, the Egyptian population has been and always will be, worthless, and not dignified enough for people to care about.

So despite people's attempts, and the "international outcry" that has occurred, I doubt that anything will happen and that any guilty parties will be brought to justice, and that anyone will be held liable.

People are now talking about a nation-wide boycott of german products, like the one which happened with Denmark concerning the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. However, I doubt that a boycott would have any effect whatsoever, just like that of Denmark, whose losses were all recovered within a week after the boycott officially ended.

Once again I'd like to make it clear that this post is simply to say that: anyone of any religion has the freedom to practice their religion wherever they want, even if the whole world thinks of that religion as a breeding ground for terrorists...

RIP Dr. Marwa El Sherbeeny

Double Standards

I was born and raised Muslim, and continue to live as one, and intend to stay that way. As a result, I've always taken offense to any derogatory comments or racism against Muslims. As much as I'm an advocate of equality for Muslims, I've also been open to all religions and freedom to practice anywhere in the world.

Recently, since 9/11 to be exact, Muslims have become the object of racism, intolerance, and unfair treatment throughout the world. I happen to know several girls my age who wore the head-scarf (hijab) and stopped wearing it after traveling to the US because they were persecuted and discriminated against, to the point that people in public places refused to serve them.

While this behavior is by all means, wrong, I cannot say that it's completely their fault, or that Muslims are any better.

When a tourist comes to Egypt, and brings his or her culture with them, they too are subject to ridicule and discrimination because of it. For example, a woman walking in the street with a mini-skirt on, a strapless top boasting her shoulders and even some cleavage, is hissed at, harassed verbally and sometimes even physically, by a spanking and whatnot, and on very rare occasions, raped, but only if she is alone in a dark street and happened to run into some drug addict or something of the sort.

So, how could we as Muslims expect to be treated any better when we take our religion to their countries. That certainly gave me something to think about.

However, there is an issue that contradicts this theory. In Egypt at least, people are not discriminated against, but simply treated badly, served, even if it's rudely done. But they are served nonetheless. However, people are free to practice religion as they please, without persecution.

However, even though people are free to practice religion and wear religious garments, that rule does not apply to Jews. After the 1973 war on Israel, Jews were no longer welcome in Egypt, and I assure you, if a Jew was seen wearing the head-dress that is common to the Jewish faith, he would not be welcome, or treated or served very well either.

So there is the dilemma for you? Who is right and who isn't? Is there a clear-cut villain in this story? or is it just shades of gray? And more importantly, how can it be fixed?

Ignorance is bliss

Time and time again, I am reminded of the infamous Egyptian ignorance. That which makes them say and do the most unbelievably idiotic things that wouldn't, in a million years, ever cross your mind had you been in their shoes.

Since the attitude towards education is the same as that towards food: (It won't matter tomorrow if I have nothing to eat today), the population simply does not give education the time of day, and don't know how enlightening it can be to know your A,B,Cs... as is the case of the woman this blog post will now discuss.

Just this morning I was in a taxi on my way to a friend's birthday, when suddenly a brand new Terios' rear end was shattered into shreds by a speeding taxi coming from behind. The fight which followed the incident is not the issue I intend to discuss, because I already know that people here will never change their ways, but what I'd like to comment on is what the woman riding in my taxi had to say about the matter.

She was a short woman of about 35 years. Her horribly conspicuous make-up indicated that she came from a lower class family, probably a simple civil servant, who had never seen larger than a 200 LE note in her life. All this woman had to say was:

"I don't know what that guy (driver of the Terios) is so pissed off about. He can fix that damage for like 100 pounds, and it wouldn't amount to one day out in a cafeteria!!"

Now in case you didn't notice the irony, I'll spell it out for you. There is no dent, no matter how small, that will cost less than 1000 pounds, and there's no decent middle or upper middle class citizen who would ever put himself in the position of having to pay more than 30 or 40 pounds in a cafeteria.

The point that I wish to make is simple: People are so jealous, and so incredibly bitter of being deprived the simplest luxuries, that they make out any person fortunate enough to have what they want into a blood sucking monster, who has more money than God, and who would shower the streets with 100 pound bills if he felt like doing so on a whim.

I concluded from today's experience that ignorance really is bliss, because if the bitter, envious people of this country knew the truth about he lives of those they envy so much, they would become even more bitter, and more loathing of the people they will always wish to be like.

Omar Khairat

Anyone who follows my blog would know that throughout my posts, I've adopted mainly a negative, criticizing tone whenever discussing an issue. This post is not similar to the rest, because for once, I found something good to say about Egypt.

Last night, I attended a concert for the Egyptian Maestro, Omar Khairat. I'm the first to admit that when I bought the ticket, I had no idea what this man did for a living, or what it was that I was about to attend. However, as the talented Maestro waved his hands back and forth instructing the orchestra, I began to grow fond the the music he produced.

Each piece more magnificent than the one before, each utilizing as many instruments at one time, to produce the purest, and most beautiful of music. My personal favorite was: "Take Care of Yourself", a soft, slow, very touching piece that is still ringing in my ears as I write about it.

Not only was I surprised by his musical genius, but also at the amazing crowd which came to listen to him. There could have been nearly 2000 people in that tiny open-air plaza at the Bibliotheca, and not for nothing, for Omar Khairat turned out to be a very talented person, whom all Egyptians should listen to.