In The Land of Mosques and Bars

by on 25. Oct, 2008 in Dubai, Islam, Middle East, U.S

Mosques and Bars in the same sentence can make anyone crazy but this notion is very much evident in Dubai, the place were I was raised for 19 years before moving to California.

I read an article by Mona El-Naggar in NYTimes few days back but didn’t get a chance to reflect on it. The whole purpose of the article is to solve a mystery which is Dubai, confusion and amazement but somewhat an inspiration.

The article tries to tackle and solve the mystery of Dubai and does a pretty good job at it. I just felt that the article was little short of substance because it only talked about the issue of non-local Arab workers who are definitely a minority in Dubai’s huge labor market.

Young men made their way to a mosque at prayer time.

Young men made their way to a mosque at prayer time.


Photo: Shawn Baldwin for The New York Times

If you want to see men in Speedos and women in full Hijab covered to head to toe, go to any Dubai beach. It is tolerance of both the western and the Arab cultures all right but how come no animosity towards one another? Answer is simple, happiness and prosperity. Both the sides are being kept happy, local Dubai Arabs have the best jobs, a lot of money and freedom to do whatever they want to (nothing illegal though). On the other hand, westerners feel at home even when they are not exactly at home.

Young people enjoyed a night out at Elegante, a popular Dubai disco.

Young people enjoyed a night out at Elegante, a popular Dubai disco.


Photo: Shawn Baldwin for The New York Times

The question then becomes why has Dubai been so successful and has been able to set an example? I would say it is because of security and very tight Government control over every aspect of society. It is a dictatorship that is not interested in brutalizing its own people and other foreign nationals by imposing a certain kind of belief on every individual.

Dubai’s population is mostly foreign nationals but there is more emphasis on Arab culture than there is on Islamic culture. This philosophy doesn’t alienate anyone; there is bar and there is a mosque, drink if you like, pray if you like.

I don’t know if this is how it will stay forever considering the fact that the world is getting smaller every day. My time in Dubai has contributed a lot towards my understanding of other religions and cultures. I guess moving to California wasn’t that big of a shock as people here are as understanding and tolerant as people in Dubai but it feels good to live in a democracy and voice an opinion.

Read full story • Comments { 4 }

Muslims in Positive Spotlight

by on 23. Oct, 2008 in News, Politics, U.S

Recently there has been a buzz about something much unexpected at least from a political point of view; Muslims have received some positive light in the news media and have gained some respect which they might have lost after 9/11. How could such a thing have happened?

Kudos to Collin Powell, yes you read that right! Powell changed the way Muslims have been perceived in the media since 9/11 by bashing the entire republican party involved in the smear campaign against Obama by claiming that he is a Muslim. More or less he was also able to answer one very important question; just because there is someone living in America who happens to pray facing Makkah doesn’t make him or her un-American. He asked the American people what exactly is wrong in following a religion and being American, isn’t that what America stands for?

Since that day… Muslims are being portrayed in the media as very much involved with the upcoming elections and how they are actively exercising their right as an American by making sure that they do vote. The problem is, all this was happening even before 9/11 but at a very slow pace. Now, it has just been more streamlined because of one man, Obama.

When I personally look at Obama, I am looking at America. When I look at him I see a person that represents the American dream! A new kid on the block senator who most people didn’t even know until 18 odd months ago now has a shot at becoming the first truly diverse American President.

Obama’s journey in itself is a message of Hope which most muslims would relate to. I really think it was about time that someone did something to bury the propaganda that’s being used by the neo-cons for the past 8 years.

Just for the record, please Americans… elect a president who you know is better than you and will lead you in a direction that historians will decide if it was right or wrong and not someone who you can have a beer with.

Read full story • Comments { 2 }

Stalking a Blog

by on 22. Oct, 2008 in Blogging, Internet, Personal Life

I believe that a personal blog is a basically a bird’s eye view of someone’s personal life and can sometimes also be a little more than a bird’s eye view. There are a lot of personal bloggers who literally talk about each and everything going on in their life and thus become very informal in conveying their views. I would consider that to be a “Safety” risk because you never know who you might be pissing off.

Few days back when I wasn’t able to fall asleep, I started thinking about “Are there people out there who stalk personal blogs?” I googled my thoughts and found out that yes in fact there are people who stalk some bloggers. There could be many reasons for stalking a personal blog… you hate/love the person, you have an opposing opinion, you are low life surviving on welfare and are tired of staring out of the window in your mother’s house where you have lived for 35 years etc. Not trying to be funny here but there could many numbers of reasons and I just mentioned the common ones.

Stalkers don’t usually post comments or make themselves obvious, most of the time you wouldn’t even know if someone is stalking your personal blog. Stalkers who hate are different, they want to agitate you, and they comment on your blogs, use your name to make irrelevant comments on other blogs and get you banned from other websites, forums and blogs.

If you think that even though I don’t use my real last name on this blog that I might be safe, you are wrong. It is a piece of cake to get information about anyone, anywhere in this day an age with internet and other services at disposal. I am taking steps that I can; something is better than nothing.

I happen to think that every blog has that special admirer (not exactly a stalker) because everyone inherently is interesting, some just don’t work on it and thus become stale overtime but that is a separate issue. Maybe someone’s personal life is similar to yours, maybe you are secretly in love with someone who blogs but haven’t had the courage to make it public or maybe it makes you happy every time this person blogs… reasons can be many, if it is not hurting a blogger than it is all good.

To finish things off, I think I would rather have a secret admirer than a stalker who hates. Maybe I do have a secret admirer… maybe it’s you… and maybe I should go to sleep now…

Read full story • Comments { 8 }
Page 50 of 109« First...102030...4849505152...607080...Last »