Manal and Alaa's bit bucket

In defense of religion, of course:Egyptian authorities will confiscate copies of the best-selling novelThe Da Vinci Code and ban the film based on the book from showing inEgypt, the culture minister told parliament on Tuesday.To applause from members of parliament, minister Farouk Hosni said: "Weban any book that insults any religion… We will confiscate this [...]

Apparently it's open for interpretation !

And his name is Jimmy Lee. You know how we know? He was born on 6/6/6 and weighs exactly 6.66 pounds. It must be him.Of course, the fact that the number of the beast isn't 666, but rather 616 , is completely irrelevant to the fact that it must be him! 

بعد حوالي عام في عالم التدوين حيث بداءت بقراءة بعض المدونات ثم بداءت أشارك بالبعض الأخر ألى أن أستقر بي الحال هنا في هذه التدوينة. من خلال هذه الخبرة البسيطة خرجت بهذه النتائج والتحاليل للمدونات الأكثر شعبية:.     1- مدونة تتحدث عن خبرة شخصية جنسية حتى لو كانت بهدف غير الأثارة.     2- مدونة تتحدث عن خبرة شخصية عاطفية.     3- مدونة تتحدث عن [...]

Howa da illi beykhawwefo beeh il 3eyaal il yomein dol? The sun is the new boogie man? Badal ma ye3allemoohom il osool wel akhlaa’ beykhawefoohom min il shams? Yekhreb beyothom. Why would anyone want others to look at such beauty with fear? Why can’t they just see it for what it is…a magnificent part of [...]

“الأختلاف غنى” كلمة أعتدت أن أسمعها كثيراً من شخص أعتز به شخصياً ومن أخرين كثيرين أكن أيضاً لهم معزة بقلبي كبيرة، ساعدوني كثيراً على تكوين جزء كبير من شخصيتي. وككثير من الكلمات التي أسمعها ولا تجد راحة في قلبي قبل أن أغور أنا أعماقها، بالفعل بداءت رحلة خاصة جداً بيني وبين هذه الكلمة. بداءت أنظر لكل [...]

Here is yet another example that extremism and militancy can be in any culture or religion, as well as the commercialisation of religion is a common ever occuring theme.

There is a a Christian computer game called Left Behind: Eternal Forces based on the Left Behind series of novels by Tim LaHaye and  Jerry Jenkins, portraying an end of times scenario.

In the games, Christians shoot Jews, Muslims, Catholics, gays  and other "infidels" while shouting "Praise the Lord!".

Laila Lalami, aka Moorishgirl, has a long review essay in the Nation about Irshad Manji and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, two women we’ve written about here before. It’s the most intelligent review of their work I’ve seen so far, particularly as people tend to either dismiss them (as I tend to) or praise them as Courageous [...]

Interesting…One of the country's most senior bishops has reignitedthe Church of England row over homosexuality by claiming that same-sexpartnerships are supported by the Bible.The RtRev Richard Harries, the Bishop of Oxford, said that traditionalists inthe Church needed to be "converted" to see that homosexual unions areconfirmed by the scriptures.LOL. I am sure that gay church-goers [...]

Here’s what happens when you get a (presumably) Arab-American journalist to do a story about something to do with Islam: a balanced, nuanced story that shows the full complexity of the question at hand for an audience not familiar with the topic. And it reads well and has a saucy lead.Fatwas: Muslim religious edicts are [...]

I give you the Koranic Tuna :A tuna fish caught in the Indian Ocean this week has excited KenyanMuslims who are flocking here by the hundreds to see a Koranic verseapparently embedded in its scales.Dubbed the "wonder fish" by locals in this port city, the 2.5-kilo(5.5-pound) tuna has attracted so much attention it has been [...]

Christopher Hitchens decides who can and can’t be a prophet:Hitchens, an editor for Vanity Fair, described himself as an atheist and issued a sharp rebuke of the Muslim prophet Muhammad.“Of course, he’s not a prophet,” he said. “He’s an epileptic plagiarist.”He said the Quran — Islam’s holiest book — was full of “evil fairly tales” [...]

“متطلبة” كلمة لم أعتاد أستخدمها لكن منذ قراءتها في أحد التلعيقات التي كتبها صديق لي وهي عالقة برأسي وأصبحت تعني لي الكثير. وسوف أكتب عن أشياء أراها متطلبة في حياتي وأعتقد أنها متطلبة في حياة كثرين.الحقيقةتتطلب الأعتراف بها…تتطلب رفض الحقيقة السابقة…تتطلب الأتضاع أمام من أخبرونا عنها…ولكن أصعب ما تتطلبه هو تنازلنا عن الحقائق التي أمضينا [...]

I just live for this shit ! Talk about Faith rewarded!

At least that's what this article claims . I would say that it's about damn time someone said that Iran is a danger to all of us, especially headed by A.J. the psycho. The downside naturally would be that any conforntation is bound to inflame the Shia in Lebanon, Iraq and Al Bahrain, cause it's [...]

Where do those people come from and why do they get to call themselves "Men of God"?

Ursula has a nice story on Al Risala, a new “progressive” religious channel:The Egyptian actress Sabreen was at the peak of her fame when, in 2001, she underwent a religious “awakening,” retired from acting, and donned the veil.Now she’s back on television, hosting a talk show on a new Islamic satellite channel called Al Risala [...]

Now that’s what I call irresponsible journalism:Even in Islamic countries not strictly run by Sharia law, pressures mount on local Christians to leave the homes they’ve known for centuries. Iraq’s Christian sects, among the oldest Christian communities anywhere in the world, have been directly targeted by terrorist bombs, and Christians are now high on the [...]

I have a new piece on the recent Coptic clashes at MERIP:For years, the Egyptian government and state-run media have brushed off acts of hostility toward minority Coptic Christians, or periodic Coptic-Muslim clashes, as exceptions to a rule of “national unity” and inter-communal brotherhood. But the sectarian street battles in Alexandria in mid-April, set off [...]

And this story is the perfect example:A BANGLADESHI woman who shook a baby boy so violently that he sufferedbrain damage walked free from court yesterday because a judge concededthat she did not know how to behave in the West.Rahella Khanom, 24, caused the five-month-old boy in her care to sufferfractures to his breast bone [...]

Do you see the little guy in orange and holding the flag in the bottom right corner pf the picit’s me  i found the pic by chance in Bigpharaoh Flickr photo stream 

This is just…ehh…just watch !

Strike 1 for "born again christian" pedophile : This man will pay 1000 dolalr for a born again christian virgin bride between the ages of 12 and 24. Ohh yeah:man hascaused an uproar in this southwestern Oklahoma town by advertising inan unusual manner that he'd like to pay for a virgin to be his bride.A [...]

Big Pharaoh has great coverage of the national unity demo held yesterday in Shubra by Kifaya & Friends. Nice work.I stole this picture from BP’s post — he says:One of the most refreshing things about today was the support we got from passersby and those who were not part of the demonstration. These ladies from [...]

اول مرة فى حياتى أمشى فى مظاهرة بصراحة كنت مرعوووب و فكرت كذه مره انى مروحش لكن زيارة واحدة لمقهى الانترنت وطله اصغر على تدوينة جار القمر خلتنى مصمم اروحأنا مش حوصف المظاهرة لان فى ناس كتيرة اوى حتوصفها و انا مش بارع اوى فى الوصف بينى و بينكوافحقول شوية حاجات بس  تفاعل الناس كان جبار [...]

Issandr and I were both up in Alex the day before yesterday, looking into the stabbing attacks that took place there on Friday, and the sectarian riots that followed. You can read my article about it here .One thing that didn’t really make it into the story and that I find interesting is the way [...]

 ليكن المواطن المصري نصحي جرجس آخر ضحايا الطائفية والتعصب في مصر دعوة للتظاهر الخميس 20 ابريل الساعة الخامسة مساء دوران شبرا – محطة مترو روض الفرج هل الأمن متواطئ ؟لا أقل من القبض على القتلة ومعاقبتهم .. لا للطائفية .. لا للتمييز الديني .. لا لاضطهاد المسيحييننعم للمساواة .. نعم لحرية الاعتقاد

 حسبي الله ونعم الوكيل اقولها مع اخي المسيحي المظلوم …علي…اخي المسلم الظالمولا يقلل ذلك من اسلامي في شئحسبي الله ونعم الوكيلحسبي الله ونعم الوكيلحسبي الله ونعم الوكيلهلا قلتم معي اذناللهم اني ابرا اليك مما صنع هؤلاء ؟؟؟تدوينة ابن عبد العزبز

And why it makes sense :Nonetheless, the idea of a sacred Judas always seemed rational to me,at least in Christian terms. The New Testament tells us firmly thatJesus went to Jerusalem at Passover to die and to fulfill certainancient prophecies by doing so. How could any agent of this process,witting or unwitting, be acting other [...]

هل للكنيسة دور؟ سؤال يطرح نفسه بقوة في ظل الأحداث الأخيرة والمتصاعدة. ودفعني لهذا التساؤل أكثر تدوينة Bluestone الأخيرة؟ سوف أسرد وجهة نظري هنا حول دور الكنيسة ولكني أحب أن أؤكد أنها مجرد وجهة نظر وتفتقر كثيراً إلى الرؤية الداخلية للقائمين على الكنيسة فعلياً. 1- أول شئ أراه أنتظارنا أن تقوم الكنيسة بخطوة ما في حد [...]