Middle East

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On board Gaza’s Freedom Flotilla

May 31, 2010 in Change, Middle East, People, Video by Zain | No comments

*See video.

A flotilla of aid ships left a port in Cyprus on Sunday afternoon bound for the Gaza Strip.

A total of six ships were expected to set sail carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists destined for Gaza in defiance of an Israeli embargo on the Palestinian territory.

The flotilla from Turkey, the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Greece, Kuwait and Algeria is carrying roughly 10,000 tonnes of aid, including cement, water-purification systems and wheelchairs.

Al Jazeera’s Jamal El-shayyal spent 24 hours on board the Mavi Marmara – the lead ship in the Freedom Flotilla.

In this video blog, he looks at what is on board and how the 600 passengers are coping with what is already proving to be a difficult mission. (30 May 2010)

- AlJazeera

Basis

January 8, 2010 in Middle East, People by Zain | 1 comment

Pic by Metro Tabernacle

About ten hours ago, a church in KL was partially torched. A similar attempt was made at another in PJ. At this moment in time, although there’s quite an assumption, no one really knows who did it. Another strong and reasonable assumption would be that this has something to do with the December 31st High Court ruling on the usage of ‘Allah’ of the bibles in Malaysia.

A great number of people are condemning the act of arson, as I. Christians, non-Christians. Muslims, non-Muslims. Part of it, because this is a violation of freedom of religion, to attack of place worship.

I won’t repeat what everyone is saying. But as a Muslim, I say to Muslims who head out to condemn the attacks on Muslims in Gaza by non-Muslims, on humanitarian grounds (and not merely emotional whim), or highlighting that basis, should at least sufficiently acknowledge (albeit that a subjective and relative measure), the attacks by Muslims against non-Muslims in Darfur.

http://ZainHD.com/

American Jews

January 7, 2010 in Ideas, Middle East by Zain | No comments

I just read this brilliant piece Noam Sheizaf (whom I now follow on twitter, and writes at the blog Promised Land) on American Jews. Got it via ibn Ezra via twitter then their blog. To be fair, I don’t think I read enough on this issue to give a fair comment, but it was an enlightening enough for me.

“As I said, this whole approach never seizes to puzzle me. I was always fascinated by American history and culture – to the point of obsession – and I admire the role Jews played in it. But something in the current Jewish politics and ideas regarding Israel don’t fit the long tradition of fighting for civil liberties, freedom and tolerance by this community, both at home and around the world.

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More than ever, I wonder what role this naïve image of Israel – almost an abstract Israel, which has nothing to do with the actual Middle Eastern country – plays in the way Jews see themselves, and how are they going to look back on it ten or twenty years from now.”

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Click here to read the full post.

http://ZainHD.com/

Confirm Jordan

October 20, 2009 in Africa, Middle East, Travel by Zain | 5 comments

At dinner some nights ago, I found out that crossing into Israel via Egypt, with a Malaysian passport, will lead to you being detained for at least four days by the African counterpart.

Football

July 21, 2009 in Middle East, Video by Zain | No comments

About 10 days ago I posted (from another blog) about Palestinian pinups. I got this video below from the same person.
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‘From the weekly Bil’in demo. This is how a soccer ‘match’ between real IOF soldiers and Palestinians really looks like.’

Tags: gaza, IOF, israel, palestine, Tali Shapiro, west bank

Tear

July 14, 2009 in Change, Ideas, Individuals, Literature, Middle East, Moments by Zain | No comments

Sometimes a piece of work can be so magnificant, that it moves your heart arrestingly, if not more. Deservedly so.

One such, is Professor Edward Said’s book Orientalism.

Palestinian Pinup

July 10, 2009 in Middle East, Photo by Zain | 1 comment

A girl I know via Facebook, whom I do keep in touch with from time to time, runs a blog about pinups. When I got to know her, it was actually more about working online and I didn’t find out till later that she was a pro-Palestinian Israeli who runs a pinup blog, among other things. Recently she wrote a post about Palestinian pinups, in which she articulate thoughts that I would recommend you to read. Click here.

Palestinian pinups, come from within a culture of dissent. The women are usually depicted as beautiful rather than sexy, but they are definitely an idealized depiction of femininity. The Palestinian pinup is regal, wears traditional embroidery and most typically a head scarf. The art isn’t just decorative, it has symbolic meaning within every element of the composition.

It’s quite astonishing how much is being said about Palestine, through fashion. Proving to me that fashion is just a misused art, that could say so much more than it does. From the K?fiyyah- a subtle but effective protesting tool, popularized during the Second Intifada, to fashion shows boasting the reinvention of traditional Palestinian garb, to full-on protest haute couture.

-Tali Shapiro

Tags: palestine, palestinian pinup, Tali Shapiro