Wow.

So, a British woman working as an elementary school teacher in Khartoum, Sudan was arrested for "insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs" after her pupils, who's ages ranged from 6-8 years old, named the classroom teddy bear "Muhammed."
The pupils were apparently allowed to vote on which name to give the teddy bear and most voted for the name Muhammed - following the complaints of several parents, the teacher, Gillian Gibbons, 54, was arrested and now faces, if convicted, "six months in jail, 40 lashes or a fine."
Check out the article on the BBC,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7112929.stm

سمك المسكوف

المطعم الان جاهز لإستقبال الزبائن! وانا أستشهد باحد أصحاب المطاعم التي تتخصص بإعداد سمك المسكوف في وسط بغداد. و ما هي أهمية هذه الأسماك البسيطة؟ سأبدأ مع قصة و تجربتي أنا مع سمك المسكوف.

منذ بضع شهور انا و صاحبي (و هو كردي بالتحديد) ذهبنا الى مطعم عراقي في الجيزة. صاحبي "ايهاب" كان يشتغل كمترجم للسفارة الأمريكية في "المنطقة الخضراء" في بغداد. لجأ الى القاهرة نظرا لتهديدات المتطرفين بقتله, فهرب من بلاده و بيته لأجل أمنه.

أنا و أيهاب قررنا الذهاب الى المطعم العراقي في الجيزة بسبب لميزة معيمة لهذا المطعم, و هي سمك المسكوف.

وصلنا المطعم و وجدنا حمام سباحة قصادها و فيه كان موجود اسماك المسكوف و اخترنا (أو, بكلام صاحبي, حكمنا على) واحد منها و جلسنا في المطعم الفارغ.

و حكى صاحبي ليّ عن أيامه في بغداد جالسا جانب نهر دجلة مع أصدفائه قبل الحرب, و كيف تغيرت منطقة "أبو نواس" (المنطقة التي فيها مطاعم سمك المسكوف) منذ 2003 و الغزو.

و الان نرى افتتاح لهذه مطاعم سمك المسكوف حيث, نظرا لتحسّن الوضع الأمني في بغداد, فتحت الشوارع و المطاعم مجددا.

فماذا تعني عودة سمك المسكوف الى شوارع بغداد؟ على الأقل هذه تجعلني أكثر تفاؤلا بمستقبل العراق و استقرارها, يعني, ممكن لا نعرف إذا كان مصير العراق مكتوبا.

وصل سمك المسكوف طاولتنا و هو كان لذيذا فعلا - أنشأ الله صاحبي أيهاب سوف يرحجع العراق يوما ما, و من يعرف؟ ممكن بعد بضع سنوات سأجلس معه بجانب نهر دجلة.

The Return of the Masgouf

"We are open for business!" The Arabic language daily, Al-Hayat, recently reported on the re-opening of Baghdad's famous fish district, Abu Nawas. The star of this riverside row of restaurants is the legendary Masgouf (مسكوف) fish, a relatively plain fish at first sight, but upon closer inspection, this fish is actually a symbol of Iraq's resilience and improving security situation. "All this!?" you ask, "from a measly, smelly fish pulled from the Tigris river?!" Allow me to elaborate.
While my Iraqi friend, Ehab, was still living here in Cairo (he's now living large in Brooklyn, New York, by the way), we took a trip to an Iraqi restaurant in Giza, not too far from Egypt's largest pyramids. The draw for this restaurant was its outdoor swimming pool full of Masgouf fish, dozens of them! After a few minutes of fishing with a net, we caught (In Ehab's words, "condemned") an unlucky fish and sat down in the empty restaurant to eat.
As our fish was being cooked, Ehab recounted his days sitting by the Tigris river in Baghdad, enjoying the breeze, relaxing with friends and family, and of course, eating a delicious Masgouf fish or two. "The Masgouf is Iraq's specialty, from the heart of Baghdad…walking along the Tigris at night there were dozens of Masgouf fish sellers lining the road…everyone would go out for a walk, hang out with friends, enjoy the evening…" Ehab reminisced about his days in Baghdad along the Tigris, before the war, before the shelling, before the horror that his city had become.
So what does the re-opening of this small, economically unimportant fish district mean for Iraq?
Well, for starters, it's a good sign for Iraq's security progress. The fear of bombs, mortars, snipers…all that's still out there, but the general level of violence has dropped significantly since the 'surge.' Tension was high and security was tight during the grand opening, but people nonetheless turned out in droves to get their hands on some delicious fish.
Most importantly, though, the Masgouf fish is a symbol of Iraqi resilience. Four plus years of death and destruction, but that's in the past (insh'Allah). People are less afraid, at least for now, to go out, enjoy a night on the town, indulge in a few simple pleasures. The past four years have weighed heavily on the Iraqi people and while I hope the country's stability will continue to improve, there are still dark clouds on the horizon.
Ehab and I's Iraqi-Egyptian Masgouf fish was delicious, though not, Ehab assured me, anything like those found in Baghdad. Hopefully Ehab will be able to some day return to Baghdad's Masgouf district, and who knows? Maybe after a few years I'll be able to join him.

In the Beginning, There Were Five

On November 18, the Arabic language daily, Al Hayat, reported on the use of local militias as part of the broader US security strategy in Iraq. "In the beginning we were five people…after a few weeks of coordination with the elders of the area and tribal leaders we were able to recruit about fifty others."

He's not talking about a dot-com, folks.

Meet Abu Abd. Abu Abd is the leader of a new type of Iraqi militia. “A citizens revolt” in the city of Al Adhamiya brought about the formation of Abu Abd’s militia, made up residents’ sons fed up with Al Qaida’s extremist interpretation of Islam and arcane rules. According to Abu Abd, “After two days, our men pushed them (Al Qaida extremists) out of the city…they fled to the area of Kum without resistance.”

After the Al Qaida forces fled, “residents of Al Adhamiya came down to the streets, playing drums and music celebrating this ‘victory’.”

This sounds like a rosy story, but is the best option for fighting Al Qaida really arming local, sectarian militias? Yes, Al Qaida is a dangerous organization, but by paying and arming Iraq’s numerous militias, the United States is wandering into dangerous territory and setting the stage for even larger conflict in Iraq.

Stability is currently held, to a degree, by the massive influx of US troops in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq. This strategy of reinforcement also calls for the assistance of ‘concerned local residents (CLR’s),’ whom the US pays and arms to bolster local security and support US operations.

A recent article by The Guardian, a UK newspaper, discussed the same militia and outlined the problems one faces when arming citizens in such ways. The Guardian quotes a ‘senior Sunni sheikh’ from Al Adhamiya,

“It’s (working with the US) just a way to get arms, and to be a legalized security force to be able to stand against Shia militias and to prevent the Iraqi army and police from entering their areas…the Americans lost hope with an Iraqi government that is both sectarian and dominated by militias, so they are paying for locals to fight al-Qaida. It will create a series of warlords.”

“It’s like someone who brought cats to fight rats, found himself with too many cats and brought dogs to fight the cats. Now they need elephants.”

The creation of militias and warlords in Iraq is eerily reminiscent of Lebanon’s civil war during the 1980’s. Militias from each of Lebanon’s religious sects battled on the streets and sidewalks for more than ten years, charged by religious fervor and competition for territory.

The Guardian quotes Abu Abd as saying, “Ameriya is just the beginning. After we finish with al-Qaida here, we will turn toward our main enemy, the Shia militias. I will liberate Jihad (a Sunni area next to Ameriya taken over by the Mahdi army) then Saidiya and the whole of west Baghdad.”

This is a frightening prospect for Iraq, where sectarianism and territorial conflict could quickly plunge the country into bitter conflict that would far exceed previous strife. All-out civil war in Iraq is a terrible possibility and, with the presence of militias like Abu Abd’s, may be an inevitable outcome.

The US has made considerable progress towards stability and security in Iraq during the past six months, the numbers demonstrate that. The situation on the ground, however, is still tense and stability for Iraq remains, unfortunately, a distant possibility.

A Day in the Sticks

Last week, a friend of mine mentioned that his church would be traveling to a leper colony on the outskirts of Cairo, and invited me to come. The church group was traveling to the leper colony on Saturday to volunteer, paint a few buildings, do a little gardening – wherever they could help.

I’ll admit, though I had agreed to go along, I was quite apprehensive during the days leading up to the trip. Is leprosy contagious? No, according to Wikipedia, leprosy is not contagious if the patients are being treated. Well, what if they aren’t being treated? And how reliable is Wikipedia, anyway? After a bit of research, I was left with conflicting answers that did little to assuage my concern of contracting leprosy.

My friend, Clay, called me at 2am on the morning of the trip, “Hey man, want to come down around 8:45 and we’ll head out?” Not one to bail on friends, I replied, “Definitely, see you then!” Consequences be damned, I was going to have my first encounter with leprosy in about seven hours.

I met up with Clay and a small group from his church, about thirty had signed up, but only about fifteen of us actually got on the bus. The bus ride took us through bustling downtown Cairo, past the suburbs, into the outlying farm areas, and eventually, into the desert. This colony, like most, had been secluded from society.

About an hour later we arrived at the gates of the colony, manned by a few bored Egyptian soldiers lounging in the shade of a tall palm tree. I had expected the worst, but upon entering the colony, was struck by how clean the area was – well-tended gardens, simple buildings painted in bright colors, shady palm trees.

We were met by Jihad, a caretaker at the Leprosarium. Jihad was born in Munich, Germany and, after meeting her husband in Egypt, devoted herself to helping those cast into the desert by society. She had worked tirelessly to secure funds, renovate the grounds, and organize healthcare. “This leper colony was built by the British in the 1940’s,” explained Jihad, “a few years ago the colony was in terrible disrepair, al hamdillah (thank God) we were able to bring the hospital to what it is today.” A vintage world war II British army truck lay in a nearby ditch, testament to the colony’s history.

The residents of the colony, lepers, we’re not the bandaged, deteriorating people I had thought they might be. Yes, they were afflicted with a debilitating disease, but they were first and foremost people, people who had been struck by a terrible illness that led to their exile from society.

Katherine, a 14 year old Coptic Christian, suffers from Leprosy that causes sores on her body and has swelled her left eye shut. Katherine was eager to practice her American-accented English, “My dream is to go to America…” While a friend and I were painting a table, Katherine and I talked at length about Egyptian musicians, Cairo, and even President Bush (she’s a rare fan.)

Sheikh Saeed, another resident, was eager to talk with everyone. The 87 year old Sheikh Saeed has spent the last forty years of his life in the colony. Sheikh Saeed grew up near Cairo and has earned a place of honor at the colony, the venerable elder. While his body had greatly deteriorated, Saeed’s intellect was as sharp as ever, he was happy to have visitors and enjoyed talking.

Ali, a middle-aged Egyptian from the north, was eager to hear soccer news, “Who won last night? Ahly or Tunis?” Ali’s a Zamalek fan (the Yankees of Egyptian soccer) and I’m an Ahly fan (the Red Sox of Egyptian soccer.) Ahly lost to Tunis 2-1, Ali couldn’t help but rub it in. I promised I would bring him a radio to listen to the games next time I come out, plus his favorite Um Kalthoum cassette tapes.

Upon entering the colony, I was prepared for the worst effects of leprosy, prepared to see those stricken with this terrible malady dating to biblical times. Instead, I had the opportunity to meet many people who were merely trying to live through difficult circumstances. Yes, these people suffered a great deal, but it did not stop them from making the best of their lives. I feel honored and humbled to have met such fine people and will be returning soon, I owe Ali a radio and a few cassettes.