The Lady & the Cowards

On Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

The barbarian ashes of the world did it, assassinating the brave lady of Pakistan, one of my early models of feminine character, the personified beauty, the pretty rose of Indian subcontinent, they assassinated "Benazir Bhutto". The freaked-out rats of Qaida did their former threats, assassinating the former prime minister, who lives in elective exile in Dubai for 8 years, before she return home last October. When the coming election parameters favored here, they killed here with a suicidal bomb. They fooled a son of bitch young man, convincing him he will be admitted to heaven of God, if he assassinated the cute lady and the strong diplomat of Pakistan. May God burn in hell the assassin and all the devilish organization behind him. I do not agree to many aspects of Benazir's policies myself, but this does not make me less grievous on her murder.

This was the last thing I needed to get out of my low-motive mood I had over the past weeks. It only came to me as an extra dose of depression to resist the trials of recovery.

Creeping Darkness

When Sorrows Encircles Your Soul

Lonely, with the shiver of a cold night, after a long working day, that ended around 11:30 pm. When I am happy, lights fly from my heart to enlighten the world around me. On the other hand, when I am sad, darkness prevails, creeps inside my chest, covering my heart as well as all the universe with its heavy stain.

Looking from the window at the deserted street in this late hour of a winter night, I convert my look to the sky, trying to catch a moon. I can not, my ears then seem to hear a very old song from an Arabic TV series, it says;

Speed-up angels, help the moon
Free it to encircle the Earth

Speed-up boys to rescue it

Before the darkness drowns it

I bless "Mahmud Mursi", the giant Egyptian actor, who played in that series the role of two twins. The First is the kind and fair governor "Sadeq Halawany" who was murdered by his own twin brother "Saqr". Why fairness and truth dies swiftly in our country? The mental image of "Saqr" with his rich rural outfit, recalls its contrasting image, "Abdulla Gaith" in the masterpiece movie "The Unlawful". Wherein his image was a live representation of poverty, ignorance and illness triad. The Holy triad in our sad valley of Nile. As holy and ancient as Osiris, Isis and Horus triad. It had even outlasted the Oserian triad by 200 centuries now. I recall "Faten Hamam" in the same movie, when she was raped and conceived her rapier's baby. She was trying to find some sweet potato roots to feed her children and her handicapped husband, when the land owner caught her and raped here in the potato field. Dying from puerperal sepsis in the village yard, she was giving her last breaths saying; "A potato root was the reason, O' my baby, it was all about a potato root"

This lady was pushed to steal by poverty and illness of her husband, raped by vanity, and let to die by the ignorant village society, who thought she deserves her agonizing death being a fornicator. Now, here image is replaced in my aching head with that of "Jean Valjean" in Hugo's everlasting tragedy "The Miserables" I can not recall the name of the actor. Yet, his image is engraved in my mind, while he entered a small rural restaurant, shivering of cold and hunger altogether. He was asking the waiter, with his eyes carrying a mix of fear, hope, misery and pain, saying; "Soup and bread, I have money ... I can pay"

Another image of "Faten" as a farm girl crosses my mind, from "Taha Hussein" masterpiece this time, "Prayer of a Singing Bird". She played the role of "Amna", the smart sister of "Hanady", who was a simple village girl seduced by the civil engineer, to whom she used to serve as a housemaid. Upon pregnancy, he dumped her, to be back to her family, whereby she was murdered. In that movies "Amna" asked a very fair question. Why we kill the entrapped bird while we do not dare to touch the hunter? I do not agree in general to depicting man as a hunter and woman as the bird, it is a form of a stereotyping. However, in that movie, the girl was a real naive victim who lost her life under the motto of love. By the end of that movie, Taha Hussein narrated "Prayer of the singing bird, was it narrating the very same song, in that deserted space wherein Hanadi was slayed"

She was always such an esteemed artist Ms. "Hamama", never spoiled her reputation with adventures with Gulf Sheiks. Unsurprisingly, she did not have to announce a repentance and did not have to veil and stop acting. She was a real actress, unlike many of today's stars who act in movies to increase their value as whore I am afraid. Controversially, an actor who was accused for prostitution according to Egyptian laws, was one of the repented actresses lately! another, who used to be famous for her semi-porn movies also was one. I had always believed that who adopts modesty in his behavior remains modest for life. He deviates sometimes as a human being, then redirect himself. Those who goes for an extreme behavior are always liable to shift to the opposite extreme.

Closing my eyes, I hear rain drops over my window. I open my eyes to find nothing, I then feel and smell the scent of a rainy weather without realizing it. I recall one of my beloved "Nezar Qabbani" poems;

When it is rainy in Beirut

I need some intimacy

you choose the place

you choose any place

a bar, a cafe over a bridge

invading the holiness of seas

when it is rainy in Beirut

my sorrows grows and branches

so, I need some intimacy

I need a woman ...

who knows love chemistry

Me too, I am not in Beirut, and it is not raining, but I need some intimacy. Even in a dry weather, my sorrows grows and branches. I feel lonely to bones. I remember then a verse from New Tastement, when Jesus asked his disciples to stay with him, in his last night in land, he said; "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: stay you here, and watch with me""What? could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" Matthew: 40-41. The very same story across human history. The inspired leader, the man with the mission and faith, usually imagine all his followers carries the same degree of faith and dedication. He cannot imagine that he is very special, and he can do what others will be too weak to tolerate. This is the everlasting tragedy of great souls.
Matthew: 38. Leaving them to his prayer, he came back to find they all fall asleep. So, in his most difficult hour, he prayed alone. He then said to them

I imagined, according to the biblical story, that Jesus knew the next day to be his last day on earth. What could he feel then? What kind of a night a man can spend if he knew it will be his very last one? How merciful is God letting us know not about it. I then heard in my ears the Quranic verse "And the agony of death comes in truth.This is that which you were trying to escape" Qaf: 19.

From Magdstan with Sorrows

Farwelling Secular Prosperity

Hereunder, the last part of the faction story "Magdstan, a Sister Glorius State", today, we will see what happened to Nasser, the glorious president of Magdstan, the person I invented as a lung of glory in the era of Arabic asphyxia. The end might look sad, but I see it a factional end for a factional story. A leader who believes in his dreams, will face the problem of public ignorance in our Arab nations, a problem makes leading the nation, or misleading it, as easy as leading a herd. We usually dream of Salvatore, the just governor who will make a heaven-garden from our country. The question is, if it happened and we had him, can we handle him? Our problem is much deeper than our governments, it is within our skulls I believe, this what we need to face, and this what drove the end of my story to be that sad.

---
Direct Airing from presedential residency in Zahera, President "Nasser Al-Magdi"

Dear Fellow-citizens, Glorious Magdis,

Before you I stand today as usual, an assigned employee at the degree of President of State before his employer, the nation. In such ceremonies, I used to discuss my decisions before you and explain it in details. However, today, it is more difficult to explain and detail, it is a decision that can be narrated only with pain in heart and burn in the throat. Yet, it is an obligation on myself, regarding my commitment to you since I attended the office, and regarding the national policies and strategies we agreed on together years ago. Therefore, my situation today was mandated against my will, only by the moral obligations I hold toward my glorious nation.

As we are all aware, we ran lately the Parliament elections, a one that brought-up the allies who calls themselves "Islamic Brothers", while I call them "Islamified Brothers". I have to admit they succeeded to convince you o' my nation with their shining slogans and attractive utopian words, I have to admit because this is what you expressed yourselves in the election. It is a weak majority what they achieved, but still a majority by the end of the day, a majority qualifying them, to be in charge of leading the policies of the state of Magdstan for three years according to our constitutional articles.

When the results of election were mainfested, I found myself in a very critical situation. I had to choose between respecting democracy, apart from how devastating results I can personally predict, or not to respect the baby-democracy in our land. The confusion was, being a baby, if we did not respect it today, it shall never be applied again. It was unequaledly tough decision between two risks. Lately, I had my choice, and I stand before you today to announce it. To announce a couple of presidential decrees;

First, to name Mr. Roshdi A'amer, the leader of the "Islamic Brothers Mass", as a prime minister, assigning him to compose his administration within two weeks from the decree issuance. Before narrating my 2nd decree, I would like to elaborate with you for moments about the consequences I predict in advance for the 1st one. Having the loyalty that I have to our nation, and despite my decree applying the results of the democratic process, I have to highlight my fears, those delayed my decree for 4 days from the date of elections to the date of decree issuance. It is a consequences I predict to come true very shortly after having the Islamified mass in power. These are,

1. Once they put in practice, the shaking economic regulations they announced before, applying what they called "Islamic Economy", this will result in devastating turbulence to the international trading movements. Moreover, their access to power will essentially freak-out foreign capital investments within Magdstan, which started already since election results airing. The first reaction was freezing the Magdi accounts and credits globally, until the international community ensure these liquid assets shall not be employed to finance terrorism and extremist societies.
2. Deterioration of the international relations of Magdstan, also started already with the comments of Mr. Roshdi A'amer on the international bank decisions, freezing assets of Magdstan, wherein he narrated that he does not know a thing called international community! Moreover, he used the words "Shaking EU" and the "Devilish USA'. The expectations about how US and EU shall react to these words are highly variable.
3. Once in charge, the new Islamified admin. will apply its totalitarian regimen. Wherein, the personal freedom of individual will be crashed under what they call "Islamic traditions". Sadly, a day has come, when Magdstan adopts a totalitarian system like that of Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.
4. Rapid decline of national unity is highly expected to take place. Starting with the letter submitted from "Michel Samir", the proclaimed leader of "Christian Magdis in US" society, to the US Congress. Needless to say, the fanatic Michel found in the Islamified mass accessing the office, a unique opportunity to justify his dreams of support from USA, aiming to establish an autonomy zone for Christian Magdis in South Magdstan. Which is highly possible to happen if things kept its descending rate. Shall this nightmare comes true? Magdstan will never be one again, once detached, forever detached and further detachements might happen.

"Nasser Al-Magdi" can never be part of this chaos, I wish you accept my sincere apologies, taking the second decision. Whereby, I resign from the position of "President of State". Handing over my responsibilities to Marshal "Ali Gazal" the supreme Commander of Magdi Army, whom I trust to lead safely the transitional period, before the new presidential elections take place next September. Today, I have to farewell a land wherein I was born, and a nation that I had always adored. Only to find a place in the world, when secularity and human rights can be applied, parting in purpose from those who cover their vanity with Islam. Islam, my faith, that I had always seen as the most secular, practical and civilized, I can not see it today applied in my homeland with the nomadic understanding of that IB mass.

Finally my beloved people, I wish days will prove wrong all my expectations, I really hate feeling right about what I said. I had only wished all prosperity and glory for this land and this nation. May God bless you Magdstan people and keeps our beloved Magdstan with his unflagging care. To you Magdi Armies, and to you Marshal "Gazal", I rely on the honesty and patriotism of the army, to navigate and pass safely from this storm. The army took it out from the storm of monarchy before, and it is capable to do it again whenever theology seems to be too stinky to its future ans stability. Thank You

Reincarnation of Judas

Why I hate Sadat?

Here, I shall answer the objecting comments I have got from some friends on the last post “Dead Hero and Dead Zero”. Primarily, I want to say that I had never imagined neither Sadat nor Judas as a Satan, who is skeletoned out of all goodness. Yet, both names have always presented to me the word “Betrayer” embodied in human figure. To give some examples about the betraying nature of Sadat, I will give some examples on variety of levels and from different perspectives, as a man and as a president

• First Betrayal was to his wife and hard days’ partner, when Mohamed Anwar, the junior military officer proposed to Miss “Iqbal” the daughter of his village governor “Umda”, he was a subject of initial rejection by the family due to the social difference. She was “Iqbal” herself who insisted on getting married to the young troop. Later on, when Sadat met Jihan, and she conditioned his to divorce “Iqbal” before getting married to her (not the opposite as shown in the movie), he simply did, he gave the new bride what she asked for apart from the miserable lady, whose daughters had never lived as those of Jihan, the First Lady afterward. This is what a coward man will typically do.
• Second was on the night of revolution, the one who spent in Cinema with “Jene” as he used to call here while his colleagues are under arms, moreover, he created a fake conflict with a man in the cinema and went to police station to register his place during movement time of the army. Later on he claimed it was a coincidence, yakhy …….. (Documented in the Revolution Members Assessment Investigations in 1952)
• Third, was the misleading information he transmitted after his visit to Yemen to assess the situation, based on which, Nasser took the decision of Egyptian interference in Yemen. (His written and signed report is documented)
• Fourth betrayal after he became the president, affirming he will follow “Nasser’s line”. Later on, as the joke said by that time, he followed Nasser’s line with an eraser. (his commitment is documented in AV recordings)
• Fifth when he agreed with Syrians to have the first cessation of attack on Tiran lines while he gave a different orders here to his army. (Compare the documented order of the supreme leader of army and the documented Syrian maps with Sadat handwriting over it)
• Sixth was on 7th of October when he breached to Kissinger his intentions not to propagate the attack further on the Egyptian frontline (CIA release for 1973 LSD)
• Seventh, when crippling the chief commander of his army from attacking the Israeli army on the west coast of canal, later on known as “Defreswar bulge”
• Eighth when he decided to solve the Egyptian conflict upon his own initiative requesting others to follow while he took Jerusalem visit initiative alone.
• Ninth when he unleashed the curse of Islamic fundamentalism to face the leftist and Nasserist Protestants to his lousy policies. Through an overt agreement with Omar Temesani
• Tenth when he created the first Muslim/Coptic frictions in the contemporary history through his conflict with the Pope. It was then when Egyptian Christians found out they are treated as a 2nd class citizens in their own land.
• Eleventh when he sold-out all achievements of the public sector, with an ambitious plan to drain it and then sell-it-out in a radical move to right. Needless to mention what we have now is his extension (Documented )
• Twelfth when he selected a clever general who is 100% afar from diplomacy and political life as a deputy to him.
  
  Was this dozen of betrayals enough to hate a man? At least for me it is

بين الخلود و الفناء

أكتب هذا الموضوع القصير بوحي من الصديق "شمس الزناتي" الذي أرسل لي دعوة على الفيسبوك لأنضم لجماعة محبي السادات، فما قرأت هذه الدعوة حتى علت فمي ابتسامة خافتة، و رأيت أن أكتب هذا البوست المقتضب، الذي أوضح فيه كيف أرى السادات مقارنة بالزعيم الراحل "جمال عبد الناصر" من خلال مقارنة ما كتبه شاعر مصر الكبير "أحمد فؤاد نجم" في مناسبة وفاة الرئيسين، و غني عن الذكر أن علاقة "نجم" بالزعيم "عبد الناصر" لم تكن سمنا على عسل بيوم من الأيام ، لكن مع وفاة ناصر و وفاة السادات، خرجت المشاعر العميقة و المعبرة لعمنا أبو النجوم ، و التي أراها معبرة كل التعبير عن رأيي في الرئيسين

وفاة الرمز

;عندما مات الزعيم الكبير قال "نجم" في رثائه

السكه مفروشه تيجان الفل والنـــــــرجس

والقبه صهوة فرس عليها الخضر بيبرجس

والمشربيه عرايس بتبكي والبكا مشـــروع
من ده إللي نايم وساكت والسكات مسموع

سيدنا الحــــــــــسين ؟ ولا صلاح الدين ؟

ولا النبي ؟ولا الإمـــــــــــــــــــــــــــام ؟

دستور ياحــــــــــراس المقـــــــــــــــــام

ولا الكـــــــــــــــــلام بالشكل دا ممنوع ؟

موسى نبي عيس نبي، كمان محمد كان نبي

ويا قلبي صلي ع النبي، وكلنا نحـــب النبي

وكل وقت وله أذان، وكل عصــــر وله نبي

وإحنا نبينا كده، من ضلعـــــــــــــــــنا نابت

لا من سماهم وقع ، ولا من مرا شـــــــابت

ولا انخـــــــــسف له القمرولا النجوم غابت

أبوه صعيدي وفهم قام طلعه ضــــــــــــابط

ضبط على قـــــــدنا وع المــــــــزاج ظابط

فاجومي من جنسنا .. مالوش مــــرة عابت

فلاح قليل الحيا إذا الكــــــــــــــلاب سابت

ولا يطاطيش للعدا مهما الســـــــهام صابت

عمل حاجات معجزه ، وحاجات كتير خابت

وعاش ومات وسطنا ، على طبعنا ثـــــابت

وإن كان جرح قلبنا ، كل الجـــــراح طابت

ولا يطولوه العـــــــــــدا مهما الأمور جابت

إغتيال رئيس جمهورية

أما عند سماعه لخبر اغتيال السادات في العرض العسكري ، فقد أنشد "نجم" مرتجلاً

لا إله إلا الله

مات الكلب وموته دواه

كان الله لا يقدس روحه

يندار صاحبه يعض قفاه

***

لا إله إلا الله

ما يغركش جنازه دي زفه

عالم رابش عبي ف قفـــه

اللي مشــــيع واللي اتوفى

قطع المـــــيت واللي وراه

في تقديري أن الفجومي شاعرنا الكبير، و المعادل الموضوعي لابن عروس في زماننا قد أوجز المقارنة بين الاثنين الذين تعاقبا زمانا، مع الشتان بينهما

Glorifying Freedom

On Islam & Slavery Abolition

A drive had urged me to write this post, a blockbuster post by the amazing Lotus, Egypt Rose, about harem and why Islam did not directly and aprubtly prohibit slavery, in the comments the commenters asked as well, and why other faiths prior to Islam specially among Abrahamian religions did not do? Talking about slavery prohibition, and why it was not prohibited by Abrahamic faiths, I questionned myself; Why we expect religions to sort out all our problems with a direct doctrinal decrees? Is this the role of religions? or the role wanted for religions by clergies? Therefore promoted to us? As female slavery was part of slavery concept at large, we preferred here to discuss the wider concept of slavery itself.

We do have a fact of history, neither Islam nor Christianity and Judaism had prevented slavery in the ancient times. It was not before the 18th century, when the talks about freeing slaves became strong and noticeable. Why?

We support a very simple answer of this; it was “Vapor Power”“William Garrison” the founder of the “American Anti-Slavery Association” started to be reputed, and then the “Second American Revolution” lead by “Abraham Lincoln”"Faisal ibn Abdelaziz" abolished slavery from Saudi after Nasser of Egypt commented this negatively in a public speech, criticizing "Faisal" for continuing enslaving humans in the 20th century.

rising up as an alternative to slavery arms to support production economics. It was then when honorable men initiated the talks of ceasing slavery as an inhuman system, that is no more a necessity for production. Names like put an end to the matter in the westernmost side of the globe. On the other side, in the old world in 1794, France abolished slavery and freed all enslaved people in her colonies. Then by time, slavery became part of the past in most of the globe. Unfortunately, a country like the Saudi monarchy was one of the very late states to abolish slavery, it was not before 1964 when

However, when we talk about terms like war prisoners’ ransom today in the 21st century, it will look very odd, but it was a regular practice in the medieval chivalric world in Europe. Capturing war prisoners to be released against a sum, usually paid by the prisoners’ tribe or family was also known and practiced in Arabia, and whoever will not be released, shall be enslaved. It was the ancient world daily bread though it looks strange today. Islam, only likely to all other religions, did not try to denounce slavery abruptly, as it was essential to maintain production economics in that time in the 7th century. This we think was the same reason called Judaism and Christianity to tolerate slavery for centuries. However, Islam had developed several temporal regulations to limit slavery and to improve living conditions of the poor humans who were trapped as slaves. We dare to claim Islam had developed organized quantitative limitations as well as some qualitative limitations to slavery and its suffering.

Quantitative Limitations to Slavery:

• Granted to war prisoners –as the first source of supply- different options to avoid being enslaved. First was ransom, second was social performance (e.g. educating a group of illiterates like the case of Badr war prisoners) and the third was converting to Islam.
• Prevented capturing children as the second major source of suuply.
• Set freeing slaves as a repentance condition for many sins and wrong deeds, like accidental murders, preaching an oath …etc.
• Entitled the female slave who gives birth for immediate freedom. Also mandated her husband to consider her as a free wife on spot.
  
  This last regulation was behind a great misperception of Islamic attitude against family planning and contraceptives. When a group of men came to Apostle of God, informing they practice coitus interruptus with their slave girls, then apostle prevented them doing so. It was perceived by many jurists as rejection of family planning. While it was about disarming these people from the trick they used to keep enslaving their girls, preventing them from the right God granted to them when they conceive. Therefore, Muhammad rejected these trials. We support our understanding with what “Omar ibn El-Khattab” when asked about coitus interruptus with wives for family planning, stated, confirming it was used freely during apostle’s life, and was not prohibited by Islam.

Qualitative Limitations to Slavery Morbidities:

• Improved their living conditions in terms of food, clothing and shelter. Mandating it to be relative to their masters’ socio-economic status. Also advising masters to treat their slaves in the same manners they would like to be treated if they were enslaved themselves. Moreover, nominated slaves to be "brothers" of their owners.
• Prohibited employment of slave-girls in prostitution. An act that was common & was not considered socially shameful before Islam. "Umayya ibn Harb", the ancestors of the later Umayyads employed his slave girls in prostitution in Mecca before Islam.
• Encouraged Muslims to free and marry their slave girls even before they give birth as proven by apostolic teachings.

Based on what we listed here, we can say: Yes, Islam tolerated slavery system as a necessity in the seventh century, and applied regulations to decrease the magnitude of suffering of slaves. However, from the general direction of Islam, we can say, if Apostle was alive by the 18th century he would have supported slavery abolition to the fullest extent. Religions give us a broad direction or trend to follow, not a literal doctrine to apply. Islamic trend was absolutely against slavery, only with the cautious treatmen that shall not harm social composition and production relations in the 7th century.

A Filter of Logic

When Faith Blinds the Man

I do not remember how old I was when I got to Badway mosque in Tanta for 1st time. Seeing the claimed foot print of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) there, down to the box where they displayed it, was the box of donation, despite my young age, I did not swallow it at all. The feet was overtly odd, the transverse dimension of it does not match longitudinal dimension to be of human foot, plus the curvature of foot is absent, more than any known degree of flatfoot, a man with such a foot will definitely suffer from severe instability standing and walking. This is apart from the size that will be surely not less than fifty something. I think if Leonardo da Vinci with his known studies of human anatomy through corpses dissection wanted to fake this sculpture he would have made something highly convincing compared to this stupid piece. Moreover, what is the origin of the piece? I meant the claimed origin? It is supposed that prophet had a foot print over the Dome of the Rock only, and it should be still there, and even this story is not supported as a miracle by Quran verses. But he was not definitely walking all time on the rocks barefooted to live prints to us as memories. Then, we know the Prophet was of middle stature, and his feet must match such a stature, can't be as big as the one who faked this imagined.

Did it stop at this level, No. Seeing the photos and videos of Virgin Mary in Zeitun in the 60s of last century, I laughed loudly saying "Ignorantly fake". To the amazement of my surrounds, who were all very impressed with what they saw, they wondered and I replied "whoever the ignorant who fake this, he has forgotten that the halo around the holy family faces, was an artistic symbol to symbolize holiness and the enlightened soul they had, it is originally a pharaonic art and was conveyed to Christianity through Coptic art. Now, he is making the Virgin appearing with a halo around her head as if it is a part of her. And even if her head is lighting, it will be simply lighting without this circular symbol. And why she is taking the exact shapes and positions of icons and with the same garments? Whoever draw these icons was imagining and symbolizing" others around me seemed to be astonished for a while, then they started talking, they had never been out of the usual framework of "don't kill everything thinking about it" and the other vague statement "not everything we can't understand is wrong, sometimes just we can't" and so on and so forth.

A third event happened during a visit to Manfalout monastery, with my friend Khalid, visiting the corpse of "Anba Lucas the Knowledgeable" who died in 1965, it was supposedly to be miraculous with his body unchanged since then. shown to visitors in a glass box. During the way to the monastery, everybody was talking about how life looks his mouth specifically. Stepping into the room. Looking on the face of the corpse, on the mouth specifically, it took me like 3 minutes to figure out the wrong thing. The gums are merely pink, but God pink color in gums comes from blood flow only!!!, minutes after death it turns white and shortly after it starts to darken. Then the teeth is glossy, shining like alive man, but this gloss of teeth is not something relate to its material, our teeth gloss with the saliva, a living man with absolutely dry mouth will not have it, then how regular it is, how symmetrical? Sorry monk, whether you had an artificial teeth fixed before you die, or simply the faking clerics fixed to you later on to increase the impression of your visitors. Nothing here is miraculous, the rest of the body was simply in a state of slow decaying, the humidity inside this glass was Zero. I am sure the visceral organs are 100% gone and the abdomen is burst, this is why he is dressed in this complete opaque satin dress. Yet, in another 50 years there will be no soft tissue at all, the monastery then will remove the body, maybe after he will visit one of the monks in a dream and ask him to rest his corpse in peace. What applies to "Anba Lucas" in Manflaout applies to another corpse in Damietta of Saint Beshoy, same legend, same tricks.

How many times you hared about the miracles of martyrdom in Afghanistan? It was my first time hearing about it when I was 13. At this early age, and upon reading a book named "Miracles of God in Afghan Jihad" I started the skeptical era in my life, that seems to be everlasting, standing like a mind-filter that is always on. The author of the book is quite famous, he is Abdallah Azzam, one of the premium class terrorism philosophers, and here is some of his delusions, A martyr shakes his father's hand 3 days after his death, wounds of martyrs sending lights and perfume scents after their death, their nails and hair grows for years after death, birds offer an umbrella above the mujahedeen protecting them against Russian air forces, Russians claim they are attacked from 4 directions with American machine guns while mujahedeen were in one direction with manual guns (of course now we know this is true as American troops were really in the other three directions), and finally he tells about the winged angels fighting with them hand by hand. Today, having all cards on table, we knew these mujahedeen to be trained by CIA officers in Pakistan, armed with USA armies, under Saudi finance and with Egyptian Saudi volunteers support. Some of these mujahedeen were Ayman Zawahry and Osama bin Ladin!!! So, it was not miraculous at all. And whoever can swallow all these miracles of Afghan, can he explains why we do not hear them now? any new blockbuster miracles against US troops? I guess no, at least not that sophisticated and numerous. You know why? because US today stays on the other end, so does Saudi Arabia, so unfortunate to Afghan, there are no sponsors or media advisers today, they lost all their allies except their own cultivated opium that stands as the keystone of economy in this claimed Islamic state. In the image here we see the real Jihad now, the one that proetcts the cultivation and commercialization of opium harvest.

I believe in God, and believe his almighty is omnipotent, but does this mean miracles to happen everyday? For me it is big NO, simply because God created this universe with a built-in system to run. He created it with the roles of nature and physics. Any break to this system must have a very good reason and very rare circumstance to happen, because God, the creator of universe will not ruin its roles. But for some mindsets, miraculous events are very important to silent the doubts and fears they have, as their faith is not logically based, it is based only on emotional faith, they need emotional boosters very frequently.

She Gave Me of the Tree

When Islam Freed Woman from the First Sin

A verse that I perceive to be coral in human social development, it was related to the first sin of Adam, and how he played Goofy when asked by God, claiming "she" to be the reason. Saying; "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate" Genesis 3:12

It was then when the man took the economic leadership on this planet, when he first started to claim the woman as the source of the first sin, and all the sins that came after. Judaism and Christian scriptures were only a part of a long story, always depicting women as the source of sins and evils, even in Islamic scriptures, Quran had never related the old sin of mankind to Eve as the Old Testament did. Nevertheless, some Hadieths that is a suspect of forgery related the sins and evils to women as well, and depicted them as the maidens of Satan.

Recently, reading comments on Kolo-Mashy blog of my friends Emy and Coca, specifically on a post about Fornication and the society different perceptions and attitudes toward men and women who fall into it. I read comments of the blogger Hossam Sunray, where he proposed some justifications for this discriminative social value. As I had something to say about almost every justification he wrote, I though to write this post answering his claims. He might forgive me if the translations of his claims became shorted by any mean. Hereunder the claims and its answers from my side.

First Claim:

"Since the ever, the nature granted this to man, as always the man held the right of polygamy while women used to have only one man who represents the security and shelter to his woman"

I am afraid here the basic foundation of the claim is inaccurate. It was in the 19th century when Bachofen, a brilliant archaeologist brought up the suggestion of matriarchal communities civilization witnessed once, needless to mention he was highly oppressed specially from the Catholic Church. By that time, they managed to limit his argument to academic cycles. Yet, it was re-vitalized over years. Today, the majority of archaeologists believe we had once matriarchal societies where women were equal or higher ranked to men. In some of these societies women were economically dominant, and a sort of polygamy (androgamy) existed, together with male prostitution. So, polygamy is a sign of economic dominance and does not belong to gender

Second Claim:

"Sex is more Important to man, as women are not moved by desire as men do"

I will agree if the blogger meant men to be more public in their sexual tendency than women. But the reason is not sex is less important to women. Medicine and Sexology proved women to be as sexually interested as men. First legend stated men are more sexually aroused than women. Then a second legend said that women are more aroused like 10 times more than their peer men. Finally, Sexology states today that both are equal, all variations are individual variations. So, women do crave men as much as men crave them, then why it looks different? because females usually are less talkative about it. Even among their closed feminine circuits, they do not talk about their desires as much as men do. That is all.

Third Claim:

"A woman can seduce a man if he is not welling to make love to her. On the contrary a man can only force a woman if she is not welling, he can never seduce her"

Seductive ability is a matter of personal variation. Some men can seduce women and vice versa, others can not. By the end of the day if the man want to control he can, same applies to woman. The man who need to force a woman to make love while they are in privacy is whether blocked by negative emotions from her side or a very bad seducer in general.

Fourth Claim:

"A girl will tolerate well knowing her father is a playboy. Yet, she will undergoes moral breakdown knowing her mother is playing around"

It depends on the society dear. Some other places in the world will be equally destructive to know one of the parents is faithless to the other. Here due to traditions male fornication is taken lightly even from his own sons and daughters.

The Misleading Logic:

I think the drift of logic here, was the blogger's perception of the symptoms as causes. i.e. when a man has a fever and shivering due to it, we can not say that he shivved because he has fever and that is it. We should follow the cause of the fever as it is a symptom not a causative factor.

If I will explain the blogger's justifications in my own language as I see it as symptoms, I shall say;

• Polygamy is highly practiced in the east as the society does not disregard it. So it became easier to imagine and to practise.
• Males enjoys more sexual freedom than females, so it appears from outside as if females are not interested in sex
• Family in case of female fornication suffers more as it is much worse perceived compared to mail fornication.

All what he says actually is signs of the disease not its causative agents. What do you think?

Hormonal Tango

Love & Mysterious Brain Chemistry
During a visit to Moments blog, I read a post Shereen wrote, about her adoration to the moon, despite of her knowing sciences had revealed it as a stony surface full of ugly pores. The idea of the post triggered me to write about the concept of life and life truth. The life as we knew it, lived it and used to it, versus the life facts as revealed by scientific researches.

How can we balance between life and life truth, therefore we live knowledgeably, yet happily?

Today I will start with the popular subject. Love and its chemistry. Yes chemistry, in the past we said "it takes two to tango" now maybe we shall say, "it takes hormones to tango". Go on and you shall see, how science translated to us, all what we thought one day to be merely spiritual

1. Recent researches proved the common idea about sweet words and how it creates love to be factious. The very first 90 seconds to 4 minutes of your interview with her/him is the major ignition that marks someone as pass or not pass. This relies mainly on the body language constituting of 55% of the whole thing. 38% on your voice and manners, and only 7% on what you say. So, sweet words helps minimally to earn others hearts. Whoever said that first impresions last was very true.
2. Excitement upon seeing your beloved one happens through Adrenaline, that flushes your face and speed-up your heart rate. Also makes you energetic enough to do things and perform like never when you are alone. I remember one day, under the vision of a beloved one in the old days, I managed to beat the wrestling machines in the park. This is not my usual at all
3. Highness experienced when you spend time with your beloved one is mediated by Serotonin that accumulates in your blood to feel elated. Needless to mention that Prozac, called one day "drug of happiness" in USA is classified as "Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor" (SRI). Love does this on its own with no extrinsic material needed.
4. Ever missed her/him like crazy? It is the Dopamine dear. It is dopamine, which creates our attachment to someone, and feeling that we miss him/her. This dopaimnirgic effect plus the serotonin elating effect, we define both as "falling in love" with someone. When you do not only feel happy with him /her, but you can not feel so without him/her. Anti-dopamine drugs were proven clinically to decrease the lust feeling toward our special ones.
5. After sexual orgasm, Oxytocin floods in blood, giving pleasure and relaxation at a time. It is the same hormone of motherhood. The one attaches the newborn and his beloved mummy together. Yes, the feeling of intimacy after sexual episode and the motherhood feelings has the same father hormone mediator.
6. Vasopressin is the hormone of harmony. When you consort in peace with someone for long time, your body links seeing this person to increase production of vasopressin, a hormone that mediates relaxation and comfort feeling. This is what happens usually to husbands and wives after years and years of a common life. A complex form of acclimatization, even without loving one another, the vasopressin gives them both a comfortable feeling when they are together. I think ladies might consider making a memorial statue of this hormone. It is the one keeping the wandering him at home by the end of the day.
7. Love induction among human beings were applied in a clinical trial involved 34 volunteers, out of them, in more than 70% of cases they felt something toward each other. 4 cases ended in marriage! The trial aimed to prove that relatively suitable men and women when placed together under favorable conditions are highly likely to end loving each other. Never blame yourself if you felt attracted to someone like a classmate or a colleague. To feel is not a sin, only when you start to manifest, you should observe the rights of others and your own situation and obligations.

Shall this mean there is no Love?

Surly there is love. Love is the major power driving this universe to prosperity and development. Whether directly or indirectly, love plays as a pacemaker in our life. What this post meant is to raise awareness about how love is mediated with hormones. We need to know this as part of our understanding of the world. Then we have to forget it all and live love, so we can live our lives. Yet, knowing this calls us for some modesty when it comes to emotions and feelings. Never say that you are dieing to see someone. a hormonal antagonist injection can make you forget the whole thing.

My Role Models

Dedication .. Optimism .. Faith

This will be a short post, As I explained about the list of my role models before. But I would like to look at it from general angel this time. What makes a man living today or lived in the past as one of my role models? what is very common among them all? It is basically three things as I perceive, Faith, Optimism, and Dedication (D.O.F.) or "DOF Role" as I like to call it myslef.

For a man to be an immortal role model, I think he must have a faith in something or some idea or ideology, another essential aspect, he must be optimist toward his believed-in case, idea or dream. A man with no guts will never achieve realistic steps toward achieving his goals, and guts needs hope in hearts. The third factor is to be dedicated, to commit his life to achieve his faith. Important condition here is he commits himself only to a fair case, and to a fair and moral means to materialize such a faith, this excludes men like "Ben Ladin" and "Zawahry" from the list forever. They do have dedication, optimism and faith. However, their faith is falsehood itself, and their means are immoral. Now let us test my men with the DOF role, and see who fits in,

Ali ibn Abi Talib. One might think I must be a Shiite as I start my role models with Imam "Ali ibn Abit Talib" and not with Muhammad (pbuh). I do not find it a shame surely to be a Shiite. However, I am not and can never be. I am a man who refuses any power of clergy and this sets me apart from both Christianity and Shiite Islam. I do not list Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) among my role models as he was not an ordinary man. He is a man with divine inspiration. Therefore, despite of his grand achievements and glorious deeds, we can not equate him to ordinary leaders. Imam Ali was the 4th Caliph, and the one who had to fight the two poles of falsehood in humankind life. The power and wealth seekers on one pole, represented by "Muawia ibn Abi Sofian" and "Amro ibn Al-Aas", who were supported by all power and wealth seekers in the Caliphate, those who did not tolerate the justice and idealism of Ali. On the other pole, "Khawarej" stood as the blind fanaticism that turns any faith into an agony against its nature. Imam Ali had the faith and dedication to fight both until his honorable martyrdom while praying. He did not possess much optimism by the end of his days, only as he knew with his vision that the era of righteousness had gone forever. However, he persisted on the principle to death.

Che Guevara had a faith in a free & communist Latin America, he was full of belief that his people can do it, and he died for it, this is the highest degree of dedication, and he committed no immoral acts never during his fight against USA. Freedom fighter he was, with no innocent civilian blood shed at all. I loved Che the revolutionary, the freedom fighter, the life lover and the romance dreamer.

Hassan Nasrallah, the man of controversy, he has a faith in free Lebanon and for the rights of his religious group, the Shiites in it. His smile always reflects his trust in God and his people. He is dedicated to this faith to an extent of offering his beloved son to martyr in the front lines. Did he commit any attacks on civilians? No, the man only dealt with military and militias in Israel. This sets him afar from the terrorism false accusations by USA and Israel together. I loved his solid attitude, leading his small militia, compared to the semi-men and semi-leaders allover the Arab league.

Mao Zedong has his famous faith in a communist China, wherein the mainland can offer the basic needs to every Chinese equally and based on the right of nationality. He was optimist facing the most difficult situations and betrayals. He lived for what he believed till the last moment. I loved Mao the inspirational leader, although I preferred him before taking the "divine" image he had in his late days.

Mohamed Ali Pasha has a faith in an independent Egypt under his monarchy, whereby he can compete with the Ottoman Sultans themselves. He had all the optimism and dedication to achieve his vision. He is the non Egyptian man, to whom every Egyptian owe the foundation of modern Egypt. A question mark rises about his means, was it really moral? Considering his era and the nature of Mamelukes in Egypt, I will say yes, when a gang interferes with the future of a nation, the gang destiny does not matter much. The man committed a massacre against the Mamelukes militias. However, when we read the history of the era, we shall find out his options were too limited.

Gamal Abdel-Nasser had a faith in socialist Arab states, united and powerful, lived for it, and died for it after his effort in September 1970 that was too much for a man with pending myocardial infarction. The gang of two (Khamies and Baqary communists of Kafr El-Dawar) and the gang of six (Muslim Brotherhood leaders who conspired against him and arranged for his assassination trial in 1954, Saied Qotb and O'oda being included) who are used as critiques to Nasser's means, I see them much similar to Mamelukes in Muhammad Ali case. A gang hindering a nation to prosper must be set aside at any cost.

Charle De Gaulle stood alone dreaming for "Free France" while others accepted Nazi occupation of Paris and looked at it as a fact of life. He believed it will pass, and he lived for this and achieved it. Imagine if De Gaulle had abided to what is called today "Political Modesty" and "Practical Settelments", what would be the result? This man on his own, was the only French contribution to the glories of World War II. Without him, the French national dignity would have been highly degraded after the war

Martin Luther had a faith in Christianity before clergy drifting, he believed he can restore it, and he did, witness the millions of Protestant nowadays. This man was the one who liberated the western mind from the theological domination, releasing humanity to prosper in the renaissance. Later on, even the Roman Catholic Church was obliged to show some modesty and loosen its ironic hand; therefore it can keep some followers. To this man, I believe the world as we know today owes much

Galileo Galilee stood on his own in front of the Vatican power that was huge in his time, defended science and lived for it, some sees his apparent surrender later on as a defect, which I understand, but the ability to face death differs from a man to another and I can never call it immoral. The man was not strong enough to face death when exposed to it. However, this can never abolish his achievements and the horizons he opened to humankind.

Muhammad Abdo with his developed faith in Islam that fits the modern lifestyle, he faced Azhar clergy and he lived for his faith. Some visualize the period he spent in France trying to find a window to talk to people as immoral, I do not share this opinion. He was rejected here so he found another menard to voice his ideology. I do not find it immoral. Moreover, I think I might do it oneday myself, so I am the last to blame his on this.

Averroes did much closed to what Luther and Abdo did and he even lived a more tough life due to his faith. He coupled logic and Islamic faith in his writings. Also he re-introduced the Aristotle philosophy back to Europe through his translations, interpretations and elaborations. He faced a potent attack from his intellectual opponent, "Abu Hamed Gazaly", the head of Asharites. This had never reduced his faith in his own Islamic philosophical approach to life.

M. Hassanien Haikal was one of the rare calibers who did not re-consider his ideology after Nasser deceased and Sadat came-over, till this moment he is standing in the same spot, defending what he believed in one day. Comparing him to "Tawfiq Hakim" in "Consciousness Regained" and to Anis Mansour in many of his books, we shall know the difference between the man of all ages, and the man of values. When he decided to stop writing, I can say I lost the last journalist, for whose articles I used to wait.

Mahamtma Gandhi, believed in one India despite three religions. Shall the Indians follow him? We should not have seen wars between India and Pakistan and tension with Bangladesh, like what is going-on since separation and until today. He resisted a great power, Great Britain in the glory of its utmost power, and he managed to educate his people how the elephant can be kneeled before a persistent peaceful kitten. Moreover, he did it all in peace, without blood shedding.

These are my men of honor, and my role models, and what links them all. Their faith, optimism and dedication. It is all about DOF