The more accurate picture

I don't want to look at the bigger picture anymore, it matters very little when the smaller one is this dark.

All I can see right now is, Lebanese people shooting at other Lebanese people. All I can see is, people eager to start shooting, put up barricades, and split Beirut into "Manate2" [zones].

At this moment, I care very little whether this was orchestrated by the US, or Syria. Iran, or Israel. If I look carefully, all I can see is, Lebanese people shooting at Lebanese people.

Is Islamic culture stronger than Barbie?

"Promoting figures like Barbie, Batman, Spiderman and Harry Potter and the uncontrolled import of CDs of video games and films should alarm all the country's officials," Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi was quoted as saying by the student ISNA news agency.

"We need to find substitutes to ward off this onslaught, which aims at children and young people whose personality is in the process of being formed," he added.

Dori Najafabadi's comments came in a letter to an Iranian vice president, urging measures to protect "Islamic culture and revolutionary values".

This was not how I intended to get back to the blogsphere after my long hiatus, but statements like these truly infuriate me.
What is really alarming, and what is a real crisis is what hides behind this pronounced anti-western sentiments Muslims [Or at least those who speak for them] seem to be competing over. I think it hides a serious inferiority complex, one that people seem in complete self-denial about.

Is there any other explanation to all the fuss we get whenever there's a westerner who converts into Islam? Is it that we think it makes our case stronger? Is it that we think they ARE better than us, and their recognition raises us a little bit more? Is there any other explanation for why we keep quoting those western journalists with such vigor [For a wider perspective on this, you might want to read Rime's post]? Why is it that an American reporter who knows close to nil about the region, is always more authoritative a source [To us, that is. Depending which side of the divide you're on, you will have your own list of journalists.] than any local reporter, or even an expat journalist who might happen to know the region [Yes, standards of academic research and reporting are higher, most of the time. But, that is not the reason why we love them so much, if it was, we wouldn't have been so selective about WHO we listen to].

It just seems that those who are most critical of and most aggressive towards the "decaying west" appear to be, at the end of the day, the most desperate for its approval, at least subconsciously.

But, doesn't it make sense? Isn't it the simple law of Identity. Whenever a component of your Identity is in danger [or is perceived to be in danger], you magnify it until it eats up all other parts of your identity. And the poorer your perception of your identity gets, the less confidence you have in it. And the less confidence you have, the more aggressive, defensive and eventually a defeatist, that you become.

And all these Salfis/Wahabis/etc... who present their magical banner of "Islam is the Solution", in the form of letting go of all these "western" influences that we have been misguided to think of as civilization, or at least a collective development for the human race, shut out the rest of the world and go back to the "real Islam". Then and only then will we be victorious again. Then and only then will Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo be back as the centers of human cultures.
The bitter irony of it, is that the main characteristic of that Islamic Empire they pine so much for, in its Golden age, was how confident it was in its own identity, and thus, how open, tolerant and receptive it was towards other cultures.

Only a crisis of confidence in one's identity, produces such a feeling of inferiority, and that of intimidation towards the "west". And this, I believe, has been a major obstacle that kept us stalled at the same spot [if not moving backwards] for nearly 700 years to date. The only real collective attempt to overcome this chronic condition was the Arab renaissance. Unfortunately, it was nipped in the bud.

P.S.: Just to preempt any comments about the subject. Having said that, it doesn't mean I am blind to the role the "west" played in us reaching this low, but since everyone seems to be well on top of their game in pointing the injustice and cruelty inflicted on us [And there has been plenty], I thought maybe "some" self-criticism was in order.

When I started writing, and before it developed into a full blown boring essay, I was only gonna say this:

"النائب العام الإيراني يطالب بحماية الثقافة الإسلامية من دمية الـ"باربي

كس اختها لهي الثقافة, أو الدين, أو القيم, أو... اللي رح تهدمها لعبة باربي. وبس.

Hewar in Kyoto

Kinan Azmeh and Issam Rafea - Dance

A crazy cycle of Sushi, Sake, Music and Sleep deprivation would be the only way to describe those 3 days spent in Kyoto. Rushing out from one taxi to the other, from one temple to the other, and from one sushi joint to the next. Leaving stuffed up with food, images, and the sound of 3 syrians laughing disturbingly [as we'd find out later] out loud.

This blog is not dead!

I have been an absentee blogger for the most part during the last couple of months. In no way does that mean I stopped reading what you all have been writing. It's actually more rewarding sometimes, to just read.

I have also been somewhat busy with other projects I'm involved in. Namely, GV Lingua Arabic and CouchSurfing. As well as getting the best out of this holiday from school and believe me, I AM.

Anyways, I'm still in that place where I can't find it in me to write about any of the things I want to write about.

Meanwhile, here's an interview that the wonderful Amira had with me for Global Voices.

A Syrian blogger in Japan? That's no other than our Syria author and Arabic Lingua editor Yazan Badran, who has agreed to sit with us this week for our Blogger of the Week series of interviews with Global Voices Online authors and volunteers.

Who is Yazan Badran and what does he do? What interests him and what annoys him?

“I am a Syrian, and a Human. I grew up in Latakia, which is a little sleepy city on the eastern Mediterranean. In my early years I spent the summers in Beirut, another Mediterranean city, not-so-sleepy, though. Culturally, I am as Levantine as they come.

My parents were veteran Marxists, and my grand parents were highly-respected religious figures, one of the many paradoxes and extremes that gave me interesting insights into very different worlds of thought, something I feel very privileged to have had at such a young age.

Humans interest me in a profound way, and in many ways I find myself on the extreme side of anthropocentrism. Interests? First and far most, travel. Then comes Philosophy, Literature and Photographic arts, Politics and Technology are the areas that fascinate me the most.

Annoyances are a slippery road. I am very easily annoyed [something I'm not too proud of], whether it is someone parking their cart in the middle of a supermarket aisle, or having to watch Fox News covering just about any story,” says the 21-year-old blogger.

What are you studying in Japan and what has it got to do with blogging?

Well, I am a Monbukagakusho Scholar, studying Computer Science at Nagoya Institute of Technology. What has it got to do with blogging? Well, it depends. My studies per se are not quite influential in my blogging; I don't blog about Technology much, but the cultural experience of living in Japan, learning the language, and studying in that (very) foreign language has affected what I blog about, and how I blog.

How long have you been blogging and why? What do you blog about mostly?

I've been blogging since June 2005, which is just a little less than three years. At that day, a car bomb in Beirut had assassinated Samir Qassir, someone that I had much respect for. The event itself, and its context shook me deeply. I felt it was extremely important to voice out the individuals. In an area where we live daily with interconnected conflicts, it becomes easy to forget the humans, the individuals, in favor of the “Causes” that are always “Just” in the eyes of their beholders. I wanted to write about me, simple and clear. I wrote much about politics, religion, society and development, but I was always very careful to remind every reader that it was very personal. When I wrote about politics it was politics that was personal to me. And with the number of national and international media personnel covering these conflicts, each with their own agendas, and each claiming objectivity to himself, it was important to have people who are just that, individuals.

How long have you been with Global Voices Online and why?

I came to Global Voices in February 2006. The next day riots in Damascus torched the Norwegian and Danish embassies in Damascus. That was my first article on Global Voices. It was something very painful to watch, never mind writing about it. But the amount of reaction, and the kind of reaction the Syrian blogsphere took that day was and still one of the reasons I still blog, and in a way one of the reasons I write for Global Voices. I don't want to mention the obvious, Global Voices has been covering many stories that conventional media wouldn't think of covering, and in many ways they seem to be the only ones worth covering. Representing the Syrian blogsphere in such a diverse environment seemed extremely important for two main reasons; One is the amount of encouragement that will give to what was a young, small blogsphere that was to grow ever rapidly since then. The second, is that it represent the “individuals” which is exactly what I went out to do when I started blogging.

In a nutshell, can you describe the Syrian blogoshere? As Syria author, what interests you about the Syrian blogosphere? Who are your favourite bloggers and what do they write about? Are Syrian bloggers a true reflection of Syrian society?

When I first started blogging, back in June 2005, there were only a handful of blogs out there [maybe eight]. Ayman Haykal, was the first blogger I'd read, and his enthusiasm about blogging Syria was enormous that I can safely say he inspired many people to keep blogging at a point when we seemed very lonely.

Now, the picture is very different, the Syrian blogsphere is one that is growing rapidly. And more importantly the amount of quality blogs is increasing. That growth was extremely hindered last year with the government's censorship of all (.blogspot) blogs, but I can safely say that it has started to recover again, with many people returning with ever more enthusiasm, switching to other blogging platforms just to circumvent the blocking.

Is it representative of the Syrian society? I can't really say that. A great number of bloggers are expats [including myself], and those who are inside Syria mostly blog in English. Lately the blogsphere has been expanding horizontally, with many blogs in Arabic or switching to Arabic, which is a good sign, because it helps paint a more sincere picture of Syria.

There are many great bloggers out there, many of them have come to be good friends at one point. I can only mention a few. Ayman Haykal, whom I'd mentioned earlier. Abu Fares is our own rock-star famous blogger, whom I've interviewed for GV before. Omar Faleh, whose posts I personally relate to very much. Razan Ghazzawi, whose conviction, enthusiasm and activism, in real life just as much as on the blogsphere has been a real inspiration for the last year. And many many others - Rime Allaf, The Syrian Brit, Omar Salaymeh, Sasa, Abu Kareem, Wassim.

Describe your work at Arabic Lingua and tell us about your plans and future hopes for the site?

I am the editor for the Arabic Lingua project. I run a wonderful team of volunteer translators, and do translations myself.

Lingua seemed like the natural expansion of GVO. As someone mentioned before, to actually call ourselves Global, we need to speak Globally. So now GV speaks more than 10 languages. Which is, to say the least, amazing. Arabic Lingua is a part of this family. It is important to bring all these wonderful diverse stories from authors all around the world to the reach of Arabic readers. It was important to bridge that gap between Middle Eastern blogs that blogged in Arabic and those that blogged in English. When I translate an article from an Arab country, and all the links are to blogs that blog in English, I am linking them to a whole new audience who otherwise would not read it. And vice-versa.

Arabic Lingua is still a very young project [we were officially launched just before the new year]. So for now we are trying to keep a flow of articles appearing on the site, and sustain that flow to build up a readership. Future plans include more systematic focus on regions other than MENA, as to serve in widening the sphere of interest for Arabic readers. Quality is also something that is very important, to develop methods to determine the quality of a certain translation and how to improve that; something that is very important because all of us are just amateur translators.

When not online, what do you do? What are your hobbies and interests?

I am in love with the outdoors. Coming from the Mediterranean, both the sea and the mountain feels like natural habitat to me. I am happy to spend days on end camping out in the wonderful mountains around here in Japan. Travelling is also a real passion of mine. The simple conversations and everyday encounters while travelling are of my dearest memories. Swimming, walking and playing basketball is how I (try) to keep myself in shape. Music and Reading are as personal as politics to me. And, watching a Stanley Kubrick or Woody Allen movie with a glass of vodka is also known as a personal pastime.

Can you talk to us a bit about being an Arab in Japan? How different are the customs and traditions; people and attitudes; and everyday living from life in Syria?

Japan, is a very interesting experience. But like every other interesting experience, it is a very difficult one. The really difficult part is not being an Arab in Japan, as much as being a Foreigner in Japan. Being a foreigner in Japan is something that's been talked about again and again, so I won't go into that.

How different? As different as it can get. The main fundamental difference would be that Syria is a society with extremely complex ethnic, historic, religious and social backgrounds to every stone and every person. While Japan is an Island that was isolated from the outside world until 200 years ago, so it developed a very distinct culture. That is something that determines many aspects of your daily life. The matter of fact is, Japan is a country that you Need to be a part of in order to live comfortably in. Yet, it is not one that will accept you easily. Everyday here brings a new experience, but what makes it special is that most of these experiences borderline on the Extremes.

Final thoughts?

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. I am personally very proud to be a member of this GV family, along with an amazing team of volunteer authors and translators. GVO is a wonderful symbol of how the Internet has changed the world, and ourselves, to the better.

Change

Walking down a street that you've never walked, not knowing where it leads, walking down such a street is intoxicating beyond belief.

I'm wrapping up my second year in Japan. Almost 2 years since April 2006.

And this, aforementioned feeling, is probably the most amazing thing that Japan has given me. Japan, as in, the whole experience.

For Tariq

It is important, to sound out. Even if very few will hear.

It is important to try, just try, to challenge the hegemony of fear.

For what it's worth, We Support Tariq.

[Tariq, is a fellow blogger, who was arrested for leaving a comment on a public forum, criticizing the Security Apparatus.]

More...
Free Tariq Campaign's Main Website.
Sign the Free Tariq Petition.
Razan's extensive coverage on the subject.

لبنان الجديد, طلع لحم بعجين. كمان مرة!

رشيد: خمسة شباب لبنانية, خمسة شباب لبنانية عم يتمشو. مثلاً يعني. اي هودي مش خمسة, هودي واحد و واحد و واحد و واحد و واحد. هيك بيطلعو.

الحكيم: اي بيطلعو خمسة.

زياد: ما بيطلعو خمسة.

الحكيم: شو بيطلعو؟

زياد: ما بيطلعو ما مخهن معكوف بيفردو ما بيقدرو يطلعو.
لأنو مثلاً عالعكفة, ما الزلمي بعكفة, هلق عكفة على عكفة حكيم ما بتلقط معك بتزحط, بيصير في ما بيعود في مجال بيطلعو, بيجو ليطلعو بيزحطو. يعني هالعكفة مثلاً, واحد و واحد و واحد بيجو , بس بيضلو, ما بيطلعو.
واحد و واحد و واحد, حد بعض يعني, وووووو, هيك عرفت كيف مثلاً, ما في شي انو شي بيأثر على شي تاني. كل شي, شي. شي شي شي, بهالشكل مثلاً. مثلاً ما في مثلاً, شييي. شو هوي؟ ما في! مظبوط يا خيي؟
عرفت كيف حكيم؟

الحكيم: لا, ما فهمت عليك, ما فهمت عليك رشيد.


رشيد: العمى ليه؟؟

زياد الرحباني - فيلم أميركي طويل.

An Unplanned Friday Night

I caught the train that runs to downtown Sakae, and like every other friday night, I made my way down to Heaven's Door. The small bar down in the basement of the liveliest district of Nagoya. To the upsetting of my perfectly ordinary friday night, the door said "Closed until next week".

Disappointed, and quite uneasy with the fact that I won't get my dose of intoxication with beer, nicotine, and Bob Dylan, I refuted the idea to call anyone or try any other bars, and made my way home through the big puzzle of little alleys that connects this city.

It was a very picturesque walk. I was already armed with the over coat and the scarf around my neck. The hands in the pockets. The melancholy of Pamuk's Istanbul, and the echoes of the last two hours of Maya's Manifesto. Tom Waits telling me that he's "in love with a jersey girl...". A fair baggage of painful memories, a road that goes ahead and little drops of rain pouring every now and then.

If this was a movie, this would be where all the revelations come pushing through, and driving the hero either to death or discovering his hidden success.
It was all too suited for that. All too suited indeed, that I walked into the first bar that had decent music and effectively anesthetized all these seeds of revelation.

The Alawite Question

For some reason, I have missed this article when it was first published.

2 years on, the same questions linger on.

It is easy for an idealist like me to call them off, but they are still valid questions for many the Syrians on the streets.

And if you don't think so, just check the comment section, and you'll see how very pressing they still are.

It has been argued, times and times again, that the only possibility for a successful coup d'etat, that can hold social cohesion through a transitional period died with General Ghazi Kanaan, who was groomed for such a move [I say that, not without much irony].

A Visit

syria is the kind of place where, within minutes of your arrival, you are transported into an old, 35mm, black and white family movie state, where achingly beautiful scenes bring you back to a not-so-far-away past where life was a bit more simple and pleasures were a bit less hard to reach.

Jimmy, has a wonderful recollection of his Syria visit, with a number of breathtaking photos.