Battling faulty sharia law

"Islam is like new wine in old bottles."

I met with Dr.Hassan Hanafi, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cairo. The Pakistani Government recently approved a bill that argued for a change in the old sharia law that stated that for rape a woman would need four witnesses.

Dr. Hanafi's writings on sharia and islam helped provide the necessery facts needed to refute such a faulty sharia interpretation (one that only Pakistan had), and he was consulted by President Musharraf throughout the whole process. The only time four witnesses is needed is to prove zina (adultery). And for that to be proved, the witnesses have to see both organs meet. The design of this law is basically such that it is next to impossible for four people to see the organs meet. Thus next to impossible to ever accuse anyone of adultery.

Desert Beauty

This is the main building at Anafora in Egypt. It is basically built in the middle of dry vast lands, eqivalent to a desert with trees growing scarcely. There is sand everywhere. More can be read about it if you go to the archives and click on February.

Craft at its finest

Taken of a mosque in Alexandria, Egypt on my last trip in January 2007.

Cairo Book Fair 2007

Theme: Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian Nobel Prize
Winner of Litterature in the year 1989.

Bush starrs in Arabic Music Video

In my hotel room in Cairo I saw this music video by singer Shams, Ahlan Ezayak (Hi, how are you). It criticizes in a comical way the whole Bush Administration's dealings with Iraq and Guantanamo as well as touching on the topic of plastic surgery. Refreshing for a change. Watch it here.

Bibliotheca Alexandria

The library in Alexandria, Egypt.

Covered in letters from the world's alphabets.

A wonder in Egypt

Cheop's Pyramid, Giza
2,3 million stone blocks

Shaykhspeara meets Hans Blix

If you had a chance to ask Hans Blix a question, you know, the former UN Weapons Inspector to Iraq, the man who told President Bush that there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction, what would you ask him?

I was in Alexandria earlier this year together with a group from Sweden and we were in luck because Hans Blix had decided to go there for his vacations as well as hold a lecture at the Bibliotheca Alexandria on his WMD report. So the Swedish Institute in Alexandria were kind enough to host us together with Blix for a lunch and a small lecture/discussion.

He talked about the importance of not claiming to have the truth but rather be in search of it, pointing towards the US Administration's persistent claims (backed by both CIA and MI5) of the existence of WMD's contrary to the finds of the UN. Also Blix described how sophisticated the techonology has become in detecting if there is nuclear action in a country through what is called environmental sampling, just by analyzing water samples.

Iran is the latest name on the Nuclear discussion agenda. I decided to play it dumb and ask Blix, why exactly everyone is on Iran's back and is there any law or resolution or agreement that would prohibit Iran from developing nuclear power for energy purposes?

In 1968 a non-proliferation agreement was established which meant that those who signed the agreement were not to posess, produce or fight with nuclear weapons. Iran signed this agreement. The agreement does not say anything about forbidding refinement of Uranium or using that nuclear energy for energy purposes. Even Sweden uses that.

-"No you are right," Blix answered, "there is no agreement or resolution that prohibits Iran."
-"So why does the international community hold one tone with Iran whilst other countries remain in posession of fully developed nuclear weapon capabilities? How do you justify it legally?"
-"Well", he continued, "legally we cannot, however we do not want the region to become destabilized and also there are concerns that if Iran posesses the capability to refine Uranium they can also produce nuclear weapons. I do not think they will and we haven't found enough evidence to prove they are hosting illegal activity."
-"But don't they have a right to deliver energy resources to their growing population just like Sweden does?"
-"Yes of course, we are not against Iran having nuclear energy. We have been presenting a solution where Iran can purchase the Uranium at a low cost from a controlled market and then use it for its nuclear energy plants."

I do not wish to see yet another country with nuclear weapons or capabilities however, I cannot help but see the absurdity in the rhetoric against Iran. There is clearly no international law or agreement to restrict Iran yet one has chosen to use another tone and treatment against Iran that I see will inspire nothing but a disrespect for International Institutions and the world community at large. How do you tell Irani youth (and all other Arab and Muslim youth who have been drilled with the idea of a "western" conspiracy and double-standard against them) that one set of laws apply to them because they are Iranis (or whatever else is the fashion to dislike at the moment) while Israel, Pakistan, the US and India have fully developed nuclear weapons?

This is the challenge all of us who wish to work for a more balanced and peaceful world face. Peace Organisations, International Institutions and world leaders wont be able to convince people to follow international law when they adjust it to whatever winds are blowing at the moment.

Anafora in Pictures

Anafora, Egypt: Bishop Thomas whom I wrote about earlier, created this haven during the past 20 or more years. Where the food is home grown and organic and nothing but natural light during the day and candles at night is used to light up the interior.

Proverb in the sand

-Man ya3eesh yara; he who lives shall see

I was flying back to Sweden from Alexandria when we got the news at 1 am that no plane had landed or taken off from Alexandria's Burg el Arab airport in more than 3 days. Off to the Hilton courtesy of Lufthansa for a 3 hour nap. At 9 am our bus was to take us to Cairo Airport and subsequently home. No bus arrived and no word from Lufthansa. I did what any sane person would do; ran out at the back of the hotel to the amazing beach and played around in the water. The sand was like soft cake so I decided to cover as much of it in Arabic writing as I could.

Literally living in a Box

Cairo: Taken on my recent trip to the "mother of the world". I stopped as I saw Ahmad arranging his bottles in his makeshift home.

-"Can I take your picture please?" I asked him.
-"My picture? But why? You know you can get into trouble for that. The authority doesn't want scenes like this to be spread around the world."

As odd as it was the he lived in a box, what was even more remarkable was his resigned attitude towards his situation. He didn't ask for a penny although he was clearly in need. What do you say to a man like that?

To the Egyptian authorities however I would like to say, "3eib 3aleykom". (Shame on you)

Shaykhspeara in Egypt: Bishop Thomas

Irini: Peace in Coptic.

In a small area between Alexandria and Cairo, Bishop Thomas has created Anafora. A spiritual retreat and getaway for people of all religions to meet and get to know eachother.

In the fall of 2006 he was in a car accident on the road to Cairo with a Swedish family. The mother and daughter passed away and the father and Bishop Thomas made it with serious injuries.

I met with him more than a week ago at his place in Anafora. I was informed he wasn't to be tired out so brief was the word. I had questions about the situation of the Copts in Egypt, being a Christian minority in a Muslim majority.

"Layers, it's all about layers" he started. "On a social level things may seem OK, people meet, socialize attend each others parties and gatherings."

He turned to me and my group and asked us "How frank can I be with you?"

"I wanted to set up a school for the poorer children at Al Qusayr where they would be able to learn foreign languages like English, French or German. At the bottom of the list of languages that would be available to study I had placed Coptic."

Apparently the man incharge of supervising the project in that particular area had taken one look at the list and said; Coptic? What's that?

Bishop Thomas was asked to remove it saying it was not allowed to teach it in the school.

"In my area (Asyout, Al Qusayr), a new church hasn't been built since 1932, it is next to impossible to get permission to build one or restore an existing one there and yet when I travelled to Uppsala (Sweden) and a new mosque was about to be approved to be built I got the question whether I thought it was a good idea to let the Muslims in Sweden build a mosque or not. I told them, let them build it. Why not?"

And yet in Cairo you see many new churches. It was never clear whether it is Egyptian law that discriminates or Egyptians in charge themselves. In Cairo I met with Hisam, a young Coptic Egyptian who had a different view on life as a Coptic in Cairo. It was clad with far less reservations against the ruling majority.

However Egypt is a vast land and one area can differ from the other in attitude and implementation of laws.

Bishop Thomas left me with a slightly worried feeling, of the increasing polarization in between Muslims and other Muslims and non Muslims, brought on by the growing media influences of islamo-political channels in the Muslim world. Each channel with its own message and direction indirectly not letting its viewers accept any other message or point of view, being far from self-criticism.

The issue of the situation of the Copts in Egypt was raised by our group with a local muslim NGO and they were all surprised and upset to hear about the attitude towards the coptic language. Hopefully they will carry on investigating the why's and why not's.

In this globalized world it is ever more clear that you can be a minority and a majority at the same time. A Muslim minority in Sweden a Christian majority in Sweden, and a Muslim majority and Christian minority in for example Egypt. In a position of dependance and power, all at once. With added awareness and responsibility as a result of that, but do we take heed?