Category Archives: North Africa

censorship, Israel, North Africa

Freedom of Expression in Morocco………

 

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“A Moroccan court on Friday sentenced a man to six months in jail after he raised the Israeli flag over his home to attract the attention of local authorities and protest the disconnection of electricity and water supplies to his home, Moroccan media reported. Mohammed Jadidi, 42, had drawn the Israeli flag on a white cloth and raised it over his home in the Airport neighborhood of the northern predominantly Amazigh (Berber) town of Nador. He reportedly did so after the electricity and water were disconnected to his home, which belonged to the Auxiliary Forces and occupied by his family since the death of his father, who was part of the paramilitary forces. Morocco’s Auxiliary Forces supplement the military, gendarmerie and the police when needed. Jadidi was arrested last Monday and was charged with “sacrilege” through “undermining the national flag.”…………”

I believe that raising a flag is like raising any other sign. It is one way of expression. Punishing someone for raising a flag, be it Israeli or Saudi or Iranian or Fredonian, is stifling the freedom of expression. I even believe displaying the photos of any Arab leader or potentate, even photos of Saudi princes or Bashar Assad, is not necessarily an obscene gesture (so long as they are fully dressed, and I mean ‘fully’). It is just an expression: it can be tasteless but should not be illegal.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, GCC, North Africa, Salafi, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia

The First Arab Revolution Dies: Frenching Saudi Princes in Tunisia………….

 

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“Non-religious individuals and groups ignited and then brought into being the Tunisian revolution. Mohamed Elbouazizi, who was not a religious man and whose act of self-immolation was condemned by many religious authorities, is the iconic figure of the Tunisian uprising that started the Arab Spring. But when the dust settled and the first elections were held across Tunisia, Islamists and their allies took the biggest share of the votes – not the likes of Elbouazizi. Although more than 58% of the voters did not endorse Ennahda, leaders of the Islamist party have acted as if they had an absolute public mandate to govern. Using the institution of the Constituency Assembly, the leaders of Ennahda cobbled together a coalition government headed by a former political prisoner and a historical figure of the Islamist movement. Members of Ennahda controlled the main ministries, including foreign affairs and interior. But the first decisions of the government have shown the speed with which religious idealism has given way to practical realism. One such decision is Prime Minister Hammadi Jebali’s first state visit to Saudi Arabia: a good example of decisive, even cynical, realism. Saudi Arabia is a wealthy clan-ruled Arab state in the Gulf region…………..”

It looks like the visit of Tunisian leader was a formality, to seal the deal. Tunisia is a resource poorer Arab state, meaning it has no petroleum. It has had some Gulf GCC investments, especially in the tourism industry. Tunisia also has had a certain culture and a cosmopolitan atmosphere that is almost certain to be finished now, damaging the tourist industry. From now on it may be quasi-Salafi chic. This visit is to tell the Saudi princes that Tunisia’s revolution is done, that it is open again for business.
To show that he is serious, Tunisia’s regime is making the correct Saudi-style noises about Syria and it is silent about Bahrain and Yemen (very Saudi-style and Western-style). Any day now I expect the Islamist regime in Tunis to issue a Qaddafi-like fatwa banning French in public places, replacing it with short Salafi Gulf  dishdashas (Saudi thobes) and the Saudi red shmagh ghutra. (Also encouraging Saudi style stag French-ing among the elites).
Who knows, once Bin Ali is done with his Wahhabi re-education in the Saudi Gulag, once all his secular misconceptions have been cleansed by the royal Salafi muftis, they may rehire him as an adviser in Tunis.

Cheers
mhg


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Arab Revolutions, Libya, North Africa

Libya at a Crossroad………

    

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“The parade continues in Omar Mukhtar Street a few hundred metres away; there’s a toy shop in the street, and a family is hunting for something suitable for their child in among the pink tricycles and the shiny scooters, without even noticing the parade of weapons going by – that’s daily life in Tripoli. The ruling transitional council has banned firing into the air, but nobody takes any notice of that. They’re firing out of all barrels, with their Kalashnikovs, even with the anti-aircraft guns. It’s a clear message for the transitional council: many of the rebels don’t come from Tripoli, but from Zintan or Misrata. They’re showing their military muscle, to underline the fact that the country’s new rulers will have to take their interests into account as well.. The balance of power in Libya is fragile, and it’s partly based on who has the most firepower. Power in Libya these days is a limited commodity………..”

At least now a plurality of political opinions can be expressed in Libya, something unthinkable under Qaddafi. But they also have a plurality of armed groups with ‘shadowy’ loyalties. Now, can they switch from the guns to the ballot box? I have some doubts about that; the central government doesn’t look very ‘central’. I also suspect that many exiled Libyans who can help rebuild are remaining in exile; that tells me something.
Cheers
mhg


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Libya, Middle East Women, North Africa, Polygamy

Et Dieu… créa la femme: Colonel Qaddafi Playing Sigmund Freud……..

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Green Book: “It is an undisputed fact that both man and woman are human beings. It follows, as a self-evident fact, that woman and man are equal as human beings. Discrimination against woman by man is a flagrant act of oppression without justification for woman eats and drinks as man eats and drinks; woman loves and hates as man loves and hates; woman thinks, learns and comprehends as man thinks, learns and comprehends. Woman, like man, needs shelter, clothing, and transportation; woman feels hunger and thirst as man feels hunger and thirst; woman lives and dies as man lives and dies. But why are there men and women? Human society is composed neither of men alone nor of women alone. It is made up naturally of men and women. Why were not only men created? Why were not only women created? After all, what is the difference between men and women or man and woman? Why was it necessary to create men and women? There must be a natural necessity……..”

I bet there is a “natural necessity”; in fact there are at least two, or three.
No doubt the colonel had women issues: his female guards, his hitting on female Western journalists, his alleged obsession with HIV risks, among other things. But then, which male isn’t? Yet he seemed more obsessed about women ‘issues” than a typical leader (which he was not).
Come to think of it, Qaddafi had many fewer children than, say, rulers of a certain large Arab Democratic People’s Kingdom who usually have tens of offspring from tens of women (often recycled, of course).

Cheers
mhg


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GCC, North Africa, UAE

Casablanca in Abu Dhabi: Kiss of Death in UAE, of Potentates and Cheeks………

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“You must remember this
A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh.
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by……“  Dooley Wilson (Casablanca)

“A teenaged Emirati boy who kissed two sisters was sentenced yesterday to serve time in juvenile detention. MA, 15, was charged with breaking into another’s home and sexual assault after the father of two Emirati sisters, FS and SS, both 13, reported him to the police after finding the boy at his house. After an investigation, it was determined MA did not break into the house, but was let in by the sisters, who he was dating at the same time. FS and SS were referred to court with MA on the same charges…….. Both sisters refused to answer the judge’s questions. They neither denied nor confessed to the charges. The girls were to be delivered to their parents for discipline. The detention centre will determine when MA’s term should end, based on his readiness and whether he is disciplined enough to be released. He can be kept in custody until he turns 18……………”

That kid would have been better off kissing another guy, or some potentates, or a goat for that matter. The potentates in our region love to be kissed (talking male potentates here). I see the al-Nahayan shaikhs kissing each other, and others, all the time (never seen one kiss a real goat, though). I also see many others kissing the potentates on the cheeks, both types of cheeks. After three years in the slammer, the kid ought to learn to save it.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab League, Arab Politics, Humor, Libya, North Africa

Servant of Two Cities: Colonel Qaddafi on Tribes and Nations and Loyalties and WTF else……..

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In his Green Book, Colonel Muammar Qaddafi had some interesting ideas about the role of the tribe in (Arab) society. Remember, he needed the tribes to be with him. His idea of the primacy of the tribe and its role in society would fit in nicely with those of the ruling oligarchs, and many people, of the Gulf GCC states. I am not sure why he claimed he was any different. He could have declared himself king, like the shaikh of Bahrain and given himself the title of Custodian (or Servant or Janitor) of the Two Unholy Cities (Tripoli and Benghazi). Nobody would have dared rise against him.  He could have established his own gaggle of tame Muftis in Bab al-Azizia to justify whatever he did, like other Arab potentates have done.

Green Book: “In the social sense, the familial society is better than that of the tribe, the tribal society is better than that of the nation, and the society of the nation is better than world society with respect to fellowship, affection, solidarity and benefits. Since the tribe is a large family, it provides its members with much the same material benefits and social advantages that the family provides for its members, for the tribe is a secondary family. What must be emphasized is that, in the context of the tribe, an individual might indulge himself in an uncouth manner, something which he would not do within the family. However, because of the smallness in size of the family, immediate supervision is not exercised, unlike the tribe whose members continually feel that they are under its supervision. In view of these considerations, the tribe forms a behaviour pattern for its members, developing into a social education which is better and more noble than any school education. The tribe is a social school where its members are raised to absorb the high ideals which develop into a behaviour pattern for life. These become automatically rooted as the human being grows, unlike classroom education with its curricula – formally dictated and gradually lost with the growth of the individual. This is so because it is formal and compulsory and because the individual is aware of the fact that it is dictated to him. The tribe is a natural social “umbrella” for social security. By virtue of social tribal traditions, the tribe provides for its members collective protection in the form of fines, revenge and defence; namely, social protection. Blood is the prime factor in the formation of the tribe…..………..”

The colonel didn’t need to take so long to reach his point, wtf that was. He makes some common sense on some of the points. That is one thing about Colonel Qaddafi that was interesting: there are nuggets, nay gems, in the middle of the cacophony. That is what distinguished him from other Arab dictators and absolute kings: one never knew what he would say next. As a result, he was never boring to listen to, unlike all other Arab leaders (post-Nasser), who are always boring because we always know what they are going to say, which is nothing.
Cheers
mhg



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Arab Politics, GCC, Humor, Jordan, North Africa

Moroccans are from Mars, the GCC from Venus? Democracy and Humor………..

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“Scientists have confirmed that a rocky meteor that broke apart in the atmosphere and crashed last July came from Mars. The space-faring stones, perhaps blasted free of the Red Planet by an ancient planetary collision, are the first documented Martian debris to fall to Earth in 50 years. The rare meteorites have been scooped from the African sands by collectors and dealers, who are selling them for thousands of dollars. The Martian meteor’s fiery fall through Earth’s atmosphere last year was seen by Moroccan nomads and military personnel………”

That may explain why the Saudi princes are backtracking on their decision to have Morocco join the Gulf GCC. Martians against Venusians, it would never work out. Moroccans are inching closer to a constitutional monarchy, and that is something the Saudis sent their tanks into Bahrain to prevent last year (and still at it this year). I recall they also listed Jordan as a candidate for membership. They probably dropped that for ‘sense of humor’ reasons: Jordanians are supposedly allegedly reputedly reportedly credibly even less humorous than most of the Gulf potentates, possibly less humorous than Adolf Hitler, so why bother?
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Revolutions, Culture, Human Right, Libya, North Africa

North Africa: an Amazigh Revival?………….

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“Najwa Alazabi has another first name, Tiarina, but under Muammar Qaddafi’s rule she could never use it. Tiarina is a traditional name of Amazighs, a North African ethnic minority also known as Berber, and expressions of the Amazigh culture and script were forbidden in Qaddafi’s Libya……… The Amazigh are the original inhabitants of North Africa. Generations of conquerors have slowly eroded the Berber culture and language, while conversion to Islam and the promotion of Arabic as the language of God encouraged assimilation. Qaddafi’s policy of strict Arabization struck a final blow to their identity. Under his rule, Amazigh names, cultural symbols, and their written language were all forbidden. Amazigh activists were routinely harassed and, often, imprisoned. The Amazigh make up approximately eight or nine percent of Libya’s 5.7 million, according to Berber scholars, although after centuries of mixing between Arabs and Amazigh, no one can be sure……….Today, their conception of the own identity can carry some contradictions. Many view their culture as both different and not so different from that of Arabs. Defining themselves in opposition to the dominant Arab identity of Libya could bring them trouble in a country known for strident Arab nationalism…………”

Don’t expect any real improvement of the lot of the Amazigh. Not unless they force the issue. The new leaders were fed from the breasts of Muammar Qaddafi and his regime.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, GCC, Iraq, Libya, NATO, North Africa, Syria, US Foreign Policy

On the Western Liberation of Iraq and Libya and Syria and………….

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“Al-Asaad told us that despite being grossly under-resourced, he is getting more and more recruits every day. The latest reports put the size of the armed opposition force at anywhere between 1,000 and 25,000. In his interview, the colonel told us that he unequivocally is not seeking a coup and supports the Syrian National Council as the legitimate representative of the people. He also stressed that the force he is assembling is inclusive and non-sectarian. Finally, he makes a plea to U.S. President Barack Obama to offer quick and decisive support for the resistance and underscores that the establishment of a buffer zone, as proposed by Turkey and France, could accelerate defections and change the course of the conflict……….”

The Syrians who did not like American intervention in Iraq are now eager for American and French and British (and possibly Israeli) intervention in Syria. That is after the NATO intervention in Libya, which was aided and abetted by the Arabs. The hypocrisy some Arab leaders, and some opinion-makers of the Wahhabi faux-liberal stripe, especially in the Gulf GCC, is breath-taking (I like this last word more and more these days).
These Arabs cheered and helped and participated in the invasion (or liberation) of Iraq, only to turn around and bitterly criticize it when things did not go their way. They even pushed for a second American liberation of Iraq, a retake, just to set things right from the Wahhabi point of view. They practically pushed (an eager) NATO to intervene and liberate Libya from its ruling dynasty even as they helped chain the people of Bahrain to their repressive and corrupt dynasty of thieves.
Now they want to the USA and NATO to liberate Syria from its ‘current’ despotic rulers. Some claim they want the West to liberate Syria from the Assad regime, others that they want NATO to liberate Syria (politically) from Iran, some say they want it liberated from both. Some of them also want to liberate Syria fully by aligning it with the royal theocracy of the People’s Democratic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I wonder if they also want to liberate the Golan, and from whom.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Revolutions, Iraq, Libya, North Africa

“New” Libya: Qaddafi’s Corpse……………

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Saudi network Alarabiya reports that the Libyan rulers (NTC) have decided to bury the corpse of Mu’ammar Qaddafi in an unmarked grace in an unknown location. This is (at least) the second public atrocity committed by the new rulers. The first one, as I wrote here yesterday, was to allow the wounded and captive dictator to be tortured and killed. I wrote that he should have been tried, as Saddam was tried in Iraq for three years. I also speculated that killing Qaddafi was convenient escape for some of Libya’s current leaders and for many Western leaders who dealt with him, for a price.
Now making Qaddafi’s body vanish is another atrocity, another unnecessary act. Saddam Hussein’s grave is known and marked, and it has not caused him to come back to life. A dead body, no matter who had occupied it, deserves some dignity, one of many things the new rulers of Libya apparently need to learn after 40 years of dictatorship.

All this is a worrisome sign for the “New” Libya: it resembles what happened in Iraq when the Ba’athists (and their allies) first took over.
Cheers
mhg

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