If this is how you defend your prophet...

If this is how you defend your prophet, that the caricatures were right, and we should all follow Denmark's example and draw and speak and shout our opinions on Islam…
If this is how you defend your prophet then it is true, Islam is a violent religion, and we should all stand by Denmark and encourage more caricatures.

You are wrong! Many will scream, arguing that those who took part in the burning and destruction are only a minority and they do not represent all Muslims.
That is all nice and true, but I have not seen anyone in the streets condemning these atrocities, denouncing the violence, all I have seen is people talking and talking and talking, while building burned and cars were smashed and churches were stoned. I have seen Marsden agreeing with burning embassies because the o so great prophet was caricaturized.

Like many Muslims, he felt insulted and mad. Of course they were insulted by these caricatures. But I haven't seen a condemnation of Mr. Zarqawi videos, where innocent human beings were beheaded. Mr. Zarqawi, who is still considered a true and devout Muslim, because no sheikh, not one, has dared to call him an apostate for his crimes, while the scholar Abi Zaid has been declared apostate because he dared write a book about reforming Islam.

I am disgusted! Educated people, people from all wake of life have suddenly marched in the streets calling for violent actions against Denmark, arguing that an apology is not enough. While thousands of people died in Sudan killed by Muslims and no one cared, while poverty, crime and oppression strangle the region and no one cared.
With all these atrocities, problems and tragedies they only marched to the streets to defend one man's honor. A man, no matter how great and holy he was1400 years ago, but is still only a man.

Before exploding into a rightful rage and accusing the west of taking part in another episode of the eternal Zionist imperialist conspiracy, just look into your selves and then speak, if you still have the courage…

At last, I can only apologize to all those who were outraged by what happened but were insulted by what I said. But as long as you remain silent and do not oppose those who have hijacked Islam, then they will prosper and multiply, until Islam truly becomes the religion Ben Laden and Al Zarqawi preach about.

Once a Muslim…

Detlev Mehlis report

Did you listen to what the people said, minutes after Hariri was killed? Every Lebanese knew who killed him! They knew and they shouted it, loud and clear, when they marched on Martyrs Square.

After 250 days, Mr. Hariri can finally rest in peace. Detlev Mehlis the Head of the UN probe into the assassination of Prime Minster Hariri has pointed a finger. In his 50 page long report, Judge Mehlis drew a picture of the circumstance surrounding the crime, how it was prepared and executed and who were the perpetrators.

It was not a surprise! Judge Mehlis said that "converging evidence point towards" the Lebanese-Syrian security apparatus that ruled the country since President Lahoud came into office in 1998. He even spoke about a role in the crime played by Maher Assad and Assaf shaoukat, respectively brother and brother in law of Syrian President Bashar Assad..

A great deal was said on the report and a greater amount shall be said, but the main point is that this is a primary account of the investigation, a sort of an outline. It goes without saying that there is no hard evidence listed or definite suspects accused –expect ofr the phone records-, for this is still an on going investigation and listing these information might jeopardize it

However, the investigation into the telephone records of the suspects sheds a light on who was involved and what were their roles and the extent of the conspiracy. And here again the Lebanese were proved right. They Knew al along that their so called President Emil Lahoud, had a hand in the crime, for he received a phone call minutes before the explosion, from one of the suspects.

The report is not a final accusation or indictment, that should be left to a court of Law. This is only a step, a first and important step towards solving – for the first time in the Arab world- a political crime that targeted one of the most prominent politicians in Lebanon.

Finally I cannot but thank Judge Mehlis for his dedication, objectivity and above all his steadfast resolve to uncover the truth, the whole truth, no matter the dangers, impediments or threats that face him.

Thank you Judge Mehlis

A country full of surprises

I was barely awake when my phone rang, and my dad urgently asked me to open the TV for the UN chief investigator in Rafic Hariri's assassination has issued orders to arrest the three ex-leader of the security apparatus in Lebanon as suspects (These three are part of the five top brass who effectively ruled the country with their Syrian counterpart, until the Syrian troops withdrawal, and still held a lot of clout on Lebanon's shady security apparatus)

I felt as if someone emptied a bucked of cold water over my head! What? Who? How? I switched the TV on and watched some of the best news bulletins ever. Especially when they announced that Nasser Kandil, one of the staunchest Pro-Syrian ex-MP ever, was among those who will be incarcerated for further questioning. Oh how low has the mighty fallen!

I immediately remembered the post I started writing - a couple of days ago, for my blog- about the eerie atmosphere that permeated Lebanon, for the last month or so. As everyone anxiously awaited Detlev Meliss (the UN investigating team's chief investigator) final report, dreading its conclusion and their effects on our fragile country.

Therefore, here are parts of what I wrote a couple of days ago so you could have a feel of the surprising twist of events that happened overnight:

"Time seems to stand still in Lebanon these days. As if the Lebanese people are holding their collective breath, waiting for the release of final report of the UN probe in Hariri’s assassination.

Lebanon feel deserted, most tourists -who dared in the first place to come to Lebanon in these troubled times- have started packing. Our esteemed politician have migrated en mass to Paris. People are still commuting and going out but their minds seem elsewhere. Most restaurants and shops are open, but work is scare, people go to work and sit all day long staring at walls and dreading the worse.

The tension is palpable. Anxiety on what will happen is running high. So it is no wonder that the rumor mill has run amok. One day Hezbollah was behind the assassination, another it is the Palestinians who are behind it.

Rumors range form the plausible to the nightmarish, and even to the outright ridiculous like the accusation that Meliss – the chief investigator of the UN team- is working, once again, for the Israelis (another addition to the grand conspiracy theory that never seems to abate)

What will the UN report will say no one knows but it sure will send tremor throughout the political and civil fabric of Lebanon. Let us hope that our country will not unravel back into civil war."

What happened today amounted to an explosion. Suddenly everything seems to moving at breakneck speed. All the bottled up anxiety and fears have materialized. We are no longer waiting for events to happen, we are in the middle of them. So brace yourselves and hope for the best.

IIMCR Symposium as i lived it!

Finally, I got around to writing about the IIMCR one month symposium in Cyprus. It will be a two part piece, in the first part I will talk about my impressions of Cyprus. The second part will be about the symposium proper, the participants and most importantly the many friends I made. Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean, just 300 km off the coast of Lebanon, it is quite a nice place -for a vacation!- long beaches, quiet towns and a few cities.

I was struck by several strange facts when I arrived on this Island. Foremost among them was the cost of living. Cyprus is unbelievably expensive! It is so expensive that even basic grocery cost a fortune.

Cyprus is crazily expensive – I can’t stress that enough- and for no reasons at all. I could understand why London, Paris or New York are expensive, but why Cyprus? It is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean with some tourist centers, nothing extraordinary or unique. Even more, the whole island suffer from bad plumbing (private IIMCR joke!)

Another issue I had with this island was the weather. Cyprus was very hot and dry especially in Nicosia, the capital which is situated in the middle of the island. Mind you I come from Lebanon and our summers are fairly hot, but in Nicosia it was scorching hot.

At noon and untill five it is suicide to just walk outside. And maybe this is why Cypriots take -every single day in the week- a long siesta between 1 and 4, when all life grinds to a halt, even banks and goverment offices.

Cyprus also suffer from a strange condition, I would tentatively called horizontality. Their urban landscape is so spread, so horizontal. That even in down town Nicosia or Larnaka (their two main cities) there is not a single tall building to speak of, just some five or six story buildings in an area that supposedly should be filled with skyscrapers.

And what makes it even more annoying is the fact that everything is so distant. A walk to the local grocery or even from the dorms to the university is a 10 to 15 minutes trip. It was crazy; you could not get anywhere walking. Cyprus is defiantly a car country.

Strangely enough for all the cars they own, Cypriots drive like maniacs and the country lacks proper sidewalk. You would be very lucky if you could find a small stretch of dirt to walk on away from the road and its very real dangers.

All in all, Cyprus would have been nice for a one week or a ten days vacation. But for a one month academic symposium it was not the place to be!

Out of touch

I haven’t posted in a long time for I am in Cyprus attending the International Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution (IIMCR) Symposium on the Middle East, in Nicosia Cyprus from the 18th of June till the 16th of July.

Until now it has been fantastic. I made many friends from all over the world, and we are having a lot of discussion and conversations on lots of issues ranging from the Israeli Palestinian conflict to the situation in Iraq and Iran nuclear ambitions.

Moreover the Academic part has been great so far. We had many interesting speakers, like Saeb Oreakat the chief Palestinian negotiator and many simulations of negotiation and mediation.

I will write a more comprehensive report on the IIMCR Symposium and my experience there, when I come back in mid July.

Here comes "Le General"

General Aoun has just accomplished a very rare feat in Lebanon's political life. He peacefully turned the tables on the power that is – the Joumblatt Hariri and Kornet Sehwan coalition.

Aoun swept all the seats in the first two constituencies of Mount Lebanon, toppling most of the other Christian figures. And he almost won an impossible victory in Baabda-alley, the third constituency, which is considered one of Walid Joumblatt private fiefdoms.

General Aoun has just entered the very exclusive club of Lebanese factions that control the Parliament (in addition to the Hariri, Jumblatt, Hizbullah and Nabih Berry’s bloc) and completely changed the Lebanese political arena.

One of the most striking changes due to Aoun's victory, is that no one will be able to outset Emile Lahoud, the current pro-Syrian President, from office after the election. Not even the once mighty Hariri-Joumblatt alliance.

For General Aoun has repeatedly declared that he will not accept the removal of the Maronite President. And now, after his victory, Aoun and his parliamentary bloc have the means to obstruct any parliamentary motion to remove the president from his office.

Another consequence is the sounding political defeat befallen Jumblatt and his ally Saad Hariri. The great majority they thought they will get (more than 80 MP) has evaporated. And their Christian allied faction (Kornet Shehwan) is now officially dead. They are now left with only with Nabih Berry and Hizbullah. And their prospects for a clear victory in the north are diminishing by the hour, especially after the reconciliation of Sleiman Frangieh and Omar Karame and their alliance with General Aoun.

General Aoun has accomplished in these elections what Bashir Gemayel did with political assassination. He has become the uncontested Christian political leader, with influence that transcends the many confessional barriers.

The General will lead a parliamentary bloc of around 20 to 25 deputies (depending on the last round of election). Most of them are young, university graduates and moderate Lebanese who did not participate in the civil war.

These new arrivals will hopefully introduce some greatly needed fresh blood in the Parliament, which could help with Lebanon's economic and political problems. Moreover General Aoun’s free patriotic movement is the only group of the four others that have a clear set and defined electoral program.

However, General Aoun’s victory allowed some of Syria’s staunchest allies to return to the Parliament. Like MPs Michel Murr and Sleiman Frangieh. A fact that might alienate many Lebanese, who consider Syria and its cronies as the source of most of their country’s problems.

Finally, General Aoun victory will profoundly change the political life in Lebanon. Although, some of these changes look very promising, the rest further assert the need for a radical overhaul of the Lebanese political elite and institutions.

In the end, the real consequences of this victory depend on Aoun’s future actions. If he sticks to his announced reform program and secular principles, then maybe his stormy entrance to the Parliament will herald the first steps of Lebanon's on the one thousand miles road towards democracy and prosperity. If not, then he will become just another corrupt politician in an ever-growing repertoire.