Tweet Shattaf-Phobia not Islamophobia in America By Ahmed Tharwat We have so many phobias in this country; from a fear of olive pits and watermelon seeds, to a fear of foreigners and immigrants. Now it is the fear of Muslims, and Islamophobia. These phobias come and go based on the political climate and the country we are bombing. However, the phobia that has been with us for years is the “Bidet-phobia” – Shattaf – in Arabic. When it comes to butt washing, Americans are very squeamish about it, and using a bidet or water-fountain in their bathroom was always problematic. Forty years ago, as a young Egyptian immigrant, who looked like…
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The Police Shooting, is not a Black and White
Tweet “Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor shot and killed Justine Damond, an Australian woman living in Minneapolis, on July 15 after Damond called 911. The same people who demonize black victims of police shootings accept and support the standard police narrative — he followed the police shooting protocols; the police officer feared for his life; he puts his life on the line every day. Yet Noor has been treated differently.’Somali immigrant cop Mohamed Noor, who shot Justine Damond, was ‘highly celebrated’ by Minneapolis mayor in 2015.” What’s so interesting about this headline from Fox News U.S., a right-wing-nut media outlet, is that it encapsulates the general reaction and mood of…
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What is rude for most Arabs … is not Trump’s Hand-gesture!
Tweet What is rude for most Arabs … is not Trump’s Hand-gesture! Lots of debate and media coverage preceded and followed President Trump’s visit to the Saudi kingdom. Anxieties and expectations filled the air. Trump, who has been behaving like a royal frat boy all his life, was visiting Saudi royalty as his first official overseas visit. Trump, the ISIS of American politics, the one who beheaded more than a dozen career politicians in public… debate, went to Saudi Arabia to talk about ISIS and make Islam great again. In this, Trump was simply keeping with the American presidential tradition of escaping to the Middle East, literally or figuratively, when there’s…