Month: February 2008

Big Fat American Wedding

I WAS INVITED TO AN ARAB AMERICAN WEDDING LAST WEEK.THE CEREMONY TOOK PLACE AT A SMALL TOWN OF LESS THAN 3000 PEOPLE IN WESTERN MINNESOTA. I DROVE FOR MORE THAN THREE HOURS ON A SINGLE LANE HIGHWAY, LISTENING TO THE ARAB DIVA UM KALTHUM SINGING, “LOVE IS THE POLLINATION OF JASMINE FLOWER OVER THE WORLD OF LOVERS HEARTS”. HER MAGICAL STRONG VOICE QUICKLY SPREAD OVER THE ENDLESS LANDSCAPE OF BEAN AND CORN FIELDS, MIXING ARAB PASSION WITH THE GENEROSITY OF AMERICAN FARMLAND. I HAVE ALWAYS HOPED THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WOULD BE AS GENEROUS AS THEIR LAND. I FINALLY ARRIVED AT THE TOWN WHERE THE WEDDING WAS TAKING PLACE…BUT WHERE IS EVERYONE? THE STREETS ARE EMPTY. I WONDERED, ARE THEY IN A STATE OF TERRORIST HEIGHTENED ALERT?I KEPT ON DRIVING ON A DUSTY ROAD UNTIL I FOUND WHAT SEEMED TO BE A COUNTY FAIR, WITH LOTS OF CHEVY AND FORD CARS AND PICK-UPS SURROUNDING A BIG TENT NEXT TO AN OLD FARM HOUSE. IT WAS OBVIOUS MOST OF THE TOWN’S POPULATION WAS HERE. HUNDREDS OF FOLKS WERE DRINKING, EATING AND DANCING INSIDE THE BIG TENT HAVING A GREAT TIME. I HAD NEVER SEEN SO MANY NON-MUSLIMS AT A MUSLIM WEDDING BEFORE. THIS WAS THE BIG FAT AMERICAN WEDDING IN REVERSE. I WAS OUTNUMBERED, AND OUT OF MY HOME SECURITY COMFORT ZONE. I DESPERATELY HOPED MY FELLOW WEDDING GUESTS DIDN’T RELY HEAVILY ON FOX CABLE NEWS FOR THEIR DAILY FIX. OR THINK THAT I MADE IT TO THIS WEDDING BECAUSE OF AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OR A GOVERNMENT DIVERSITY PROGRAM.ACTUALLY, I WAS INVITED TO BE THE M-C OF THE WEDDING RECEPTION BY MY FRIEND, THE EGYPTIAN-AMERICAN GROOM. THE WEDDING CEREMONY WAS SHORT AND SWEET, DEVOID OF ANY EXCESSIVE RELIGIOUS OVER TONE. WE ALL SAT INSIDE THE TENT CELEBRATING THE HAPPY OCCASION; NEXT TO A TABLE WHERE A FEW ARAB GUESTS WERE SEATED, AN OLD COUPLE SEEMED TO BE UNCONCERNED THAT AN ARAB GUEST MAY STAND AND START SHOOTING IN THE AIR, AS ARABS CUSTOMARY DO IN THEIR WEDDINGS. SITTING NOT TOO FAR DISTANT THE GROOM’S MOTHER WHO TRAVELED 10,000 MILES TO ATTEND HER SON’S WEDDING; SHE WAS AWFULLY QUIET FOR A MOTHER OF THE GROOM. SHE DOESN’T SPEAK ENGLISH AND THE BRIDE’S PARENTS DON’T SPEAK ARABIC -PERHAPS, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, A BRILLIANT ARRANGEMENT FOR A LONG HEALTHY MARRIAGE. AS THE NEWLYWED COUPLE WAS CUTTING THE CAKE, I WONDERED FOR A BRIEF MOMENT; WHY WOULD A YOUNG AMERICAN WOMAN RISK MARRYING AN ARAB AMERICAN NOWADAYS? HASN’T SHE BEEN ALARMED ENOUGH? AS I WAS DEEP IN MY THOUGHTS THE NEWLYWEDS KISSED AND HUGGED AT THE DELIGHT OF THE CHEERING CROWD. I HAD A GREAT TIME – EVERYONE DID, THE DIVINE POWER OF ALCOHOL OVERCAME ANY POTENTIAL OF UNWARRANTED HOSTILITY. I FINALLY STOOD UP AND ADDRESSED THE EAGER CROWD WHICH WAS CORDIAL AND IN A GREAT MOOD. AFTER THANKING EVERYONE FOR ADOPTING MY FRIEND TO THEIR VILLAGE; I REMINDED THEM THAT IT TAKES A WHOLE VILLAGE TO RAISE A GOOD ARAB. Ahmed 9/2004
Producer/Host of the Arab American TV Show BelahdanMinnetonka, MN

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Eid Celebration … Christmas without the shopping

Eid Eladha (feast of scarifies) commemorating the saving of Abraham son’ Ishmael by the lamb (let us not get picky on which son). As in Christmas when christens hunt for the right tree to bring home. Moslems started their Eid celebration by going hunting for the right lamb to bring home to scarify.Here in Minnesota, WE DO THINGS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. my daughter and I START Eid BY rushing to the early Morning Prayer.IN the segregated prayer room, she is always perplexed BY THE unexplained gender separation. After the brief chanting of god’s greatness … “Allah Akbar, Allah Akber … We BEGIN the Eid prayer, AND the Imam IN HIS three piece suit GIVES a short sermon.We need to stay true to our faith” he TELLS US. “Don’t listen to the extremists’ rants, listen to your heart. AT Social hour, AFTER warm kissing and hugging, bagels replace the traditional Eid cookies for the Eid snack. WE present Elediah- a few new fresh dollar billsto OUR eager happy kids. THEN WE ALL head to… Mall of America, the shopping Mecca of the world..the consumers’ cathedral where millions visit to worship Calvin, Liz, Loren, Tommy and Victoria. FOR Moslems in Minnesota, where winter ELIMINATES any hope of outdoor celebration, Mall of America has become a new cultural sanctuary. Thousands of American Moslems of all ethnicities, nationalities, races and creeds gather to celebrate OUR own native customs and identities. NEXT TO the Betty Crocker Bakery, A few Egyptian men catch up on the latest political jokes in Egypt. Several Palestinian women WATCH nervously AS their kids vanish into the maze AT THE Camp Snoopy indoor playground. A group of Iraqis enjoy a rare peaceful moment by the indoor garden, WHILE not too far AWAY, some Somali men ARE Kneeling down in the corner GETTING READY for the noon prayer. Next to them, a cluster of young Pakistani men ARE listening to their ipods. By the Rainforest Café, some West Africans IN crisp white robes and hats SEEM OBLIVIOUS TO the strange artificial noises COMING FROM the theme restaurant. On the rollercoaster Moslem boys RIDE with Moslems girls, who laugh as their headscarVES ; hjjab, fly over their faces above their unconcerned parents.AND in the middle of the mall a few Moslem women, cloaked WITH their traditional black dress Berkas, walk TOGETHER. Their black unified bodies eclipse the front window of Victoria’s SECRET, BUT they SEEM oblivious to its window undressing displays. WE areN’T shopPING, JUST celebratING. There Are no bags to carry, JUST our kids.No culture idol to worship except our god … No fashion trends to follow, only our traditions. It’s Christmas without the shopping.EVERY YEAR Thousands of MOSLEMS IN MINNESOTA turn the biggest shopping center in the world into a non-shopping mall … Where the biggest gift we get is our free spirit.

Happy Eid Everyone. Ahmed Tharwat, Host Belahdan, Arab American TV Talk Show
[The link bar feature is not available in this web]

::ARABIC MUSIC:: ::OUR GUESTS:: ::SOCIAL ACTIVITIES:: ::LETTER FROM AMERICA:: Cracking the Muslims Mind code ::SPONSORS:: We need your help to get in the picture News and announcement :: MEDIA:: ::LETTER FROM EGYPT:: ::CARTOONS:: ::THE CREW:: ::OUR OBJECTIVES::

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Love My Dog, Love Me

The great Arab-Muslim-American puppy story.
By Ahmed TharwatPosted Friday, Nov. 12, 2004, at 12:44 PM ET
Having a dog in an Arab/Muslim household is an exhausting proposition. Who wants to wash or take a shower every time a dog touches or licks you, as I was brought up to do back home in Egypt? In Islamic tradition, Muslims are prohibited from touching the saliva of dogs. If you do come in contact with a dog, you’re supposed to wash your hands seven times before you pray. Most Muslims will avoid dogs at all cost to stay clean for their daily prayers. There are a few closet Muslim dog lovers, but they tend to keep their dogs outdoors.
Still, after a long nagging from my daughter and a few Internet pictures of an angelic beagle puppy, I reluctantly agreed to let a dog into our home under a few conditions. The dog was to stay downstairs in what is now known in our house as the bunker, and my praying area would be designated a “no-fly” zone for the dog.
We brought home the 6-week-old, 3-pound beagle on a cold, crisp Saturday afternoon. We named him Oliver. A few days after he had arrived at our house, I had to take Oliver with me to the supermarket. I noticed something new was happening out there, something Arab-Americans have rarely experienced since Sept. 11. People on the street, in their cars, in the parking lot, and at the supermarket were giving me a new look—a friendly one. Strangers who used to skillfully avoid eye contact now wanted to engage me in warm conversation. Patriotic national hotline tippers, who are usually more concerned about Muslim sleeper cells, now stopped me and cordially inquired about my puppy’s sleeping habits, breed, and big black eyes. Families congregated around me with their children to see the cute puppy, and they talked to him as if he should know what they were talking about.
As a hyphenated-American, I discovered that owning a dog easily accomplished what many diversity training programs have failed to do for years. Regardless of our race, color, religion, or country of origin, we were one community of civilized dog lovers.
I now take Oliver everywhere I go. He is my post 9/11 homeland-security blanket. Arab-Americans: Get a puppy, now that you need a real friend.
Ahmed Tharwat produces and hosts the Arab/Muslim-American television show Belahdan in Minnesota’s Twin Cities.

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