As If

 

Feeling triggered by AI, by artifice as opposed to art 

Want to say: Use it for art forms if you wish but please stop trying to deceive us … 

Breaking it down to the tangible: 

Fake flower decorations: Either they are clearly fake and often ugly or then we can’t be sure until we take a closer look or physically touch them. Once we know whether they’re fake or real we can admire the craft and accept the deception or dismiss them altogether. 

With AI however, there is only fake and ugly or then total deception which only some instinct or intuition alerts us to. We become suspicious of every single photo or clip we see. 

Why so much AI floating around is the question. After all nothing compares to the awe we feel when coming across true wondrous nature we can never improve upon and then AI becomes a more suitable acronym of AS IF 😅

A lost perspective

 Moderation is key to everything viewed from a Muslim perspective as it promotes balance ~ highly prized ~ for addressing and readdressing it is key to our spiritual development. But I do feel and think you are either a Muslim or not ~ so I don't like all the various terms that are used to describe Muslims such as 'moderate' & 'extremist'.

Islam is after all about surrender to the One & Only and basically pure & in no need of adjectives to define it. 

Bad & good are human qualities & not definitive of faith ~~ 

My perhaps somewhat simplistic argument may well appear to be semantically motivated however it goes a bit deeper.

Forgo

Image: The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

On her walk back home she saw a woman struggle trying to lift a tv set out of her car. She stopped and asked if she could help. The woman’s bandana had slipped off her head in the attempt to hoist the tv through the car door, displaying a gold earring dangling from one ear. The tv brought to the front door, the woman muttered numerous thank yous before unlocking and pushing the door open, adding she would take it from there. 

Glancing in through the clear window she could see piled up cardboard boxes in an otherwise drab bare room, a sight that filled her with arid thoughts.

Back on her walk home, she purposefully visualised herself getting a cup of tea and a piece of toast lavishly spread with the extra thick cut marmalade she had just purchased and suddenly remembered her favourite soap was soon on.

On arrival she noticed she had forgotten to lock her front door so was thankful to find all seemed to be as she had left it. Kettle boiled, she buttered her toast and spread the marmalade as evenly as she could without being tempted to pile it on too thick. 

She walked over to her usual spot and sat down, retrieving the tv remote which unsurprisingly had slid down the side of the sofa. She clicked it on and sat back to watch her soap which was just about to air. 

In clear sight sat a vase with purple flowers, usually hidden behind the tv. 

Dangling from its neck glistened something golden. 

She allowed her marmalade with orange undertones of warm golden sunshine to take over and to think of nothing else. 

Moral of the story? 

Never regret having helped someone if help you could for you are not to know how they might manage or not manage to help themselves 😉

Like’s consequences.

 … if you’ve had enough of the plastic expressionless faces, the fake pretend to be real eyebrows, the in-your-face fat lips that are I am told like kissing a ‘thing’ not a person ~ then join the club.

Refrain from ticking ‘like’ and sending hearts on posts about celebrities who rely on their plasticity as role models whilst what they in truth invite should rather be compassion for being clear victims of trend dictates. 

Click ‘Like’ only when valuing a celebrity for skills that may have earned them their status not for their ever more plastic appearance serving little other than to blaze a trail for young impressionable people. 

This is damaging on a very broad scale affecting not only people’s appearances but their very spirit and attitude towards life and the essence of living that can only be enhanced through spiritual growth throughout time. 

There’s no denying the advance of plastic surgery is amazing. It can help so many who have serious disfigurements to function better in life. However with plastic surgery readily available for whatever age so long as money is present the good from the practice is overshadowed by the unwholesomeness of it. 

If we lived in a world where people respected balance I would be tempted to leave those who choose to have minor unnecessary tweaks which are barely noticeable and who keep it on the quiet, out of the equation. They do not flaunt it or want praise for it. Their role in society is not governed by it. They are not too different from anyone who chooses to enhance their looks and thus morale without the use of invasive surgery, so for those I say ‘to each their own’. Having said that however, we as a society fail to respect balance and so it must be made very clear that invasive surgery should not be encouraged by ethical surgeons nor by ordinary folk but rather left for whenever it is truly needed. It should not be seen as a tool to correct the diverse wonders of natural appearance functioning perfectly in the first place. 

Meddling with a face and a body or both and permanently changing a person’s features is always going to be accompanied with huge consequences. 

Consequences not for the person alone but for a whole society’s make-up, figuratively speaking. 

So many of us know it but feel helpless to do anything about it. 

It always feels time to say STOP.

And yet the time never comes for it to stop.

Not ticking ‘like’ would just be a start.

Without a balanced outlook in favour of the wholesome attributes of life we have deformity creep in wherever it can and cloud the clarity otherwise unobscured.

amiT flicker thoughts: Arabic, not just another language

amiT flicker thoughts: Arabic, not just another language: The following is quite naturally a very personal point of view from an angle that relates to little things that count. To be understood b...

The MEAT Feast

Eid-elAdha or as it is now referred to in slang terms : Eid el-Lah’ma:

THE MEAT FEAST

She slapped a large thick flat piece of red meat onto her marble worktop with her well rounded forearm; extension as it were in semblance of colour and volume. In her other hand she held a long sharp knife and with a glance in my direction she muttered angrily and audibly about how annually she had to cut it all up to give to those less fortunate.

I stood some distance away in the dark hallway and saw the sweat creep onto her brow, sensing her anguish and frustration escalate as my silence mounted.

Recoiling at the physicality of it all I could not help but be in awe at how so dutiful an act, selfless in principle, could inspire her to feel such pure resentment. Was the purity of the selflessness infectious or was it the other way round? How adulterated was each?

Idle onlooker as I felt myself to be, with the question gathering its own beads of perplexities I slunk further into the shadows of the dark hallway from where I could just about manage to escape into the light of day.  

How do we learn?

People are worried about the safety of statues everywhere since the Colston* one was hurled into the harbour, now retrieved. 

People had asked for its respectful removal for years however no one bothered to listen. There was talk of amending the plaque with a few added words, a half-hearted gesture at best and one that fell disappointingly flat.

Walking by a slave trader put on a pedestal and venerated every day must be agonising for anyone who feels the effects of racist views personally and indeed for anyone at all aware of them whether or not directly affected. 

WHY ARE PEOPLE SO AFRAID OF MORE STATUES BEING TORN DOWN? 

Is it only because of the anarchic behaviour or is there a deeper fear? 

I hear you, you say it’s history ... in which case surely we should add a few more, political, social and cultural figures, of those who in their time were influential and cheered ... we could name a few but I hear you say that would be in bad taste.

And I hear you;  you say it teaches people history ... so let’s think about the way in which that history is being taught. How people are learning about history whilst on a walk to work or back home, learning while more and more anger and outrage build up because no one has really learned anything, anything at all.

~ Anger and outrage not only due to the acceptance but to the veneration of people throughout history that have abused or been void of essential human values in order to achieve their ambition. 

Do we need a statue that stands as a tribute and sign of respect to teach us about history? Do books and all present media not suffice? 

For that is what a statue is: a tribute, a sign of respect not just for what a person has said or done but for what he/she stands for. 

And I hear you, there is good and there is bad.

But what does it tell us when charitable works benefiting  some are only at the expense of the lives of those regarded as nothing more than a sub-race?

WHAT DOES IT TELL US when it turns out that a venerated figure, one after another, after another and another held racist and/or fascist views... ?

That’s where the fear lies: In exactly what it tells us.

Please listen to this poem: It is as wonderfully insightfully visual as it is profound. All would do well to view the world from its angle if only for the sake of change: 

https://youtu.be/b3DKfaK50AU

* “Since the late twentieth century Edward Colston (1636- 1721) has been a controversial figure in Bristol's history, because of his membership of the governing body of the Royal African Company, which made its profits from trading in enslaved Africans.” Wikepedia. 

What it doesn’t say is that many of these slaves for one reason or another were thrown overboard and never reached shore. So though his charitable works may indeed have benefited some, it was at the expense of human lives ... #BLACK LIVES MATTER 

On the blink ~ Brexit and the rest

So all free movement has come to a halt. Petty little Brexit assuming it would be independent and in control, rather it’s a miniscule and even pathetic drop in the ocean when the world is seen from above.

Whatever our differences and there are many no doubt, be it among the same people or that between different cultures, we are nevertheless one world, with countries separated only topographically and by imaginary borders to be caved into or to try and overcome.

With airlines cancelling flights here there and everywhere we stare disconnection in the face and our global predicaments are clearly seen as shared. We become dysfunctional through our pretentious platforms of sovereignty. We all walk on shared soil, we all breathe shared air, we all have an innate desire to be part of a family, a community, and with that, part of humanity.

There is no comfort in being cut off. There is no reassurance that being cut off is within our control. There is no respect for our humanity when the world we wish to live in turns into a jungle of every man for himself.
In short there is no refuge from whatever we are meant to endure.
There are only lessons of acceptance and forbearance to our existence.

Barnacle Brexit

If we manage to blot out the smug faces we see daily in power spouting venomous twaddle at us, such as the pernicious Priti Patel or the daft Liz Truss or punchable Michael Gove, Nigel Farage and Mark Francois to name but a few, we might just manage to survive. 

Those in power hold Brexit to be a ‘purgatorial tonic’, purely motivated by sovereignty, ambitious independence and self-sufficiency. In reality, it is no more than a hideous parody of ‘The Good Life’. 

The more of Brexit we see unfold, the more it resembles a barnacle that typically thrives in erosive settings of mind-blowing arrogance, small-mindedness, xenophobia and if not downright racism then plain bigotry with a capital B. A bitter pill for the whole of the UK and its neighbours. The pill is divided unequally and those who can spit it out are seen as luckier than those who have no option but to swallow. 

Thank goodness there are many little people who remain mindful of our globally shared humanity. This presence of good people, with or without power to address and change what has happened in the last few years, remains without a doubt where any solace lies.

A Continental Breakfast Please.

“Breakfast” is being served and heart burn is a natural side dish. But here and elsewhere this Brexit thing will unfold itself before our very eyes and once again in the world of politics, just as in the jungle of mankind it’s clearly once again: ‘Every man for himself’.. 

But I have hope. Whenever I see a hint of altruism, in anyone at all, I feel reassured. For it’s that seasoning of care, of genuine acceptance, that hint of humility, fairness and good will, that dollop of compassion that allows taste to come through. Even the flicker of just one of these ingredients may make breakfast tolerable. 

Yes Breakfast, just like war, has it’s casualties. Indigestion is almost inevitable  but we are just getting started so there’s a long way to go and who can tell what lunch dinner and supper will be like... it’s not over, not by a long shot. There’s no getting it done. It’s a long way to Tipperary and who knows what we will find if we ever get there.

OM KALTHOUM >< Egypt’s National Treasure

OM KALTHOUM 

My father knew the legendary lady (Allah yer7amha/may) before she was ever famous, but as a child I had never 'truly' listened to her, until that is, there came what I can only refer to as a fateful day; changing my perceptions for evermore. 

Parentally guided, my sister and I were asked to tag along to greet her at Sidi Gaber train station. Om Kalthoum had a respectful fondness for my father that required him to be there whenever she came to Alexandria and I am sure he was a proud man indeed for continuing to be so honoured after her inimitable fame. Standing there on the platform, dressed in elegant demure clothing, her poise and composure was tangible. Her dark glasses, although no mystery (since I knew the reason for them in some detail due to my father’s ophthalmological profession) nevertheless contributed to the enigmatic presence, one commanding resolute respect. 

The impression, thoughts and feelings I have of this one-time meeting etch themselves firmly and timelessly to my cognitive being to this very day. My memory seems to grow with me every time I recollect noting her peculiarly impenetrable exterior~ Like a shield I sensed it concealed a vulnerable inner turbulence of emotion and hence the composure that baffled me. It was then that we were privileged to attend her concert, front seats no less and I now tingle with excitement at the mere relay of what I was about to experience … quite simply: unprecedented exhilaration. Never before had I felt such a dynamic, such a force ~ 

Her song was not just song, it was an endless undrying well of life’s variations~ with each reiterated lyric a new, surprising and unspoiled message emanating each bearing a fullness of its very own. I remember it made me feel very grown-up, as if I had loved and lost and loved again although I was only of so very young an age. Her handkerchief waved passionately, sometimes gently sometimes brusquely to every resonant decibel filling the air around us until suddenly a man emerged from the back of the auditorium and sailed as if in a trance down the aisle towards her and suddenly swooned to the floor~ in ecstasy! 

Yes, it was all that and continues to be.

No Deal Halloween

So just for a tiny glimpse of sanity, few, if any who voted for Brexit signed up for a NO DEAL Brexit. 

Those who now continue to cheer for Brexit whatever the cost may be should take a look at dictatorships around the world. There are always cheerers of despots that do unthinkable damage to a country and equally unlimited harm to its people, all in the name of nationalism. 

Patriots in dictatorships are deemed to be those who cheer and never criticise, who support and egg on the dictatorship in whose clutches the country is and it is thanks to them that it so remains. 

So for once, the UK might do well to learn from some other parts of the world about what fake nationalism entails and perhaps get some insight into what true patriotism is all about. 

Pride in country does not mean arrogance and should not include an overriding sense of superiority. Rather  it should revolve around dignity and flexibility in our address of failure, of imperfection, of falling short. That’s patriotism at its best.

Infinite Shades

Perhaps some people in the world need to learn the difference between white and black, light and dark in the real figurative sense ... those with light in their hearts will be able to distinguish between the nuances of light in the hearts of those they meet and learn to appreciate the light in every soul they come across including their own.
Sadly not only the ignorant who do not even know what ‘racism’ is and who just echo weird stigmas of society are the only ones who have a tainted soul ... for that’s what racism is, subjugation of another human which only a tainted soul can inflict upon another.

What astounds me most of all is how, for ever so many, the slightest nuance of skin colour difference can all too often appear to be crucial in contributing to or diminishing the physical beauty of anyone in question, not to mention affect acceptability itself.

Racism is rife in far too many forms, in far too many places, in far too many hearts. It is despised in all religions so that those religious who believe white is good and black is bad need to read the holy books with their hearts rather than their physical perceptions.

We are all partial to what appeals to us personally, be it features, hair or skin colour and there seems to be nothing wrong with that and i do not believe there is anything wrong with it at all. What is very wrong however is when a seemingly socially accepted criteria of beauty and acceptability with reference to skin colour appears to set itself in, more apparent in some countries than in others.

Sadly, there will always be those who seem to unwittingly carry negativity around with them. Regardless of how the PC world keeps evolving there is a constant to adhere to: no one is fairer or darker than anyone else except by comparison and every skin colour, every nuance of difference, just like every place in the whole wide world, has its own beauty.

The tree in the forest

The proverbial tree that falls in a forest with no one around. Does it make a sound? 

Many would say this question cannot be answered since the event has not been witnessed by anyone and therefore if there was a sound it could not be heard by anyone. Only the presence of acumen of a kind, be it one based upon scienctific, philosophical or spiritual aspects of the event can allow us to probe further. 

Now here I use little other than intuitive rationale: Our thoughts are unlimited and in essence free from restriction but only of use to us if rooted in aspiration towards eventually arriving at a conclusion, a destination. 

Ultimately however, the conclusion stands firmly alone, independent of our perceptions. 

So, although no one could indeed convince anyone else that the tree did or did not make a sound, the truth of it being one or the other is that which holds supremacy. We do not need to be personally subjected to it in order for it to be so, we do not need to be individually involved in a situation  in order for it to exist. 

Our humility is in accepting an answer does exist, whether we are around to witness it or not and above all to have the capacity to distinguish between the finite and the infinite, the latter being one we can only ever conceptually aspire to understand. 

Truth is only Truth if it is seen to withstand all confusion and falsehood; in order for it to remain a constant it needs us not. 

However, it is us who in all matters affiliated to this world need it. 

It is us who can only ever hope to reach up towards it through our complex, changeable, indecisive and ever-aspiring natures. 

Whether we look deep into ever-expanding realms of galaxies or ever-diminishing nuclei of atoms we are always left in awe of the unsurmountable evidence of the infinte, of design, of His presence. 

There is therefore a paradox involved when saying that we believe in One God and therefore One Truth and yet profess not to believe in the supremacy of Truth itself. 
We are all free to choose what we believe in and infinite nuances of infinite beliefs are there for the picking however to declare that nothing has supremacy is to declare that this declaration itself is supreme which detracts substantially from our humility and suggests our subjectivity is beyond all else. 

When we serve our Maker we do not rid ourselves of our entitlement to think, reason and deliberate, we truly serve when we in fact do so rather than not. 
We serve when we reach out towards understanding our own perspective and with necessity encounter that of so many others along the way; when we believe there is indeed free will and therefore freedom in choosing. 

We serve when we abide by an inherent wish to be guided. We can but respect scholarly wisdom which comes with notability, with responsibility, with tolerance, with love, together with an awareness that although guidance comes in many different forms, ultimately, we are guided by Him alone. 

Imagine

I prefer to use the word embrace rather than convert, for when we truly believe we include, not exclude. I once woke up with the glorious peal of church bells ringing in one ear and the mystical 'athan' call to prayer in the other. I don't know how relevant it is for anyone reading this but in that half-wakeful moment I was standing in a town square, a piazza somewhere, no one else was there but it was far from deserted in feel. I will not attempt to describe how that felt, the aural bliss is one best left to any one willing to imagine it.
It appals me no end to see and hear people judge someone negatively for embracing Islam. Lindsay Logan has come under such attack in an article, not worth sharing, published in Cairo scene magazine. An article so base and ignorant it beggars belief.
Anyone who know anything, knows Islam knows no colour, no country, no culture, for  its own intrinsic values envelop all such things as they are, and so much more.
I liked Lindsay Logan right from the first time I watched her in 'The Parent Trap' and have felt for her through all the gruelling ups and downs of her acting career and celeb lifestyle. I have always reiterated 'but i like her' to myself upon coming across salacious media reports.
Anyone who knows anything about Islam knows He may forgive the worst of sins if there is true repentance and the will to reach out to Him. In fact, anyone who feels love through awe, knows it surpasses all else we give worldly value to. Sitting in judgement and revelling in complacency about the personal awakenings of another is nothing better than a vain pastime.
Faith of any kind is not only beyond understanding but in order to stand constant by it we cannot remain static but are unwittingly in constant motion. It exists regardless of comfort zones, a struggle both challenged and eased continuously; moreover any spiritual awakening is so miraculously and individually tailored when accompanied by His Guidance.
We all like and dislike much, but to judge the personal developments of a soul is never our prerogative.

The main course: Persecution and Bullying

I know it is bad to be intolerant of other people's views if they clash with our own but I will say this: if a view is based on dehumanising others, if it promotes selfishness and allows racism and bigotry to prevail then I do not believe it is bad to oppose it.
I would go a step further and say it is probably better to oppose it than to slip into the shadows lest our silence becomes complicit with all we find so abhorrent.

~It is not true that if we disagree with something that is inherently twisted that our are disapproval is on a par with intolerance.
~I believe that any type of persecution should find empathy in those who believe that persecution is inherently wrong. In all walks of life it is the primary attacker who must be confronted and seriously addressed, not the innocent and persecuted.
~The new order appears to disregard this and charge full-steam ahead .. pushing all morality and even humanity off a precipice into an abyss. Persecution and bullying appear to be the main course and some are making a meal of it.
Sadly, people's lives hang in the balance while our feelings of helplessness become more and more tangible. Our frustration escalates and all we appear to have is the need to vent over and over again.
If only the pen were indeed mightier than the sword..
If only.

Shaken by what we see, people, who through no fault of their own, are figuratively and literally flung about with no place to call their home; all the result of power games and greed ... we are traumatised to witness too many who lead such comfortable lives blame these very people rather than offer a helping hand or at the very least some basic understanding.
I find it impossible to be so bereft of compassion.. I find it inhuman.

NO hint of a death threat.

A phrase such as ALLAH AKBAR is one that in today's atmosphere may need its definition bolstered especially for people who are unfamiliar with what it alludes to and are therefore unable to comprehend everyday usage of it.
Allah Akbar everyone knows means God is great; greater than anything, everything, anyone and everyone. There is no awe greater than that inspired by Him.
What SOME MAY NOT REALISE is that the phrase, in essence, bears no link whatsoever with suicidal or murderous attempts. Quite the contrary. It's simply just one of so many phrases that primarily confirm our surrender to Him and Him alone and our trust in our belief that nothing and no one can ever override His will and His plan for each and every one of us on this earth.
With our daily lives so often being underlined with overwhelming and bewildering uncertainties, it follows on quite naturally that only through our reflection upon Him, within and without, is how we may ultimately find comfort.
 Phrases such as Allah Akbar don't only cancel out all uncertainty as we know it but also shine a light on the frailty of all our foreplanning which though necessary to some extent, is essentially only necessary in order for us to get by. What we do all need however, regardless of what faith we practice, are not plans but aspirations, not empty nihilistic notions but deeds guided by conscience; words and thoughts capable of inspiring peace and serenity; all such that are able to filter through to our inner being.
With reference to our limitations, for those of us with faith in His light and His light alone in whatever form it shines forth to us for it cannot be too direct lest we get blinded by its indescribable force,  it once again follows on quite naturally that only through our reflection upon Him, within and without is how and when we may feel blessed in finding inner peace.
Such is what Allah Akbar points to ... a reassurance, both consolation and inspiration from Him through dedication in our lives to make good of ourselves in whatever way we can.

Here, to round off, is that much reiterated and soothing phrase in its original form:
الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُمْ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ   (Verse 28 of Surat el Ra'ad, THUNDER)
(Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction and comfort in the remembrance of Allah; for without doubt, in that reflection do hearts find comfort and satisfaction.')

Abiding faith

When Muslims express sympathy and empathy for the victims of ISIL it should not be seen as an apology, but as a demonstration that they are as far removed from the barbarous acts of ISIL as anyone of whatever other faith, for even though ISIL says it is doing these unspeakable acts in the name of Islam, all ordinary Muslims are in equal danger from their heinous acts.
ISIL is as far removed from Islam as it is from any other faith.
We would be wrong to assume ordinary Muslims should even need to feel apologetic for something so deranged and moreover so utterly removed from their faith.
ISIL cannot be apologised for as they are a law onto themselves and nothing but a murderous gang with a hat that doesn't fit.

Before anyone can truly call themselves a Muslim they must be prepared to embrace every other message sent by Him throughout the ages, if not through learning then through faith alone.
The Quran embraces all major religions of the world and even those that precede and moreover a Muslim is referred to as one who may exist unawarely... where the messages have not yet reached.
When faiths are reflected upon and weighed, varying practices may appear as ripples in one ocean, for with focus upon what unites us, all quibbling may be put into shade.
We should note that, as mentioned in the Quran, had He wished to make us all one nation with one creed it would have been so. It is in His wisdom that we are asked to reach out to one another with respect; for it is He and He alone who knows what is in each heart and it is He who judges each of us in the end and only He can iron out the differences.
To that we must adhere even when discussion or intelligent and insightful debates prevail.
When disdain and obtuseness take over we are advised to leave well alone and abide by a well-rehearsed saying which emanates from the Quran; one basically requiring us to believe what we believe and leave each well alone to their belief. The well-known phrase 'لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ', 'you have your religion and I have mine' is part of a verse addressed to the unbelievers of Qureish who worshipped idols fashioned by their own hands. The saying bears significance in a universal and timeless manner for to 'worship' which is an epithet with considerable weight, to worship anything other than the One and Only abolishes unity and is therefore a very strict requirement for any believer of the religions sent by Him and Him alone.
It is through our belief in Good and Evil, in our search for Justice and Truth that we find ourselves, for without belief and search..  very little value to anything we exist for in the end ... endures.

Choice Ltd

Of course next to the Drumpf anything is ok.. But do we really need to endorse his one and only opponent with sainthood so as to ensure he doesn't get in?
With just one look at the US today we can't help but see what trash is building up. The world's a mess and much of it, be it famine or gluttony, sometimes both together, is largely through ruthless global commercialism and policies lacking heavily in ethics, too many of which emanate from the US.

Rhetoric aside, surely we should by now have reached a day where it is 'more than' acceptable for a woman to be in office however surely surely surely it should be because she is the right person for the job and not 'just because' she's a woman who's managed to exploit a somewhat unfortunate set of circumstances in her favour.

Sadly and in my view despicably, the shambles of the Drumpf versus the modern-day woman is held up by desperately shallow modern-day feminism which is a far cry from where and how and why women fought for their rights in the first place. Today's scenario sits on a precariously thin veneer of shallow presentation and truly very little else. In fact the whole election process is based on adulation and its pantomime counterparts serving to do little other than distract us, putting both onlookers and participators in a place where no reflection is forthcoming.
The whole world is dumbed down.
Sordid rather than entertaining, the show must go on and so what will be will be, but putting someone on a pedestal is let's face it, not far from putting them on a hangman's platform, for unless US foreign policies change drastically, the world so captive to these elections cannot even begin to dare to hope.

Arabic, not just another language

The following is quite naturally a very personal point of view from an angle that relates to little things that count. To be understood by another experiencing life abroad, which is what the status share refers to, it would need to be tailored, quite individually.

At the risk of appearing banal, I would nevertheless feel disingenuous if I didn't start with the following: Egyptian niceties.

Niceties are so over-used in Egyptian circles so that they appear inane and superfluous and one tends to dismiss their value. Yet, without them altogether, our sensibilities feel greatly impoverished.

Leaving them behind could never erase them from spirit. On the contrary, not hearing them all around me made me wish more and more fervently to introduce them into British culture if not language. I had got used to foreigners in Egypt taking to the terminology so easily and willingly that I found the British nationals' distanced reactions whilst appearing somewhat bemused, quite unsettling.

Words such as 'Mabrouk' (blessings with its various nuances) and 'Haneyan' (wholesomeness for food and  beverage) and indeed 'InshaAllah' (with the Will of Allah) among so many more, have no one-word equivalent in the English language and phrases used to explain them lose out considerably, sometimes they even risk distorting the inherent meaning since similar phrases, already in use, have very different connotations so that, for example, the hopefulness and assurance carried in the term 'InshaAllah' could contradictorily, when interpreted, convey a pessimistic streak and imply being on a downer. 

My need to converse with Egyptian friends of a similar background living in Egypt became ever more pertinent to my spirit and with the 2011 revolution I began to feel an ever-increasing need to highlight that connection. Egypt was awake.

With this I come to my feelings for Islam (which although born into I felt become truly tangible only through phases linked to trials of a very deep and pertinent nature). Well, these feelings come to the fore considerably on becoming distanced from a land where the essence of Islam is a natural and everyday part of everyone’s outlook and vernacular. 

A religion with all its grace; words such as‘Hamd', ‘Reda’ and ‘Taqwa’, are mere examples of so many more quite impossible to translate fully with just one word in any other language. However, attempts to do so are many and are all part of the exercise in reaching out and therefore worth pursuing for anyone interested to do so.

Here, I would like to focus upon ‘Tawak’kul’, a reassuring and affirmative stance, an invaluable viewpoint in that it combines responsibility with submission, acceptance and surrender, in perfect ratios. With ‘Tawak’kul, a pursuit through faith, so contrary to its rampant soul-destroying counterpart ‘tawa~kul’ (a mere diphthong away) that shrugs off all responsibility and accountability, leaving only an aftertaste of despair, I could not but feel the former’s priceless value in my heart upon coming face to face with exhibits of overly controlled aspirations. For indeed many a Westerner even those who may well have 'Tawak’kul' in their hearts, having no word to describe it seems to obscure a vital attribute of spiritual ethos where human exploits and planning are concerned. 

As for its closely related yet ever so distanced counterpart referred to above, we could perhaps attribute to it much of the inertia or worse still slapdash attitudes, enveloping altogether too many aspects in Egypt.

Perhaps it was due to such realisations that I felt a wholesome perspective could be obtained; one into which zealotry and self-righteousness could not possibly fit and thus, with no struggle whatsoever, I most thankfully never felt confused. 

Having a need to dismiss the intolerance of religious zealotry is essential and understandable, however far too often that act of dismissal doesn’t know where to draw the line and sadly, I found, many would tend to 'throw out the baby with the bath water'. When that occurs it regrettably leads to another kind of intolerance, equally distasteful and equally damaging.

Every day in the UK I sense and cherish my Egyptian roots that have intensely shaped my outlook on life, that keep on enriching it over and over again, so that it is always so natural for me to alert others to it whenever I feel it relevant. Having been to a British school in Egypt, integration into the UK was pretty straight forward and quite effortless, however, over time insights come to the fore and take on different hues. For myself, finding harmony in approach, in address and in direction, together with balance within, counts for almost everything.

With inference from the insightful Facebook status that propelled me to jot these thoughts down, with regard to my personal feelings about needing to prove myself over and over again upon being perceived as something of a foreigner I could add a yes to it being quite a struggle at times. However, presenting yourself  just as you are, without labels being attached left right and centre to the paraphernalia of existence, can feel so liberating, like pressing the refresh button when too much clutter clouds up a space. Having said that from a very personal viewpoint, it may well be that for people with a heightened professional background it may indeed feel less so and could well present challenges that require immense determination and endurance.

On another note I soon realised that whereas I would perhaps be perceived as discreet and even slightly detached by nature in Egypt, I found that I actually came across as unusually friendly here in the UK just for making an effort and genuinely asking how people were. At the start that felt perplexing to say the least. Gathering up the courage to ask why people in the South East tended to look down on those who did not limit their conversation to the weather and how come it was that I was accepted for so-doing, I remember receiving this reply: 'It's ok for you to do so because you're foreign.'

Albeit that was by someone who was more of a short-term acquaintance than long-standing friend. Dynamics change in our world and true friendships established since are blessings.

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Due to a background filled both cognitively and subliminally with diverse cultural influences, I have always regarded myself as a fish swimming in air if not water and always seen it as an asset rather than a hindrance, so to bring this  bit of writing to an end: Perhaps, for all of us, the need we feel to reach out~ gifts us with more than just an enhanced grounded outlook… It allows us to breathe.