Mind Soup

.. . and I am back! @ jrsaba (left) and @ JimRamK (right) If you have noticed that I haven't posted much during the past few weeks, I was taking a little break due to lots other engagements. But now I'm back and I'm hoping to post regularly again. L-R: @ Loulouhilal @ mhijazi @ Haythamelzein @ Sarahilal000 @ jrsaba Yesterday (Tuesday), there was a tweet up gathering in Copper - Gemayzeh. I (@ mhijazi ) went with a close friend of mine @ jrsaba [ blog ]. @ loulouhilal and @ sarahilal000 [ blog ] generously picked us up with @ haythamelzein from Hamra and we headed to Gemayzeh. It was a little weird at first, but we started mingling and meeting people we have only @-replied before. People who I already knew personally include: @ JumRamK [ tumblr ], @ GinoRaidy [ blog ], @ YasmineHajjar [ blog ] and @ BMaks88 . But I got to meet really awesome people who I have been in contact with online. Below are a few examples: I was really looking forward ...

I was in Baalback this past weekend with the AUB Ambassadors and the new students showing them around Bekaa and AUB's farm (AREC). What caught my attention is that everywhere I looked, there was a guy or a stand of Hezbollah T-shirts. What's worse is the look on the seller's face when you decline to buy a shirt from him. Seriously, I don't want to buy a shirt from you! I wouldn't even take it if you offered it to me, even if it was covered with gold! Is this how Hezbollah is now funding its illegal weapons now? (By the way, rumors are that these shirts are Made in Iran...) © Mind Soup © Mind Soup

[ Via ]

Ariel - The Little Mermaid

Pastor Jones during his press conference CNN :  A Florida pastor Thursday called off his controversial plan to burn copies of the Quran on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. The Rev. Terry Jones of the Gainesville, Florida-based Dove World Outreach Center, standing with a Florida Muslim leader, also said the imam who planned a mosque and Islamic center near ground zero in New York has agreed to move it to another location. But the imam who appeared with him said that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf in New York agreed to speak with Jones about possibly moving the center. A spokesman from Soho Properties told CNN producer Vivienne Foley that "the Muslim community center called Park51 in lower Manhattan is not being moved." Jones, meanwhile, said he will travel to New York on Saturday to meet with Rauf. The pastor appeared at an afternoon press conference with Imam Muhammad Musri of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, who said he will make the t...

I would like to wish all my readers, on Behalf of all the Mind Soup authors, Eid Fitr Mubarak and May the guidance and blessings of God be with you and your families. Dar al Fatwa in Beirut announced on Wednesday night that Eid el Fitr will fall this year on Friday the 10th, making Ramadan this year 30 days. For more information about Eid el Fitr, you can find it here (wikipedia).

MIND SOUP : For weeks now, a minute church by the name of "Dove World Outreach Center" in Gainesville, Florida, has been advertising for an event it calls "International Burn a Qur'an Day". Pastor Terry Jones is insisting to hold this "event" on September the 11th "to honor those killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington." He says the burning of the Qur'an will "send a message to violent Islamic extremists like al-Qaida, which carried out the attacks against the United States." The second day of Eid el-Fitr falls this year on the same day. As many world leaders and institutions, including the Vatican, US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and  others , have denounced this act, this pastor is insisting on carrying out this event. This is as much facts as I am willing to give about this issue. Below in ten points is my opinionated response. First of all, as a Muslim, I don...

This totally applies to Lebanon! [ Via ]

Bahrani Blogger Ali Abdelemam GLOBAL VOICES ADVOCACY : Ali Abdulemam, a leading Bahraini blogger and Global Voices Advocacy author, was arrested earlier today by the Bahraini authorities for allegedly spreading “false news” on BahrainOnline.org portal, one of the most popular pro-democracy outlets in Bahrain, amidst the worst sectarian crackdown by the government in years, and accusations of a supposed “terror network” involving several political and human rights activists. The BahrainOnline portal is censored in Bahrain. He sent an email earlier today mentioning that he got a call from the Bahraini national security just before his arrest, then arrested him and alleged that he was trying to flee. Reportedly the Bahraini government has a long track record of using torture against dissidents http://bit.ly/9kZyJQ and their TV has been broadcasting hateful sectarian messages to justify its crackdown Ali was arrested before also for content published on his portal, and he contri...

Rami Chemali and his mother BLOGBALADI : A [couple of months] ago, Rami Chemali , a Lebanese national and Star Academy participant, was killed in a car accident in Egypt. Mahmoud Shukri, Rami’s friend and also part of Star Academy was severely injured. Rumors spread that Rami was the one driving and a week ago, Rami’s mother pledged to sue Shukri’s family for falsely accusing her son of being the one responsible of the accident. Now the question is why don’t the Lebanese authorities bother to investigate the issue further? And how come no updates on the accident were heard since then? Is someone trying to hide the truth? On a final note, I found more pictures of Rami Chemali on an Israeli site than on all other Arab websites. Now why would Israeli websites be interested that much in a Lebanese star? And how did they get “Copyright” pictures of his funeral? "You will remain in our hearts" Related post: Rami Chemali from Star Academy 7 dead at 23 (moudz.blogsp...

Okay so this is a very very old song (even before I was born) but its the only song that gets me to sleep lately (especially if its on rewind and I've heard it over 5 times). Enjoy!

Check out another great comic by Sareen Akharjalian , the woman behind Ink on the Side . This piece is about Lebanese people who steal electricity from their neighbors. Sad, but true!

I was getting my daily fix of news from google reader this afternoon and I fell upon this inspirational blog post about religious tolerance in Lebanon from Seif and his Beiruti Adventures  and I thought I'd share it with my readers, especially after the journalist incident  last week. I sure hope that Ali Seif doesn't mind the repost. [...] Ramadan seems to have passed by very quickly this year with 10 days or so left of fasting (depending on where you are). Ramadan is one of my favourite months, as I really enjoy the days of fasting, prayer, forgiveness, and blessing associated with this month. It’s a break from the 11 other months of hectic busy schedules, anger, and nagging. I may have mentioned this before, but my family has never been “all that religious” in the past, as is the case with many Sunni Muslim families of the Bekaa Valley (specifically in the Zahle province). I was taught how to pray, fast, and the basic necessities of Islam, but not muc...

If you think about it, a lot of the Disney movies we saw as kids were actually pretty sexist. This is a really hilarious take on Belle from Beauty and the Beast.