Christians of the Middle East Unite!

After 11 years, 5 months and three days, Samir Geagea is finally free from his underground prison cell in a Ministry of Defense Prison cell in Lebanon.

He appeared on Lebanese Broadcasting Company TV today before departing on an Air France flight to Paris quite emaciated but nonetheless a champion. This historic meeting brought representatives from all groups including several Muslim representatives whom personally fought against during the civil war.


Could this be a new chapter in Christian-Muslim relations in Lebanon? Maybe, we'll see if everyone behaves themselves, hopefully bloody Hizbollah will disarm. Terrorism is a headache for us all!

Dr. Samir Geagea is my personal hero, above all else solely due to the fact that he fought a losing war against enemies who wanted to destroy Christianity in Lebanon. With the increasing fragmentation of Christian forces towards the end of the bloody civil war, Dr. Samir Geagea led his forces to work for a Lebanon without Syrian Occupation or dhimmitude.

Long Live Samir Geagea and the Lebanese Forces.

Huh?

I don't know what I'm feeling right now, but the events that are occuring around me only strengthens the belief that the world is going to shits. I used to be of the thought that the Iraq war was going to change the Middle East for the better, by removing the authoritarian regimes from power and replacing them with democratically representative regimes that had the full backing of the people. With the elections in Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine that far-away dream of democracy still has not been reached. Saddam's removal has not made the world safer but unfortunately made Iraq and the Middle East as a whole a terrorist epicenter.

The Neo-conservatives have failed me and most importantly have failed America, with their lack of planning and understanding of this diverse region. I do not think that American troops should leave anytime soon, on the contrary I think they should stay until peace is restored and then some. I have a feeling that this 'war against terrorism' is going to last a very long time. I guess it's true that without any pain there isn't any gain.

Personal news: So I went out yesterday with a couple of buddies to a chicks house in a very nice part of town. I guess it was fun hanging out instead of being a hermit at home hours upon hours. I am beginning to understand that I'm not special, having been born an only child it is something that I need to adjust to. So as I said before the worlds going to shits, and it's all everyones fault.

Terror in Paradise

Naama Bay
Naama Bay
Movenpick Jolie-Ville Golf Resort Sharm el Sheikh
July 23, 2005- A day that will live in Infamy

Sharm el Sheikh has been known for tranquility, luxury and as a paradise amongst the dry desert mountains. Unfortunately, the city that has been known for peace has been desecrated by the vilest scum. Terrorism has hit Egypt’s tourist crown jewel, killing mostly Egyptians and injuring thousands.

The blasts occurred around 1 A.M. as tourists were relaxing at local cafes or returning to their ultra-comfortable resorts. The three blasts, two of which were at the entrances of 5 star resorts were almost simultaneous and could be heard almost a kilometer away. The third blast hit the ‘old market’ quarter of the resort city injuring hundreds of unsuspecting tourists who were enjoying life to the fullest.

Sharm el Sheikh is not only an Egyptian City, but an International City. The last time I visited, I saw many Italians, Russians, French, Belgians, Germans, Gulf Arabs and Israelis all congregating on the beach without any problems.

It isn’t an irony that these blasts occurred on the 53rd anniversary of the Revolution that brought the likes of Nasser, Sadat and currently President Mubarak to power. This day was a national holiday for all Egyptians to celebrate their independence from colonization, imperialism, and the birth of a socialist nation.

The effects of these bombings will catastrophic if the Egyptian government does not take immediate action to prosecute those responsible for these vile actions. Over eight million Egyptians derive their livelihood from tourists visiting the great sites of Egypt, whether it is Sharm el Sheikh or the great pyramids of Giza. More than 8 million tourists visit Egypt and deposit 6 Billion dollars into the economy annually. Tourism is the second largest earner of foreign currency right after oil production.

For the sake of humanity, Arabs Christians and Muslims must stand up against the hard-line Islamists who preach nothing but hate. Egypt must change its tactics and crush these evil-doers at all cost.

“Blessed be Egypt my people” (Isa. 19:25).

all photos compliments of www.goredsea.com

Double D's

Coptic Discrimination

Over the years I developed a personal relationship with an insider in the Coptic Orthodox Church, whose name was Bishop Matias. His Grace was formerly a priest of my church fifteen years ago and built up the church in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area to what it is today. During the early 90s, he was ordained a Bishop over the Mahallah-al-Kubra diocese. This diocese was once a ‘hot-bed’ of sectarian clashes, one of which led to the death of a priest. This case like many other cases involving Christians has been unsolved and will remain unsolved unless Copts take it upon themselves to fight for their rights.

While having his yearly medical-checkups here in America, a couple of weeks ago he stopped by my parent’s house for dinner and friendly conversation. Political mud-slinging has forced this Bishop to resign, something unheard of in the history of our church. We shouldn’t keep silent because our Pope is hell-bent on silencing opposing views… We shouldn’t just fast and pray for a miracle, but use the intellect that God gave us to help ourselves. I’ve been told by countless people, whether clergymen or congregation that our church simply is not political in nature. This response took me always by surprise because our Pope’s actions always prove otherwise. Our Pope would rather support the Palestinians in their pursuit of a state, by boycotting meetings with Israeli Rabbis, excommunicating any Copt who goes on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and by constantly pointing out Israeli aggression against the Palestinians.

Our spiritual father has in a sense abandoned his flock so he can please the ‘ever-powerful Egyptian Government’. The Al-Kosheh Massacre is a continuous reminder to the Coptic Community of how Egypt’s justice system is severely flawed. Bishop Wissa was forced to break his silence of the massacre to the international community and for this he is viewed as a traitor. Even though Pope Shenouda worked tirelessly to seek justice for the deaths of 30 Copts, both trials were declared mistrials and all defendants were set free.

During a dinner meeting with Pope Shenouda in Nashville, TN I wrote a question regarding what the American-Coptic community can do to bring justice to the victims of the Al-Kosheh massacre. His response surprised me because he said “that everything was going alright in Egypt and that justice would prevail…,” he also warned that “we shouldn’t distort Egypt’s image abroad for this worsens the burden on those at home.”

I'm tired of hearing that our church can play no role in the face of discrimination. Pope Shenouda should emulate the late Martin Luther King Jr. so that the Copts can be viewed as 'equals' in all aspects of the law. As in the case of Wafaa Constantine, hundreds of Coptic youths demonstrated against the government, and although there were many arrests, Wafaa Constantine is back home with her family. The Copts must not stay silent or call on America to solve our problems. We have to demonstrate in large numbers so that we can have a Coptic police chief, university dean, mayor or governor. We must demonstrate so that we can build churches of our own free will, we must demonstrate so show our brothers and sisters that we are EQUAL in all aspects to them.

Civil disobedience has worked in the past and in even worse conditions like that of 60’s civil rights movement in America.
I’ll write about divorce in my next posting.

Keep that Frown Rightside up?

I'm getting tired of summer school. I'm not having fun, especially since the class feels more like it belongs in a highschool rather than in a community college. I have a test almost everyday, but I haven't studied for any of them so you can only imagine what my grade will turn it to be. I just need to get through these next 14 days. It's just 14 days right? I think I can... I think I can...I think I can...Choo! Choo!

In other news, the commander of the Christian Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea is expected to be freed after the Lebanese Parliament unanimously voted for his amnesty without any conditions. He is the only 'criminal' in prison for so-called crimes commited during the civil-war. The Bush doctrine finally worked in these region by allowing the Lebanese to govern their own country, without any foriegn soldiers. The Christian community is recovering, but the diaspora which occured in the last couple of decades may subside with many returning home especially after the Syrian withdrawal. We need to keep the Cross firmly planted in this part of the region, forever. Long Live the Lebanese Forces. I just which we had a similar organization in Egypt, one that defended the lives of Christians, but did it in a non-violent way.

A Coptic Intifada

Coptic Reform

Having been baptized and raised in the Coptic Orthodox Church my whole life it saddens me that what I thought was the Church of Salvation, has been corrupted by political mudslinging and an inept leadership.

My Salvation turned sour.

Every Sunday morning I would wake up excited at the thought of going to church and getting closer to God. Although I enjoyed the mass, my favorite part of my spiritual experience was going to Sunday school. Learning about the saints that laid the foundation of our resilient church gave me hope that our church can survive under the most severe prosecution. Unfortunately there was a darker side to my ‘spiritual experience’ that has affected me until this day.
For a period of eight years I suffered from verbal abuse from many of the most highly respected deacons of my church. I still remember being pushed around and even being verbally abused in front of my friends and family who did nothing but just watch in disgust. Several of my Sunday school teachers and even my priest viewed this behavior as just ‘boys playing around’ and did nothing to stop the torture. I turned from a boy who found sanctuary in church to one that hated and made any excuse not to go to it. Perhaps it was my fault for not complaining to anyone or fighting back, but I always believed that God would get my revenge for me.
My parents for a couple of years forced me to go to Church and with this my depression increased tenfold. I did not have very many friends and the ones that I did have often viewed me as a social outcast. As a finally matured and progressed to high school, the verbal abuse decreased but the memories of the torture that I went through in my childhood have never gone away. It’s hypocritical that those same deacons who wake up early every Sunday morning and dress up as angels in front of the All Mighty are the same ones that as children used to verbally abuse and sometimes physically inflict pain on me. Everyone tells me to move on and to forget the past, but I still see in their eyes that they view me not as an equal, but as the same child who was weak and defenseless against their aggression. I guess it’s the verbal abuse that made me work hard and be persistent in everything I do. Regrettably, this isn’t is a story about a boy hell-bent on revenge, but one of an entire race being pushed aside by the very clergy that was supposed to protect us and give us sanctuary.

Decline or Golden Age?

The Coptic Church in Egypt has been witnessing a cultural decline as many members of its congregation convert to Islam or other dominations. The once so-called sanctuary that the church was supposed to provide from the outside aggressors has begun to decline. Instead of helping the weak, the leaders of our church have begun to tout the official government line, that there is no discrimination against the Copts and everything is just dandy in the land of the pyramids. While the Coptic Church is flourishing in the land of immigration, the exact opposite is happening because our leaders refuse to confront the government on the issues of forced conversions, rampant discrimination and outright oppression.

There’s no problem with Wafaa Constantine!

The after-effects of the Wafaa Constantine affair have sent shockwaves throughout Egypt and Coptic communities across the globe. I remember hearing the news from the ultra-radical http://www.copts.net/, that a priest’s wife in Egypt was kidnapped and drugged by Muslim extremists. I’m not a fan of Michael Munier or his tactics of twisting facts in the favor of our ‘uber-discriminated’ race. His sort of tactics remind me of the pushiness of the Jewish organizations here in America, except no official of high regard in the government gives the time of day for this individual.
Mrs. Constantine is going through what hundreds or even thousands of women in Egypt are going through everyday, a marriage that is on the rocks. Due the orthodox character of the Coptic Church, one of our main principles is the sanctity of marriage. Divorce is not allowed except under extreme cases in our church, and even then it is difficult to remarry because many of the clergy view the second marriage as a sin that they can not bless. Constantine was locked in a verbally abusive marriage with no way out. Her only hope was to break the cycle by doing something drastic that would shock the church into action. The church knew about this ‘disastrous’ marriage for over two years and did nothing about it. The half-hearted response by the couple’s father of confession Bishop Bachomious did not solve the acrimonious relations between the two. Added to this with many members of the community, especially in her workplace knowing of her uneasy marriage, the easy solution of just converting to Islam became increasingly attractive to the desperate Wafaa.
The response to her forced conversion was so immense that even communities outside of Egypt called on the government to free the priest’s wife. Petitions were signed, letters were sent, and congressmen were called all in hopes of pressuring the regime to find the militants who took our beloved mother. In Egypt, thousands of youths stormed the Cathedral during the funeral looking for answers from our leadership. The demonstrations outside the Cathedral turned sour as a lack of information coupled with an absent leadership made the situation worse. Stones were thrown at Government Anti-riot police who then arrested over thirty youths on trumped up charges of trying to undermine the national security of Egypt. As a response to the failed negotiations between the government and the Church, our Pope fled to a local monastery telling all that he would not return until this crisis was resolved.
The cover-up began within the church when the leadership chose to withhold information that Wafaa Constantine went on her own freewill to start the process of conversion. When she safely returned to her family and church, there started a silent debate within the Coptic community about reform.

Reforms

Divorce

The Wafaa Constantine experience showed to millions of Copts the frailties of how domestic squabbles can head south extremely fast. Several newspapers in Egypt began demanding that the Copts seriously look at the issue of divorce so that future episodes like this do not damage the national fabric of the country. For the most part the debate has been silenced by higher powers using the archaic interpretations of the bible to justify that the current system is correct.


Domestic Violence

Leaving the issue of divorce behind, the issue of domestic violence is one that should be brought into light. Thousands of women are daily beat each day in pious Coptic homes all across the globe. Many of the priests who serve these homes know of the abuse, whether it be verbal or physical and choose to do nothing about it because of our patriarchal society. Confession is usually the medium through which the abuse is first known, but instead of telling many of these women to seek help from the police, they tell them to pray for their abusive husbands. The Constantine affair, if anything, should have changed this sort of passive view towards abuse and caused many priests to take a pro-active role in raising awareness about this horrible issue.

Kidnappings

I’ve personally heard reports of true kidnappings especially in the Southern part of Egypt where teenage girls are abducted and illegally forced to convert to Islam either through rape or intimidation. On http://www.amcoptic.com/ there are several recordings of hysterical mothers pleading for help from our Pope in the issue of these kidnappings. Our leadership as been politically inept in dealing with these cases, especially in the case of Neven Malek, a seventeen year old who was kidnapped from the village of Kolosna, Samalout, in the Province of Menya. Since 2003 her kidnapping has still been unsolved and has even caused her older sister, Heba Malek, to go on a hunger strike so that government officials could be pushed into reopening her case. Although the south has been rocked by crimes in the past, there is currently a new wave of discrimination following the acquittal of the defendants in the 2000 al-Kosheh massacre. Our church unfortunately has abandoned these victims and has not demanded justice for thirty Copts who have died without justice.

Financial Transparency

A constant joke by many Copts, particularly those who are just beginning college and wondering about what they are going to do with their lives professionally, often joke that since Abouna drives a Mercedes then why not become a priest? This subject has been the debated constantly with the great many dioceses refusing to show where donated money is going to. Corruption within the church could be halted if the congregation knew where and how much money was leaving the church’s coffers.

Democracy

The Coptic Orthodox Church like that of the Egyptian government has been led by strong men who are desperate not to give representation to their oppressed subjects. Not many Copts in the land of immigration know that we like our Catholic compatriots have a parliament one that is in charge of the inner dealings of the mother church. The Coptic Parliament or the Maglis al-Melli, is an institution that was created in 1874 to oversee the affairs of the Coptic community and manage church endowments. Briefly during the reign of Pope Cyril it activities came to a virtual freeze in 1956, but were revived in the 1970s. Al Ahram Weekly evaluates the voter restrictions that are placed on average church goers:
Council elections have been plagued in the past by low voter turnout and many blame the strict conditions for voter registration. Under the council's statutes, voters must be over 25 years old and have either a university degree or be registered as a businessman or land owners. These pre-conditions are dismissed by some detractors as "unconstitutional" and blamed, along with the apathy of many Copts, for poor turnout. Only 4,000 Copts are currently registered to vote.
This council has been in the past been a tool to further the rights of the Copts, but currently it is being controlled completely by our Pope Shenouda III. Presently there are no independent council members, nor are there any opposition members who do not have the backing of our Pope.

Even local church councils in the land of immigration follow this same trend of putting extreme power of the church’s finances in the hands of the priest. For the last twenty years my church has participated in ‘democratic’ elections that would even make President Mubarak blush. Just recently due to pressure from the congregation, mostly from my parents, did my priest allow true elections for the church council, one in which voters were chosen individually from amongst the congregation in true democratic elections.

Conclusion

The Coptic nation has endured discrimination on a large scale for many centuries. For over three hundred years our ancestors endured countless horrors so that future generations can keep the Christianity deep rooted in Egypt. As we approach a new era of political freedoms, many Copts should stand up to their Clergy and demand reform from the politically inept leadership. Corruption is rampant within the walls of our churches and it is about time that we as a nation stand up and help each other instead of giving in to our greedy urges. Thousands of Copts each year convert to Islam not for their love of the religion but because they lack food, shelter and an occupation. Our church isn’t poor, nor is our race. God has given us what discrimination took away; we still control the economy and are the most educated citizens of Egypt. Let’s work together in solving our Church’s problems instead of pretending there isn’t a problem. My story is similar to that our my race, we stay silent about abuse, discrimination and corruption until it is too late.

Pull & Make a Wish.

I guess drama always seems to find me wherever I go, but tonight wasn't so bad due to the fact that I had intelligent conversation with a mysterious girl. I don't know if I could say that I like her but I'm going to keep my options open.

Tangent: So I'm starting my last session of what I call hell. Community college absolutely blows especially when you have to wake up at 6 o'clock in the fucking morning to get ready and attend a class that in your opinion isn't relevant to anything you're majoring in. Thanks to the Texas Education Board, I'm required to take core classes that are boring but are in some twisted way the state wants to endoctrinate us into being model citizens. It's all a conspiracy.

I hope I have fun for the rest of the summer, it isn't what I expected but generally thats how life goes for me. I'm tired.

Hidden behind a smile.

Depression it's real and out there. We've all been biten from the bug that makes us sad and lackluster, but there is hope out there. We shouldn't dwell in past mistakes or future problems. Handling each day as if it were the 'best' day of your life is hard at first, also getting adjusted to the fact that we aren't immortal and have a limited time to impact others got me over my depression. As a side note, you can get over this I've seen a lot of my friends battle through it with some measure of success, it isn't a battle that can be fought easily.

Going to al Amir's yesterday reminded me of Edward Said's 'Highclass Society' song. The place could be so much better if they did not play the happy birthday song frequently. Added to the cheesyness of the birthday song, which I may remind you is remixed in Arabic, al Amirs doesn't have much to offer as a place to go to cool down after a hard at work. As if I had work to go to, but thats much beside the point that no one dances. Theres a mixture of Arab, Somaili (they aren't Arab nor do they speak Arabic) and Kurdish men (not good company, nor loyal to Saddam) who just watch the one or two white girls dance. Why don't these men bring girls here instead of just thinking they'd be there? Without much ado al Amir's sucks without a huge group or large amounts of alcohol. I enjoyed it though because I was amongst friends but it could have been a lot better.

Change for the better?

Yeah yesterday was a somewhat dramatic for my taste, but then again thats how we roll especially when you come from my family. I try not to be dramatic and I've worked hard on it but sometimes when I have my guard down the beast within comes creeping out. Yes I'll admit I was extremely drunk and might have said a couple of things I did not mean, but anyone who really knows me should understand that I'm an angry Arab whose life is shitty and I mean NO one any harm.

First off, please do not drink red wine for fun because when you wake up the next day I guarantee you'll be feeling like shit. I wasn't any help to my dad this morning but I guess when your son is hungover and barely coherent in the morning you'll let him off easy. The old man did. I'm thankful that he did not chew my ass off today.

My head itches, damn male pattern baldness. I don't know whats worse the Rogaine or the fact that my fucking scalp is on fire. I hope this shit actually works, cause you know I have so much going for me right now that being bald is the cherry on my fucking ice cream sundae I call life. I feel sorry for Michele, I said somethings to her that I really did not mean...I should have went easy on her and just accepted the fact that she doesn't like me instead of acting like a child who didn't get his fucking candy. I'm not much of a religious guy but if there is anyone that needs a prayer, she is definitely the one.

Just a tangent, I don't think I really liked her...I guess it was the fact that it was something that I couldn't get that made me chase after her. She makes me laugh, anyone who has the gift of making other people laugh in my opinion is someone you shouldn't let go of. Maybe this is all for the better, I just wish my parents could get off my back with the insinuations of marriage and my future life. As if I don't have enough pressure into trying to keep my grades up so that I can go to law school. I just want to be happy. I just want to be happy. I just want to be happy.

So I went to the hookah bar with people that don't really connect with me, I wouldn't call them close friends but acquaintances. We hang out a lot, but seriously if I was in a bind I don't think any of them would help me out. I've never had close friends and the ones that I do have don't last very long due to my erratic behavior.

I guess we all want something in this world, there is no true love it's all shit to me. Maybe I'll be womanless for the rest of my life...fuck it...when you have Rosy you don't need anything else. Ha Ha.

Introduction

Fcuk the System.

I guess this is where it all starts. I started my last blog on xanga.com and found out it was a little too childish to continue with. MySpace.com only seems to be a place where horny teenagers get off at and this seemed to be the best place where one can vent about how shitty life can be.

I guess it's to be continued...