What the Writer Had in Mind

By Jamal Elabiad

We all have one home, yet we view it from different perspectives. I truly don’t remember the book in which I came across this idea. But I can say with absolute certainty that the following is what the writer had in mind:

Some of us view their home as a cow they can milk whenever they want!

Some of us view their home as something valuable for which they are ready to die!

Some of us view their home as a cake they want to eat alone!

Some of us view their home as a court whose verdict against them was unjust!

Some of us view their home as a bitch who sleeps only with those who pay more!

Some of us view their home as a legacy they inherited from their forefathers!

Some of us view their home as a picture they always have a look at with their black glasses on!

Some of us view their home as a TV channel they watch from time to time!

Some of us view their home as a life-long prison!

Some of us view their home as a salary without which they can’t survive!

Some of us view their home as a cake they can divide in two or more!

Some of us view their home as a couple that always bear mentally ill children!

Some of us view their home as a boat that’s on the verge of sinking!

Some of us view their home as a forest in which some animals are more equal than others!

Some of us view their home as a lobby of above-the-law thieves!

Some of us view their home as a coach with a poor driver!

Some of us view their home as a photo album they shed tears whenever they look at it!

Some of us view their home as an illness whose medicine hasn’t been discovered yet!

Some of us view their home as a slave who has never angered his/her master!

Some of us view their home as a billionaire who spends his/her cash only on trivialities!

Some of us view their home as a national hero whose likes they will not see again!

Some of us view their home as a father who prevents his children from speaking their mind!

Some of us view their home as a school in which most teachers don’t teach the subjects they were trained to teach!

Some of us view their home as a jail whose prisoners are willing to escape!

Some of us view their home as a suitable soil for sowing the seeds of terrorism!

Some of us view their home as a large family whose members are illiterate!

Some of us view their home as a nationality they aren’t honoured to hold!

Some of us view their home as a tribe whose leader is beyond criticism!

Some of us view their home as a filthy place they could have cleaned had they been given the opportunity!

el_jamal8@hotmail.fr

On the Undemocratic Decision of the Swiss

By Jamal Elabiad

So much has been written on the undemocratic decision of the Swiss to oppose by referendum the construction of new minarets across the country.

Soon after reading many articles on the subject, I reached the conclusion that comparing Saudi Arabia with Switzerland as far as democracy is concerned is a fallacy which a slew of Western writers who lately commented on the decision of the Swiss people to ban minarets from their skylines are ignorant of or just pretend to be so. Most of them see no difference between the Swiss people’s decision and Saudi Arabia or Kuwait’s ban on building churches.

For me, it’s normal that churches still have no existence in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia simply because these two countries aren’t democratic. But what’s abnormal is banning minarets in Switzerland, a country that invariably presents itself as one of the world democracies.

"… we don't want minarets. The minaret is a symbol of a political and aggressive Islam, it's a symbol of Islamic law. The minute you have minarets in Europe it means Islam will have taken over." said Oskar Freysinger, member of parliament for the Swiss People's Party, or S.V.P.

Oskar’s statement brings to mind the conclusion of an article I wrote after a Danish newspaper republished the degrading drawings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):

“In conclusion, there is no denying that the freedom of expression is just a pretext, and that hatred of Islam and Muslims is the undeclared reason behind reprinting the cartoons, either in Denmark or elsewhere.”

I will never get tired of repeating the fact that democracy is innocent of humiliating Muslims in the West, and that the real reason lying behind that is hatred of Islam and Muslims.

"We don't have anything against Muslims," added Oskar Freysinger. Possibly, the Muslims Oskar had in mind are the wealthy Muslims on whom the Swiss economy heavily depends!

Regrettably, those wealthy Muslims, most of whom are from the Middle East can’t even threaten to stop dealing financially with Switzerland in protest at the ban on the construction of minarets simply because the attacks Islam has been exposed to are none of their business!

It’s worth mentioning before closing this piece that it was the weapon of oil whereby Colonel Gaddafi managed to force the Swiss government to apologize for the arrest of his son, Hannibal.

Finally, it’s beyond doubt that the Swiss government would reconsider the vote if the anti-Islam campaigns in the West was a top concern for Muslim clients of the Swiss banks, including Colonel Gaddafi!

el_jamal8@hotmail.fr