This blog is about…the Gulf 25, April 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Random, The Emirates.Tags: Dubai, Dubai's crash, Press coverage of Dubai
1 comment so far
I just want to make a quick general point. When I take various Gulf governments to task about some silly policy or other, lambast idiotic Muslims for seeking to kill a cartoon writer or ridicule Iranian chauvinism, I do this because this is thegulfblog.com
Overall, I do not take Western Governments to task about some silly policy or other, lambast idiotic Christian groups for seeking to kill, say, abortion doctors or ridicule US Fox News or UK Daily Mail chauvinism, because this is thegulfblog.com
God knows that examples of these things abound, and I do cover them from time to time, but this half of the debate is not the primary focus on this blog. Frankly, I don’t have the time, the space or the inclination to offer a counter example from the West every time I criticise something from the Muslim world. Just because I concentrate on the Gulf does not mean that I am not aware an enormous multiplicity and diversity of similar problems back in the UK or wherever.
In much the same way for those commentators that take great exception to criticism of Dubai in UK or US newspapers, just read the rest of the paper which usually caustically eviscerates Western-based banks, institutions, boards of governors and governments. Given the horrific inadequacies of Dubai’s economic policies in recent years combined with their dedicated and passionate thirst/search for the limelight, people can not complain whatsoever when Dubai is covered heavily in the press. It is hardly a press conspiracy against Dubai or Emiratis or Gulfies or Arabs or Muslims. Have these people read the coverage of Lehman Brothers?
South Park & the Mohammed cartoon 25, April 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Islam.Tags: Danish cartoons, Danish muslim cartoons, Mohammed cartoons, Muslim cartoons, South Park, South Park censored, South Park mohammed cartoons
9 comments
The creators of South Park the highly irreverent US cartoon have been forced to censor a cartoon from depicting the Prophet Mohammed. They did this after receiving threats to their lives and in the wake of the attacks on the Danish cartoonist who penned the now infamous Danish Mohammed cartoons.
This whole issue is fraught with contention and I have sympathies on both sides.
I see no reason as to why people in the West feel the need to prove their freedom of expression by purposefully going out of their way to insult other people in a way that they know perfectly well will cause offense and hurt. In these instances, I believe that the production of such cartoons has less to do with promoting and protecting the West’s freedom of expression and more to do with publicity, a desire to purposefully provoke a negative reaction and to try to make certain Muslims paint themselves and by association swathes of those following their religion as foolish barbarians.
Yet I find the idea whole idea of ‘I am insulted’ to be deeply annoying and unconvincing, as if people have a right not to be insulted. I am offended by countless things on a daily basis. I fervently hate the headlines on the Daily Mail, I am truly offended when the BNP try to speak for me as a white Briton and I deeply resent the fact that I was/am reticent about writing this. Some Muslims may say that it is different for them as I cannot possibly understand just how offensive it truly is to insult the Prophet Mohammed: how offensive! They don’t know the strength of my personal convictions. Yet I do not send death threats. I take the mature approach and moan a bit on my blog.
There is also, of course, the eternal question of just how many Muslims are offended by these cartoons. I’ll rephrase that, I am sure that all Muslims are offended by negative depictions of Mohammed, yet I wonder how many take my more philosophical approach as opposed to the militant bleating.
If you want to see the cartoon picture in question click here. (Mohammed’s the one in the middle…). If you want to see some more cartoons try here. If you’re likely to be offended by the cartoons, don’t click on the links.
Foreign Office memo ridicules Pope’s visit 25, April 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in UK.Tags: Abortion clinic, Benedict branded condoms, FCO memo, Foreign Office pope memo, Pope, Pope's UK visit
2 comments
A leaked memo from the UK’s Foreign Office has offered helpful ideas as to how the Pope’s upcoming visit to the UK could be made more popular. The ideas include suggesting that the Pope could:
- Launch a range of Benedit-branded condoms
- Visit an abortion clinic
- Bless a gay marriage
Cue the tedious ‘this is just terrible’ apologies from all concerned. I, however, think that this is excellent. Good for whoever wrote this and will be out of a job by early next week. How people can possible think that the Pope can take offense to this is beyond me. At best he is guilty of turning a blind eye to confirmed pedophilia, at worst he is culpable for facilitating more pedophilia.
Kuwaitis cancel Sri Lankan celebrations 25, April 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Kuwait.1 comment so far
Kuwaiti Islamists marched onto the Jahra sports stadium field and cancelled Sri Lankan celebrations. The fact that men and women were in the stadium enjoying themselves with – brace yourself – music, was just too much for them.
The 5000 Sri Lankans along with the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Kuwait were forced to leave. Curiously enough, the Kuwaiti police maintained that the Sri Lankans had the correct permits and did not break any laws.
This strikes me once again as the subsuming of the rule of law to ‘a Sheikh’ with a God complex, who doesn’t care for the rules but believes that what he says needs to go. This is similar to the Emirati who didn’t want alcohol in any food preparation in Dubai who was subsequently overruled and the Qatari who wanted to force reciprocity from the US, the EU and some Asian countries in issuing passports for citizens on arrival at national airports. Here again, this individual decision went against the grain and the backlash caused an embarrassing about-turn for the Qatari government.
With the Sri Lankan issue, however, there is no lobby to talk and agitate against this decision. As ever, these people who to all intents and purposes make the country work, are treated with utter disdain.
Russian made rocket hits Jordan 25, April 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Middle East.1 comment so far
Last week a Russian made Grad rocket hit a warehouse in Aqaba, Jordan. Reports seem to suggest that it was in fact aimed at the Israeli Port of Eliat, adjoining Aqaba, which would make more sense. No one really seems to know where it was fired from. Mideasti narrows down the suspects here.
The Gulf blog 