Sunday, January 20, 2008

Gaza...Keep Quiet for Honor’s Sake!

At a time when Gaza is under siege and sits in total isolation and with a looming humanitarian catastrophe, it is worth putting all of this into some perspective.

This is a time when, in the words of qadi Abu Sa’ad al-Harawi to the Caliph al-Mustazhir Biilah in 1099, some Arabs “lead lives as frivolous as garden flowers, while their brothers in “Gaza” have no dwelling place save the saddles of camels and the bellies of vultures”.

This is a time when Rolls Royce reports that the only six terrorism-proof armoured Rolls-Royce Phantoms made and sold in the world are on their way to the Arab World.

This is a time when George Bush storms the area bearing a $30 billion package of military aid for Israel and a $20 billion package of Humvees and guided bombs for the Arabs.

This is a time when the US military aid to Israel gets rewarded by the Emirates' ruler decadent gift to Bush of a “gigantic necklace made of gold, diamonds, rubies and emeralds, so gaudy and cumbersome that even the Secret Service agent carrying it seemed nonplussed”. While the Saudi Arabian king drapes Bush with an emerald-and-ruby necklace that could have come from Ali Baba's cave. Floor-length, fur-lined robes were also the costume of choice in this farce where the Arabs were the jesters in Bush’s court.

This is a time when there is no account to date of $12 billion in Iraqi money that was converted to dollars, held in the Federal Reserve Bank in New York and shipped in pallets to Baghdad that totaled 363 tons. When asked about this largest cash withdrawal in the history of man, Paul Bremer III, with support from Republicans, fired back by insisting he did the best he could in the middle of a war and repeating over and over that he was spending Iraqi _ not U.S. _ money.

This is a time when we should all repeat the plea of qadi Abu Sa’ad al-Harawi to all the co-opted Arab leaders: "How dare you slumber in the shades of complacent safety when your brothers are freezing cold, out of medicine, out of food, at the brink of starvation, absolutely helpless, and with your tacit “explicit” approval?"

"In 1099, and in response to qadi Abu Sa’ad al-Harawi, Caliph al Mustazhir Billah began by expressing his profound sympathy (istinkar and condemnation), and compassion (meaningless gestures for media consumption). Then he ordered seven exalted dignitaries to conduct an inquiry into these troublesome events (equivalent of Arab league and seven Amro Moussas). It is perhaps superfluous to add that nothing was ever heard from that committee of wise men (surprise! surprise!)".

As for those who are still waiting for a more meaningful answer to the qadi’s plea, I doubt we will ever get such an answer. For now maybe armoured Rolls Royce phantoms is the only answer!

As I watch what is happening in Gaza today, I can’t help but recall Muzaffar al-Nawwab’s poetry (Here he addresses Arab leaders):

“Jerusalem is the bride of your Arabness!! So why did you usher all the fornicators of the night into her room, And stand eavesdropping from behind the door to the screams of her torn virginity? You drew your daggers, and swelled with pride and you yelled at her to keep quiet, for honor's sake How honorable of you!! Sons of bitches, can a woman being raped keep quiet? You sons of bitches! I'm not ashamed to tell you what you really are! A pigsty is cleaner than the cleanest of you. Even a tombstone would be moved, But you? Not a single fiber in you flinches!”

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent! Excellent endings, Tallouza!

But I don't want to lay blame on Arab leaders here..In fact, I grew so tired of laying blame and voicing how shameful and crippled our leaders are... I am sick and tired of what is going on in Gaza... of the misery Hamas has brought with it. Yes Hamas. They are screwing Gaza from every direction!

Tallouza said...

Hello Iman! No matter who we blame, unfortunately the only victim in all of this is the Palestinian people. I hold both Hamas and Fatah responsible for diluting the Palestinian cause and for diverting the fight from the real enemy Israel and its violation of every human right possible to fighting each other. As for blaming the Arabs, it is my own way of wishful thinking that they are masters of their own fates capable of doing the right thing!

Anonymous said...

Hamas? Fatah? Leaders? Ha ha ha...
I blame the virgin getting raped in this case.
trust me, i'm no advocate of misery, you moved me and made my heart cry...
while you complain of prices in our dear Amman, and women being allowed a room or not in Saudi, we're getting drunk in bars knowing fully well who's getting screwed and where. Our leaders that you point your fingers at are made up of us. Unless you do something, all you're doing is writing.

Tallouza said...

Man! said...

It is offensive to be blaming the victim in such a crass way.

The posts here are an attempt to engage some in an open and civilized debate on issues that are of concern within our community.

Many of us are unhappy about the futility and the impotence of our ruling regimes. Having no choice but to bear the brunt of this, aren't we at least allowed to talk about it.

In the meantime, if you have a better idea for doing something other than "writing", I would be grateful if you could share it with me.