tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54983502011-04-22T04:31:53.762+01:00DAMMIT JIM, I'M A DOCTOR NOT A NURSEMAID/ENGINEER/MAGICIAN/PLUMBER ETC ETC ETC... The thoughts of an Arabic medical student living in London. More random musings than you can shake a scimitar at. Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comBlogger321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1108583969453167722005-02-16T19:18:00.000Z2005-02-16T19:59:29.456Z

The recent death of former Lebanese Prime Minister has brought back memories of the Lebanese civil war, and now all fingers point to Syria. It is highly doubtful that the Syrian government would carry out such a move. Syria is under immense pressure at this present time already. With a hostile force of 150,000 US soldiers across the border in Iraq, US sanctions and the Syrian Accountability Act

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1104452635836297542004-12-31T01:20:00.000Z2004-12-31T11:53:15.720Z

From IslamOnline By Dahr Jamail - Baghdad 07/12/2004 Abu Ahmed Al-Hadithi, 40, sells vegetables in Al-Adhamiyah market. “The economic situation is so bad now,” he said while standing near bins of vegetables. “The costs of gas and food are going up so high; so even if we make more now, everything is costing more.”His situation is common amongst Iraqis who are struggling to survive under the

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1103493917074239672004-12-19T21:58:00.000Z2004-12-31T00:30:31.163Z

From the Sunday Times "EUROPE’S reputation as a tolerant haven for people of all religions may be under threat. Muslims are apparently being viewed with high levels of disapproval, a survey has revealed. Sweden emerges as the most pessimistic west European nation; 75% of Swedes questioned said there is “definitely a lot” or “rather a lot” of disapproval of Muslims. Britain is relatively

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1103478524688841372004-12-19T17:47:00.000Z2004-12-19T17:48:44.686Z

From the Sunday Times: "I also believe we are engaged in a struggle with Islam. Since the collapse of communism, Islam presents the only coherent challenge to our way of life. But it is primarily an ideological war and I do not believe, as Tony Blair and George W Bush seem to, that it can be won by imposing western democratic institutions upon Islamic countries with bombs and troops. It

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1102816457793413702004-12-12T01:50:00.000Z2004-12-19T17:01:50.806Z

Juan Cole has written an article about the situation of the Sunnis in Iraq. Unfortunately ( because his commentary is of course, informed ) he misreads the situation somewhat. "Al-Dhari Explains Sunni Arab Boycott Hareth al-Dhari spoke out Thursday about the reasons for which his Association of Muslim Scholars urges a boycott of the Iraqi elections planned for January 30. According to opinion

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1102771316423948102004-12-11T13:25:00.000Z2004-12-19T20:47:42.643Z

An article from the Telegraph by Charles Moore, pertaining to the new anti-religious discrimination law, soon obfuscated about the "religious intolerance" of Muslims and Islamic countries "Was the prophet Mohammed a paedophile? The question is sometimes asked because one of his wives, Aisha, was a child when he married her. As Barnaby Rogerson gingerly puts it in his highly sympathetic recent

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1102554132673926332004-12-09T01:51:00.000Z2004-12-09T01:02:12.673Z

From IslamOnline.org "LONDON, December 8 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair turned down Wednesday, December 8, demands from eminent British figures to open an independent inquiry into the number of Iraqi civilians killed since the start of the US-led war on Iraq. During his weekly question period in parliament, Blair said that the Iraqi health ministry was the

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1102469946274916502004-12-08T01:31:00.000Z2004-12-11T21:22:35.986Z

Today's Telegraph leader is about the "War on Terror". "As George W Bush's first term nears its end, how is the global fight against terrorism going? In Saudi Arabia yesterday, al-Qa'eda reminded the world that it could still conduct terrorist operations in the kingdom, by attacking the American consulate in Jeddah. Meanwhile in London, President Pervaiz Musharraf of Pakistan said that the trail

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1101523191186304122004-11-27T02:20:00.000Z2004-11-29T01:04:08.590Z

On Wednesday the 24th, I ventured into the corridors of power in Westminister. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) had organised a lobby on that day in order to draw attention to the Israeli security barrier. So I arranged an appointment with my local MP, a Liberal Democrat no less. When you get to Westminister, the entrances to the houses of parliament are guided by hordes of police, some

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1101334368705314602004-11-24T21:15:00.000Z2004-12-12T18:08:47.373Z

The murder of Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh by a man of Moroccan origin has brought simmering tensions to the surface. Now, more than ever, you can hear about the "threat" of "radical" islam, from politicians and the media, and wonder at why muslims do not "apologise" for it. Excerpts from a Guardian Report "In Britain, the Daily Telegraph's Daniel Johnson noted that the Arab-European League

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1101250971240270772004-11-23T22:44:00.000Z2004-11-24T21:14:48.996Z

This is a movie advertisement for Lord of the Rings in Japan. Something tells me it wasn't deemed suitable for kids in other countries ( I guess Ian McKellen was enough). Notice the absence of orcs, elves, and all other Tolkien paraphernalia, leaving us just with homoerotic hobbitry. If a Japanese dude had not read the book (I'm guessing a large number probably have not, given that the frickin

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1073524984860131392004-01-08T01:23:00.000Z2004-01-08T22:35:46.310Z

LONE WOLF AND CUB. BY KAZUO KOIKE AND GOSEKI KOJIMA I remember the first time I came across it. I was in a large comic store off Tottenham Court Road in central London, browsing through the Manga section for interesting titles, when I saw Lone Wolf and Cub. Although I had noticed it before, I had not bothered to pick it up and flick through it. This time I did, and I soon realsied that this

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1073101565790055262004-01-03T03:46:00.000Z2004-01-03T04:14:19.403Z

Blair's attempts to reform the House of Lords are running into trouble, with various senior politicians refusing to go along with his plans to abolish the right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords. On the surface, it certainly seems like a step in the right direction. The idea of hereditary peerage smacks of the old order, one of inherited privileges and class divisions.

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1072839473612248832003-12-31T02:57:00.000Z2004-01-03T03:44:51.860Z

It is refreshing that, in this day and age, that some in the Anglican Church dare to stand firm against current popular opinion, instead of trying to act as PR men trying to 'sweeten' the contents of their products for the uninterested masses. In an interview with The Independent, Dr Tom Wright, the new Bishop of Durham, is not a man afraid of ruffling a few feathers. "On Christmas Eve, in

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1071975618987408322003-12-21T03:00:00.000Z2003-12-21T03:03:48.140Z

In relation to the perception of Muslims in India, the archetype robber-baron to a T was Mahmud of Ghazni. Here is an interesting excerpt from a book " The Ghaznavid rulers of Iran, especially Mahmud Ghaznavi, the strongest king of the dynasty, spent most of their time at war and invading other countries. Mahmud took his army to India 17 times to plunder the wealth of that country.

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1071532620722474012003-12-15T23:57:00.000Z2003-12-15T23:58:11.716Z

Here is my contribution to the war on terror. Since America cannot find any WMD with 150,000 soldiers and thousands of weapons inspectors, then maybe they're looking in the wrong places. TEN LIKELY PLACES. 1. Inside falafel sandwiches. 2. Pick a mosque, any mosque. 3. In Arab family house underwear drawers. 4. Some Iraqi scientist's fridge (oh wait, you've already looked there). 5. Some of

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1071443187146660542003-12-14T23:06:00.000Z2003-12-15T23:28:28.436Z

Curse you Saddam, for what you have done. Curse you for subjugating the whole of Iraq as your personal fief. Curse you for the torture, murder and rape of your people. Curse you for pitting Muslim against Muslim in your disgusting war on Iran. Curse you for using chemicals to kill Iranian soldiers and Kurdish innocents. Curse you for pitting Sunni against Shia, Arab against Kurd with your

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1071145223205205662003-12-11T12:20:00.000Z2003-12-11T19:51:54.623Z

Poor France! After the horror of having to accept so many wogs (or should that be 'bougnoles'?) onto their shores after having benignly subjugated their countries of origin for more than a century, now they are expressing these alien habits in French schools! Yes, the mighty and powerful headscarf is indeed a threat, in that it is NOT French in origin. When a French politician talks of

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1071086721815290992003-12-10T20:05:00.000Z2003-12-11T19:50:33.686Z

BULLETIN TheTRUTH (A BALANCED AND IMPARTIAL LOOK AT CURRENT AFFAIRS) BRIEF: CHANGE IN TACK OF CAMEL JOCKEY BIN LADEN ONSLAUGHT WAHHABIST KIDNEYS INFILTRATE WESTERN WORLD A nefarious plot has recently come to light. Muslimatic terror-monger Osama yo mama Bin Laden now plans to infiltrate our western-civilized-judeo-secular-christian-rational-whatever societies and seize control all the way

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1071084369704653112003-12-10T19:26:00.000Z2003-12-11T19:42:19.796Z

I have been reading an autobiography of Abdurrahman Wahid, well-known liberal Islamic scholar, head of the organisation Nahdlatul Ulema (NU) and Indonesia's first democratically elected president. Usually, when one thinks of A.Wahid, one thinks of a blind incapacitated dude in a hat who didn't seem to do very well in the job, which for him lasted for only 9 months (If I remember correctly). It

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1070628960138051192003-12-05T12:56:00.000Z2003-12-15T23:42:14.686Z

I found this article about the history of muslim rulers in the Indian subcontinent yesterday . the initial impression I had, that given to me by some Hindu friends of mine, was that muslim rule was brutal and intolerant. they told me about how the last Mughal emperor Aurangzeb forced conversions and destroyed numerous hindu temples. Sikhs have no particular love for him either, for his

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1070286326885934752003-12-01T13:45:00.000Z2003-12-11T20:01:49.200Z

I started playing Shenmue this weekend, on a dreamcast ( thats the Sega console that no-one plays anymore) that I got for free from a friend in return for typing up all his essays for one year. As a matter of fact I got a playstation 1 for free as well from another friend ( I'm hoping to wait for a free PS 2 to fly my way, perhaps in return for saving someone's life when I qualify as a doctor:

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1069811120777514932003-11-26T01:45:00.000Z2003-12-11T19:28:59.140Z

Ok, something serious now. I absolutely fail to understand how various people claim that the invasion of Iraq by the USA/UK is a good thing. Are your memories short? Who the hell do you think propped up Saddam in the first place? Who sold him the WMD that he used against Iran and Iraq's own Kurdish population? The very same nations that are now occupying it. Not long after Saddam

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1069764116654961062003-11-25T12:41:00.000Z2003-12-11T19:28:21.153Z

Eid Mubarak!!! Ramadan has now come to an end, with Eid-al-fitr. I can't say its been the most productive ramadan in terms of spiritual achievement, but I hope to carry on trying to fight the Jihad Al-Akbar, Insha'Allah. Unfortunately I have to come into university to continue the lab work for my project rather than going home ( am doing so tonite) but even then I need to work on the write-up of

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1069703202891685782003-11-24T19:46:00.000Z2003-11-24T19:47:12.450Z

Salam alaikum!! well, it's been quite a while since my last blog (not that anyone is acshually reading this stuff) but one does get caught up in life. I've now taken a year out from med school to do a BSc in pharmacology at GKT ( Thats Guy's, King's and St.Tommy's to you). To be honest I would have chosen Home economics as long as it meant i could get a break. The last two years of med have been

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1057144397353994142003-07-02T12:13:00.000+01:002003-07-02T12:13:17.410+01:00

It turns out that Iraqis are getting less and less tolerant of the foreigners their soil. I don't know why, just the last time the Anglo-Saxon hordes came over with ideas of 'liberating' Iraq, it turned out to be a very bitter experience indeed. Does America honestly think that Iraq is gonna stomach this? Iraq is the bloody cradle of civilization! Who are these bastards to come over from bloody

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1056275775928321682003-06-22T10:56:00.000+01:002003-06-22T10:56:15.980+01:00

Great news in the War on Terror! Just when you thought the world was intolerable, now liberated Afghanistan can provide you with all the smack you need to get high. Now that the accursed Taliban are no more, Afghans are now free to grow poppy plants as their warlords see fit. So much for liberation. The authority of the new administration, headed by Hamid Karzai, barely stretches outside of

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1056273736982139252003-06-22T10:22:00.000+01:002003-06-22T10:22:17.026+01:00

Went to Edgeware Road yesterday. That's the road where Arabs in London go to hang out. At the moment, lots of arabs are there on holiday from Middle Eastern countries. They all seem to be clogging up Starbucks. I wonder if they know how rabidly pro-Israeli the owner of Starbucks is.

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1056163334344667532003-06-21T03:42:00.000+01:002003-06-21T03:42:14.263+01:00

I have a list of suggestions of Saddam Hussein's recent activities. 1. The meditteranean hairy moustachioed man serving you your E.coli-infested Kebabs? THATS HIM 2. He is currently in Syria sipping strong coffee, enjoying the company of Osama Bin Laden, the Loch Ness monster and Lord Lucan whilst using a weapon of mass destruction as a coffee table. 3. Maybe he's holed up in Minsk swimming in a

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1056162406639646052003-06-21T03:26:00.000+01:002003-06-21T03:26:46.623+01:00

It seems that cabinet minister Peter Hain( Can't remember what his position is now - I wonder how beneficial it is to have such flexible ministers who flit from ministry to ministry like a call girl amongst rich Saudi businessmen) has been bitch-slapped by El Presidente Blair. All it took was the smallest mention of perhaps increasing taxes to get a WWF-style (or is it WWE?) SMACKDOWN from the

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1056160729372634162003-06-21T02:58:00.000+01:002003-06-21T02:58:49.223+01:00

There seems to be a lack of Arab bloggers ( The only one I know is Salam Pax, the infamous blogger of Baghdad) on the internet. After having browsed through the many Iranian blogger sites, you realise that they are expressing points of view that the media cannnot, or will not provide. Hopefully I can achieve something similar with this.

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5498350.post-1056159642120968302003-06-21T02:40:00.000+01:002003-06-21T02:40:42.040+01:00

Trying to get this damn thing is to work is proving just short of a nightmare!

Abu Rishe Al-Mawalinoreply@blogger.com