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his words........................
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Jan 29, 2009 11:40 pm
1023 Views
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My own little Friday Sermon
January 24, 2009
By Shamael Al-Sharikh
My brother just went back to the US for college. He was in Kuwait for a period of four weeks, during which he had the pleasure of joining my father and brothers for the Friday prayer on four occasions. Ideally, the Friday prayer sermon is meant to be a brief talk given by the Imam on the importance of abiding to the morals of Islam; do not drink, do not steal, be kind to your fellow man and woman, and similar run-of- the mill messages. But since the current political arena has been inflamed by the Israeli destruction of Gaza and the ensuing loss of innocent lives, Friday sermons at the mosque near my parents' home have been more political than pious.
Now, my brother, being a young college student filled with ideals about respect for human rights and embracing diversity, has come home from the prayers upset on four straight Fridays. In fact, he almost walked out of the prayer in the middle of one particular sermon. The reason is that the Friday sermons, on four occasions, have turned from pleas to help Palestinian victims into cries of damnation and death-wishing on all Jews, Americans, the West, and just about any entity that has suggested that this en
tire conflict might have been instigated by Hamas, and not the IDF. Every Friday, my brother heard statements such as 'Damned are the Jews', 'Death to the Jews', 'Death to friends of the Jews,' and the ubiquitous 'Death to America.'
As a Kuwaiti, my brother, as well as the rest of us, disagree blatantly with Israel's unlawful occupation of the Palestinian territories, but to claim that all Jews should die a painful and horrible death is another matter. As a student of several international schools, my brother has classmates and friends from all faiths. He also has had several positive experiences with Jews throughout his life. For him, Jews are just members of another faith, just like Christians. The fact that an Imam would use a pulp it in a holy mosque to scream death and disease and all sorts of morbid curses on all the Jews of the world, is a behavior most un-Islamic.
First of all, Jews are People of the Book, just like Muslims and Christians, and they are Believers in the same God we believe in. No good Muslim should ever wish death on another Believer.
Second, Israel is a Jewish state, BUT it is not supported by all Jews in the world. In fact, there are many Jews out there that are against Zionism (True Torah Jews Against Zionism, Jews Against the Occupation, Jews not Zionists, Neturei Karta, to name a few.) These Jews sympathize with the Palestinian cause and believe that Israel should be tried for war crimes against Palestinians. Why should some Imam in Kuwait pray for damnation to fall upon their heads when they are protesting against the same occupat ion the rest of us are against?!
Third, and like my siblings, I too am a product of an American university, and I can confidently say that the quality of education I received was due to the tutelage of many brilliant Jewish professors. The State of Kuwait sends thousands of Kuwaitis like me, to top universities in the US and the UK, so they can receive the same excellent education I received on the hands of Jewish professors and doctors. Should all these professors and doctors be damned because Israel is practicing genocide against the Palestinians? Is this really what a Friday sermon all about?!
That Israel's actions in Gaza are war crimes is undeniable. However, they are its crimes, and not those of the entire Jewish faith. The fact that an Imam cannot distinguish between the two is a prime example of the level of ignorant hatred that spews out of our pulpits, and it is this same ignorant hatred that leads other imams to condemn issues such as women's rights, befriending Christians, and believing in the benefits of the secular state.
A Friday sermon is a time for reflection on our faith. The pulpit is a forum from which the wise imam can engage his audience on the importance of Islamic morals in our daily lives, and how our morals should prevent us from sitting idle whilst our fellow human beings suffer. The pulpit should never be used to rile up the masses, as if at a political rally. There are plenty of political and civil society organizations that have done just that in Kuwait.
In the spirit of President Obama's inauguration, I will conclude this column with a quote from Reverend Rick Warren's invocation, which I found to be profoundly more Islamic than any Friday sermon I have heard in a long time:When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us.
When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us.When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us.
Amen
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Fun City.................
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Jan 29, 2009 11:25 pm
559 Views
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Spring Festival at Fun City
Kuwait
Jan.29, 2009
The spring festival activities organized annually by the Entertainment City (EC) creates the best possible atmosphere for interaction between the EC and its visitors. The various interesting programs have been prepared, in addition to a recreational program has been planned that includes life-sized cartoon figures to receive children at the City's gates, traditional costumes given to children, a folk music band and the Pink Panther band. This year's festival will last for two weeks beginning January 30 till February 14, so that students can enjoy their mid-term vacation. He also noted that entrance fees on the first day would be charged at a discounted KD 2.250 Children wearing traditional costumes will be admitted free of charge. Furthermore, Al-Nisf added that Mondays are allocated only for women and that the city will be open from 11 am to 11 pm. He added that a fireworks display will be used to mark the opening day.
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Look whose talking !!!!!
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Jan 29, 2009 6:53 am
649 Views
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Finding spouse through ad
January 29, 2009
By Muna Al-Fuzai
How desperate does one have to be to find a spouse through local advertisements or the internet? How many people actually make use of this method to find a partner? Do you find this means of marriage practical or worse than arranged marriages? Do you believe that people honestly publish all their good qualities in these ads and do people actually believe them?
I must confess that I believe such ads are a waste of time and most of them, if not all, are published by crooks, liars and desperate people, both men and women. I considered the fact that some of these people come from very conservative societies where it is difficult and frowned upon for men and women to meet freely in public, which makes the anonymity and safety of the internet and paper ads appealing for some. But what about the information individuals do not publish about themselves? Do the ads reflec
t the true nature of these people and how would anyone know?
I think these ads are very dangerous, especially in a closed society where a man cannot meet with a woman if they are not related or married or accompanied by related company. Some of these ads claim that they are individuals who are looking for a decent, married life. Some confess they don't want kids or that they had been married before. Skin color is involved in the process. Some women claim to have white or brown skin in attempts to add more excitement and seduction to their ads!
I once met a woman who married someone after they found each other through an ad service, and her life turned to hell. She came to Kuwait and became lonely without her family, but thankfully, she had a good job. She thought finding the man through an ad service was the right choice because he was from her own country, and after a year of exchanging emails and intimate chats, the man decided to come to Kuwait.
However, he told her that he did not have a visa or enough money to marry her. She believed him and made all the necessary preparations through her own connections and sent him money for an airline ticket. The new man arrived and played the Romeo card on this lady until she found him a job here. She later helped him buy a car so that the two could get married and live comfortably. The two ended up renting a flat and lived together for a few months before the man started acting suspiciously by leaving the h
ouse for days at a time.
The wife, who was still in love with the man, later found out that he had brought a relative to the country and married her. He had even started a family with the woman! The man she met through the ad service had simply used her to gain residency, find a job and purchase a car. He did not take their marriage vows into account, and worse still, he called her a fool and said that she couldn't do anything about the situation. He soon divorced her and is now enjoying a happy life with his second wife.
What, exactly, was this lady a victim of? Was she a victim of her own naivet�? Or was she a victim of a culture that did not approve of relations between men and women before marriage? Why do we assume that any relation between a man and a woman has to be based on sex?
Is the end goal of these cheap ads marriage and the raising of children? I don't buy it. I don't believe it is possible for someone to cherry pick their good qualities and publish them to the world and expect to find their soul-mate. It is simply nonsense, so why are we encouraging such ads in the Arab media?
Why aren't expatriate men and women made aware of the danger of such ads? The same applies to dating sites as well. Is it really worth the trouble when you consider how dangerous it is? I advise everyone to be careful and to not believe that Mr. Perfect or Ms. Perfect is out there hiding and waiting for them. In our modern lives, I believe these ideas are very stupid.
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you find it here........20,000................
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Jan 27, 2009 11:21 pm
594 Views
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Filipino workers' deployment continues despite global crisis
Published Date: January 28, 2009
By Ben Garcia
"Despite the global economic slowdown, the Philippines is expected to deploy around 20,000 or even more workers to Kuwait in 2009," revealed the Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya at the start of a two-day jobs fair which opened yesterday at the Movenpick Hotel in Shuwaikh Free Trade Zone. The jobs fair organized by the Asean Culture Network (ACN) was graced yesterday by Endaya and the Philippines' Labor Attach� to Kuwait Josephus Jimenez. Dozens of recruitment agencies from Manila and Kuwait are taking part in the event, along with a number of remittance companies.
We have around 7,000 Filipinos entering Kuwait in the first quarter of 2009 who will be deployed as health workers and many of them in the hospitality services, no domestic helpers. The message is clear; we have much to offer in terms of manpower and we are not just a place where you can get domestic helpers, but also a place for skilled and semi-skilled workers," added Endaya.
The number of Filipino workers in Kuwait could reach more than 150,000 by the end of this year, he added.
In an earlier interview with the Kuwait Times Ambassador Endaya noted that employment opportunities for Filipinos will continue as Kuwait's economic activities continue to be buoyant despite the global slowdown. He said that sustained economic growth in Kuwait was the main reason for the continuing recruitment of Filipino workers.
The good thing about Kuwait is that they have enough savings to be used in 'rainy days' [during economic downturns], so in the face of a global slowdown they are not affected because they have enough savings to help or bail out companies in case of bankruptcy," he noted.
The event is the first time that the Filipino Embassy has sponsored such an exhibition. Endaya explained that the idea of a recruitment fair was first proposed way back in mid 2008 way before the global economic crisis became an issue.
Our intention is to generate employment for Filipinos but also to help shift the attention of Kuwaiti employers to make them aware that we can be a source of skilled manpower," he said.
Endaya noted that with the continuing demand for Filipino workers and the assurances of Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah when he visited Manila in mid-2008 that the country would employ more Filipino workers, there could be more employment summits like this one in the future, maybe as soon as June this year.
We have engineers, computer analyst, medical professionals and even bank executives. This is what we are trying to promote at this employment fair and we are inviting you to consider Filipino skilled workers," he added. According to Endaya, Filipinos in Kuwait contribute around US$250 million a year out of a total US$18 billion remittance from Filipinos from all over the world.
Labor Attach� Josephus Jimenez echoed Ambassador Endaya's statement, saying that the jobs fair hosted by Asean Culture Network (ACN) would be a bridge linking employer to manpower recruitment agencies and workers. "In the face of global crisis, we have to help each other, because we believe if there is no employer, there will be no agencies and if there are no agencies there will be no employment opportunities for Filipino workers. So everybody here must be protected, everything must be clear and the documents submitted must be duly notarized," he said.
Jimenez welcomed the participating recruitment agencies who in some cases came all the way from Manila, Malaysia and Singapore to participate in the two-day employment fair.
The jobs fair also provides opportunities for Filipinos in Kuwait to look for available jobs in Kuwait and abroad. The event also provides Philippines-based recruitment agencies to highlight their services to local companies or employers.
During the opening ceremony, all those attending were treated to some cultural presentation from pupils at two Philippines schools based in Kuwait
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shoot the ball ................
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Jan 22, 2009 3:27 am
446 Views
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Back to the game again
<-----my Kiddo  competition for under 14 yrs old. After 3 weeks of constant persistent i decided to let him join the team.His dancing to joy. Just minutes ago kiddo rang me and said wish me luck mommy    play to win hehehehe..
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saturday.......
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Jan 10, 2009 1:23 am
404 Views
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It is Saturday when i read news about Visa...
Sunday started implementing the new fees for visit visa applications ‒
KD 15 for the first month and
KD 30 each for the second and third months,
New visit visa fees are applicable to all nationalities except the GCC nationals. If a visitor is overstaying in the country, he will be deported and banned from entering Kuwait again. Foreigners, who are currently on visit visa to Kuwait and wish to renew their visas, will be required to pay the corresponding fees.
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car color................
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Jan 1, 2009 1:46 pm
1648 Views
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In Kuwait, people buy white cars not for style but because they believe that their car will not be as hot as darker colors. Of course, that is a wrong way of thinking and the only color proven to prevent excessive heat in cars is light silver. Light silver acts like a mirror and reflects heat away from the car. It is probably wrong to assume that a white car will contract less heat than a blue or silver car, but it is true that darker colored cars will contract somewhat more heat than lighter colored cars.It is really hard to see why people believe that being in a darker colored car increases the heat significantly. Remember that the human brain will amplify anything the person believes to be true. As far as white colored cars are concerned in Kuwait, don't buy one if you think it will save you from the summer heat. It won't, and the fact that it will refract just 4% of the heat off the car should not persuade you to by a white car for the sake of the sun.
So, the next time you're out shopping for a brand new car, please take into consideration that the color you choose will reflect more about your personality and not just the type of car you're driving. Also, remember the fact that white colored cars will reduce the amount of heat that gets into the car.
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Smiling is nowhere to be found........
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Dec 18, 2008 12:00 pm
1926 Views
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In Kuwait smiling is nowhere to be found.
Walking in Kuwait can be quite intimidating for people who have travelled abroad or for people who come to work in Kuwait. added that no one in Kuwait smiles, "everybody just frowns, people look at what you're wearing and who you're hanging out with, but smiling is never a thing you encounter.
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