Islam the Religion of Peace Unless You Disagree

In 2012 Blogger Raif Badawi was arrested for his views posted upon his blog "Saudi Arabian Liberals", where he advocated secularism and hosted political and religious debate in the highly charged religious atmosphere of Saudi Arabia. In 2013 Badawi was convicted with the crimes of violating the Kingdom's information technology laws and insulting Islam and was sentenced to seven years behind bars along with 600 lashes to be filled out through his incarceration.

When appealed, Saudi Arabian Courts increased his sentence to ten years and 1,000 lashes. Badawi received his first set of 19 public lashing in January of this year.

However the Raif Badawi story is just one of many when it comes to speaking your mind in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Courts have recently sentenced to death Palestinian-born poet Ashraf Fayadh for his 2008 book of poetry, " Insructions Within ". Citing his work contained evidence of atheism and destructive thoughts. Originally Fayadh was given the sentence of four years and 800 lashes, however, a new court panel concluded that his punishment was to light and a decision of death was handed out instead.

International outcry over the death penalty urged Western intellectuals and the literary community to hold rallies and sign petitions calling to set Fayadh free. In February their efforts paid-off somewhat as the case was retried for a third time leading to Fayadh receiving an eight year sentence along with 800 lashes.

*Mona Kareen, a New York based writer and friend of Fayadh, is translating the controversial book from Arabic to English for the independent Brooklyn based publishers The Operating System. " Most of it [the book] is about the experience of being a refugee in an oil kingdom. Specifically as Palestinian refugee born and raised in Saudi Arabia. Fayadh challenges [the] common narrative in which migrations end in Western countries. His work calls into question the role of Arab states... Highlights the marginalization of refugees in Arab society. " Mona Kareem goes on to say that Fayadh's poetic protests are inherently political and this is why the government of Saudi Arabia has come after him.

Saudi Arabia is home for 240,000 Palestinian refugees however they are excluded from laws that allow expatriates to purse citizenship and exist in limbo of statelessness. When it comes to other refugees in the Arab Kingdom who break laws many are deported, although, in the case of Ashrah Fayadh, whom is a Palestinian but born and raised in Saudi Arabia, he has no state to be deported too.

Today the 35 year-old poet sits in jai. No longer writes. Preparing for a new process of appeals. Looking at a reality of years of prison. His one and only care is that people don't forget him. But forget him they will. Many don't care about what goes on the other side of the world, about things they no nothing or care about. If the West in looking for change in places like Saudi Arabia they are never going to find it as the governments turn blind eyes to the abuses that are delivered Daily for those trying for change. Obama and other Western governments talk about trying to spur openness and freedom in places such as Iran but continue to allow our supposed allies in the region carte blanche when comes to their own Human Rights Violations.

*Mona Kareem is a researcher for the advocacy group Migrant-Rights.org and is currently a PhD candidate in the Comparative Literature Program at Binghamton University. You can find her at MonaKareem.blogspot.com

Gotta Love the Irony

Ah the irony of it all.

I have to laugh at what has become “The Year of the Protest”. Whether it’s the rise in the Arab world or the Anti-Wall Street protester that have seized upon the financial district; the Arabs and thier hate of almost anything Western (I’m not saying all of them or even most, they just happen to be the loudest), and the those that call themselves “Occupy Wall Street” and their hatred of corporate America, Big Business, and Billionaire CEO’s, of how the two groups have spread their word (Arabs) through via the (Western) internet and when you see the protesters along the streets of New York large portions of them have their iphones glued to their ears or are texting/tweating their agenda. I mean, really? If you hate corporate America I think the last product you want to use would be anything Apple, the corporation that happens to come out with a new version of the phone they are on every six months or so. Isn’t that feeding into the greed you are supposed to be protesting about?

And lets not forget the terrorists anti America/Western Society agenda that they spread through their Facebook/Twitter accounts.

I mean if you are so against all these things why use them. I can understand the terrorists, how they are using our technology against us, but with the “Occupy Wall Street” people I just don’t understand how they can stand there lecturing me or anyone else on the evils of corporate greed all the while having their iphone or Android or Tablet or whatever the latest tech happens to be in their pocket or bag or even sitting at home.

Not to say that I am totally against everything they stand for. I’m completely against the government propping up the banks and businesses with our tax dollars all the while we toil with high unemployment and foreclosures with nothing more than a song and dance and a pat on the back by the Administration. But I do have a problem with how this so-called “Grassroots” group can continue to support the Unions that wholeheartedly helped put us in the mess we now face with unsustainable contracts that they refuse to budge on when it comes to trying to negotiate something new. How can we continue to pay for people the kind of money they are getting in retirement. I’m not talking the 9 to 5 guy that put in his time busting their ass. No, I’m talking about the ones that didn’t and don’t that reap the same benefits.

Also I find it absurd that “Occupy Wall Street” isn’t put into the same category as another “so-called” grassroots group of the “Tea Party“. I mean when they came on to the scene that were vilified as racist -even though there are many ethnic supporters, and terrorists that have held the country “hostage”. What a fucking joke. So far I’ve seen far more Wall Street protesters arrested in the last couple of days than I have Tea Partiers ever. And I know for a fact that both the Parties have all kinds of skeletons in their closets. Not that I’m saying I like them either. Far from it. They seemed to be loud mouths like everyone else seems to be (with me included…lol).

There are no easy answers to the mess we are in. Obama has said so countless times already and will continue to do so until the next election where he and his party will blame Bush (again and again) for the problems that they have helped along for the last four years while the Republicans will blame the Democrats when they haven’t the slightest idea of how to fix as well. I just happen to find it funny from the irony of it all and of all of these groups of fools that say they know better than I do.