MetaFilter posts tagged with Arabs

Al-Jazari's Elephant Clock and other Islamic Inventions

Kattullus — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:14:54 -0800

Al-Jazari is the best-known Islamic inventor of the Middle Ages, famous for his waterclocks and automata. The wonderful History of Science and Technology in Islam has articles on him as well as other subjects. A medieval manuscript of Al-Jazari's masterwork, a book generally known in English as either Book of Knowledge of Mechanical Devices, can be perused in its entirety in flash form. It includes 174 illustrations. If you want to see working copies of his most famous automaton, the Elephant Clock, you can go either to the Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai (Flickr pictures), the Musée d'Horlogerie du Locle in Switzerland (Cabinet of Wonders post about visiting the museum) or Institute for the History of Arab-Islamic Science in Frankfurt (article about the institute from a feature in Saudi Aramco World magazine called Rediscovering Arabic Science).

Arabian Nights

hadjiboy — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:49:28 -0800

Ladies, have you ever dreamt of being ~~whisked away~~ kidnapped by a dashing young Prince? Or being swept off your feet and losing your virginity to a dark and mysterious stranger, who happens to be a Sheikh? Or how about being sold to an Arab aristocracy and living off the rest of your days in married bliss. No? Then how about considering a Royal who is so down-to-earth you won't meet anyone else quite like him? Much better than the alternative of marrying his polar opposite, don't you think? Of course, you can always try and keep it platonic if you wanted to. Welcome to the wonderful world of Sheikhs and Desert Love, where all of your fantasies can come true! (via)

"Unclean"

stammer — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:31:37 -0800

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel says in its annual report that Israel has reached "new heights of racism". Embedded WMV video, article, and, typically for Ha'aretz, some very interesting reader comments. Another report, the Israeli Democracy Institute's 2007 Democracy Index (pdf), reveals the Jewish State to be sharply divided. A majority of Israelis believe that relations are "not good" between rich and poor, between Jews and Arabs, between Ashkenazim and Mizrahim, between "new immigrants" and "old timers", and between secular and religious Jews. 51% of Israeli Arabs think that Jews are racist; 55% of Israeli Jews think that Arabs "will not reach the cultural standards of Jews". Only 59% of citizens consider themselves to be "part of Israel", compared to 79% in 2003.

Neither Whores nor Submissives: Secularism, Equality, Pluralism

anotherpanacea — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:41:20 -0800

Ni Putes Ni Soumise (Neither Whores Nor Submissives) is a French organization started by Fadéla Amara to combat the growing misogyny in the banlieues, the housing project suburbs that ring the major cities. Her organization began to protest a rash of gang rapes, and now works on human rights issues in and around the experience of Arabs in France. Amara has joined Nicholas Sarkozy's conservative cabinet as the minister of urban policy. For some, she is a hero, for others a hypocrite, but everyone agrees that she's shaking things up. NPNS controversially sides with the ban on the 'foulard' or headscarf, worn by many Muslim women in public spaces. They also approve of mixed marriages in a way that has alienated many other Muslim activists. It's an interesting movement: they've done a lot to garner attention for the 'ghetto' problem in France: men without jobs, forcing their wives and daughters to live restrictive lives in order to preserve a cultural identity at odds with the very Judeo-Christian-Secular French society.

Confessions of an Army Torturer

Postroad — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 11:20:51 -0800

Confessions of an Army Torturer "...as an army interrogator, he tortured detainees for information he admits they rarely had. Since leaving Iraq he’s taken this story public, doing battle on national television against the war’s architects for giving him the orders he regrets he obeyed...

Emirates Aided Kin of Palestinian Militants

Postroad — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 09:36:31 -0800

Emirates Aided Kin of Palestinian Militants The American people, for reasons of possible anti-Arab feelings, made it clear that the Arab Emirates were not to gain control over our ports, despite the statements from the White House that this group is our friend and a partner in the fight against terrorism. Despite our 'friendship," there is now this evidence to the contrary. But will this news be sufficient to prevent Dubai's $1.2 Bln Bid for U.S. Weapons Maker ?

Conservatives gobble her up

Secret Life of Gravy — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 10:54:51 -0800

Taking a leaf out of Ann Coulter's book. Jillian Brandes, a writer for the UNC-Chapel Hill student paper "The Daily Tar Hill" wrote an opinion column that included the sentence, I want all Arabs to be stripped naked and cavity-searched if they get within 100 yards of an airport. She was then fired from the paper. But don't worry about her future. "Within a day, she was being interviewed by radio stations throughout the country. Her case was gobbled up by the conservative media and featured on a major professional journalism Web site Thursday."

Poll Shows Growing Arab Rancor at U.S

y2karl — Sat, 24 Jul 2004 00:06:13 -0800

Poll Shows Growing Arab Rancor at U.S. Arab views of the United States, shaped largely by the Iraq war and a post-Sept. 11 climate of fear, have worsened in the past two years to such an extent that in Egypt -- an important ally in the region -- nearly 100 percent of the population now holds an unfavorable opinion of the country, according to two polls due out today... More within

A View from the Eye of the Storm

stbalbach — Fri, 25 Jun 2004 00:35:19 -0800

A View from the Eye of the Storm. An Arab intellectual in Europe ponders on the Muslim world and comes to some interesting conclusions. Israel is a sideshow. Iran is the most dangerous country in the world.. in the long run the only way for us (the West) to win the war of terror is to force the problem nations to reform both politically and culturally.via Steven Den Beste weblog

A cry for help from Kurdistan

Artifice_Eternity — Mon, 03 Mar 2003 12:52:14 -0800

From the faculty at Salahaddin University in Kurdistan: "We as academic staff for the region's biggest Universities attended by different nations including Kurds, Turkman, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Arabs condemn this terrible threat towards our achievements and legitimate rights and express our complete refusal to any Turkish military intervention into the region's territory and affairs."

Iraq

semmi — Fri, 20 Dec 2002 09:08:19 -0800

Iraq and the Arab's Future, by Fouad Ajami Some real background, and analysis.

specialk420 — Thu, 26 Sep 2002 15:01:33 -0800

Israeli-Arab Hero this kid had a lot of guts - will he get the recognition he deserves in israel or the US? username: metafilter password: metafilter

apollo3000 — Thu, 29 Aug 2002 16:11:44 -0800

Talk about culture clash -- the personal opinions of a U.S. military attache/observer concerning Arab military practices. See also the EgyptAir Flight 990 investigation. Big question: how can we make some progress here? [courtesy aldaily.com]

semmi — Thu, 15 Aug 2002 18:08:46 -0800

Demograhics weighed. More flavor into the melting pot, or more strife as another ethnicity to claim the turf for themselves?

fnord_prefect — Tue, 18 Jun 2002 18:21:29 -0800

Angering Arabs for Dummies, By Ariel Sharon. "Israel will respond to acts of terror by capturing PA territory," says Sharon. How, exactly, will this stop the bombings? Sorry for the I/P post, but this seems fairly important.

MiguelCardoso — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 08:30:56 -0800

Why Europeans And Arabs Hate America And Israel: In this brash, provocative essay for The Weekly Standard, good old David Brooks blames what he calls bourgeoisophobia. He may have gone too far in his desire to make his point, but there's something in what he says. Is it envy? Is it anti-semitism? Is it hypocrisy pure and simple? There's definitely a ressurgence of the pushy, garish, ostentatious and arrogant "ugly American" stereotype after September 11. Apart from the conservative Daily Telegraph and Spectator, it's becoming more and more difficult for Atlanticists such as myself to avoid ritual America-bashing in the European mainstream press. What in the hell is going on? My feeling is that Americans themselves are going out of their way to reaffirm their way of life and reinforce those prejudices. It's as if you vont to be alone. Or is it, as I suspect, just us? [More inside]

skyboy — Fri, 05 Apr 2002 10:20:56 -0800

Arab world has to change or wither away Today's editorial from the Daily Star newspaper (Lebanon). "Arab countries are governed by systems and structures designed in another era, one that is never coming back ... It is a recipe for disaster whose results are on display for all to see." Is this just grass-is-greener longing, or a real argument for political and economic reforms?

Rastafari — Thu, 04 Apr 2002 20:10:33 -0800

As the violence in the Middle East escalates, and Arab anger grows over American support of Israel (especially among the masses), is another oil embargo possible? Oil may be the Arab world's daily bread, but it's also its only weapon — if, say, Arafat is killed or Israel goes too far in its incursions into Palestinian territories, popular sentiment in the already-shaky local regimes could force Arab governments to put up a show of defiance to calm their constituencies.

Postroad — Mon, 04 Feb 2002 15:30:51 -0800

Arafat's duplicity revealed on video. His call for an end to terrorism, published in The NY Times suggests peacful intentions. This article claims he has made videos which suggest to Arab audiences that his talk is merely strategic and he has the elimination of the State Of Israel as his goal

Duug — Wed, 09 Jan 2002 08:45:25 -0800

I shot the Sharif? Interesting Salon piece on the Arabian influence on the West down the ages. Lest we forget?

Postroad — Mon, 31 Dec 2001 06:13:00 -0800

A Plea For Realism This is the first time I have seen an on-line or paper eminating from the Arab states and serving the Arab/Muslim community suggest a new approach that is peaceful for bringing about a resolution the the chaos that has marked this past year in that area of the world.

xyzzy — Mon, 15 Oct 2001 14:04:29 -0800

This is exactly what I was afraid would happen to the hundreds of so-called material witnesses to the investigation of the terrorist attacks. I fear that this is simply a "quieter" internment of many innocent people of Arab descent. How can the government ask for religious and ethnic tolerance while subjecting people to morally questionable treatment?

Rastafari — Fri, 05 Oct 2001 23:30:16 -0800

What does it mean to be "Arab-looking"? Arabs are perceived to have olive complexions, dark eyes and black hair. But that generalization could not be more wrong, according to Gordon Newby, executive director of Emory's Institute for Comparative and International Studies. "Arabs can be tall, short, light skinned, dark skinned, curly haired, straight haired, dark eyed, light eyed, black haired, red haired."

adnanbwp — Tue, 02 Oct 2001 08:32:50 -0800

Q&A about Muslims and Arab-Americans
Recommended read for all friends who think they need clarifications.

Postroad — Wed, 19 Sep 2001 11:22:27 -0800

Israel is not the real issue the piece speaks for itself. Many have blamed our foreign policy, our support of Israel, our bombing of Iraq. This view sees a different issue and confrontation.