Karim El Behiry reports from the Gharbeia governorate:

Karim continues:

Back to Arabawy who notes the probable cause of the fire could be “electric sparks as the machines were re-started after the holidays. The textile factories of course are full of raw cotton supplies and inflammable materials. Fire spread quickly.”

The series of fires is really fishy, and a conspiracy theory is quite appealing for so many Egyptians, given the recurrence of the severe fires hitting influential/historic Egyptian buildings which started with the Egyptian Parliament on August 19th, 2008, followed by the National Theatre in Cairo.

Linuxawy lists the fires and tries to speculate which building's turn is it next?

He adds:

”

In the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, the Palestine Teachers’ Union is one of the few remaining strongholds of Fatah, and is supported by Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah. It called a strike during the first week of the school year to protest the transfer of dozens of teachers, transfers which it claimed were made so that Hamas could install its supporters in key positions. Teachers were stuck in the middle of the conflict between Hamas, which controls the administration of Gaza, and the PA in Ramallah, which pays their salaries. They were threatened with having their salaries cut or being fired if they broke the strike, or if they accepted a promotion (indicating loyalty to Hamas); yet if they did strike then they risked being sacked by Hamas. While Hamas denied they were replacing staff, as soon as the strike started it brought in hundreds of new teachers; Hamas’ Education Minister estimated that 2,000 of the 9,000 government school teachers had been replaced.

Mutasharrid (‘homeless person’ or ‘vagrant’) is a pupil in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, and explains what happened during the first week of the school year:

At the time of writing some teachers are still on strike.

Averting Depression describes his state of mind:

After writing this post, Averting Depression had a terrible nightmare which left him in tears, and he wondered whether the post caused it:

Egyptian blogger El-Hanem wrote here about today's disaster. She said:

شب حريق في صالة العرض بالمسرح القومي بوسط القاهرة مساء اليوم السبت في وقت يسود فيه الهدوء التام مع استعداد المسلمين لتناول طعام الإفطار بعد غروب الشمس.
وقالت مصدر بالإدارة العامة للدفاع المدني والإطفاء إن النيران بدأت في الاشتعال في نحو الخامسة وخمس وثلاثين دقيقة بتوقيت القاهرة وبدأت بستارة المسرح واستمرت نحو ساعتين ولم تؤد إلى وقوع إصابات باستثناء بعض حالات الاختناق المحدودة.
وأضاف أن أكثر من 30 سيارة إطفاء انتقلت إلى المسرح المشتعل الذي يقع في ميدان العتبة حيث توجد الإدارة الرئيسية للحماية المدنية بالعاصمة.
ورجح أن الحريق نتج عن تماس كهربائي تلاه انفجار بعض أجهزة التكييف داخل قاعة المسرح وهو ما أدى إلى انهيار جزء من ديكورات وواجهات المسرح المطلة على ميدان العتبة.

A fire started in the National Theater's Hall in downtown Cairo at 5pm today. The city was calm then as it's the holy month of Ramadan now and Muslims here were getting ready for breaking their fast.
Sources at the Fire Fighting department said that the fire started at 5.35pm Cairo local time, when the theater's curtains burned and lasted for about two hours. Fortunately, there were no victims there except for some minor injuries due to smoke inhalation. More than 35 trucks moved to the burning theater located in El Attaba square, which is by the way where the Cairo Fire Fighting department headquarters is located.
The fire was most probably due to an electric spark, followed by an explosion in one of the theater's air conditioning systems, which in turn destroyed parts of the theater's decorations.

Syrian Medad was minutes away from the explosion and gives us an eyewitness account of what happened:

Dania, from Syria, has a post entitled 17. She writes:

17 people are killed… and no one knows any thing, no news agency knows any thing, no further details but … 17 people are killed.

200kg of explosive… who, how, and why…
17 people are killed…I can't think right now, my brother was on his way to the airport.

They say it might be an assassination, and they say it might be only a threat to the national security.

17 people are killed

Sasa, meanwhile, posts catches up with the rumour mill and brings us the latest:

So, it's been a few minutes since the bomb, and already people are spending their time wishing up conspiracy theories based on their filthy politics, instead of thinking about the fact that seventeen lives have been lost.

Here's what I've heard already:

- The bomb was near the Sidi Kadad Intelligence Headquarters, responsible for monitoring Palestinians in Damascus - it must be Palestinians taking revenge

- The bomb was on the airport road - it must be Israelis trying to hurt a symbol of national significance

- The bomb was in Sayida Zeinab - it must be the Iraqi problem being exported

- The bomb was trying to undermine the stability of the Syrian government - it must be the Americans

- The bomb was revenge for the killing of a top government official last month - it must be the Syrians

- The bomb was revenge for the killing of Hizbollah official Imad Mughniya - it must be the Lebanese

- The bomb follows other attacks across Syria by religious extremists - it must be Al Qaeda

Just think about the dead - instead of how the attack supports your filthy view of the world.

And Syria affairs expert Joshua Landis links to a Telegraph article for the news. Commentators on his post were quick to respond.

Offended said:

Very disturbing news. What kind of a sick ideology or agenda is behind such attacks?

And IDAF responded:

Luckily it is a weekend and no children were in the damaged elementary school in the location.

Syrian TV was the only source of information and footage so far. Some images here:
http://www.syria-news.com/readnews.php?sy_seq=83046

From neighbouring Egypt, Zeinobia explains:

This is the first terrorist act that targets the Syrian civilians since a long time. Also it comes after a serious of mysterious assignations assassinations took place across the country. Not to mention it comes at the same time the Syria seems to regain power in the region.

Till now the message behind this blast is not obvious , it is for sure sent to the Syrian regime but for what ?? For its Relations with Iran or the regime itself !!??

The Kuwait Ministry of Communications first issued an order to local ISPs denying access to Youtube due to video content considered offensive to Muslims and Islam. Blogger later reported that the ban was lifted after YouTube removed the ‘offensive' video.

About the original ban, Ansam writes:

I think this is the dumbest decision ever made when it comes to blocking offensive sites… whats next? Blogs!!! Limewire!!!

Man this is ridiculous… no, no, no… its is ridiculously sad! Who comes up with such decisions! Isnt youtube also full of videos supporting Islam, Muslims, and Arabs! Why take the negative part?!?! Was it because of the Quranic verses read in melodic background? The video was removed for God's sake? You only need to report offensive videos and your voice will sure be heard!

I am hating this SO MUCH! Ughhhhhhhhh!

And when the ban was not implemented, Ansam exclaimed:

They canceled! Its not blocked… YAY

Another Kuwaiti blogger, Loft965, notes:

It’s the end of the world as we know it: Kuwait might block YouTube.

Bashar too is livid at the decision, suggesting that the government bans other sites while it is at it. His suggestions include:

If they still wanna move forward, despite that YouTube did really act upon the video, listned to people complains, and there isn’t really any such videos right now, then I have a list of suggestions to push our country furter forward, carefully selected from Alexa top 100 sites in Kuwait:

 

 

1. Google, Yahoo, and MSN Search: The head of search to all evil things. Block them.
2. Facebook: There are some athiest and anti-Islamic groups. Don’t try to reach them, educate them, or show your thoughts. Just leave the whole site.
3. Maktoob.com: Arabic online forums, e-marriage could be abused for dating, movies, horoscopes. This is not Islamic is it?
4. Kooora.com: All about soccer, mostly European soccer where teams show sponsored Beer and wine ads on their Shirts.
5. RapidShare: Sharing is not monitored, you can’t tell what your people are sharing. And someone might be secretly sharing offensive content. There must be some of it. Or at least, just to be on the safe side
6. Travian.ae: Obiously, why should you let your people play as Romanian soldiers in an online game, helping the Romanian empire expand it’s grounds online, when they could be fighting as Islamic ones.
7. Hi5: Friendship site.

Falantan brings news of the order to ban YouTube being reconsidered at higher levels. He writes:

Thanks to you all and the amazing response, it seems the Ministry people are realizing their blunder […]And now I got confirmation that the Minister himself has convened with his department heads and rescinded the order.
Thank you al-Jarida and thank you bloggers of Kuwait :)

Writing in Arabic, Jandeef argues:

Jordanian Moey, who visits Kuwait regularly, urges the authorities:

Why block the website? I’m not sure if any of you remember, they blocked anything +18 in Yahoo groups 2 years back, and YouTube has an option that allows users to report offensive content.

Please don’t go nuts like Syria and block YouTube and Facebook?

And Frankom rants:

Lebanon stands out as a more tolerant space for homosexuality in the region compared to Saudi Arabia for example where homosexuality is often punished by flogging, life imprisonment and even beheading. Lebanon’s homosexuals enjoy the first association for gay people in the Middle East, called the Helem Foundation. In addition to that, Lebanon also has gay bars and nightclubs. But the real life for this section of the community is not paved with roses. A quick round up of blogs and spaces promoting this issue in Lebanon should give the reader a brief peek into how this community lives.

Mazaj at Majaz75 wrote about homosexuality in the Middle East and the role of religion in it, expressing his personal opinion on the matter:

Some people relate the attitude towards homosexuality in Arab countries to Islam, but that’s not completely true. Arabs, Muslims and Christians, consider homosexuality to be a sin. All Arabs are attached to religion; the Church and the Mosque have a key role in Arabs lives. Born as a Muslim, I feel it is very important to explain Islam’s and Sheiks’* views of homosexuality.

Some scriptures of the Quran, the Holy Book of Islam, were taken out of context, added to a Hadith** not correctly reported to Prophet Muhammad, and conveyed to Muslims by ignorant Sheiks to form a general look at homosexuality as a sin that is against the nature intended by god for humans. In this Hadith, gay guys caught in act are to be killed by throwing them down from the highest building in town. Considering that most buildings in most Arab peninsula’s towns were about 5-7 meters high at that time, this Hadith seems very ridiculous.

Majaz adds:

Being raised in a strict Muslim family, I struggled with my homosexuality in my early adolescent years, but I also had access to some rare Islamic scriptures, which allowed me to have a great look to how Islam dealt with homosexuality. I had come to the conclusion that Islam considers sexuality to be an identity, something to be born with. I also discussed this conclusion with well-known moderate Sheikhs, who confirmed it to me. Nevertheless, even the most moderate ones insisted that it is not acceptable to convey this fact about homosexuality in Islam to people for so many unconvincing reasons.

GayMiddleEast.com, a news site that focuses on the homosexual communities in the Middle East, posts an article written in a local Lebanese newspaper about an architect called Danny and his daily struggle in Lebanon as a homosexual:

Danny said he was open about his sexuality in Europe, but has been forced to keep a low profile in Lebanon mainly for two reasons: a non-tolerant society, and fear of his parents' reaction.

“Being gay in Lebanon is very hard,” he said.”I come from a highly conservative family, and if my parents knew about my sexuality it would be devastating for the both of us,” he said in a low, shaky tone. “I don't want to ever think about their reaction if they knew.” Danny added that he has never tried to be open with any of his friends about his sexuality, saying he preferred to stay “in the closet” for the time being.

“I can never consider being open about my sexuality over here,” he said, explaining it might cause him a lot of trouble, especially at work.

“I have seen how colleagues at work react when they encounter a person who they suspect is gay,” he said. “They avoid him as if he has a disease, and even harass him sometimes.”

Another post by GayMiddleEast.com refers to few incidents that occurred a couple of years ago regarding two social clubs known for their homosexual crowd:

On the night of November 12, 2005, 6 men were arrested in Acid nightclub, a known gay venue in Sin el Fil. No charges were pressed against them. The detainees were released after 3 days of detention. Although no physical abuse was reported, the police were verbally abusive towards the men.

A week later, another known gay club, X-OM, was raided. The police checked IDs and inquired about drug use in the venue. No arrests took place that night.

Acid and X-OM were probably targeted by the police for their openly gay clientele, although legally they had no pretext for any arrests. Article 534 of the Lebanese penal code explicitly states that “penetrative sex against nature” is punishable by law, and not homosexuality per se or the adoption of a gay identity. Laws against public indecency may be enforced if excessive displays of affection or other such behavior is witnessed, but this does not entail the same sort.

Meem, a community of lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, queers and questioning women in Lebanon, moderates a blog where members can post and share experiences and news. Pazuzu, in her post, shares a personal experience she went through while walking home one night:

Well, I passed by a couple of guys, one those men that scare you (or is it any man that scares you when you are in my situation?). Anyway, typically the first sign of your vulnerability in these situations is that the predators start discussing you in your face:

- Bint yamma sabe hayda?

And for our non Arabic readers :

- Is he a boy or a girl?

But it’s fine I guess, it wasn’t the first time that my sexual identity was questioned, though I didn’t look particularly boyish that day. The real treat was when the second guy opens his mouth. I guess he was encouraged by his friend’s attitude, thinking maybe I am a boy that likes to look like girls, to be honest, I am not sure what he was thinking but he said to me:

-Baddak nitsalla? Ta3a nitsalla

Again, respecting the non Arabic readers:

-Wanna have fun? Let’s have fun together

Al Jaras, a local Lebanese TV station, was commenting over some photos of Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres’ wedding when Jexy at Meem's blog realized that in addition to pronouncing Portia's name wrong, the TV presenter went on insulting the homosexuals in general as she describes it:

The first thing that was on my mind: “Seriously you dummy! You wanna trash them? Fine! But at least get the names right!”. And what added up, she was talking at the same time about the Indian man that married a certain animal! Is this where we belong? In the same category of man/animal marriage!? She kept displaying the photos over and over again, adding up “Hayda dod el din [this is a sin]!“. The heavenly angels assigned her to label people and decide what’s wrong and what’s against religion! I wanted to call and ask her: “Honey, if the sight of Ellen and “Borita” sickens you this much…why do u keep displaying them?” But then again, every word she was saying was showing nothing but IGNORANCE.

Learn more about the gay community in Lebanon by visiting Helem Association and Meem Foundation.

The media plays a huge rule in preserving the stability that the Al–Saud aim to maintain. Not a long time ago, the Saudi government restricted televised broadcasts into two main channels (owned and run by the government). One was in Arabic and the other in English. When the cable and satellite broadcast networks were developed around the world, the Saudis made it clear that purchasing such equipment is prohibited and banned by law. Nonetheless, smugglers and well connected individuals managed to acquire this new technology which slowly began to surface in every household.

While the rest of the Arab world began to adopt this technology and update their broadcast range and reach, Saudi Arabia in an attempt to catch up with the region's fast pace allowed the use of this new trend and soon updated its own channels to broadcast internationally.  Although over the past few years, lectures and social awareness campaigns were promoted by the Saudi government to prevent the influence of Western cultures and anti-Islamic habits deemed corrupting to the Islamic communities, there wasn’t a single incident of an extreme ruling that could be compared to the latest fatwa (religious decree).

Sheikh Saleh Al-Laheedan, the head of the Saudi Supreme Judiciary Council, issued a fatwa that makes it permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV networks that broadcast immoral content. And although the Sheikh didn’t specify any particular channels, this announcement created a wave of controversy and attacks from the international and western media in particular, as well as Arab media and bloggers. And even though the Sheikh issued another statement, following the worldwide response, in which he clarified his original fatwa as not to kill people randomly but bring them to justice and issue the death penalty if they were found guilty, it didn’t calm or answer some people’s frustration and questions.

Ali Alomari posted a video of the fatwa declared by the Sheikh and backed its message up, since in his opinion a change is needed in society to maintain an open mind without compromising Islamic values:

فتوى واضحة في مدلولها, صريحة في لغتها, ومتفقة تمام الاتفاق مع روح الإسلام؛ تلك التي أصدرها سماحة الشيخ صالح اللحيدان -رئيس مجلس القضاء الأعلى وعضو هيئة كبار العلماء- عبر إذاعة القرآن الكريم من المملكة العربية السعودية؛ حيث أفتى -سماحته- بجواز قتل مّلاك القنوات الفضائية الهابطة “قضاء” إذا قدر على منعهم فلم يمتنعوا ولم يمكن دفع شرهم بعقوبة دون القتل…

The fatwa by his Eminence Sheikh Saleh Al-Laheedan is clear in its message and purpose and is in line with Islam's spirit. His fatwa decress that the killing of the owners of satellite channels which broadcast immoral material is their destiny. If they are warned and chose to disregard such warnings, then there are no other ways to stop their evil doing than by killing them.”

In his post regarding the fatwa, Yaser Al-Ghaslan took the opportunity to address the Sheikh by asking him to be more transparent in his future speeches and requested that future fatwas should shed the light on more day to day issues that are more critical and real to many Muslims in the region:

لن اطالب هنا بأن لا يفتي فضيلتة في القضايا التي يراها حساسة رغم ظروف الوطن المختلفه و لن اطالبه بأن يقدم مصلحة الوطن و الشعب على ما يمليه ضميرة الديني تجاه القضايا التي يراها مفسده و خروج عن الدين، بل أطلب أن يكون واضحا و شفافا في فتاويه القادمه بخصوص قضايا بلادنا الحقيقية و التي تمس الناس مباشرة مثل غلاء الأسعار و موقف الشرع حول أفضل طرق الوقايه من الغلاء و تقديم النصح للناس من أجل عيشه كريمة، كما اطلب من فضيلته أن يفتي بضرورة محاسبة المسئولين المقصرين صراحة و أن يكون مباشرا في نقده و فتواه و تقديم النصح بدلا من الحديث في العموم و إطلاق الأحكام العمومية

I am not here to question the Sheikh's wisdom or intentions. I am asking him to take issues that effect people directly with a clearer approach and speeches, issues such as the ever rising prices of goods and the best ways to deal with providing our citizens with decent living conditions. I also ask of him to direct the blame on those responsible with all honesty in his criticism and fatwas instead of generalizing.

Ibrahim Hudhaif's post on this issue was more of a response to a piece by writer Turki Al-Hamad, where the latter expressed his disgust at how the human life is so cheap:

يقول الكاتب تركي الحمد … هل صار الإنسان بهذا الرخص؟ وهل أصبح الحكم بالقتل بهذه السهولة … وكأن المقتول دجاجة؟ ثم ينهي كلامه ويقول المحرض على القتل فهو قاتل!!! انتهى
أين هؤلاء عندما تقصف أمريكا عرسا في أفغانستان ويسقط الأبرياء بسبب معلومات خاطئة قدمت لهم … هل صار الإنسان بهذا الرخص؟
أين هؤلاء عندما قتلت أمريكا أكثر من مليون عراقي في العراق … هل أصبح الإنسان رخيصا لهذه الدرجة يا تركي؟
أم أين هم عندما عذبت امريكا المعتقلين بسجن أبو غريب واستخدمت شتى أنواع الذل والمهانه تجاه المعتقلين … ويحاكم جندي واحد فقط ويسجن كم شهر!!! … لهذه الدرجة الإنسان رخيصا يا أديبهم … سبحان الله

Writer Turki Al-Hamad asks when did the human life become so cheap and easily disposed and compares it to killing a chicken, and ends his piece claiming that the those who promote killing are killers as well.

Let me ask you Turki, where were those attacking the Sheikh's fatwa when the US bombed a wedding in Afghanistan based on false intelligence?! Is human life that cheap?!
Were were they when the US killed more than a million citizens in Iraq? Is human life that cheap?! Where were those voices when the US tortured the prisoners in Abo Ghareeb and used all sorts of humiliation methods while questioning them? And at the end only one US soldier were accused in court and sentenced for few months in jail?! Is life that cheap Turki?!

Blogging to tackle the issue behind the fatwa rather the fatwa itself, Abed Al Aziz Al Sweed writes his post admitting he didn't listen or watch the Sheikh's speech but he is more interested in the core of the issue:

ما أتمناه ألا تنشغل الصحافة بظاهر الفتوى وإثارة صحافية “مغرية” فيها، بل علينا تجاوز ذلك، إلى اللب والأسباب. لقد كتب الكثير عن الفضائيات والمسؤولية الأخلاقية التي يجب أن تحكم أعمالها وتؤطر نشاطها إلا أن كل هذا، وهو عصارة رأي عام مستهدف من القنوات يجب أن يعطى حقه الأخلاقي… لم يحرك ساكناً ويحدث تغييراً يذكر في برامج تلك الوسائل الإعلامية، بل أن الاستمرار شجع على تزايد توالد فضائيات أقل ما يقال عنها إنها مخجلة بحثاً عن الربح السهل السريع.

What I am really hoping for here is for the media to avoid exhausting its resources on the this post-fatwa frenzy for commercial gains, and actually pay more attention to the reasons and elements building to this fatwa. A lot of these broadcasting networks were questioned in the past regarding their ethics and responsibilities on what they are broadcasting and promoting, but those questions came back empty handed. And unfortunately such disregard in the past encouraged the multiplication of those networks, and the least I can say is that they merely are a shameful display running behind easy financial gains.

Ahmad Ba Aboud, asks himself personal questions implied by this controversy, and while finding his answers he states that such an incident proves how behind the community has become in the absence of tolerance and intellectual debates that could have saved the country from sinking into such useless controversies:

- حتى لو توقفت القنوات التي يملكها سعوديون عن بث ما يحوي الخلاعة و المجون، من سيمنع الناس من مشاهدة القنوات الأخرى التي ستستمر في بث ما تشاء لمن يريد!.
- و لو فرضنا أن كل القنوات العربية توقفت عن بث الخلاعة و المجون، من سيمنع الناس من مشاهدة القنوات الأجنبية التي تبث على الأقمار الصناعية التي يصل بثها للدول العربية؟
- من سيوقف ما يوجد في الأنترنت من محتويات غير أخلاقية و تحمل صفات المجون و الخلاعة؟
- أليس من حق الناس أن تشاهد و تحكم بنفسها و تقرر ما تشاهده و ما تمتنع عنه؟
- كيف يمكن المطالبة بوقف قنوات التسلية و التي تبث الخلاعة و المجون في ظل شح وسائل الترفية و النشاطات الإجتماعية في السعودية؟ أين سيذهب الناس في أوقات فراغهم؟.
- إلى أي حد يجب على السلطات أن تتدخل في مواجهة ما قد ينظر إليه البعض على أنه خطر على المجتمع (متمثلاً هنا في صورة القنوات المتهمة بالمجون و الخلاعة) و بأي صورة يكون هذا التدخل؟.

Even if the Saudi-owned channels stopped broadcasting the programs in question here, what will withhold people from switching to other channels?
Even is all the Arabic TV channels shut down these provocative programs, what will stop the viewers from switching to foreign channels?
What about the internet and its content that is full of indecent material? Who can control that?
Don't people have the right to watch and then judge what they consider worthy?
In a country like Saudi Arabia, where the absence of recreational activities and spaces is being compensated with watching and interacting with entertainment programs on TV, what will people do in their free time once these programs are shut down?
How far should the authorities go in their effort to cleanse what they deem threatening to the community's values?

Bassam Sebati posted an article reflecting his disapproval of this fatwa and possible link to the recent killing of 4 journalist working at a TV show in Iraq:

It seems it was not enough what the Wahabis did since they hijacked Islam and Saudi Arabia, but also they continue to be the source of most of the mayhem across the Middle East. They just don't stop spreading hatred and murder for any reason they find right before their eyes…

…One day after this evil verdict, assassins killed four TV journalists from Iraq's Al-Sharqiyah Satellite TV channel while filming a show about feeding the fasting people in the holy month of Ramadan. The show called, “Breaking Your Fast Is on Us,” is a popular TV show, widely watched by many Iraqis during the holy month. The TV channel picks families who have financial difficulties and make them a huge meal of Iftar, along with other presents like house equipments, including refrigerators, stoves, ovens, TV-sets, etc.

I don't know if the killing of these journalists is linked to what that evil Sheikh issued, but it seems it's not disconnected. It's wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong and should be stopped.

Menassat.com published an article that rounds up reports by some major media networks about Al-Laheedan's fatwa.

His crime? Posting this article, part of which is translated here into English, on Hespress [Ar], in which he describes how the Moroccan King's charity and gratuities towards his people benefits “the lucky sons and daughters of this country and overlooks the rest.”

He explained his point:

Countries which respect their citizens do not turn them into beggars under the feet of nobility. Instead, they develop factories and workshops for them to work in and earn their living with dignity. Even if we assume that such gratuities are only dispersed to deserving citizens such as the special needs and poor, which is impossible at any rate, this isn't anything that makes Moroccan citizens proud. The right to work, health care and education are granted by the Constitution. Therefore, the state should provide decent means of living for its citizens - other than humiliating them in this shameless manner.

And bloggers around the region have been nodding their heads in agreement - for they might just as well substitute the name Morocco from the article and replace it with the name of their countries.

Who is Mohammed Erraji? Why did he write what he wrote knowing well that in many countries in the Middle East criticising members of the vast Ruling families is very likely to result in repercussions and punishment? Saudi blogger Fouad Al Farhan, who recently found himself behind bars for his writings in Saudi Arabia, visits Erraji's blog looking for answers.

After learning about Erraji's arrest, Al Farhan visits his blog:

I visited his blog for the first time and was eager to visit his first posts, which usually speak about the blogger's view towards blogging and the reasons why he is joining this wave. They also explain what his ambitions are and what he hopes to achieve through blogging. I found him saying in one of his first posts:
“I want to fill the pages of this blog with all the ideas which are erupting in my hear like an active volcano at times, and like cool refreshing breezes at others. I want to sit for long hours in front of the computer. I want to write about everything in my private life, and about politics, sports, religion, about everything. I want to write without stopping …”

With these words the Moroccan blogger Mohammed Erraji started his journey in the world of blogging. This journey, which started and will never be erased from his memory, and the memory of his family and friends for the rest of their lives. Mohammed Erraji, like many of our creative youth, is someone we never pay attention to until tragedy strikes.

About Erraji, Al Farhan says:

محمد الراجي عمره ٢٩ عاماً وعمر مدونته سنة ونصف. لولا أنه ذكر بنفسه بأنه لم يتجاوز المرحلة السادسة في مستواه التعليمي لما صدقت. هو “أمازيغي وعربي في نفس الآن” كما عرف عن نفسه. أما توجهه الفكري فيلخصه كما يلي: “مستقل بأفكاري ولا أحب أن أكون تابعا لأحد ، عندما يكون لدي موقف من قضية ما ، أدافع عنه بشراسة، وفي المقابل أستمع بأذن صاغية الى الآخرين ، وأقبل الحوار مع الجميع ، عندما أختلف مع شخص ما ، أختلف معه حول أفكاره ومواقفه فقط ، وليست لدي خلافات شخصية مع أحد”. في آخر تدويناته يصرخ في وجه “الجبناء” كما أسماهم مطالباً “بحماية سمعة وطنه” الذي يحبه ويعشقه. أوطاننا العربية التي نعشقها ويحاول البعض بكل جد وإجتهاد وبكل طريقة ممكنة أن يفقدنا الأمل في إصلاحها إما بتهوين المخاطر التي نمر بها أو بإقناعنا بشرعية “الخطوط الحمراء” التي هي في الأصل خطوط حمراء تحمي “المستفيدين” من أوضاع حرياتنا المفقودة في أوطاننا العربية.

Mohammed Erraji is 29 years old and his blog is a year and a half old. If he hadn't mentioned that he hasn't exceeded the sixth grade at school, I wouldn't have believed him. As he describes himself, he is “an Amazigh and an Arab at the same time.” He summarises his ideaology as: “I am of independent thought, and I don't like to be anyone's follower. When I have a certain stance towards an issue, I defend it ferociously. In return, I listen to others, accept dialogue with everybody, and when I disagree with someone, I disagree with their thoughts and stances only, and I have no personal conflicts with anyone.” In one of his last posts, he screams in the face of “cowards,” as he called them, urging them to “protect the reputation of his nation,” which he loves - our Arab nation which we love, which some are exerting all their efforts, in every manner available to them, to make us lose hope in reforming it, either by exaggerating the dangers we are facing, or convincing us of the legality of the “red lines” which are in reality red lines which protect those benefiting from our lost freedom in our Arab world.

Al Farhan says he spent the entire day reading Erraji's blog. He notes:

أعجبني نقده وأفكاره وإستقرائه وحججه وقوة لغته. أعجبتني جرأته وتسميته الأشياء بأسمائها. وجدته يعبر عن وجهة نظره بكل صراحة حول الإرهاب وغيرته على الإسلام من تصرفات المتطرفين وأطروحاتهم. تناول “أسامة بن لادن” بالإسم ونقده وأختار أن لا يؤجر عقله لكل من يستغل سوء أوضاعنا بطرح حلول تدميريه وإرهابية لا تقود إلا لمجتمعات خوف وعنف وظلام.
محمد الراجي لم يختبيء تحت معرفات وهمية في منتديات الإنترنت ليعبر عن رأيه بطرح متطرف أو صراخ لا يسمن ولا يغني من جوع. محمد الراجي فهم التدوين جيداً ولديه ثقة إيجابيه في ذاته وعقله وفكره نهلها من محيطه العائلي وتربيته التي يفتخر بها.
ولذلك قرر محمد الراجي أن يدون.

I admired his criticism, thoughts, analysis, arguments, and the beauty of his language. I admired his courage in calling things by their names. I found him expressing his ideas about terrorism and his concern over Islam and the reactions of extremists and what they do candidly. He wrote about Osama bin Laden, calling him by his name, and criticised him. He chose not to sell his mind to those who abuse our situation by suggesting terrorist solutions, which only lead societies to fear, violence and darkness.
Mohammed Erraji did not hide behind pseudonyms on Internet forums to express an extreme opinion or scream nonsense. Mohammed Erraji understood blogging for what it is, and has a positive confidence in himself and thoughts, which he learned from his family and upbringing, which he is proud of. This is why Mohammed Erraji decided to blog.

According to Al Farhan, had Erraji decided not to blog, his options would have been:

1. المضي في حياته اليومية بحثاً عن لقمة عيشه فاقداً الأمل في إمكانية أن يحدث تعبيره عن رأيه أي فرق في تحسين الواقع أو إيضاح مواطن الظلم. وبذلك ينضم للملايين من الشباب العربي المحبط
2. تأجير عقله لمتطرف يقول له بأن حمل السلاح والعنف هو الحل والمخرج من هذا الواقع العربي المظلم مثلما فعل الكثير من الشباب العربي المحبط أيضاً للأسف الشديد.
3. البحث عن مواطن أخرى ليخرج “كل الغضب الذي يتزاحم في صدره مثل حمم بركان هائج” من مخدرات وحشيش ومتع مدمرة وقع فيها الملايين من الشباب العربي المحبط.

1. Continue with his life earning a living without any hope that expressing his idea would improve reality and highlight where injustice is. This way he will be ones of the millions of depressed young Arabs
2. Renting his mind to an extremist who will ask him to carry arms and commit violence as a means to get out of this unjust Arab reality, as many young men have unfortuneately done.
3. Finding other avenues to express all this anger raging inside him like a volcano such as drugs and hashish and other dangerous entertainments which have claimed millions of young depressed Arabs.

Al Farhan explains that Erraji rejected all those options and immersed himself into blogging instead.

Turning his attention to the allergy of some governments towards freedom of expression, Al Farhan writes:

مشكلة الحكومات العربية مع الجيل الجديد من الشباب أنها لم تستوعب بعد أن الوقت تغير. هذا الجيل مشتعل بالغيرة وببراكين الغضب والأسئلة التي تتزاحم في عقله تبحث عن إجابات لحال وضعنا العربي المحبط.

The problem with Arab governments with the new generation of young people is that they have not grasped that times have changes. This generation is fired up with feelings towards their nation, with overflowing volcanoes of anger and questions rushing in their heads looking for solutions for our depressing conditions as Arabs.

In explaining how the world has changed, Al Farhan says:

في زمن ما، كان العربي في المغرب يسمع عن ما يحصل في المشرق عن طريق إذاعة لندن أو مونت كارلو أو صحيفة بائتة هنا أو هناك. بعد عالم الإنترنت، أصبحنا نعرف كل صغيرة وكبيرة إما عن طريق الفضائيات أو الإذاعات أو مواقع الإنترنت أو البريد الإلكتروني أو تويتر أو الفيسبوك. لم يعد هناك شيء مخفي.

Early on, Arabs in the Maghreb used to hear about what was happening in the East though the radio stations of London or Monte Carlo or old newspapers from here and there. After the Internet, we now know everything happening through satellite channels, radio stations, websites, email, Twitter and Facebook. There is nothing which can be hidden anymore.

Access to the Internet, adds Al Farhan, has made the world a different place. He therefore asks:

إذا كانوا لا يريدون منا أن نحلم وأن نتكلم ونطرح أفكارنا وأحلامنا للحوار والنقاش فلماذا يسمحون بإدخال الإنترنت في بلداننا العربية؟

If they did not want us to dream and speak and express our ideas and aspirations in dialogues or discuss them, why have they allowed the Internet into our Arab countries?

The two parties which clashed are the anti-Syrian Lebanese Forces and the pro-Syrian Marada movement. Marada’s Youseef Frangieh and the Lebanese Forces’ Pierre Isaac were the two identified bodies at the crime scene. Based on the initial report from scene, the clash occurred over a poster promoting a mass organized by the Lebanese Forces that was being placed in Bsarma near the Marada's Headqaurter. When those hanging the banner were asked to take it down, shots were fired from one side and met with retaliation from the other side ending with the death of the two citizens and party members.

Once the news began to circulate in the media and make headlines, theories on this incident being nothing more than a revenge episode orchestrated by some Lebanese Forces’ members against Youseef Frangieh surfaced, especially after Frangieh came out publicly on a local TV station announcing his part in shooting the Lebanese Force’s current leader Samir Geagea back in the 70s during the civil war in an attempt to stop an operation co-led by Geagea.

Historically the two parties in question here share a bloody background and armed clashes that can be traced over 30 years. Many Lebanese regards current party leaders as civil war warlords whose current political groups are merely a front display with an armed militia behind it.

Both The Marada and The Lebanese Forces are represented officially by websites backed by blog spaces. The Lebanese Forces’ official website published the televised press release of it is leader Samir Geagea:

“يجب أن نتحلى بالكثير من المسؤولية وقد باشرت اتصالاتي فور معرفتي بالخبر وقد اتصلت أولا برئيسي الجمهورية والحكومة ووزيري الدفاع والداخلية وقائد الجيش”.
ورأى “أن ما حدث في بصرما ليس عملا سياسيا ومنع السلاح يجب أن يكون على الجميع ومن ضمنها عناصرنا”، مقترحا “سيطرة الجيش ليصار الى منع التجمعات الحزبية حتى في المراكز الحزبية ومنع السلاح لان حياة انسان واحد اهم من كل المراكز الحزبية، وعلينا التحلي بالحكمة والروية”.

We must practice responsibility and I've immediately made phones calls to the government officials starting with President and the National Army commander as soon as I heard the news. What took place in Bsrama is not a political statement and all weapons and arms must be prohibited on all parties including the ours [Lebanese Forces]. The National Army should maintain the security to prevent such events and because a single human life value more than any political headquarter. And we must show wisdom and calm in such times.

On the other hand, Marada's official website published it's leader Suleiman Frangieh's speech:

نحن في عهد جديد. ما قبل إتفاق الدوحة غير ما بعد إتفاق الدوحة. عندنا رئيس جديد وعندنا وزير داخلية جديد وعندنا حكومة وفاق وطني وعندنا مشروع لبداية قيام الدولة، سنجرب ونحن نضع الأمور بيد رئيس الجمهورية وبيد القضاء اللبناني وأنا أثق بالقاضي جان فهد ولنرى ماذا سيحصل وعلى اساسها نعرف كيف نتصرف.

We are in a new era now. The Doha-Agreement has changed everything. We now have a new President, a new Interior Minister, along with a national conciliation government and have the beginnings of a state. The new government is step to rebuilding the country and we are going to try and leave the matter to the official departments and law enforcements and I trust the Judge Jan Fahad. We will wait and see what the outcome of investigation, and our response will be based on that outcome.

It is important to note that Marada's leader gave the government and its investigation team a 15 day period to issue its report and bring the responsible individuals to justice regardless of their political and diplomatic immunity or he would take matters into his own hands. Upon hearing the comment, Lebanese Forces' Geagea made it clear that his party doesn't like the threatening nature of this speech and that his party is capable of responding to such threats.

Al Owuet Front (Al Owuet is Arabic-Lebanese slang meaning Forces), a popular blog for Lebanese Forces' members and promoted on their official website posted a series of three articles so far updating its readers on the incident. Blogger N10452 who maintains the blog, posted the first article upon hearing the news:

I dont want to judge anyone’s intentions, i know what Marada militants are .. they are thugs and probably think shooting & killing is something common to do in the middle of an argument ..

But i also ask Samir Geagea and whomever is responsible in this village and the LF students head (forgot his name cause i barely hear about him doing anything, ya ma7la Spiro).

Why were those guys armed while sticking posters ?? whats the use of weapons when you are promoting for a mass for the martyrs ??

Why are those posters being hung so recklessly and randomly ?? it is unacceptable to glue them at people’s properties and its been done and its also being done excessively on public walls.

After the release of the Lebanese Forces' response to the Bsarma incident, N10452 posted again quoting a segment from the speech and criticizing it:

And the rest of the speech is even more pathetic ..
Calling for forgiveness [with] Frangieh and presenting his condoleances to the Frangieh & Isaac families and opening up to Marada ?? Whats next ?? signing a reconciliation ???

In his third post, the blogger's frustration post the incident is clearly evident in what he entitled: Inter-Christian deadly clashes - When will we learn ?:

Since the early 70s, rival Christian parties clashed and left behind many kills & injured. Sheikh Bashir Gemayel wanted to put an end to this in the late 70s and he almost managed to do so by uniting the militias even if he had to lead some deadly battles to do so.

In 1982, had he took over the presidency, he would have put an end once and for all to all sorts of militias in the country, but he was taken away from us sadly.
Nonetheless, since then, Christian parties never understood that disagreeing on opinions does not mean shooting at each other and killing one another, and apparently many people here are not getting my point …

Both groups have a military and a political history that is observed by some as a patriotic chapter in the Lebanese history while others regard it as war crimes, tinted with streams of events and agendas. In a country like Lebanon, when a single word like patriotism and resistance can be defined in more ways than Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary ever can, it seems all you have to do to spread enough chaos and instability and wait until someone does something stupid.

Remarkz's blogger Bech left us an interesting post that illustrates in his opinion the current events regarding the social campaigns and word-tricks used by some political parties that led might fuel more incidents like the one in Bsarama in the future.

The student's cry follows a tragedy in Doweika, a Cairo slum, where rocks came tumbling on homes, killing and maiming scores of poor people.

In the description of the group the students wrote:

حنموت تحت الانقاض
المبنى بعد ما كان ايل للسقوط بس دلوقتى مال و العواميد من كتر الحمل شرخت
كل العاملين فى المبنى مرعوبين
المشكله بقى لما الدراسه تبدا و الحمل يكتر يا ترى ايه الى حيحصل و المبنى بيدخل فيه اكتر من 7000 بنى ادم كل يوم
المشكله كمان حتى لو المبنى وقع و مفيهوش حد دا فيه معامل ب ملايين و كتب نادرة كل دا حيتعوض ازاى

We will be buried under the rubble and debris.
The old building has always been liable to collapse but now it is tilted. The pillars are clearly cracked.
All the workers in the building are terrified.
Soon the university will open its doors and more than 7,000 students will set foot in that derelict building.
The best case scenario is that the building will collapse when it's empty and we will lose millions of pounds worth of laboratories and rare books. And how will we ever compensate all that?

The Facebook group has so far attracted 1,144 members - and photographs of the building are available here.

The poll's results were announced today on his blog:

Out of 156 participants,
89% voted that the Egyptian Parliament does not truly represent Egyptians (139 votes)
8% said that the parliament represents the people sometimes (14 votes)
1.3% said that the parliament represents Egyptians most of the time (2 votes)

Nawara also announced that the accuracy of the poll is to be questioned due to the following reasons:

1) A big segment of the Egyptian populations does not use the internet
2) The poll was mainly promoted in opposition circles
3) The sample is small (156 voter)
4) Some people could have voted twice using a different PC

But in conclusion Nawara says:

I believe that this small segment is representative of the opinion of the whole Egyptian population; for example those who took part in the People's Assembly elections in 2005 did not exceed 23% of the voters. 77% of the voters chose NOT to vote. And out of the 23% who did vote, surely some of them were dissatisfied with the results of the elections or the performance of the elected parliament for their own various reasons; thus, it is not too far fetched to see that actually 89% of Egyptians - as per the above mentioned poll - do not think that the parliament represents them and this might explain the diversity of reactions the fire evoked.