Global Voices Online » Kuwait

Kuwait: Bahrain and Back

Amira Al Hussaini — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:11:02 +0000

Kuwaiti ZDistrict visits Bahrain and shares his experience here.

Kuwait: Weird Wedding Things

Amira Al Hussaini — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:35:12 +0000

“Do you guys know of any other weird things brides do before their wedding?” asks Kuwaiti blogger eshda3wa after her friends has decided to go into hiding before her big day.

Kuwait: Waiting for Transformers 3

Amira Al Hussaini — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:50:29 +0000

ZDistrict from Kuwait can't wait for Transformers 3.

Kuwait: Blogging under the Spotlight

Amira Al Hussaini — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:18:24 +0000

Kuwaiti blogging came under the spotlight during a workshop organised by IREX entitled The Role of Blogging in Kuwait. Global Voices' Kuwait author Abdullatif AlOmar, who was a panelist at the event, has more.

Middle East: The Cupcake Revolution

Jillian C. York — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:29:30 +0000

Photo of knafeh cupcake by Frankom, cupcake by Glaze (Kuwait)

“Yes, We Speak Cupcake” ran a headline in the New York Times this week. The accompanying article noted the growing popularity of cupcake shops across the Middle East, crediting Sugar Daddy's, a popular Amman cupcake shop, with bringing the miniature cakes to stardom in the region (the shop now has franchises in Dubai and Beirut as well) and starting the cupcake revolution.

The New York Times isn't the only outlet talking cupcakes lately. Bloggers in the Middle East and beyond have noticed the prevalence of the dessert as well. Frankom, a Kuwaiti blogger, writes of being asked to sample local cupcakes based on traditional desserts, listing a few [ar]:

Kunafa on a bed of pistacio cupcake
Baqlawa on a bed of walnut cupcake
Rahash with rahash filling cupcake
Halwa with halwa filling cupcake
Zalabya with saffron cupcake

Jordanian And Far Away, remarking on Frankom's post, expresses trepidation at the thought of a knafeh cupcake, saying:

Now that is creativity. I’m not sure I’ll order them if they were in Jordan, the idea of knafeh on a cupcake is a little offensive to my Nabelsi genes, but I can’t help but appreciate the idea.

Cupcake-themed blog Cupcakes Take the Cake offers a photo post on the various cupcake bakeries in Kuwait.

Ramadan-themed cupcakes in Dubai; photo by Cupcakes Take the Cake, cupcake by Sugar Daddy's

Moving to the United Arab Emirates, where cupcake shops have found a market. Cupcakes Take the Cake has written about a number of such shops. Regarding Sugar Daddy's in Dubai, the blogger shares an e-mail sent by the bakery's chef, describing one of the shop's special Ramadan cupcakes:

Blind Date: Tradition states that the Prophet Mohammad ate dates at the end of his fast, and the fruit is ever-present during the holiday. We have come up with a spice-filled date sponge that we frost with a swirl of cinnamon-flavored icing that has just a touch of coffee.

Yet another Dubai resident, Mahryska, writes about her favorite cupcake shop, Kitsch:

went there the other day and got myself coffee and a cupcake that looked darn good. and yes, it was good!

3 hearts for kitsch cupcakes for opening their store! ♥ ♥ ♥

The House of Cupcakes created this 500-cupcake masterpiece for the 37th National Day of the UAE celebration

Another Dubai shop, The House of Cakes, has its own blog where it shared an incredible photograph of 500 cupcakes in the shape of the Emirates' flag (see photo at left).

The final stop in our whirlwind tour of cupcakeries in the Middle East is Bahrain, where cupcake shops are using new media to get the word out. Cupcakes Bahrain blogs on the Blogger platform to share photos of their cupcakes and information about their store, while Clever Cupcakes has a presence on Twitter and Facebook, to share information about their product such as this:

We only serve clever cupcakes! A Cupcake that you can't forget..
Impress your guests and loved ones by ordering your clever cupcakes.

Syrian flag cupcakes by Canadian bakery cococakes

We'll conclude with these final words from Lebanese blogger Jad Aoun, who notes the New York Times‘ coverage of Arab and Israeli cupcake shops alike, and quips:

Maybe its time we all make peace over a round of strawberry cupcakes. We wouldn’t want to be serving hommous or falafel now would we?

Syrian cupcakes (and photo) by cococakes

Kuwait: The Trouble with Non-Smokers

Amira Al Hussaini — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:08:59 +0000

Mark blogs at TwoFortyEightAm about the dilemma facing non-smokers in Kuwait.

Arab World: Welcoming Ramadan

Amira Al Hussaini — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:35:22 +0000

The holy month of Ramadan is an important month in the Muslim calendar. During the month, aimed to teach believers spirituality and feeling the suffering of those less fortunate than themselves, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual activities from dawn to sunset, as well as dedicate themselves to prayer and asking God for forgiveness for their past sins. Bloggers writing in Arabic celebrate the month, already in its first week, in this post, where we share some of the artistic creations used to greet their readers on the month.

From Egypt, Ahmed El Gamil posts this drawing, where he wishes his readers a blessed month:

Kuwaitism, meanwhile, celebrates the month by posting this photograph, showing expatriate workers in Kuwait:

He then writes:

مبارك عليكم الشهر
و أحب أزف أطيب التهاني و التبريكات لكل الفراشين اللي يشتغلون بمطابخ الشركات بمناسبة الإجازة أو الراحة من هالمعازيب الحنة بالدوام! ماكو “راجو جيب قهوة” … “راجو جيب شاي”!
و عسا كل أيامكم أفراح و سعادة جميعا

Congratulations on the month!
I would like to greet all the office boys, who work in the kitchens of companies, on their holiday and break from the nagging of employers and their yelling: “Raju, bring me coffee,” and “Raju, bring me tea!”
I wish you all happiness.

And in Bahrain, Ba7rani87 celebrates Ramadan by posting this calligraphic work, which says Allah, or God:

Allah

Kuwait: Jailed Brit Documentary

Amira Al Hussaini — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:42:32 +0000

Writing at Chillnite Kuwait, DA posts a documentary featuring the story of a British man jailed in Kuwait under drug charges.

Kuwait: Faulty Packages, Great Bargains

Amira Al Hussaini — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:38:37 +0000

From Kuwait, Read My Blog writes about how he was able to find bargains at a store selling electronics in damaged packages.

Kuwait: Swine Flu Question

Amira Al Hussaini — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:10:16 +0000

Kuwaitism posts this question: “How many people do you personally know caught swine flu so far?” The responses range from zero to four.

Kuwait: Swine Flu and Health Officials

Amira Al Hussaini — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 09:27:36 +0000

From Kuwait, Dilli O Milli [ar] is surprised with the way officials are dealing with announcements related to H1N1 or Swine Flu. “We are handing our lives to people who are not up to the responsibility,” she writes about health officials.

Arab World: Stories in Pictures

Amira Al Hussaini — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:47:41 +0000

Armed with their cameras, two bloggers in the region took pictures of habits and things which caught their attention and commented on them.

In Syria, beshr094 posted this photograph and wrote:

An ugly wall

الحقيقة هي أني أغار على وطني وأريد له الصورة الأبهى و الأحلى بعكس اولئك …. الذين لايتمتعون بلمحة من التفكير , واتسائل ألا يوجد ضوابط على أصحاب المطابع في سوريا ؟ فمن المعروف عندما تريد طباعة إعلان أو أي شيئ آخر يرسل صاحب المطبعة ” الصبي ” لـ لصق الإعلانات وكأن الشوارع ( مطوبة أسمه ) :( فيجوب الصبي شوارعة المدينة وأينما وجد حائطا ً صافيا ً كالسماء يذهب ويضع الإعلان المحترم لصاحب المطبعة المحترم وللمُعلن القدير .

هذا مايحدث فما هو رأيك ؟

The truth is that I am concerned for my country and want to see it in its best form, which is quite the opposite of those who don't have a shard of intelligence.
My question is, are there any regulations for printers in Syria? It is known that if you wanted to print an advertisement or anything else, the printer would send a worker to stick those posters on all the walls, as if he owned them. This worker walks across town, and sticks those posters on every clear gap he sees.

This is what happens, so what do you think?

Kuwaiti Frankom saw this golden metallic Lexus, which caught his attention and said:

The Golden Lexus

أقرأ عن تلك السيارت التي يتم تعديلها وصبغها بالوان وحركات غريبة !! ولكنني لم اتخيل أنني شأشاهد أي من تلك السيارات أمامي .. هذه صورة التقطها مساء أمس أثناء خروجنا من مجمع الافنيوز .. سيارة ليكزس أل أس 460 تحمل لوحات أبو ظبي – الامارات وهي مصبوغة بالكامل باللون الذهبي

I have read about those cars which have been modified and painted weird colours!! But I have never imagined that I would see such a car parked in front of me. This is a photograph I took last night as I was leaving The Avenues Mall. It is a Lexus 460, with Abu Dhabi number plates, and is completely painted in golden.

Arab World: Good Bye Michael Jackson

Amira Al Hussaini — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:50:53 +0000

Bloggers from across the Arab world bid King of Pop Michael Jackson farewell today as millions of fans tune into the silver screen to watch live coverage of his memorial ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Here is a snapshot of reactions from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Saudi Arabia:

Jackson's ‘public' death conjures so many raw emotions in Saudi Sarah Mattar, who writes:

الموت العلني يخيفني، يجعلني أتواجه مع كل الحقائق التي لا أحب أن أتأكد من واقعيتها، حينما استيقظت على خبر وفاة المطرب العالمي ( مايكل جاكسون ) فعلت كما فعل معظم الناس في العالم، حرّكت الرموت كنترول على معظم الفضائيات، أبحث عن صورة أخيرة لهُ، عن حقيقة لا افهمها، عن قصة تعيد لي حياته التي تلاشت في غضون دقيقة، لكن لا شيء يبّشر بالخير، لا شيء يدفعني إلا لقضم أصابع التعب والألم، لقد شعرت بالضيق لأجله، ولأجل كل الذين يموتون بالعلن أمامنا، ونتحضر نحن لكل تفاصيل موتهم الذي يأتي مفاجئاً لنا. هم يرحلون دون أن يشعروا بأنهم خلفوا في داخلنا فراغاً كبيراً من الألم لأجلهم، حينما يرحل الأموات، فهم لا يتمسكون بنا، نحن فقط من نمد أصابعنا العشر نلاحق ضبابية وجودهم من جديد في حياتنا!!

Public death scares me. It makes me face all the realities I hate to acknowledge. When I woke up to the news of Michael Jackson's death, I did what most people around the world did. I hit the remote control, flicking through channels, searching for his last images and a reality I don't understand. I was looking for a story which relives his life which came to an end in a mere 30 minutes. But there were no good omens and nothing except stress which made me bite my nails in futility and agony. I felt upset for him and for all those who die in public in front of us as we register all the details of their passing, which comes as a surprise to us. They leave without feeling that they have left behind a huge vacuum in our souls for their pain. When the dying leave, they don't hold on to us for we alone are the ones extending all our 10 fingers chasing their ghosts back into our lives!!!

Kuwait:

From Kuwait, Loft965 writes:

Who know that Beyonce and I have the same favorite MJ song? This death is bringing people together […] This is heartfelt. The part are she says MJ’s name in the song again and again is wrenching.

Still in Kuwait, Maze of Thoughts adds:

7500 fans were given the chance to attend the memorial service that will take place this morning. Around 1.6 million fans worldwide tried to purchase tickets to attend. It’s going to be a sad day for all MJ fans. The KING will always live in the hearts of millions.

And 4thringroad reports:

Now i know lots of people are fed up with all the michael jackson news, i dont know about you guys but i sure am however i must say while doing my routine morning web surfing i read a weird article talking about how MJ will be buried without his brain in order to conduct more examinations to find out the exact reasons behind his sudden death..

Bahrain:

Bahraini Suad comes to Jackson's rescue and notes:

كشأن جميع المشاهير انقسم الناس في رأيهم حول شخصية مايكل جاكسون فمنهم من رأى انه ضحية المجتمع الامريكي والشهرة والاضواء التي قد تكون وبالا على الانسان ومنهم من رأى انه كان ضحية نفسه وضحية ضياعه وتنكره للونه وآدميته

Like with many celebrities, people are divided in their opinion of Michael Jackson's personality. Some of them see him as a victim of American society, fame and how being under the spotlight could impact a person's life while others see that he is a victim of his own making, a victim of his loss and his giving up on his race and humanity.

And our final stop is with American Um Naief, who is married to a Bahraini and blogs at Hypnotic Verses. The blogger explains how it took time for her to come to grips with Jackson's death:

Wow… was shocked to learn of Michael Jackson's death. Knew he was a drug addict long ago, but you never want to imagine it being as bad as it was. Looks like they've come across bags and bags of drugs inside his home, so it's only a matter of days before the world finds out what was hidden in his closet.

Sad that he'd die like Elvis and was married to his daughter.

I felt unmoved by the news at first. Took several days for it to sink in and after watching many a show and reading articles on the net, I feel very saddened, but feel, like many, that he's free of his demons now.

MJ Death Reaction in Kuwait

Abdullatif AlOmar — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:06:29 +0000

After the passing of Michael Jackson there has been a mixture of reactions from the Kuwaiti blogosphere.

Remembering their childhood, ReadmyBlog writes about when he first heard of MJ's death:

I woke up this morning and the blogosphere was talking about the death of Micheal Jackson. My earliest memory of MJ was seeing my cousin trying to moonwalk

TheJacob is in wonder at the reactions from people around him:

انا مو حزين عليه ولا ضايق خلقي ولا بنتحر
طول عمري احب الفن لكن ما اهتم حق الفنانين نفسهم،، اهتم حق انتاجهم
بس في ناس استغربت منها
الي يقول ويع
والي يقول بجهنم انشالله
والي يقول جلب ومات
والي يقول احسن
والي يقول… والي يقول
بعرف شنو سبب الكراهيه او الحقد هذا؟
غريب امر هالناس تكره الشخص بدون سبب
واذا انا فاهم الموضوع غلط او هو مسوي لكم شي علموني عشان افهم

I'm not Sad or going to kill my self about it
all my life I love art , but I don't care for artist , I care for what they produce
but there are people who amaze me

some who say yuck
some hope he is in Hell
some who say some dog and died

what is with the hate ?
I don't know why some people just hate him

If I don't understand it or there is a reason please tell me

7anna7inno speaks of her feelings:

شخصيا..ما أدري ليش..بس ضاق خلقي
.
مايكل جاكسون..كان لي ذكريات وايد مع أغانيه
.
بيلي جين..ثريلر..و جاكيته الأحمر الجلد
.
طيرة بوهتنا فيه و برقصه
.
كل هذا…خلاص
.
و أهم حيثيّه
.
جيلي بدا يتحتحت

Personally i don't know why , but I'm feeling sad
I had a lot of memories with Michael Jackson songs
Billie Jean , Thriller and his red jacket
all this over
and the worst part ?
my Generation is starting to go away

Shurouq over at Jabriya Za7ma:

في أيام عبد الحليم الأخيرة طالته اتهامات بادعاء المرض لكسب تعاطف الجمهور ومزيد من الشعبية إلى أن قضى عليه المرض في لندن. القصة تكررت مع مايكل جاكسون الذي اتهمه البعض بالتمارض للتملص من التزامات فنية أعلن أنها فُرضت عليه، ويبدو أنه رحل عن عالمنا اليوم رحيلا مفاجئا ومحزنا يثبت مرضه، ويثبت أن أولوياتي في الحزن والتعاطف الإنساني ناقصة
.
.
أعتذر عن عدم التفاعل مع انتخابات إيران وتداعياتها ولا مستوطنات نتنياهو ولا استجواب وزير الداخلية ولا الجنسية لأبناء اللبنانية كما يجب.. وحده مايكل جاكسون استطاع أن يحرك مياه المدونة الراكدة.. شويّة

In the Last Days of AbdullHaleem , he was accused of faking sickness to gain sympathy and as a publicly stun , until he died in London of sickness , the same story happened with Michael Jackson who people accused of faking sickness to slip out of artistic commitment , and he seem to have left out word today a sudden one and sad one that prove he was sick , and further prove that my priority of sympathy and human emotion are missing

I'm sorry for not talking about Iran election and after effects or Netanyahu settlements , or the grilling of the interior minister or the nationality for the sons of the Lebanese as it should , only that Michael Jackson was able to move the stagnant waters of the blog

sou is amazed and shocked that so many care:

Now I’m sure Michael Jackson fans might grill me, but I don’t care. Don’t tell me Michael inspired so many of the artists I listen to; had he not been around, neither would have your favorite artists.” These are my favorite artists, and not one of them sounds like Michael Jackson:

Arab World: Berkman Launches New Arab Blog Study

Amira Al Hussaini — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:24:59 +0000

Harvard University's Berkman Centre for Internet and Society has released a study of the Arabic blogosphere entitled Mapping the Arabic Blogosphere. About 35,000 active blogs were covered. “The goal for the study was to produce a baseline assessment of the networked public sphere in the Arab Middle East, and its relationship to a range of emergent issues, including politics, media, religion, culture, and international affairs,” announced the centre.