Do you remember Jyllandsposten? The newspaper that published cartoons of the prophet (PBUH)? Representatives of the paper refused to meet with the BBC, CNN or the Danish TV, but agreed to meet Manal!!
Yes, Manal is a student-doctor who blogs and wants to make a difference. Her blog Manal Carpe Diem (fr) is a very special one with original posts that show authenticity but also boldness. I was curious to know more about her trip to Denmark (fr), so I asked her some questions. Her answers were so simple yet so inspiring that I decided to share this interview with you.
I read in your blog that you went to Denmark to make a difference, tell me more about it..
I went to Denmark to participate in a week of dialogue between Muslim and Danish youth. I wanted to give them an other image about Islam rather than burned flags and embassies, because this is not Islam. Unfortunately, the image conveyed by the media is totally wrong, and I’m happy that I could change some of the prejudices about my religion and I could prove to the Danes that Islam calls for peace and tolerance, calls for respect and freedom not for violence and terrorism. Thanks to God, I could read in the eyes of many of them a lot of amazement and surprise, and I’m sure that they won’t be influenced anymore by the wrong ideas spread about Islam.
Was it a personal initiative ?
Well, the week in Denmark was an initiative taken by Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke , to deepen the relationships between Danes and The Muslim world. The program was a combination of cultural meetings and exchanges of views with politicians, media and opinion makers. There were about 42 young Muslims from different countries, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Pakistan, Kenya, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Palestine… The experience was really great, and the Danes showed a real will to mend this big wound that is still bleeding, and to repair this big mistake. Of course, no official apologies have been made, but all of those who were with our group, politicians and the average Joe citizens were sorry about what happened. They were all preaching the freedom of speech but they also realized that publishing such cartoons was a big mistake. I believe that respect should be a rule if we really want to live peacefully.
What about the visit you paid to Jyllandsposten?
One of the most important steps of the week was the visit to Jyllandsposten, the newspaper that published the cartoons. They refused to see the BBC, the CNN, the Danish TV, but they agreed to meet us. It was a good point, even if we had a unilateral dialogue. The media convey some of the truth but not the whole truth. The media didn’t show to the Muslim world that there are some Danes who protested against the publication of the cartoons, and they showed to Danes that Muslims only burned flags and embassies… this is not the whole truth…
Fortunately, they’re some Danes who took some concrete initiatives like creating a website anotherdenmark or inviting some young people to get to know more about the Danish culture and promote dialogue, I believe that misunderstanding is the result of ignorance.
Now, let's try to know more about you. Why do you blog?
My blog is a space where I can express myself freely and spontaneously. It’s a great experience since it allows youto meet people from different backgrounds. It also gives you the opportunity to talk about many issues and share your opinions with the whole world without censorship and with only “a click”. I don’t like to share my intimate life with the others, I prefer to talk more about my daily life in the hospital or about my different experiences with NGO’s but from time to time I do post about private matters.
What do you think about the Moroccan blogosphere?
I see it as an extraordinary melting pot, exactly the way the Moroccan society is. Every day, we “witness the birth” of more and more , from different backgrounds and fields. Each space is unique and each blog brings a fresh air to the blogosphere. I had the opportunity to meet many bloggers and I was really amazed, some became very close friends…
How do you explain the fact that most of the Moroccan blogs are in French instead of Arabic or Moroccan dialect?
Most of the Moroccan bloggers have a high educational level, there are a lot of university students. The Moroccan universities teach in French, then the majority find it easier to express themselves in this language. One other reason that can explain this fact, is that we blog to transmit a message, and the choice of the language shouldn't really be an issue, it is only a tool! The most important thing is that my readers get my messages..
What do you “hope” from your blogging experience?
Learn more and more, meet new people and enjoy the experience of sharing…
Who reads your blog?
Lots of people (laughing) bloggers and non bloggers. Actually many readers send me e-mails to encourage me and congratulate me for the choice of my subjects, or sometimes to express their disagreement. I know trough the statistics that a lot of visitors come to see me…
—–
Well, I do know that I am a regular visitor of “Carpe Diem”, and she amazes me everyday for the choice of her subjects, and many times, for her boldness. So good luck Manal and thank you.
That's it for today. See you next Wednesday, Inshallah.
If you are trying to flood the forest by pissing on the tree U have a long way to go John!
Here’s a good one for ya:
The scene:
Big Dog leaking his balls in the shade and apparently enjoying it.
Two guys watching:
first guy: I wish I could do that!
The other: U can’t
- Why not?
- He’ll bite U!
The moral: Same scene, different perspectives!
All the metaphysics in the world won’t change the scene!
One can only find what one is looking for. What are you looking for John?
I did recommend Surat Ar-rahman (S:55). Try to read it with a open mind if U have any spared by the apocalyptic propaganda. As you get to “ALMIZAN” (balance) Verses 7&8 take a look around U and think.
Some basics101:
-Islam is a religion.
-Islamism is politics. And there are more shades of Islamism than you may think.
-Muslims (different than Islamists) believe Quran is the word of god and Hadith is the word of men.
-Muslims believe Mohammad, Jesus, Moses, are among god’s prophets.
-To understand Quran you must first be “clean” minded (unbiased). 56:79
KAFIR is translated as “non believer”, “disbeliever”, “infidel”.. If you can’t yard stick the linguistic differences in the translations of this one word, try the Arabic dictionary where KAFIR is also translated as “the one who hides the truth” ..
Yes there are lots of truth hiders among Muslims (surprised?), just as there are in any other faiths. Here’s what Quran says (Surat 109).
I wish I had more time to explain to you why the dog is leaking his balls, and why it would be a bad idea for you to do it for him.
There are no bad days coming john, only bad people.
Have a peaceful mind and the rest will follow.. It’s in the holy Quran.
Moh
keaking=liking sorry about the leak! :)
Moh
..licking that is.. got it? LOL.. sorry moderator!
Moh
well, first of all i hail our Sister, Manal for the great work she’s done :)
i wish you all the best, and glad you could make it to Denmark in the time that things needed clarifying, and as i’ve recently heared, “Next Stop Denmark” might be having some good effect afterall :)
and in a reply to John Arthur, and to all of you… we just cannot deny what the man has said… there’re many flaws in the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad’s “Ahadith”… and as i always know.. NONE is perfect… and afterall Muhammad is a MAN… and YOU ALL remember from “Al-Seera Al-Nabauyia” that the prophet has made mistakes, which we had some “A’iyat” from the Quran clarifyiing the mistakes he made… and don’t start flaming me… i am a Muslim from Syria… i “WAS” a sunni, i used to pray and “Asoum” in Ramadhan… and i held a blind belief in God and Muhammad to the point that i was going to KILL both of my prents and my brothers cus they were “Kafereen”…. i was blinded by what i read and what our Religion teacher at school (which was -btw- the Imam of Dara’a Mosque) has planted in our heads… i was an excellent “Chanter/Murattel”… and i saved the words of the Holy Quran very deep in my heart, but then i made a mistake…. I USED MY HEAD… I USED THE SO CALLED “BRAIN” that lies inside that big ball we hold between our shoulders…. and i saw that i was nothing but an ANIMAL… all i believed was in no way related to “Humanity”…
just remember one thing all of you…
God.. when gave us “Religions”… he brought them to us so we might get a better way for organising our lives and relations between eachother, a HomoSapiens is YOUR BROTHER either you like it or NOT, it doesn’t matter if they had the same religion or if they held NO RELIGION AT ALL… infact, from the people i knew (and you really can’t imagine how varied they are, and from how many countries they come from) i always had a better understanding and deeper trust from those Non-believers… at least, when an Atheist loves you, he knows that there’s no Heaven or Hell, so… you know he’s loving you for what you really are… and NOT to grant a place in Heaven with a bunch of Virgins… or “Holy Whores”…. for God sake!!! haven’t just got sick of ur OWN SELVES!!! who the hell cares if ur a muslim or a Communist (and by the way… 20%-30%of Communists are Muslims.. so SHUT UP!!!).. as long as the man/woman cares about you.. and is ready to give his/her life voluntary to save you while they’re knowing that there’s NO LIFE AFTER DEATH!!!
if u say u’ve never met such people… then ur damned blinded by ur own hands… I AM one of them… i was gonna kill my own parents for my stupid beliefs!! and i now thank God that i had such loyal and devoted parents, eventhough they don’t believe in anything… don’t believe that God exists… and say that Muahammad has written the Quran with help… but at least… when they think like that, they give a chance to hold faith to what great mind the Prophet has had, and at the same time, forgive him for the errors he had in his writings… as no one is Perfect…. and that’s what made them (esp. my father) a well known man, he held respect to all, respect to what they believe, but at the same time, kept himself the right to use that brain he held up there… as i’m sure that if God has gave us brains… he surely gave it to be used… as if it wasn’t… it would’ve been such an unwise act… which u can’t claim that God can make… or else, he should’ve put a bigger stomach instead of the head!?
USE IT… YOU’RE LOSING NOTHING BUT UR NARROWED VIEW AND BLINDNESS!!!
and John… i can say nothing but… u could’ve used a calmer way for discusion… u brought urself nothing but some blind flamings and a headache…
truly waiting for a day where all religions DISAPPEAR as they were the source of all evil… Man used it only to get to his objectives… and if u only believe ur Holy books… then u just know NOTHING about God….
God is WISER… MORE PEACEFUL… and inspite of what u calaim… IMPERFECT…
None is perfect… Not even God Himself… that’s the only reason why he created us… that shouldn’t mean we’re of any importance… we’re just a variation of a Genetic error that brought evolution to where it is now…
i only feel sympathy to what we’ve done with what we have… we’re none but a virus that keeps on destructing the place it lives in…
and hopefully… our end is near…
i’ve never cried for heaven… i’ve always wished that God may take my soul to burn in the deep pits of Hell, but let all other Humanes live in a eternal heaven…
just don’t let me think i was wrong…
Peace… be upon YOU..
H.Q.
all my greetings to manal for her great job
Hussan Kamal. Yes I should be calmer and less agressive. You are right. I stand by everything I said, however. I do this because somebody has to tell people what they don’t want to hear.
All of you here, please think about these things. Most of you are probably a lot younger than I so it is your world and you are going to have to live with it. I do what I have to do and I don’t lose any sleep at night.
And Moh, so what if you don’t like what I say. The world will not end because of either what you believe or what I say.
You all take care…….
John Kactuz
Hello from Vermont, U.S.
I am taking a history class for my Bachelor’s Degree and a requirement for this class is that we are all assigned a different country in which we must report on a newspaper article, write papers, and analyze the country. Guess what? I was assigned Morocco. After much searching on the internet for a newspaper article relating to something interesting happening in Morocco that could keep my attention long enough to report on it, I found you!!
I was hoping you could help me out, point me in the right direction, send me on my ways of learning the most I can about Morocco. I have to write two 6-8 page papers over the next couple of weeks, and then in 6 weeks a 12-15 page paper is due, along with the newspaper articles (1 a week for 6 weeks). If you could show me where to go on the internet, or send me information, I would be so appreciative. My email is montanasmommie@yahoo.com if you so feel the need. Teach me, teach me, teach me – show me all there is to know!!!
Thank You!!
Hey Manal,
I have read all this, and I am really amazed to do so!
I am helping to organise a conference about 4 topics: Media and Democracy, civil society, Political participation and Blogging in Morocco. I have learned that you are involved with many NGOs and I wonder if you would like to be one of our speakers in the panel of civil society.
This conference will bring 25 young Moroccans and 25 Americans and it will take place 25 and 26 April 28, Farah Hotel.
Please if you are interested contact me as soon as possible: fairouz@thaqafat.org.ma
Best,
Fairouz