Although this website has primarily been about socio-political issues and politics, I believe that if I were to examine the ideology of Avaaz more clearly, I’d have to say it’s raising a voice and creating awareness.
Hence I’ve taken it upon to address a wide range of topics lingering in the society.
From eMedicine:
“Psoriasis is a chronic, noncontagious, multisystem, inflammatory disorder. Patients with psoriasis have a genetic predisposition for the illness, which most commonly manifests itself on the skin of the elbows, knees, scalp, lumbosacral areas, intergluteal clefts, and glands penis. The joints are also affected by psoriasis in up to 30% of patients with the disease.A lot of the victims of psoriasis have been subjected to abusive behaviour, going as far as not being allowed in a community pool because psoriasis is considered contagious. Psoriasis has a tendency to wax and wane with flares related to systemic or environmental factors, including life stress events and infection.”
Multiple types of psoriasis are identified, with discoid psoriasis, also known as plaque psoriasis, being the most common type. Plaque psoriasis usually presents with plaques on the scalp, trunk, and limbs. These plaques appear as focal, raised, inflamed, edematous lesions covered with silvery white scales.
Basically, it looks like this:
Patients with psoriasis have been victims of discriminatory and hurtful remarks. What people need to understand is that this is unstoppable and happens by itself. “Not taking care” or “not using creams” has nothing to do with it. People with psoriasis moisturize themselves equally well as non-psoriasis people do.
“The cause of psoriasis is not fully understood. There are two main hypotheses about the process that occurs in the development of the disease. The first considers psoriasis as primarily a disorder of excessive growth and reproduction of skin cells. The problem is simply seen as a fault of the epidermis and its keratinocytes. The second hypothesis sees the disease as being an immune-mediated disorder in which the excessive reproduction of skin cells is secondary to factors produced by the immune system. T cells (which normally help protect the body against infection) become active, migrate to the dermis and trigger the release of cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-alpha TNFα, in particular) which cause inflammation and the rapid production of skin cells. It is not known what initiates the activation of the T cells.”
What I aim to educate people about is that psoriasis is basically just a chronic skin-rash, non-contagious, caused by extreme weather conditions or stress. Think of it as extreme dryness.
Think before passing rude or hurtful comment that are completely ignorant and make a fool out of oneself. We need to educate ourselves about the problems that surround us, instead of a turning a blind eye to them.
Rewind to a few weeks earlier and reports of bloodbath are everywhere. The timeline of Pakistan’s terror attacks has led to more suffering for the broken homes of the martyrs. In fact, don’t even rewind. Every passing day the fear of death lingers amongst the gloomy shadows of a war-ridden country. Every single day, a new terror attack is feared, as everyone waits, holding their breath, wondering how long they’re going to last.
But are these really “terror attacks”? Are these really the result of internal conflict over state policy? Let’s look at the aftermath of these attacks.
Where does Pakistan stand after [the supposed] finality of these bomb attacks? A war-ridden, politically unstable, economically weak country. What is being adversely affected as a result of these attacks?
Education, standard of living, job opportunities, infrastructure, defence-system.
Why would this be “civil-war”, per say, when under any case, Pakistan is the one being afflicted with destruction.
“Terrorism”, more fondly known as “Taliban” in Pakistan, is a politically formed propaganda, to weaken the strength of the Pakistan as a nation. Nifaz-e-Shariat implies very clearly that war is allowed only in the defensive. Why would these rigid “Muslims” go against the very teachings of Shariat?
We are being blinded by the blatant lies and unobjective news of a controlled-media when we’re told that Taliban is a Pakistani-operated organization. It could be that it was initially a Pakistan/Afghanistan based organization, however, with the current intensity levels of the conflict in Pakistan, I believe that “Taliban” has been infiltrated with agents of opposing nations, and with civil-war and terrorism acting as an excuse, Pakistan is being bombed to ruins. The economy is dead, civilians are fighting over basic necessities such as sugar, flour, rice. Education is being effected to no extent which means for a long time in the future, there are dark times for Pakistan to follow the aftermath of this holocaust, because its “young leaders” are not getting their basic right to education. Health-care, poverty, hunger, job-crisis, every sociopolitical aspect of the country is having an adverse multiplier effect.
Corruption is clear, identified and persistent.
There is only one question, to which the answer if quiet evident. Who is benefitting from all this destruction? Pakistanis? Clearly not. Talibans? If such a thing really even exists in its true essence– since weren’t they “efficiently killed in the war-against-terror”?! The only Taliban that does exist now, I believe, are external agents, acting as a threat to the entire nation, bombing and reducing it down to ruins.
Yes, Talibans are terrorists because, i believe, they are [clearly] agents from opposing countries, disguised as “Taliban terrorists”, and are “terrorising Pakistan” so that eventually with the downfall of the nation, the ongoing animosity comes to an end with bitter revenge going according to plan. That, or so there is reduced competition, more assets, more land and more control.
You be the judge.
Switch on the TV and tune-in to any Pakistani newschannel– blood, sorrow and anguish are all that you will see. Pakistan has had a turbulent history of violence, militancy & war– & it’s only getting worse.
[picture taken from Dawn News]
Right this moment, I’m disturbed beyond words. I have no words to express how afraid I am inside for my country’s future. Pakistan is being torn apart at the hands of savages. I highly disapprove of this so-called “war on terror”. I’m not here to analyse who, why or what happened. I’m not here to objectively anaylyse who’s right and who’s wrong. Killing is all wrong & cannot be justified. The right to give or take life is only God’s. People are dying like rag-dolls, for God’s sake! Where is the humanity? Where is compassion? Has killing people becoming such an acceptale part of our society that we consider it a norm? This is devastating.
Background info:- Recent numerous number of attacks in Peshawer, including the latest one in Meena Bazaar and car-bomb in Hayatabad
This is an urgent humanitarian appeal! Stop the war. Ceasefire. And stop the intrusion by other countries into Pakistan’s affair. “Diplomatic ties” does not mean you order people of that country to follow your orders lest you “take them to the stone age”!
This is dictatorship in the name of democracy and peace. I strongly and openly denounce America’s stance on Pakistan’s counter-terrorism war. I strongly denounce Pakistan’s “efforts” against terrorism. Infact, I believe there is a conspiracy theory behind the entire issue of “Talibanisation”. No religion and most definetly not Islam allows the waging of war. Muslims can only fight in the defensive. Tell me something– why would hardcore advocates of Islam want to go against the religion itself, that too, killing their own brothers and sisters? Muslims? Pakistanis? Why?!
To put it simply– this is a humanitarian crisis. 100s of people are dying every single day. We’ve become so indifferent to it that nothing affects us anymore.
How can Pakistan allow to be ordered around by US? How can US, no matter how diplomatically and euphemistically-put-into-words dictate Pakistan? It’s never going to be ethical nor noble. It’s like fighting terrorism with terrorism! It is plain intrusion of other’s business. Afghanistan and Iraq have been practically wiped-clean of progress, and that is exactly what is happening to Pakistan. Schools, colleges, institutions are having to regularly impose off-days due to the level of danger in the society. Education, the most vital element of a society, is being adversely effected. Be it Pakistan, Taliban or America at fault– STOP THE WAR. STOP THE KILLING!
Where does Pakistan stand now? Bleeding, war-ridden and regressive.
Objectivity is my main aim in all my posts, but I’ve had enough of diplomacy for now. I cannot stand watching innocent civillians bleed to death at the commands of a diplomatic dictator.
Please spread the word somehow and let’s appeal for a ceasefire in Pakistan.
The religious practice of Niqab ultimately leads to one of the greatest debates of modern times- to or not to? Some Muslim scholars [believed to be among the “stricter” ones] deem the Niqab to be compulsory, while others say it’s like “extra” credit for your faith. Whatever the case, there are some inevitable negative stereotypes that are connected with the Niqab.
Even in a predominantly Muslim country such as the U.A.E., there are quite a few preconceived notions about Niqabi women. Many believe them to be uneducated, belonging to a lower level of social hierarchy, the popular belief of being “oppressed”, being made to wear a Niqab by parents [particularly by the father], being orthodox, extreme, having a non-existent fashion sense, having a strict approach to life, and basically general ideas somewhere along these lines. I wish to break up these negative stereotypes associated with Niqabis and enlighten people a bit more on the issue that will improve the fundamental issue of open communication between various cultural groups, which is a must for a multi-cultural country, such as the U.A.E.
I am a 17-year-old “part-time-Niqabi”. I took to wearing the Niqab as a product of my own will, not being forced to or even “suggested” to wear one by any of the members of my family. In fact, more often than not, I was told I’m too young to wear it. When I went out with the Niqab, I immediately felt the difference. When you’re a Niqabi, people expect you to be a certain way. They expect you to be unaware of the cyber-world, of what goes on outside the four walls of your home. They believe you are unaware of popular teen subcultures, cyber-culture, technology, that you can’t openly communicate in English, etc.They think you haven’t the faintest idea of what TV-shows are on top of the list, who the hottest celebrity is, etc. What they do not know is that simply put, me as a teenager, it can be absolutely normal for me to wear Converse under my Abaya, carry a skull-printed handbag, wear jelly bracelets, actively blog, stay connected to the outside world, hold probably more knowledge than them about technology and cyber-cultures, go out with my friends over the weekends, follow the latest fashion trends, listen to rock-music, watch the latest movies and STILL be a Niqabi. The life of a Niqabi is a life just like any other woman. She may have various interests, probably a bit more on the religious side, but she is absolutely “normal”. Niqabis are being turned away from jobs, rejected from interviews, and are unable to take positions as successful career-oriented women such as lawyers, journalists, etc., all because of a personal religious choice that doesn’t even get in anyone’s way. This is a violation of the basic human right to freely practice one’s religion. I’m not saying that all those stereotypes are false, because they may have sprung up from somewhere obviously. But it’s wrong to negatively stereotype Niqabis. The reason for this being that as education improves and grows in all parts of the world, people are becoming more informed about other religions, particularly Islam in this context, and increasingly women are opting for Niqab in the west, which means that stereotypes associated with Eastern cultures are becoming false, as the west is believed to be quite “freedom-oriented” and “advanced”.
I strongly urge employers to be more open to employing Niqab-clad women in their firms, and understand that it will in no way, hinder their performances.
I think that as a predominantly Muslim country, people within the U.A.E. as well as outside, should broaden their visions and understand that increasingly, as education and knowledge improves, not all Niqabi women are oppressed, uneducated and socially-inactive, that they probably hold the same or more amount of knowledge as you, and that most importantly, they dream of having a thriving career whilst not having to compromise on the most vital aspect of their life- their religion.
My picture for Worldwide Moment 09. 4:09 here in Dubai, based on the GMT+4 timezone!
Gulf News reported yesterday that Dubai Bank has decided to make it obligatory for all Muslim females, Muslim or Non-Muslim, to wear an Abaya and Shaila. Read more here.
The question that comes to mind of many Muslims and non-Muslims alike, is this: Is this the right decision? Is it ethical to make the Abaya obligatory even on non-Muslims, or more importantly, on oneself even if they don’t wish to wear it?
The anwer is yes, it most definetly is. It is one thing to implement it as part of the country’s law, but whole another thing to make it an official garment in banks. The reason is, if we go abroad to any country, we are expected to abide by their law and their code of conduct. Hence it should only be fair that whoever comes and works in a Muslim country should abide by our law and code of conduct. I’m not for implementing the Abaya in public places, as in Saudi Arabia, because Islam does not believe in enforcing religion upon others. However, when the official religion is Islam, then banks and public sector places have taken a fair decision to implement the Abaya as part of the office attire.
This decision by the authorities has my full support and I encourage it. To anyone else who thinks it’s unfair, they should then realize that working in a country other than their own comes with its pros and cons, and that each country has its own law that its citizens should abide by it. That’s only fair.
Selam Aleykum WRWB and peace be unto you all.
I would like to inform you guys about this wonderful project that Brett Brownell has started. It involves people in different parts of the world taking one picture at one particular time in the world, based on different timezones, hence the title Worldwide Moment. It’s a project that encourages mutual cooporation between different races and countries and promotes peace.
Visit Worldwide Moment for more info. The moment for 2009 is on the 9th of September– one month from now.
After everyone sends in their picture to the WWM, they make a picture collage out of it and it is displayed in the galleries. The picture could be anything at all, and all the info that you need about this very amazing project you can find it on their website. So please hurry up and sign up for this wonderful project and invite your friends too.
Photography for peace– what could be better? I’ll tell you– if you don’t have a camera, they send you one!
Bearing the content of this video in mind, I cannot help but feel outraged, not only as a Muslim girl who’s a part-time Niqabi by choice but also as a human in general.
My response to this guy was too long to be posted in the comments section, hence I took this as an opportunity to defend a very highly insulting and unjust accusation against a religion.
Now this guy here says:
“The neurotic need that some women have to walk everywhere in disguise”
Neurotic? This is not a neurotic need– but a human being practising his right to follow his religion the way he wants to. If non-Muslims in Europe are following their religion by not covering their bodies modestly (even though they are required to as per the Bible), is this neurotic? Or is it neurotic that someone feels threatened by modesty? By a piece of cloth? By a religion because -some- followers practise reilgion in the wrong way?. Categorizing every Muslim as a terrorist is quite laughably highly unwise and plain gullible. Is it neurotic of a woman to cover her body lest she be raped/teased/hooted at/judged based on the size of her butt? Is she wrong to not wanting to conform to the masses that focus on the sole element of beauty of a woman? Is it neurotic to be safe rather sorry? The answer is quite clear.
As the video sluggishly progresses, we see that Pat Condell makes numerous attempts to insult the burqa in a very childish manner. We can see that this hatred for burqa comes from hating the religion itself– thus deeming him a racist and rightly so. Racist, hateful and abusive. He mentions there being no proof that the Qur’an deems Burqa mandatory. What he fails to realize is that “burqa” is the Afghan/Persian word for their traditional garment, and not the Islamic dress-code, hence this whole accusation of for/against burqa is ineligible. Let us say that we allow him the margin for his ignorance of Islamic terms and accept the fact that he meant Hijab or the Islamic dress-code for women, there is clear evidence within the Qur’an that Hijab is mandatory on all believing women.
From the Qur’an, In the name of Allah the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, :
Surah Nur, Verse 31
“And say to the faithful women to lower their gazes, and to guard their
private parts, and not to display their beauty except what is apparent of it,
and to extend their headcoverings (khimars) to cover their bosoms (jaybs), and
not to display their beauty except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their
husband’s fathers, or their sons, or their husband’s sons, or their brothers, or
their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their womenfolk, or what their
right hands rule (slaves), or the followers from the men who do not feel sexual
desire, or the small children to whom the nakedness of women is not apparent,
and not to strike their feet (on the ground) so as to make known what they hide
of their adornments….”
and Surah Ahzab, Verse 59
“O Prophet(pbuh)!Say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the faithful to draw their outergarments (jilbabs) close around themselves; that is better that they will be recognized and not annoyed. And God is ever Forgiving, Gentle.”
He further says that modesty is not by dressing up in a mobile tent, further attracting attention, as per a “culture” that they despise yet follow. Culture eh? This is religion. Know the difference. Arab Muslims (some of them) follow the Hijab, Arab Christians don’t. End of story. Also, yes, modesty is to attract attention by dressing up in barely there clothes or skin-fitting jeans, and by being judged on the size of someone’s back. Way to go Pat.
He says the best reason to ban the burqa for him would be because it offends the Islamists. Clearly, he despises a certain creed of people, in this case, them being Muslims. Any more proof needed? It’s coming– keep reading.
Before that, I won’t even bother with all the insults he’s hurling at the burqa itself, calling them mantles of misery, dehumanizing and cloaks of deaths, and asking banks, public transport, and places as such to refuse entry/services to burqa-ed women. Uh, dehumanising anyone? Usurping of rights anyone?
He goes on to say that it’s a political statement. Good God– isn’t the Media, France/YOU making it a political statement? This is not Afghanistan in question, where we may accuse Taliban of enforcing women in these outfits. This is the burqa in general we’re questioning– that too in France! Religious freedom is the basic right– and with the propaganda of it being a security threat, it’s being made into a political statement, even though it largely remains a personal choice for the literal, practising Muslims. How is it the pre 9/11 no one cared who wore what besides, probably, Britney Spear’s wardrobe ofcourse? How is it that post 9/11 after the propaganda that Muslims were behind the attacks of the WTC, suddenly we became the terrorists? How is it that women in Europe/America/Afghanistan/Saudi were not even shed light upon based on a garment they wore in their everyday life? Why now? Because the Taliban enforced it in ONE country, the whole Muslim world becomes that way? Ignorant. Highly ignorant.
He goes on babbling about how women in Islam have no rights and that the feminists are not speaking out on this issue of encasing women in Burqas. Uh, exactly! They’re not speaking out because they KNOW that this is an issue of women CHOOSING their outfit, and not OTHERS choosing it for them. He goes on ranting about how women in burqas and feminists who support this should be ashamed of themselves because their daughters are going to suffer for this. Right– because we all want our daughters to be leered at and groped at and be checked out and married SOLELY for how beautiful they are, isn’t it Pat? I would be ashamed to have a father like you. Tsk tsk. A racist, ignorant fool. Need proof?
Also– women in Islam? Rights? I have a whole another post for that coming RIGHT UP.
Stay tuned.
What I just seemed to have realized is that Pat Condell makes false accusations that have absolutely no element of strength or truth in them, and that they are weak and empty and meaningless, except strongly portraying him as an ignorant member of a society, sadly enough, and portraying his hate of the religion of Islam. Tsk tsk. 21st Century and we still have people hating each other and intolerant attitudes towards other creeds/races/religions.
Following what Sami Zataari has to say in response to Pat Condell’s video, I say that man has totally owned Pat Condell. It’s obvious and clear and something that clearly shows who’s right and who’s wrong.
Does any woman in a Burka rape someone? Stab someone? Mug someone? Spit on the face of someone belonging to another religion? Has anyone looked into the life of a Niqabi? A Hijabi? Let me give you a few links myself!
Digital Niqabi, I Love Hisham: Pixie/Beautiful Muslimah, etc etc! There are so mnay! Every bothered googling? Ever bothered even broadening your horizons and talking to a Niqabi? How many times have you come across a woman hiding a freakin’ bomb in her burqa? I mean come on! For the love of God. It’s one thing to joke about it, and another thing to completely believe a joke to be true, I mean how gullible do you have to be in order to believe this to be true? How many Muslim women are part of gang culture, gun crimes, knife crimes, rape, drug-addiction, smoking, alcoholism, sex-offenders, etc etc? How many? NONE! ZERO! ZILCH! Maybe a few, tiny numbers in smoking, but none in the others!
It’s Islamophobia, and hatred. That’s what it is.
P.S. A big thanks to my friend Shella who informed me about this video.
With soaring temperatures, humidity and increasing losses in their businesses, traders, teachers, students and local residents took to the streets in protest against the Pakistan Electric Power Supply Company (Pepco) and the Pakistani government due to extreme cases of power outages. They erupted into clashes, smashing furniture and private & public property, including a train in Faisalabad, injuring the driver. At this point the police fired tear gas that eventually led to a halt in the protests, and arrested many other violent protesters. Clashes erupted in various parts of the cities including Karachi, Lahore, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, Attock, etc.
The question that all those protesters need to ask themselves is this: did this do them any good? Did the power outages stop? Did they get their required amount of electricity? Was the desired result from this activity achieved?
Apart from injured people, arrested members of families ‘causing further trouble for their dear ones and damaged public property leading to even more loss of urgently needed funds, nothing was helped.
What these protesters need to understand is that these acts of ignorance will do nothing. Pakistani Government needs money desperately for various projects– SWAT IDPs and for the funding of electricity. By the destruction of public property, these people are inflicting further problems upon themselves!
A better solution would have been to save time, money and energy, and use it for something much more productive that would earn them money, and use that money to pool in money along with neighbours/nearby residents and buy some sort of a generator or power supply source that would help them all! I really do not think erupting into violent clashes would do anybody any good if not harm!
(Picture courtesy of Dawn News)
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Middle_East/10331667.html
How can one blatantly and so outrageously insist that the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) are among the most moral armies of the world? The simplicity yet inhumane nature of the conflict does not cease to enrage me. What enrages me even more though, is how quickly the Israeli authorities are wiped clean of the blood of millions of innocents that they have on their hands. How the many allegations and cases against many of Israeli authorities is hidden behind the shadows in an eternity of injustice!
Breaking The Silence was a report set forth by a group of 30 anonymous Isareli soldiers, that incorportated a list of all the strategies and war-crimes that they were told to advocate in their “defence” against the Gazans. To be honest– I’m not too sure about the authenticity or persistence of this issue at hand. Put simply– I think it’s just a trap that Israelis are luring us into. I don’t know how, I don’t know why but my views on this still lean on the cynical edge. However– if this is a group of anti-Zionist, “peace-loving” unorthodox Israeli soldiers who really wish to do some good and spread truth around– then hats off to them for exposing the war crimes. Let’s hope that for once– after such clear evidence has been presented, the Israeli, more importantly, Zionist forces pay for the injustice and crimes against humanity that they have commited in the whole of Palestine.
But more significantly so– that a peace settlement is called for, ending this bloody conflict of 60 years.
