I just received an email from a friend who lives in Egypt, which ends with the following anecdote:
I went to the veggies market last Friday, I usually go on Friday anyway, but this time for the first time the merchants stopped selling anything when they heard the call for prayer!!! Most of them left their young kids to watch over the goods and they went to pray. Most of the customers also disappeared and the few like me who were oblivious to the “New Misrstan” had to wander around aimlessly and wait for those idiots to return! It was unbelievable, suddenly we are living in Saudi or Afghanistan without the need for a passport or a visa.
“Misrstan” is a play on words meaning “Egyptistan” — as in, “Afghanistan,” “Pakistan” — you know, all those extra “pious” Muslim nations. And of course, where Muslim prayers are practiced with rigidity, you can rest assured any number of other “pious” practices — such as hatred for infidels — are also being upheld. Anyway, this is but another subtle example of how Egypt continues to change.
I believe the word you are looking for all those countries is: Miserystan.
People get (exactly) the government they deserve.
Friday in Egypt is the equivalent to Sat. in America. In Islamic religious terms it is Sun. Since this last Friday was the closest free day to the anniversary of the revolution and Fridays were important during the revolution, your ‘stan problem may be a celebration problem; a ton of people hit Tahrir Square. Get back to me after a Friday occurs after Feb.11, the first anniversary of the day Mubarak stepped down.
“Celebration” seems to include more stripping and sexually assaulting women for sport.
http://bikyamasr.com/55004/exclusive-woman-tells-of-having-pants-ripped-off-assaulted-and-prodded-in-egypts-tahrir-square/
I think we will see lots more Freedom and Democracy Egyptian style in the coming years. Smart shopkeepers. I would be seeing the light of the true faith if I were one of them too.
You could post links like that from every Coachella-style music festival in the West. The point is to show differences not point fingers at things we do ourselves. Perhaps you are unaware of the massive numbers of women raped in America every year.
Your attempt to draw some kind of equivalence is not only disgusting, it’s a failure.
For America to be anything like this bad (as you are obviously trying to imply) it would have to happen not at a concert or music festival. It would have to be on the Mall in Washington DC, or in the middle of Times Square.
Your attempt to suggest some kind of equivalence is not only disgusting, it’s a failure.
For America to be anything like this bad (as you are obviously trying to imply) it would have to happen not at a concert or music festival. It would have to be on the Mall in Washington DC, or in the middle of Times Square.
Yes, women are raped in America as they are in all nations, and every occurence is shameful. But in America those attacks tend not to be committed by roving bands, in public squares and in broad daylight, acting in the knowledge that there are no consequences for their actions. Also in contrast to Islamic countries, in America we tend to punish the perpetrators of rape rather than the victims.
So we can safely point all the fingers we want at these medieval savages, secure in the knowledge that these are in no way whatsoever “things we do ourselves”.
Aha a true liberal.
This is not just an isolated rape. It is a repeated pattern of sexually violent mob attacks in front of huge crowds at the “freedom” rallies. As you put it they were “celebrating”. Who are we to criticise what is just a cultural difference.
Democracy in Egypt is going to be two wolves and a sheep voting on what is for dinner.
They should call it “Occupy Egypt” and then it would be just fine.
Get in touch with the White House. They could use you.