Islam is derived from the word ‘salaam’ which means peace. It is a religion of peace whose fundamentals teach its followers to maintain and promote peace throughout the world. Thus every Muslim should be a fundamentalist i.e. he should follow the fundamentals of the Religion of Peace: Islam.

This blog is done by one of the pastors in Kuwait! There was an article in the newspaper today about this Zakir who gave a talk apparently to 16,000 people about the religions. Form you own opinions of his lecture which is transcribed at the blog post in the link below.

q8bridge

He’s forty, she’s eleven. And they are a couple – the Afghan man Mohammed F. and the child Ghulam H. “We needed the money”, Ghulam’s parents said. Faiz claims he is going to send her to school. But the women of Damarda village in Afghanistan’s Ghor province know better: “Our men don’t want educated women.”

UNICEF Photo of the Year 2007s

Yesterday while at Gulf Bank getting some cash from the ATM there was a lady begging outside the bank. The bank was closed as it was about 4:30 pm and the banks don’t open until 7:00 pm or so. So she was sitting there all covered in black. You couldn’t see her eyes, face or hands, all covered. And she was muttering something in Arabic.

Then this morning in the Kuwait Times the local events section had a story:

In Kuwait on visit visa, Blind and handicapped Pakistani Beggar held

A blind and crippled Pakistani begging outside a mosque took worshippers and police alike by surprise, when on seeing police the ‘sightless’ man took immediate flight in full sight. Police at first hesitated on chasing him as they thought he was just handicapped, but when worshippers told him that he was blind too, went after him. During interrogation he confessed that he came to Kuwait on a visit visa and pretended to be blind and a cripple to beg for money. Police filed a case and referred the man to the relevant authorities.

Should Muslims wish Christians a Merry Christmas? In Kuwait, some say no – Africa & Middle East – International Herald Tribune
KUWAIT CITY: Is it religiously acceptable for Muslims to wish their Christian colleagues or acquaintances a Merry Christmas? In Kuwait, it depends on who you ask.

Well, I got one Kuwaiti wishing me a Merry Christmas.

Read the full article here:

People are funny.

I was having a discussion with a person from Kerala about why India has problems and hasn’t done better in terms of developing the poor etc.

Corruption was his answer and was what I was going to say also. The civil service in India was developed after independence in the fifties, deliberately to make jobs for the discriminated lower classes. But they are chronically underpaid which tempts more corruption so they can make a living wage.

Well, then he went on saying how his experience has been so that to get anything done, you need to use an “agent” or pay a “fee”. He gave example of renewing a license where he was at the window and the government official would not serve him so he waited. And while waiting, some of these agents came and ended up standing in line behind him. The agents expected to get immediate service but this guy wouldn’t move. So he waited over 30 minutes before the clerk gave in.

I think it is funny that during this conversation, the mail delivery driver, who is a Philipino, was kept waiting. So there is still class distintion (of course) here in Kuwait.

This article says it all. And I think it applies to more than international politics. I see this on the job too.

I’ve posted Thomas Friedman’s articles before.
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