Over to the readers
September 2006
A damn site better than other reads?
“It
sounds as if you run a very worthwhile, well-written journal – I shall look
forward to being a regular reader.”
R Chapman
United
Kingdom
August
2006
“I like your thinking
because it seems to be a bit out of the box and we surely need some fresh
ideas… I really like your travel section.”
D Adler
Israel
August
2006
“Just wanted to say
that I finally looked at your website… and it’s brilliant.”
T Johnson
Belgium
September
2005
“It is good to have someone with some knowledge
of history writing on these topics. As a teacher of philosophy, I was glad to
see you point out the role of the Islamic world in the history of European
thought, and vice versa. Let us hope that such reflections will
contribute to a more peaceful world.”
J Glover
United
Kingdom
August
2005
“I read some of your articles online and I really
liked the way you write, and the sarcastic Egyptian sense of humour that was so
visible between, and on, the lines… Let me tell you that I enjoyed very much
reading your letter
to our beloved President.”
S Ayad
Belgium
February 2005
“I see your site is maturing. Looks really
cool!”
T Kenis
Palestine
January 2005
“Here is my two cents’ worth. More humour in
the editorials, to soften the suffering intellectual tone!”
A Bevers
Belgium
October 2004
“Cool website!! Good to see old Haflatoun
resurrected!”
N Kishtainy
Ethiopia
October 2004
Homosexuality in the Middle East
These comments relate to the special focus on homosexuality in
the Middle East
Gut-wrenching struggles
“[I] read your articles on AEL and by
coincidence the interview with Brian
Whitaker. I almost find it symbolic that both pieces appear almost
side by side, figuratively speaking. They represent a gut-wrenching struggle
many Arab queer men and women have with our culture: an undying love and inner
dedication to an old heritage, yet fear, even unending terror in our hearts,
from being found out.
“We run, sometimes sprint, towards a more liberal
West only to find that the colour of our eyes, the shadow of our skin and the
tone of our names are the obvious hurdles we must overcome to survive. Today,
years later, I am still at a loss for words for the true pain many have to
endure when living here and having to lie when being amongst our people.
Thanks for mentioning homosexuality on your
website.”
Name withheld
Germany
June 2006
Wishful thinking
“Khaled Diab has written up a review and author
interview of Brian Whitaker’s Unspeakable love: gay and lesbian life in the
Middle East – and I would be inclined to read then ignore these, had they
not been published in Al Ahram Weekly in a more condensed form. I’ve
written about Whitaker’s book before, but haven’t got myself a copy yet. I’ve
just noticed that he's added his theological theories (without detailed
analysis) to his blog, so I'll come back and tackle those directly in my next
post. First, let's tackle Diab.” Read
more
Rasheed Eldin
Location unknown
May 2006
Out but not down
These comments relate to the two articles on
the Ayaan Hirsi Ali controversy in the Netherlands.
Out but not down (May
2006)
Dutch government limps
on (July 2006)
“Great piece on Hirsi Ali, mabruk. As a
Dutchman, well, I'd rather not be given what's been going on there these last
few years, and one can more or less pin the blame on her. I spend a lot of time
telling people about the hypocrisy of the Dutch, that they wanted a gay racist
politician because they could vote for him without damaging their liberal
credentials.”
C Onians
Sudan
June 2006
“I read your article on Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Good
work.”
E Jacobs
Egypt
May 2006
Graven images and poor
reflections
These comments relate to the opinion piece on
the cartoon controversy, Graven
images and poor reflections, published in February 2006.
Solving the world
“I would just like to say how very good I found
your article… I found your comments on the possibility of ‘proxy conflict’ very
insightful, whilst the ‘holy joke’ paragraph sums up exactly how I feel on the
issue and will probably be used in my drunken ‘solve-the-world’ rantings in
future (with correct attributions naturally).”
S Roberts
Australia
August
2006
Balance and moderation
“Thank you for such a well thought out piece on
the issue. I only wish that such balance and moderation could be shown by both
sides over these cartoons, and the greater issues at hand.”
T Coughlin
United
Kingdom
February 2006
Egyptian reprints
“About the cartoons – is it a hoax or is it
true about their publication in el-Fagr? This newspaper is not
widespread here in Cairo, I know nobody who saw the real newspaper except for
some pictures on the internet.”
J Antheunis
Egypt
February 2006
DD Response Apparently six of the 12 cartoons
were published in el-Fagr's 21st edition in October. If
you go to the newspaper's very basic website which carries the front page of
each edition, issue no 21 is
conspicuously absent. That leads me to conclude that they did publish it but,
either due to the censor or self-censorship, they removed it. However, the
current edition has a special 16-page supplement on the depiction of prophets,
including Mohamed.
Buddhas and Islam
I read your nuanced article on the cartoons and
the reactions to them. Have you got any idea what these Muslims who are now
reacting violently thought of the destruction of the Buddha statues by the
Taliban in Afghanistan? What’s their view on the symbols of other faiths?”
F Maes (Comment translated from
Dutch)
Belgium
February 2006
Opinions and rear-ends
“Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one,
especially when it comes to cartoons and those ‘crazy’ Muslims… But thanks very
much for your views on ‘de prentjes’. I’ve been reading so much crap in
newspapers and on websites these last days that it is driving me crazy. Your
clever piece makes for a nice change! Keep’em coming…”
B Vancraeynest
Belgium
February 2006
“Absolutely brilliant article – I hope it gets
wide circulation.”
C Woolfson
Lithuania
February 2006
Egyptian presidential race
Naïve optimism
“My political punditry can never be said to be completely
devoid of naive optimism, but I’m a bit encouraged by the position the
judiciary is taking in pushing for at least a modicum of transparency in these
elections. Part of me thinks of this polling as a nice run-up to
real(er) elections next time around (still,
that optimism).
“On the other hand, I believe that if these
elections fail to pass muster, acquiescence and biding time might not be the
first reaction among the electorate and pull in those too that haven’t
participated, in some kind of Ukraine-style revolt. Don’t count the people out
just yet.
“I was interested to read the part about
political docility and how it’s steeped in parenting, education and society in
general… Political apathy is one thing but lacking the means to support your family
is another.
“I wouldn’t put all my money against the
incumbent but the chances of him riding out his next term are gradually but
surely receding.”
T Kenis
Palestine
September 2005
Step aside and let the Hoz go through
“I read your article [Not a love letter to the
Egyptian president] which I found clever and witty… I don’t know if you
seriously meant it when you invited Mubarak to consider stepping down for
history to remember him.”
A Howeidy
Egypt
February 2005
“I particularly enjoyed the ‘kifaya’ letter.”
A Bevers
Belgium
January 2005
Exotic travels
This comment is on the travel section.
“I’ve just spent the last hour and a half or so
reading about your travels! It’s funny, but it seems very personal to read all
the articles one after another. I feel like I’ve seen through a window in your
lives, but from a distance and without speaking to you.”
A Hammond
Dubai
July 2005
Beyoncé and the maximum wage
This comment relates to an article entitled More Beyoncé for our
bucks
“Hilarious! I hope you’re making some
money out of [your site]. Maybe Beyoncé can sponsor you!”
M Ayoub
United Kingdom
October 2004
Banquets for conservatives and seaweed
This comment relates to a review of the
controversy in Egypt surrounding Syrian author Heydar Heydar’s novel A
banquet for seaweed.
“I greatly enjoyed reading [the translated
excerpt of A banquet for seaweed]. I do hope they publish an English
language version, I would like to at least read other novels by Heydar Heydar,
I’m sure they’re imbued with the same zest for life and questioning of our
values and situations.”
R Guillochon
United Kingdom
August 2006
ã2006 K. Diab. Unless otherwise stated, all the content on this website
is the copyright of Khaled Diab.