Its 29th January again!

Its 29 January again! Her 8th birthday. As usual, we did not really celebrate our family member’s birthday. However, we would like to record our sincere thanks to Kamarul and his family for cheering and ‘celebrating’ Aifqah’s day. She was astonished and amazed by their presence and the birthday gift they have prepared. In the photo: Jannah, Rifqa, Afiqah, Imran, 'Afi,Muhammd Asri, Muhammad Afiq and Muhammad Aiman.
May Allah Subhanahu Wa ta’ala bestow us His Blessings always.

The Fixing of Muhammad Asri's Braces

Since five months ago, Muhammad Asri went to Dr. Amr elKhouly clinic at Shatby, Alexandria, fixing his misaligned teeth. The total cost is EGP 5,500 for 18 months package, which is relatively cheap as compared undergoing it in Malaysia. My friend in U.A.E told me that, the cost for fixing braces in Abu Dhabi is ridiculously EGP10, 000 per package. Nevertheless, from our experience with ‘Afi, Dr. Amr procedure is slightly different and less impressive. There are quite significant number of Malaysian students patronize the clinic albeit the fair service and unpleasant exterior. The insolent hospitality and the typical egoistic Egyptian turned me off. Well, this is life here in this beautiful piece of land called Egypt.

The Proper Approach to Enhance Iman - Part III

The “product”, if you may call it, of this religious work, TJ, is Iman. Iman that will bring light to the person who put their efforts, time and wealth sincerely for Allah Azza Wa Jala. The enhanced Iman will help us in the life thereafter and consequently, book us a place in Jannah.
Tabligh in Arabic means "to convey (the message)" and TJ strives to revive this duty which they consider as one of the primary duties of a Muslim. They encourage people to follow Islamic principles and the life of Muhammad through his teachings, going out for months or years in the same fashion as the Companions of Prophet Muhammad saw.When an individual goes out in a Jamaat, he tries to bring 6 qualities into his life. These six qualities are:
1] Firm belief in the Shahadah: An article of faith in which the tabligh accepts that there is no god but Allah and the Prophet Muhammad is His messenger. In addition, that Allah can do each and every thing without the help of the creation, and the creation cannot do anything without the help of Allah. The only way to succeed in this world and the next (life after death) is to walk on the path shown by Prophet Muhammad saw.
2] Concentration and Devotion in Solah: Five daily prayers that is essential to spiritual elevation, piety, and a life free from the ills of the material world. To build a connection with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and to gain from his unlimited treasures.
3] Ilm and Dhikr: The thirst for knowledge and remembrance of Allah conducted in sessions in which every individual contributes whatever knowledge which one can regarding performing prayers, reciting the Quran and reading Hadith and to gain the remembrance of Allah in every action make Dhikr by reciting 3 Tasbihaat, Third Kalimah, Durood and Istighfaar.
4] Ikram-i-Muslimin: The treatment of fellow humans with honor and deference, to love the youngsters and respect the elders and have respect for the scholars of Islam.
5] Ikhlas-i-Niyyat: Reforming one’s life in supplication to Allah by performing every (good) human action for the sake of Allah and toward the goal of self-transformation.
6] Khuruj FiSabillah: The sparing of time to live a life based on faith and learning its virtues, following in the footsteps of the Prophet, and taking His message door-to-door for the sake of faith. Since Rasoolullah Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam was the last and final prophet, it is our duty to now carry on this work of the prophets, i.e. call others towards good and prevent evil
The TJ also sets guidelines for local Masjids (mosques) to increase the level of worship and local Muslim involvement in the masjid. These guidelines include having the local Tabligh workers implement these steps: two weekly jawlas/visits to Muslims (one visit to Muslims surrounding the local masjid and another to the Muslims of a nearby masjid); two daily ta`leems/reading of pious books (one ta`leem in the masjid and another in the worker's home); going out in the path of Allah three days a month, forty days a year, and four months once in a lifetime; a daily mashura/council to discuss how to increase Tabligh activity in the area; and spending at least two and a half hours in the masjid a day.

Henceforth, we will provide a slot into this blog a topic called taklim (learning) weekly to sustain our efforts and momentum in enhancing our Iman.

Romansa@ Mandarah

The first ASEAN Restaurant in Alexandria, ROMANSA is located 1.5 kilometer from the junction of the corniche road Montazah and Mamourah; the road is parallel with the train line. Run by Indonesian and Malaysian students, ROMANSA serves famous ASEAN cuisine; list of Malaysian, Indonesia and Thailands’ fried rice, vegetables, chicken, beef, and fish. The price is reasonable, the hospitality is commendable, and the pleasant ambience is indulging.
Situated in the eastern part of Alexandria, Mandarah is densely populated with a middle class Egyptians. There are about thousand Malaysian students studying in Al-Azhar branch, Alexandria, staying in this area. Adjacent to it is another popular area called Montazah where you can find a Palace formerly owned by the last King of Egypt – King Farouk. Within these two places, there the 5 Star Sheraton Montaza, Chilis, Fathallah Supermarket, and many other interesting places. It is about ten kilometers from Kafr Abdou. One could reach there by train, the famous “tranco” or mini bus or taxi.

Book Center in Alexandria

Books..Books…Books! We love books. The American Egyptian Book Center (AEBC), one of the best book centers in Alexandria, helps us to reduce our ‘hunger’ and boost our books addiction. It has varieties of collections for all walks of life. Situated at Kafr Abdou, the AEBC is just five minutes walk from our apartment at the Ismaliya Street.
We brought Afiqah and Muhammad Aiman to the AEBC is to develop their reading habits, subsequently to become aficiando with books.
Sad to mention though, it is quite difficult to find a good bookstore in Egypt at large. We missed Kinokinuya, MPH, and many other Malaysian bookstores back home!

The Art of War for Managers

The Art of War for Managers – 50 Strategic Rules by Gerald A. Michaelson, is my latest collection. Over two millennia have passed since Sun Tzu wrote The Art of War. The rate of change has accelerated in each millennium though, the timeless wisdomof the strategic rules set forth by Sun Tzu have not changed. Fundamental strategic truths are the same for all times and all generations. This is a new translation of the timeless classic The Art of War discovered by the author while lecturing in China. The business interpretation applies Sun Tzu’s wisdom to today’s competitive environment. The brilliant insights and invaluable perspective will help you prevail in every business situation you will encounter.

The Proper Approach to Enhance Iman - Part II

In 1978, construction of the Tabligh mosque in Dewsbury, England (unfortunately, I was not able to find the photo) commenced. Subsequently, the mosque became the European headquarters of TJ.
Ameer (Emir) or Zimmadar are titles of leadership in the movement. The first Ameer, also the founder, was Maulana Ilyas (1885-1944), second was his son Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Kandhalawi and the third was Maulana Inaam ul Hasan. Now there is a shura, which includes two leaders: Maulana Zubair ul Hasan and Maulana Saad Kandhalawi. In Pakistan the duties of the Ameer are being served by Haji Abdulwahhab. Maulana Muhammad Zakariya al-Kandahlawi is also among the prestigious personalities of the Jamaat, as he compiled the famous book Fazail-e-Amal (photo below)
With the ascent of Maulana Yusuf, Ilyas’ son, as its second emir (leader), the group began to expand activities in 1946, and within two decades, the group reached Southwest and Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Initially it expanded its reach to South Asian diaspora communities, first in Arab countries then in Southeast Asia. Once established, the TJ began engaging local populations as well.
Although the movement first established itself in the United States, it established a large presence in Europe during the 1970s and 1980s. It was especially prominent in France during the 1980s. The members of TJ are also represented in the French Council of the Muslim Faith.Tabligh's influence has grown, though, in the increasing Pakistani community in France, which has doubled in the decade before 2008 to 50,000-60,000.
However, Britain is the current focus of the movement in the West, primarily due to the large South Asian population that began to arrive there in the 1960s and 1970s. By 2007, Tabligh members were situated at 600 of Britain's 1350 mosques.After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the movement made inroads into Central Asia. As of 2007, it was estimated 10,000 Tabligh members could be found in Kyrgyzstan alone.

Photo: The headquarter, Masjid Sri Petaling situated about 20 kilometers from the cosmopolitan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This mosque was self-funded and built through jamaah.

By 2008, it had a presence in nearly 80 countries and had become a leading revitalist movement. However, it maintains a presence in India, where at least 100 of its Jamaats go out from Markaz, the international headquarters, to different parts of India and overseas.

After 24 Days!

After they have showered the humble land of Gaza with sophiscated and illegal weapons, which killed almost 1500 innocent people; wounded thousands more in the humble land of Gaza, brought almost all infrastructures, and now the Israeli officials say their troops will leave the Gaza Strip before President-elect Barack Obama is inaugurated on Tuesday. Damn it!
This is the first official indication that Israel plans a rapid withdrawal of its forces after announcing a unilateral cease-fire Saturday in its devastating three-week offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers.
Thousands of Israeli troops have begun leaving Gaza. Hamas declared a weeklong truce on Sunday.
The officials spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been publicly announced.
Government representative Mark Regev would not confirm the timetable. He says that if Gaza remains quiet, Israel's departure will be "almost immediate."

The Proper Approach to Enhance Iman - Part I

People called it Jemaah Tabligh or Tablighi Jamaat. However, this Muslim missionary subscribed himself or herself to what the great Prophet Muhammad saw and his Companions went through 1430 years ago. In my opinion, this is the most proper approach or methodology to enhance our Iman. In the UK, people called them “brothers”, thus, allow me to use Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) for our common vocabulary. The terminology varies from one continent to another. I involved with the TJ since 1982 when I was still in the University. In this chapter, we will learn briefly the history and background of TJ, which is quite essential for us to know before we explore further the significance of TJ with our entire life.
Leaders of TJ claim that the movement is strictly non-political in nature, with the main aim of the participants being to work at the grass roots level for spiritual development.
Tablighi Jamat seeks to revitalize Muslims around the world. It is claimed that their ideology and practices are in strict accordance with Qur'an and Sunnah.
Despite their affiliation and influence of the prominent scholars of Deoband, they do not focus any particular sect or community. It gathers its members and aids in community activities such as mosque building and education.
TJ maintains an international headquarters, the Markaz, in Nizamuddin, Delhi and has several national headquarters to coordinate its activities in over 80 countries. Throughout its history, it has sent its members to travel the world, preaching a message of peace and tolerance. It organizes preachers in groups. Each group, on average, consists of 10 to 12 Muslims who fund themselves in this preaching mission.
The second largest gathering of Muslims after the Hajj (the pilgrimage to Makkah, which is obligatory to each able Muslim at least once in a lifetime) is known as Bishwa Ijtema, a non-political gathering of Muslims from all over the world hosted by the leaders of "International Tabligh Jama'at". It takes place in Tongi, which is on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The well-known scholar Maulana Ilyas (Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhelvi) in the Mewat province of India founded the TJ in the late 1920s. The inspiration for devoting his life to Islam came to Ilyas during his second pilgrimage to the Hejaz in 1926. Maulana Ilyas put forward the slogan, ‘Aye Musalmano! Musalman bano’ in Urdu, which translates 'O Muslims! Become Muslims' (in English). This expressed the central focus of TJ, which has been renewing Muslim society by renewing Muslim practice in those it feels have lost their desire to devote themselves to Allah swt and the Prophet Mohammad saw.
Maulana Ilyas was a prominent member of the movement and throughout TJ's history, there has been a degree of association between scholars of Deoband and TJ. Tabligh was formed at a time in India when some Muslim leaders feared that Indian Muslim were losing their Muslim identity to the majority Hindu culture.
In 1978, construction of the Tabligh mosque in Dewsbury, England commenced. Subsequently, the mosque became the European headquarters of TJ.

Shoes Collection

This wonderfull month of January, I bought myself three types of shoes: sport shoe by Nike, smart shoe by Baratello Brazil, and casual smart shoe by Timberland. It caused me a total damaged of LE or EGP 1149 equivalent to MYR 747 or USD 207. Honestly, last time I bought a shoe was in 2006, a locally made shoe – Pronto, at Zahran Shopping Mall. It was value for money and worth spending though, especially during the start of winter sales. Timeberland smart casual shoe. After years of waiting and searching, now I have found it.
Tempted by its workmanship and design, Baratello a Brazilian made smart shoe is something like a dream came through for me.
Nike is always my favourite brand merely due to its design, made and durability.

Energy Receive, Energy Return

PETRONAS at the ‘back’ of the Minister His Excellency Engineer Sameh Fahmy’s “mind.Stand proud with that little green logo of Malaysian O&G Multinational, Petroliam Nasional – PETRONAS.

The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum (MOP) and the Malaysian proud oil & gas mulitinational, PETRONAS once again this year present 19 scholarships to selected Egyptians students pursuing their studies at University Technology of PETRONAS (UTP), Malaysia.
The MOP sponsors 10 of the students and PETRONAS sponsors the other 9. Most of them will major in Engineering fields and Information Communication Technology. During this auspicious event, jointly organised by the MOP and PETRONAS, H.E. Sameh Fahmy the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Mr. Izzudin Husaini Mohamed Yusoff, the Chief Executive Officer of PETRONAS in Arab Republic of Egypt, presented the scholarships to all the brilliant & lucky young energetic Egyptians.
The MOP, EGPC, the Malaysian Embassy’s staff, the family members of the succesful students, the Presses, and PETRONAS (Egypt) staff attended the scholarship award ceremony at El Shahzad, Intercontinental, Nasr City, Cairo.
This is the fifth time PETRONAS awarded scholarships to Egyptian students and these scholaships are part of PETRONAS’ involvement in community development efforts in Egypt where it conducts its business. Congratulations to the 19 students and all the best.

The Voices of the World

Today, Saturday 10 January 2009, 13th of Muharam 1430H, the 7th days the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) invaded the humble poor land of Gaza. Despite the voices of the world; the UN Security Council had passed the resolution, the Arab leagues, the rest of the world, even the US had decided and urged them to cease fire, but the stubborn, and bolshie Israelite Regime simply ignored the voices of the world. Their mere reason is to weaken the Hamas! They were very adamant. Let us put our hands together supplicating before the Almighty Allah swt for the poor people of Palestine and the martyrs who had fight in the name of Islam to defense their pride and dignity. O Allah Rabbul Jalil, bestow upon us the true spirit of Unity and Strength. Amiin

The Faces of the Palestines

Pictures paints the thousands words.
They were the victim of greed and arrogant; the consequent of the disunity & corrupted brothers & sisters in Islam; the test of determination and perseverance; the call of togetherness irrespective who we are.
This is the most expensive tutorial that we have to pay, for us to learn the true meaning of life. Life is not mathematics though, thus, let us walk our talk; realize our knowledge that we had learnt; render our hands and stand tall to help the poor humble people of the world.

Sophisticated Weapons Vs Rocket Launcher

The few ugly faces of the IDF with their sophisticated weapons and ammunations invaded the poor Gaza merely to weaken the rocket launcher? Today, they went in further to the southern Gaza with their offensive character, aggressive and abusive, yet nobody dare to stop them!? Where are all the Muslims Leaders? Wake up ya Raais and let us put our mind and efforts together for the Almighty Allah swt.

Simple but Scrumptious

Amid the cold weather with the average ambience temperature of 12 degrees centigrade, I was very depressed and disheartened with the biased CNN news, which reduced our appetite. Hence, our lunch menu today is baked-grilled Chicken wings (marinated with blended chili, garlic & red onion, mixed with flour, mayonnaises, turmeric powder, sugar and coriander seeds) and Lala – local mussels cooked (semi-fried) with lemon grass, chili, garlic, and daun limau purut or Kaffir Lime aka Kieffer lime i To balance up the diet, we moderately fried the big onion with broccoli. Simple though, but the menu is relatively too rich for our suffering Palestinians brothers and sisters at the war zone Gaza.
i Limau Purut or Kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix), also known as, kieffer lime is a type of lime native to Indonesia and Malaysia, commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine, and widely grown worldwide as a backyard shrub.The kaffir lime is a rough, bumpy green fruit that grows on very thorny bush with aromatic and distinctively hourglass-shaped "double" leaves. It is well suited to container growing. Its bumpy exterior and its small size (approx. 4 cm wide) distinguish the green lime fruit.The Oxford Companion to Food did not recommend using the name kaffir lime in favor of makrud lime because kaffir is an offensive term in some cultures, and has no clear reason for being attached to this plant. (For this reason, some South Africans refer to the fruit as K-lime.) However, kaffir lime appears to be much more common.
Last but not least, zillion of thanks to my beloved wife, Nana, for her creativity and efforts. Love you forever.

Islamic Monuments in Cairo

Also known as, the City of Thousands Minarets, Cairo has cherished many historical buildings built hundreds if not thousands of years ago. The Minarets are synonym with the Mosques, and the Turkish architecture and Mamluk influenced almost 100% of the designs. This book is about history of the mosques, tombs and other significant buildings that were built hundreds of years ago. The author, Caroline Williams, treid to describe how and why people in the past built all the buildings described in her books. It is also provides guidance on the location of each buildings or monuments. Henceforth, I plan to cover at least 50% of the momentous buildings described by the book within six months time, InsyaAllah. In the nutshell, the book provides you guideline on other strory line of Cairo history.

Alexandria Momento

Naturaceram by Kutanya – Made in Turkey: Our latest dinner & coffee set collection – an Alexandria momento. Well, we were not that craze about this porcelain things but when soembody give you free of charge we will not hesitate it. Free! Yes, we received a token of LE 1000 and a gold coin worth about LE 1000 from ELNG last December as a gesture to the loyal ELNGian who had in one way or another, made ELNG a commendable conducive place to work. Thank you ELNG.
This time we purposely opted for colourful theme and anomalous shapes, to cheer up our mood and boost up energy to survive this foreign unique land called Egypt. Life is full of colours, it is just a matter of how we endure and indulge ourselves in this colourful but transitory life. The peculiar shapes of the crockery depict the varieties of human characters, behaviors, beliefs, mindset, aptitude, and perceptions. Human being is very unique but special species created by the Almighty Allah azza wa jala.

Open Statement and Voice of Peace: By Tun M

The barbaric and wanton massacre of the Palestinians in Gaza, which started some days ago and is now continuing, is yet another example of the blatant war crimes committed by Zionist Israel since its establishment in 1948.

Supported and encouraged by the United States and Britain, Israel has ignored international condemnation and insists that she has the unfettered right to murder innocent men, women and children on account of some rocket attacks by Palestinians who were retaliating against the blockade of Gaza. The blockade over the last 9 months has brought starvation and untold suffering to the Palestinians. The heroic Palestinian people have every right to take action in self-defence to break this inhuman siege.

The United Nations has condemned this attempt to starve and deny the medical needs of the Palestinians in order to force them into submission, but as usual, Israel backed by the United States has ignored international opinion and international law.

The peace loving peoples of the world must not just sympathise with the Palestinians but must take concrete action to bring the war criminals to justice.

For various reasons Governments will not do anything to put a stop to Israeli intransigence. It remains for the people to take positive action individually or through their Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO).

We propose that the peoples of the world boycott Israeli products and stop all trade with Israel.

Secondly, we call upon the international community to abandon the use of the US Dollar in international trade, and to stop buying United States' bonds. Such purchases have enabled the United States to grant substantial aid to Israel and to supply it with the weapons now being used against the people in Gaza and elsewhere. The concerned peace loving peoples of the world must not, even if it is in a small way, be the participants and financiers in the massacre of the Palestinians, the Iraqis and the Afghans.

Finally, we call upon the United Nations General Assembly to condemn Israel the same way that the Security Council condemns Darfur, Rwanda and Burundi and to set up a Tribunal to try Israeli war criminals.

Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad

Chairman of Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War and

Perdana Global Peace Organisation

Whatever Else Happened to the Egyptians?

I took this book because the story has some similiraties with the Malaysian stories – the politics, the economy and the Malaysian people at large. The only different is the period and time of the history been created, also where it took place by different set of people. I have just covered chapter 3 (out of 15 chapters) that is 20% of the book.
In the nutshell, the author Galal Amin a Professor of Economics at the American University in Cairo try to explain the fundamental transformation, that is, from the revolution to the age of the globalization of the Egyptians over the last fifty years. The gist of the book is about the effect of its population size, or, rather the growth in absolute term of the influential or effective part of the population Vis a Vis the socio economic structure, which has the adverse effect to the economy, politics, and life style.

The Pursuit To Liberty

After 5 days showering the humble piece of land occupied by 1.5 poor Palestinians with sophisticated ammunitions through airstrike, the Israelite resumed the ground war incursions on the 2nd January 2009. Their main reason: the Hamas rockets were still threatening. Damn the Israelites!!!! Ops, is the Israel to be blamed?? (Please refer to my earlier article) Amid the imbalance battle covered by the biased news, I spent my little time and efforts releasing my frustration; thoughts and mood through my modest piece of art work which I called – the Pursuit to Liberty.

The materials used are: Colored-Shaped pin; paper to make the origami box; white polystyrenes and compressed colored polystyrene. The rationale is basically about the Palestinians quest to achieve own freedom since the past years in their own piece of land.

Safety is a License to Operate

Safety 24/7 is about building an inceident-free culture by Gregory M. Anderson and Robert L Lorber. It provides the tools necessary for creating the foundation of a great organization, no matter what your mission may be. It focuses on people behaviour and illustrates why policies and procedures alone do not build stong safety culture.
All ELNG staff received the book in early January 2009 as part of the ELNG effort to promote and enhance safety culture. Safety is always first, last and always.

In Our Opinion: Who To Be Blamed?

Who to be blamed? I in my very personal opinion that we Muslims should be blamed. In Malaysia, the so called Muslims scholars graduated from good schools, holding good positions are fighting with each others, whereas the lower class groups are arrogant envying among themselves. In general we are not united in many aspects. And, the worst of all, most of us taking the Islamic teaching for granted. Thus, how do we expect Allah Rabbul Jalil bestow us His Blessings and Faith, which are very essential for us to survive this transitory world?

Facts and Numbers for us to ponder:
World Jewish Population : 14 million
Distribution

: 7m in America
: 5m in Asia
: 2m in Europe
: 100 thousand in Africa
World Muslim Population: 1.5 billion
Distribution

: 1 billion in Asia/Mid-East
: 400 M in Africa
: 44 M in Europe
: 6 M in the Americas
o Every fifth human being is a Muslim.
o For every single Hindu there are two Muslims
o For every Buddhist there are two Muslims
o For every Jew there are 107 Muslims
Yet the 14 million Jews are more powerful than the entire 1.5 billion Muslims Why?

Here are some of the reasons.
Some Movers of Current History:
o Albert Einstein Jewish
o Sigmund Freud Jewish
o Karl Marx Jewish
o Paul Samuelson Jewish
o Milton Friedman Jewish
Some Medical Milestones:
o Vaccinating Needle Benjamin Ruben Jewish
o Polio Vaccine Jonas Salk Jewish
o Leukemia Drug Gertrude Elion Jewish
o Hepatitis B Baruch Blumberg Jewish
o Syphilis Drug Paul Ehrlich Jewish
o Neuro muscular Elie Metchnikoff Jewish
o Endocrinology Andrew Schally Jewish
o Cognitive therapy. Aaron Beck Jewish
o Contraceptive Pill Gregory Pincus Jewish
o Understanding of Human Eye G. Wald Jewish
o Embryology. Stanley Cohen Jewish
o Kidney Dialysis Willem Kloffcame Jewish
Nobel Prize Winners:
o In the past 105 years, 14 million Jews have won 180 Nobel prizes whilst 1.5 billion Muslims have contributed only 3 Nobel winners
Some Inventions that changed History:
o Micro- Processing Chip. Stanley Mezor Jewish
o Nuclear Chain Reactor Leo Sziland Jewish
o Optical Fibre Cable Peter Schultz Jewish
o Traffic Lights Charles Adler Jewish
o Stainless Steel Benno Strauss Jewish
o Sound Movies Isador Kisee Jewish
o Telephone Microphone Emile Berliner Jewish
o Video Tape Recorder Charles Ginsburg Jewish
Some Influential Global Business People:
o Polo Ralph Lauren Jewish
o Coca Cola Jewish
o Levi's Jeans Levi Strauss Jewish
o Starbuck's Howard Schultz Jewish
o Google Sergey Brin Jewish
o Dell Computers Michael Dell Jewish
o Oracle Larry Ellison Jewish
o DKNY Donna Karan Jewish
o Baskin & Robbins Irv Robbins Jewish
o Dunkin Donuts Bill Rosenberg Jewish
Some Influential Intellectuals/Politicians:
o Henry Kissinger, US Sec of State Jewish
o Richard Levin, President Yale University Jewish
o Alan Greenspan, US Federal Reserve Jewish
o Joseph Lieberman Jewish
o Madeleine Albright, US Sec of State Jewish
o Casper Weinberger, US Sec of Defense Jewish
o Maxim Litvinov, USSR Foreign Minister Jewish
o David Marshal, Singapore Chief Minister Jewish
o Isaacs Isaacs, Gov-Gen Australia Jewish
o Benjamin Disraeli, British Statesman Jewish
o Yevgeny Primakov, Russian PM Jewish
o Barry Goldwater, US Politician Jewish
o Jorge Sampaio, President Portugal Jewish
o Herb Gray, Canadian Deputy - PM Jewish
o Pierre Mendes, French PM Jewish
o Michael Howard, British Home Sec. Jewish
o Bruno Kriesky, Austrian Chancellor Jewish
o Robert Rubin, US Sec of Treasury Jewish
Global Media Influential People:
o Wolf Blitzer, CNN Jewish
o Barbara Walters ABC News Jewish
o Eugene Meyer , Washington Post Jewish
o Henry Grunwald, Time Magazine Jewish
o Katherine Graham , Washington Post Jewish
o Joseph Lelyeld, New York Times Jewish
o Max Frankel, New York Times Jewish
Some Global Philanthropists:
o George Soros Jewish
o Walter Annenberg Jewish
Why are they powerful? Why are Muslims powerless? Here's one reason.

We have lost the capacity to produce knowledge.
o In the entire Muslim World (57 Muslim Countries) there are only 500 universities.
o In USA alone, 5,758 universities.
o In India alone, 8,407 universities.
o Not one university in the entire Islamic World features in the Top 500 Ranking Universities of the World.
o Literacy in the Christian World 90%.
o Literacy in the Muslim World 40%.
o 15 Christian majority-countries, literacy rate 100%.
o Muslim majority - countries , None.
o 98% in Christian countries completed primary school.
o Only 50% in Muslim countries completed primary school.
o 40% in Christian countries attended university.
o In Muslim countries a dismal 2% attended.
o Muslim majority countries have 230 scientists per one million Muslims.
o The USA has 5000 per million.
o The Christian world 1000 technicians per million.
o Entire Arab World only 50 technicians per million.
o Muslim World spends on research/development 0.2% of GDP.
o Christian World spends 5 % of GDP. A Conclusion.
The Muslim World lacks the capacity to produce knowledge.
Another way of testing the degree of knowledge is the degree of diffusing knowledge.
o Pakistan 23 daily newspapers per 1000 citizens.
o Singapore 460 per 1000 citizens.
o In UK book titles per million is 2000.
o In Egypt book titles per million is only 17. A Conclusion.
The Muslim World is failing to diffuse knowledge.

Applying Knowledge is another such test.
o Exports of high tech products from Pakistan is 0.9% of its exports.
o In Saudi Arabia is 0.2% o Kuwait, Morocco and Algeria 0.3%.
o Singapore alone is 68%. A Conclusion:
The Muslim World is failing to apply knowledge.

o Sad to mention that the top 10 most corrupted countries are Muslims countries
So what do YOU conclude?

No need to tell, the figures speak for themselves very loudly, if we are unable to listen.

Thus, who to be blamed?

Life at Raml Station, Alex: Part II

Fruit Valley is one of a very popular Juices outlet at Raml Station, situated in front of the McDonald along the Sophia Zaghloul Street. Fruit juices are easily available everywhere in Egypt and it is damn cheap!...except those produced by the 5 Stars restaurants.. it is ridiculously expensive!! One of the famous juices and available all year round is “Aser Assep” or sugar cane juice. One big gulp is only 1 LE and its original sweetie taste quenches your throat all day long.

Another unique thing that you can find here is the antique Casher machine-NCR brand. “Most importantly, as long the machine works well and it serves the purpose, why we must ignore it?” claimed the owner happily. Well, he is right.
What you need to do first is: go to the Casher who is normally the owner of the outlet; order and pay your drink accordingly. He will then, print you a small receipt or fathurah in local dialect from the antique machine. Subsequently, bring the receipt to the juice counter, wait for 1 or 2 minutes and here you are…the local fresh fruit juice of your choice!

Photo: Nana is ordering another glass of Mango Juice - 2 LE

Egypt Today Collection

Egypt Today, the Magazine of Egypt, founded in 1979, published monthly by International Business Association Limited, Cayman Islands, USA. The magazine in a way is guidance for us to learn any latest events, be it politics, art, oil & gas, property, sports and tourism in this unique land called Egypt, the land that had cherished and treasured amazing stories since the ancient Egypt until the last king of Egypt – King Farouk. You could also find other significant information like watch collections, branded items for men and women, financial-banking features, electrical and electronic goods and other wide range of things.
We had a compilation of the Egypt Today since April 2007 free of charge.

Ta'lim - Part I

Narrated by the Caliph Umar radhiallah hu ‘anh; “…………….I looked around his humble room. I saw 3 pieces of ritually cleaned animal skin/leather and a handful of barley at the corner. Otherwise, there was barely anything! The modest ambience shed tears from my eyes….. I cried. “Why are you crying?” asked the holy Prophet saw (peace be upon him). I replied”…I am sad to see the smudge on your body and the condition of your room. May Allah swt always give you His Blessings. The Persians and the Romanians live a lavish and wealthy life, whereas the Great Messenger of Allah Rabbul Jalil lives a very modest life….”

Prophet Muhammad saw (peace be upon him) lived a most simple, austere and modest life. He and his family used to go without meal several days at a time, relying only on dates, dried bread, and water. During the day was the busiest man, as he performed his duties in many roles all at once as head of state, chief justice, commander-in-chief, arbitrator, instructor, and family man. He was the most devoted man at night. He used to spend one to two thirds of every night in prayer and meditation. The Prophet’s possession consisted of mats, blankets, jugs, and other simple things even when he was the virtual ruler of Arabia. He left nothing to the inherited except a white mule – a gift from Mugawqis, few ammunition and a piece of land that he had made a gift during his life time. Among his last words were “We the community of the Prophets is not inherited. Whatever we leave is for charity”.

A Letter to Barrack Hussein Obama: from Tun M

I love this man very much - Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, former Malaysian Premier. He was never a prophet during his reign though, but he has brought Malaysia to the supreme level and has changed the world's perception on the Malay capabilities. Yesterday, he wrote an open letter to the President (elect) of America, Barrack Obama, reminded him on the critical issues of the people of Palestine:
Dear Mr. President,

I did not vote for you in the Presidential Election because I am Malaysian.But I consider myself one of your constituents because what you do or say will affect me and my country as well.I welcome your promise to change. Certainly your country, the United States of America needs a lot of changes.
That is because America and Americans has become the best hated people in the world. Even Europeans dislike your arrogance. Yet you were once admired and liked because you freed a lot of countries from conquest and subjugation.It is the custom on New Year's Day for people to make resolutions. You must have listed your good resolutions already. But may I politely suggest that you also resolve to do the following in pursuit of Change.

1) Stop killing people. The United States is too fond of killing people in order to achieve its objectives. You call it war, but today's wars are not about professional soldiers fighting and killing each other. It is about killing people, ordinary innocent people by the hundreds of thousands. Whole countries will be devastated. War is primitive, the cavemen's way of dealing with a problem. Stop your arms build up and you’re planning for future wars.

2) Stop indiscriminate support of Israeli killers with your money and your weapons. The planes and the bombs killing the people of Gaza are from you.

3) Stop applying sanctions against countries which cannot do the same against you. In Iraq your sanctions killed 500,000 children through depriving them of medicine and food. Others were born deformed.What have you achieved with this cruelty? Nothing except the hatred of the victims and right-thinking people.

4) Stop your scientists and researchers from inventing new and more diabolical weapons to kill more people more efficiently.

5) Stop your arms manufacturers from producing them. Stop your sales of arms to the world. It is blood money that you earn. It is un-Christian.

6) Stop trying to democratize all the countries of the world. Democracy may work for the United States but it does not always work for other countries. Don't kill people because they are not democratic. Your crusade to democratize countries has killed more people than the authoritarian Governments which you overthrew. And you have not succeeded anyway.

7) Stop the casinos which you call financial institutions. Stop hedge funds, derivatives and currency trading. Stop banks from lending non-existent money by the billions. Regulate and supervise your banks. Jail the miscreants who made profits from abusing the system.

8) Sign the Kyoto Protocol and other international agreements.

9) Show respect for the United Nations. I have many other resolutions for change which I think you should consider and undertake.But I think you have enough on your plate for this 2009th year of the Christian era.If you can do only a few of what I suggest you will be remembered by the world as a great leader. Then the United States will again be the most admired nation. Your embassies will be able to take down the high fences and razor-wire coils that surround them.May I wish you a Happy New Year and a great Presidency.

Yours Sincerely,

Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad