GreenDeen: the Book of Note

He says, the book took him 'a little over a year' to write and the 'process was intense'. It is now been published. You can read it. It is the first book of its kind that shows how the principals and tenants of Islam encourages and supports environmentalism. Written, not by a shaikh or a Muslim scholar; it is a book penned by an athlete. A Muslim sportsman who deeply cares about protecting our Planet; a Muslim who had the time to study and explore his religion and show how Islamic principals and way of life are truly Green.

The Arab World's Environmental Woes

At times, it becomes very frightening to contemplate of the future here: since 1970 to date, the Arab world's population has tripled from about 120 million up to 380 million now and is estimated to rise to a mind boggling 600 million in 2050. In Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and the Sudan - the desert is advancing and expanding fast. And there are these:

Gulf Cup 20 snippets

Yemen's Al Nono with the ball

I quote from previous post: Yemen has never won the Gulf Cup; or even come close to winning it. Can it do it now? Can it win the Gulf Cup? We shall know soon. We now know: very unfortunately and sadly, we have not done it. We have been thrashed mercilessly by Saudi Arabia 4 to 0; and then Qatar beat us 2 to 1. Still, football fever is on.  In hadhramout, football is loved. Especially by the young. Of all sporting activities, soccer is the most loved, most played and most watched here. The lack of proper soccer playing facilities; the heat and the ruggedness of the fields have not deterred the many children and young men from soccer. A few excerpts on what is being said about Gulf Cup20:

Socotra: The Greatest Natural Wonder in the Middle East

No other place in the Arab world or in the Middle East offers such stunning, fascinating natural wonders as what Socotra has. No where else owns this except the wonderful Archipelagao: over 800 of its plant species of which 37 percent can only be found only on the Island. Ninety percent of its reptile species are so unique and can be found nowhere else on Earth. Its marine life is pure magic and so diverse, that it is home to over 250 species of reef-building corals, over 700 species of coastal fish and about 300 species of crab, lobster and shrimp. And it is very relieving knowing that one of the Eight Greatest Natural Wonders of the world, has 75% of its land area set aside as natural sanctuaries and national parks. As Tim Badman - World Heritage advisor of IUCN's Protected Areas Program puts it, Soqotra is "......where you can literally see a slice of history." A slice of history that only a very lucky, few people have been fortunate to see.

Sample old Mosque of Hadhramaut

Due to its being a center of Islam and intense spirituality; due to it having been a home and preaching ground for several ancient Prophets; Hadhramaut has many old mosques. Some, are very old; dating to hundreds of years back. Tarim may have many magnificent mosques; and many old ones. Traveling through Hadhramout - you can see many old mosques in any of its main other main towns or old villages, too. Most, are very similar. Built of mud bricks, stones and gypsum. All, are  are painted white.

Green: the Makkah Metro

The Hajj, one of the greatest rituals that any Muslim would ever perform - is right now in process. It involves millions of people; people who have to be moved,  sheltered and catered for. From its inception, both pilgrims and non-pilgrims are prohibited from killing game and cutting native vegetation in and around Makkah al Mukarramah; now the Hajj has gone greener.

Coutured: the Thawb is boring no more

Defined by Wikipedia: a thawb or thobe (ثوب, '), dishdasha (دشداشة '), kandura (كندورة ') khameez (قميص '), or suriyah in Libya, is an ankle-length garment, usually with long sleeves, similar to a robe. The way men dress here, completely lacks style and can be very boring. Hadharem men can be colorful in the sarongs and subaiyas; the Moroccans can be impressive and have style with some of their galabiyas, especially the hooded ones. But those in the Arabian Al Jazeera using thobs or dishdashas or kanduras - have never had much to choose from; there always has been the same, monotonous styling and - mainly, of only white. Not any more.

Gulf 20: Aden's moment

Strategically located on the Gulf of Aden, between the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea; very close to the narrow 32km. wide Bab El'Mandab, which separates Asia from Africa, and which is one of the world's main shipping transit points - especially for oil shipped to Europe; it could have been what Singapore became; it could have been what Dubai is. But Aden is neither. Still, it is cosmopolitan, vibrant, one of the most pleasant places to be in and with some of the friendliest people you will ever find; and it is developing. Its sea port is thriving. It will also be one of the venues hosting the much awaited Gulf Cup 2010. Which will kick-off on the 22nd of this month.

Hadhramaut: The 'White is Lovely' psyche

Here, the fairer the skin is - is considered the better. Fairer skin is preferred. It is believed to be the more beautiful. Especially by men, of women. And by women, of themselves or of other women. It is common to hear people, especially women, saying that a certain girl or woman is 'white' and hence more attractive. The fact is that, most Arabs - almost all, are not white; least of all here in Hadhramaut where most people are light or dark brown. There is this fascination with complexion and the color of skin. By women in particular. Most believe that - the fairer a woman is, the more beautiful she would be.

The Niqab, Kenza Drider, the controversy.....

The Niqāb. It is a face veil - often two pieces - that covers the entire body, including the hair and face, except for the eyes. Very few outside the Arabian Peninsular wear it. In Hadhramaut, almost every woman puts it on. Only a few thousand wear it in Europe. And only about two thousand put it on in France. Now, the wearing of the Niqab has become big news. There is a best selling book about it. Kenza Drider, a 32 year-old mother of four, born in France to Moroccan immigrant parents - says she will not comply if the veil is banned; and she has become big news too.

'A Journey to Tarim, the City of Light '

Nowhere else in Hadhramaut, is spirituality elevated to the highest level as in Tarim; no where else are there as many mosques per capita, as there; no where else is Hadhramaut's social structure so clear and as well defined as in Tarim; and no where else on Earth are the Sayyids - believed to be descendants of the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم - as highly concentrated and as of a high percentage, as in it. No where else too, is Hadhramaut's ornamental and wonderful architecture as vivid as in Tarim. And due to its being very religious, no where else in Hadhramaut is mahar or dowry for marriage and the cost for marrying as low as there.

Why Google continues to lead

Go to Google's philosophy  to understand that. It states:  since the beginning, we’ve focused on providing the best user experience possible. Whether we’re designing a new Internet browser or a new tweak to the look of the homepage, we take great care to ensure that they will ultimately serve you, rather than our own internal goal or bottom line. Our homepage interface is clear and simple, and pages load instantly. Placement in search results is never sold to anyone, and advertising is not only clearly marked as such, it offers relevant content and is not distracting. And when we build new tools and applications, we believe they should work so well you don‘t have to consider how they might have been designed differently.

And, well - Google has done exactly that and worked superbly well; it has gone through an incredible milestone through a very short span of time. It is not only in creating the best search engine, or the best email service or the best free blogging platform or one of the best browser's on the planet that Google has displayed its stunning creativity, acumen and brilliance; it has many other products which are just as good but are less known or used. What makes Google lead and be commanding even more, is that most of their fine and very useful products are incredibly for free.