(This is a follow-up post to “Will the Revolution Reach Syria?”)

Friday’s headlines and tweets were packed with highly emotional news on the latest protests in Tahrir square dubbed “departure day”. However, nothing significant was being reported on the demonstrations that were supposed to take place in Syria that same day—around 15:00. According to many Syrians, tweeting live from their country, the unanswered calls of the “day of anger” echoed in the empty streets of Damascus; the Syrian anti-government protests were limited to the virtual world—Facebook.

Since the main focus of the media was Tahrir square, I had a hard time following-up on the what was happening in Syria. I was able, however, to stay up-to-date via the two hashtags #Syria and #Feb5.

I have gathered a list of links to the only worth-mentioning news snippets related to the “failed” Syrian demonstrations:

- Possible internet cut-offs in Syria:
http://on.mash.to/eIf5n8

- Syria blocks Facebook:
http://reut.rs/gJduHD

- Security was tightened in Syria in fear of contagious riots: http://bit.ly/f7b8Yk

- Photo of empty square, where demos were supposed to take place: http://bit.ly/ih8lBG

- Human Rights Watch urge Syria to free activist who called for demos: http://bit.ly/f7GwRQ

- Syrian supporters of Egyptian demos were assaulted by gang: http://bit.ly/dVkH7L

You can follow me on Twitter to stay up-to-date with the latest news on Lebanon and the Middle-Eastern region.

Whether you’ve turned on your TV in the past couple weeks, read the papers, or been on any online media website, you are certainly informed, then, about the grim situation in the Middle-East: anti-government demonstrations have been going on for almost a month, with more countries joining this contagious pan-Arabic revolution every day.

.Having its birth in Tunisia, in December 2010, through what was dubbed the “Jasmine Revolution”, this epidemic of protests against dictators of the Arab world was successful in infecting several other Middle-Eastern and North-African countries: Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Algeria, Sudan, Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Djibouti, and Mauritania (read this article for brief descriptions of the uprisings in each different country)

 (Text continues after video)

One more country seems to be on the waiting list: Syria. While Egyptians were crowding Tahrir square during last Tuesday’s “million man march”, the Facebook page ”The Syrian Revolution 2011” was gathering thousands of supporters. The page calls for a “day of anger” to take place, today, Friday February 4, after prayer time in all Syria. So in less than 24 hours, we’ll know whether this call will be answered by the oppressed Syrian populace, or whether they will decide to avoid another terrible February, that of 29 years ago.

In February 1982, history recorded one of the most atrocious massacres in the Arab world: the Hama Uprising. The Syrian army exterminated more than 40,000 people—members of the Muslim Brotherhood. For a devastating three weeks, the town of Hama was bombarded by 12,000 soldiers. Using air and ground attacks—jet-fighters, tanks, artillery, ground infantry—the town of Hama was pulverized, and the “infidels”—men, women and children—were all executed in cold-blood. The government of Hafez el Asad, the father of Bashar the current president, intended to send a very clear message to all the Syrians: not even a tiny complaint—against the ruling government—shall be tolerated! And his message has been keeping the people’s mouths shut during all these years.

The question remains whether the people have reached their breaking point; and if so will they be able to overcome their dire memory of February 3, 1982, and raise their voices on February 4, 2011?

Update:

After submitting this post, I stumbled upon the following video, released recently by Mamoun Homsi, a former Syrian MP who was imprisoned by the government for politically opposing the ruling party. Below it is the English translation of his public address to all the Syrian, to join forces in the revolution against tyranny and oppression in Syria.
To be honest though, the video is a bit funny. However, you can’t deny that it is somewhat impressive to watch someone uttering a direct opposition to the Syrian government after so many years of oppressed silence.
 

English translation by NowLebanon.com:

Oh, great people of Syria
Oh, gentleman, scholars and clerics of Syria
Your country and your people are calling out for your conscience
Stand by your young men and your young ladies
Those that aim at supporting the Syrian opposition
To start the Jasmine Revolution
And to face the unjust and oppressing dictatorship
Rise for your dignity
Rise for your own living
Say no to corruption
No to deprivation
Say we want life
Walk out of the mosques and churches
And walk together hand in hand
From the different religions and affiliations
Arab, Kurds, Assyrians
Hold up the nation’s flag
Say altogether
Down with the dictatorship
Down with the dictatorship
Long live Syria
Long Live Syria
Long Live Syria

Photo Sources:
-Protests in Egypt - http://www.nydailynews.com/
-Damaged Hama in 1982 - http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com

The website of Dar Al-Ifta Al-Masriya (the Egyptian House of Issuing Fatwas) is a popular online database, which logs millions of Fatwas in the form of Q&A. Muslims from all over the world submit an inquiry about a certain personal, familial or social issue; and religious scholars respond with a ruling. According to this article, the “Dar” has issued 465,000 Fatwas in 2010 alone! I chose the one below from a huge compilation of absurd topics.

The Question:

This Fatwa is divided into two parts. The first question was whether a divorcee woman is allowed to have the fertilized egg, which she had stored in a fertility clinic prior to her divorce, planted in her womb. The second question is the same except that it inquires about a widow rather than a divorcee.

For the first part, Dr. Ali Goma Mohammed (the “GRAND Mufti”) explains that in the case of a divorcee whether the divorce is irrevocable or not is crucial. In other words, if a man says to his wife “I divorce you” three times, it is an irrevocable divorce. If he says “I divorce you” once, it is revocable. In the latter case, [the woman] can be taken back” by the husband, and marital bonds are not broken.

The Ruling:

In the case of an irrevocable divorce the ex-wife is prohibited from planting egg because now that marital bonds are broken “she becomes foreign to [the ex-husband]”; and in Sharia Law, planting the egg of another female or an egg fertilized by a man other than her husband is considered “unlawful”.
In the case of a revocable divorce, the woman is allowed to plant the egg, only if the husband gives permission.

As for a widow, the same “reasoning” applies. A woman is prohibited from planting her own egg, fertilized by her dead husband, because, according to Sharia Law, death breaks marital relations and therefore the husband becomes a stranger to the wife.

Older Fatwa of the Day articles:

Fatwa of the day #1 — Fatwa of the day #2 — Fatwa of the day #3 — Fatwa of the day #4 — Fatwa of the day #5 — Fatwa of the day #6 — Fatwa of the day #7

When you hear about a religious scholar, especially a Muslim Sheikh, fighting for women’s rights you might be thinking what a great step this is for the Muslim world. You might also praise him for finally breaking free from the nonsensical stereotype, which is deeply rooted in his religion, and which sets Men as the superior gender. But then you learn about the “workaround”, which this Sheikh has devised, and you discover that this supposedly improvement for the Muslim culture is, in fact, a more dehumanizing act for Women, that brings to light the sickening obsession of Islam in the matters of sex and the oppression of Women.

As a solution to the segregation of sexes at the workplace in the Arab World, Dr. Izzat Atiya, an Egyptian scholar, found a “solution” that would make it okay for a man to stay alone with a woman colleague in the same room while at work (which is a great sin in Islam). He claims that if a woman breastfeeds a man five times, a family bond will be created between the two and it will become acceptable for them to be left alone in a room. Dr. Atiya based his research on sayings from the Hadith and he claims that since the prophet Mohamed gave this idea to his wife A’isha then it should be a genuine and blessed solution.

I’m not going to comment further on this Fatwa; simply thinking about the subject makes me sick. Such reasoning underlines the fact that religions are man-made, and by MAN I’m not only referring to human beings but to Males in particular.

When Martin Luther said “Reason is the enemy of faith” he should’ve added: “…and for the Arab world it’s freedom of expression”. Religions have always been demoting free-speech and in some regions, under a theocratic regime, freedom of speech is barely existent. Islamic governments are the best example of suppressive ruling. When your civil laws and regulations are based on the oppressive “Sharia” law, censorship comes with the package.
The stories you hear every day about cases of limiting freedoms, become absurd when you consider the fact that the mentality behind such limitations is being based on bylaws written thousands of years ago. I would like to mention a number of incidents that happened this week alone.
I will not go, however, into the “Draw Muhammad Day” issue because, personally, I believe this matter was dragged a long way off its originally intended message: advocating free-speech. Anyway, here is a 7-day sample of the censorship and oppression going on in the Muslim world

A Case of Double Restriction

Mohammed Abdel Qader Al-Jassem, a leading journalist from Kuwait was sentenced to 6 months in jail for saying in public that the country’s Prime Minister should resign because he is unable to run the country. Even more, journalists were banned from entering the court room and covering the event during his trial last Monday. It wasn’t enough that a journalist was being charged for having an opinion, other journalists were denied the right to tell the world about his hearing.

TEH Evil Blackberry!

Again in Kuwait, the Ministry of Interior is planning to ban all Blackberry services in the country because “users of BlackBerry sets were taking advantage to spread rumors and call for strikes.” as reported by a local newspaper. The ban is not final yet but a decision will be made in the next couple days.

Back to the Dark Ages?

While in Kuwait the ban on BB services is being considered, in Pakistan it is a done deal; along with 1000 other websites including Facebook, Youtube, Flickr and Twitter. I read a funny story today, related to this issue, about the Pakistani Minister of Interior who was forced to start using Twitter because he could no longer access his personal page on Facebook after the ban. But now even Twitter is no longer accessible so hard luck Mr. Minister; why don’t you try Blogger? Oh I forget, it is blocked as well.

What’s the Point of a SECRET if not to Remain a Secret?

Last Tuesday, a book titled “Belgrave’s Diary”, published in Lebanon, was banned from entering Bahrain and copies already brought in were confiscated by the government. There are two main reasons behind this censorship, as reported by IFEX. First, because it criticized the ruling authority at the time this Diary was written. Second, because it conveys secrets about “distribution of wealth, land appropriation and sectarian discrimination”. That is not so bad, in my opinion. I’m sure they only did it to protect Mr. Belgrave’s privacy; I mean no one appreciates his personal Diary being read by the public, right?

Love the Song, Hate the Singer!

Yesterday, Elton John performed during a free concert in Morocco. The Muslim community was outraged by this gig because of this pop star’s sexual orientation and his public openness about it and could not believe how this event was allowed into their Kingdom and even supported by King Mohammed VI himself. The good thing, though, is that their rage did not turn into violence and the concert went on as planned. In Egypt, however, this same concert was banned from taking place in the country; this time the government expressed clearly its position on homosexuality.

The Finale!!

The oppression of Women has always been the favorite for all religions, but it seems Islamic Fundamentalism loves it the most. Yesterday, I read an article on Arab News, too absurd to be true. In the Indonesian district of Aceh, run by Islamic extremists, who prohibited all shops in the area from selling tight pants/dresses to Muslim women and outlawed the wearing of revealing clothes. They also distributed long skirts to the authorities and ordered them to catch any women whom they believe is wearing “inappropriate” clothing and to compel them to wear one of these skirts. On Thursday, 18 women were caught wearing JEANS while riding on motorbikes, and were ordered to wear the long skirts. One of them was a 40-year-old lady, she claimed that the only reason she wore jeans is because they are more comfortable when riding a bike. She also reported "I am not wearing sexy outfits, but they caught me like a terrorist only because of my jeans,"
Such ridiculous events are not a novelty in the Arab region. I wrote an article, here, on a similar story regarding Emo dress-code in Lebanon.

As long as religious fanaticism is given the authority to rule the people, similar stories will continue on happening. Some people might not see the dangers of such events, but when Sharia law is the only authority in control, oppression against women can, and have become, a brutality in many cases. The graphical poem by Nessrriinn, in the video below, is a very emotional one. I wouldn’t recommend it to the faint-hearted. This breathtaking visual poem depicts the sad reality of some of the men and women living under such barbaric regimes. Watch it till the end..