SCT

Friends

halasct (halarahal@hotmail.com) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 08:10:03 GMT

We meet a lot of people in our lives and we think that most of them can be our “friends”.

Life is a journey and the people we meet in its different stops will affect us in a way or another, but will they stick around long enough for their effect to last long? No, most probably they won’t. We will have to carry on with our lives, holding dearly to us the lesson we learnt- and most of the time, we rarely remember the teacher of the lesson.

During my university days I met a lot of people, who I tagged as colleagues, friends, “nice to meet you” type of people and lovers too. To my surprise- none of these are with me now. None of them exist in my life. I think about it and I ask my self “was it me? Am I the wrong end of the equation?”

To change this situation and to test different theories, I convinced my self that I should be more open and give others without expecting a return. The result was much worse; I gave and gave and in return I was used so bad that I decided to go bad- the other extreme. Hence, no more friends, and business is business- I don’t need friends in my life and I don’t need help from others. I liked it that way; I thought my life will be quieter and smooth that way. I don’t have to answer calls, I don’t have to go out with people I barley know or like, I don’t have to be put in all sort of embarrassing situations!

But, again, I discovered that only animals can live on their own, and not all of the animals can do that either. I found my self- after a while- looking for company and for someone to share my ideas and thoughts with, someone who is not a family member. I guess it is in our nature to look for comfort outside the family frame as we need someone who can listen, someone who stands on a mutual ground and will give us an advice without yelling or screaming at us or at least, someone who will never blame us for being such a nut head and who will never say “I told you”!!!

Very weird-huh! Life is a rollercoaster; what you think is right turns out to be very wrong most of the time and there is never a black and white situation- gray is the master. Expect to be confused when it comes to judging characters; only life experience and gut feeling can guide you around. I learnt to be only “me” and the rest can be decided depending on the situation.

Please pray for her !!!

halasct (halarahal@hotmail.com) — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 10:47:00 GMT

I normally write on a word document first then paste the writing on the blog space to give my self the time to review and amend my mistakes. This time I am not doing this as I realized that life doesn't give people the time to AMEND their mistakes or re-write their life stories. It is only one life that we live, so, we either make it or break it.

I wake up every morning with the hope that this day will bring all the joy in life to me and to my family and people I care for or love. Some times this wish is granted and some times it just takes a little bit of effort to make it a reality and some other times it feels impossible to obtain. Today I realized that I should say (THANK GOD) every day even if happiness is a difficult thing to obtain - happiness is relative people.

Do you know when you suddenly get a feeling that says "something will happen- I feel that something not very good will happen!!!".... With time you lose the feeling but eventually something happens. It doesn’t have to be bad as it can be good. For the last week this feeling was with me daily... and at the end I said to my self "what God has in store for me - I will eventually see it. No one can stop the inevitable". This morning a friend of mine came forward and told me that she has Cancer and I said "that is it..."

I was in shock - and still am - after I knew the details. She is young and she is a beautiful person- inside out! But - can I do something to help her. This is exactly what makes me feel so helpless- not being able to help her!!!

I won't go into details as this is a very delicate matter ...but please- pray for her. Pray for her whenever you remember her after reading this blog. May God be with us all.

Regards,

I havn't been here for long

halasct (halarahal@hotmail.com) — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 13:44:00 GMT

Oh dear God, I didn't check into jeeran for a very long time now. I was so busy with a project that didn't see the light any way :D

That should be frustrating for a lot of people, but to me, ah no- it is perfectly cool. I prefer to look at the full half of the glass.

I'm living my life (bel 3ard wel 6ool) as we say in the Arab world - and i don't really care what that means but I'm doing it.

The office where I work is getting better. I have so many friends now and all of them are funny and they like to giggle.

We have new staff now and they are all wonderful. I don't think it can get better - el 7amdolelah.

Just wanted to get my self going in the blogs world again.

See ya and God bless.

لحظة صفاء

halasct (halarahal@hotmail.com) — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 17:18:00 GMT

أنا لا أعلم إذا كنت على صواب أو على خطأ. أنا إنسان ضعيف، محدود البصر والبصيرة.

أنا لا أرى ما يراه الأخرون ولا أريد أن أراه. أنا لا أسمع ما يسمعون ولا أعي ما يعون. أنا أدعي العقل والفصاحه وأنا أعلم أني أجهل ما يعلمه الطفل. أنا أتيه في ظلمة أحتاج فيها إلى من لا يشمت ولا يلوم ولايؤنب. إين هو هذا الذي يسمع ولايعاتب ولايعاقب ولايجادل … أين هو.

ليعود الرجال إلى ملاهيهم ولتعود النساء إلى مجالسهم وليعدو الأطفال بلا هم وليكون الأموات كما كانوا أموات منسيين مع الزمن.

غريب في أرض ليست أرضي.. أتكلم لغة لا أفهمها.. وأتبنى أفكارا ليست ملكي.. أزرع أرض بور ليس منها أو فيها أمل. أحرث لأزرع ولا ينبت إلا الشوك.. أقلعه وأزرع أخرى لأرويها بدم يداي ولا أحصد سوى الشوك. مجنون أنا.. أكلم الجماد وأداعب الخيال وأنتظر عودة الروح إلى الجسد… مات الجسد والفكرة تتبعه.. مات الجسد والأمل معه.. مات الجسد والفكرة والأمل…

ماذا أنتظر… لقد رأيت بعيني كل الأبواب صكَت والآذان صدَت… والجموع فضت… ولم يبقى صديق إلا رحل.. ولم يبقى خليل إلا جفل.. ولم يبقى زميل إلا إنشغل

أكلم نفسي عل نفسي تهديني… أشكو إليها ضعفها وسذجها.. أطلب منها أن تكون كما أقول.. ولكنها أبت إلا أن تشعرني بضعفي.. وأن تبكيني.. أبكي على نفسي وأنوح.. فلا أحد يستحق النواح بقدرها… أبكي دموع الدم وأشرب كأس الحسرة على نفسي…

على عيني بكت عيني… على روحي جنت روحي…

شعور قاتل عندما تستيقظ على قرع طبول الوحده.. لتجد نفسك وحيدا حتى من نفسك.. حتى نفسي هجرتني… وأنا لن أستجدي …

إذهب.. فأنا لن أستجدي وجودك… إذهب .. فأنت علة لا أجد لها حلا.. أنت الا والممنوع والمستحيل والعار والجنون والمجون… أنت الخيال والأحلام واللامعقول… أنت قصة روتها لي أمي في سريري عندما كنت طفلة… وآن الأوان لكي تموت…

حتى أقرب الناس لي ولفكري إضطر أن يسدد إلى وجهي صفعه لكي أستيقظ من نومي وأترك قصة أمي خلفي.. أتركها في سريري تحت غطائي… لأمضي في طريقي متجاهلة نداءات الأمل الضئيل في أن تصبح القصة حقيقة ولأعيش حاضري وألقي ما ليس ملكي.

I'm juts a Number

halasct (halarahal@hotmail.com) — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 12:03:55 GMT

In this life we are no more than just a number. When I was born in the hospital, I was a number to the nurses. When I went to school, I was a number to the teacher in the class. When I took my driving license, I am just a number to the police department. When I was in university I was just a number for everyone. But the worse number to be related to is age and that is why I’m writing this piece.

Why would the society think of us as a product? Why would our love ones think of us as a product? Why would our families think of us as a product? Why do we think about our selves as a product?

Girls/ women/ ladies/ females are all synonyms to the same problem- AGE.

We are always stamped with age limits- just like a product.

Was talking to my mother the other day and she said- you are 23 now and soon you will be 25- your chances in getting married will change significantly once you are 25. I was shocked to be honest- not because the information was new to me but because I couldn’t believe that although I feel so young, strong and full of life I still have to think about the days slipping away and that I should get married before I lose my youth. Oh my God- I’m 23 not 90 years old, although I feel like 90 years old now to be honest.

I don’t know how men think about it- how do they look at us. Do men look carefully to the personality and the qualifications of the girl they like or do they just read a number that indicates her age.

We are stuck in a stupid community that judges us on wrong bases. I have nothing to worry about now- but I will have something to worry about in just two years- tow years- freaky huh!

I’m moderate in beauty- fine body and good age- that is all what people are looking at now. They are not looking at the degree I’m holding or the university that I went to (although they ask about it sometimes to barge about in front of other people if they picked me) - they do not look at the career I’m building or the personality that I acquired through the days of my life. People- in short- are terrifyingly and alarmingly superficial now a day.

I’m sorry guys but please look carefully- ta7’ayaroo leno6afikom enna el 3ir8a dassas.

God created all of us with the same aging system/process- we have wrong concepts in our lives that they need to change and it has to start sometime and somehow.

Age is just a # people- it is just a boring number that keeps ticking in our heads reminding us that our life is in continues count down, it is a time bomb that will explode in our faces one day and the irony is that non of us- even men- know when the last day will come. Yet- men have the upper hand- funny how life treats people and how power among them is allocated in a strange way.

This simple fact of age in my species- sorry to use this word but I can’t think of any better- is giving me mixed feeling- it is so confusing to be honest. I’m a strong individual but no one can live alone in this life. We all need partners at some point in time and the fact that I might cross my expiry date line in age is terrifying me to the bones.

I think of it like I think of death- it is the inevitable that we can’t avoid or do anything about.

I'm leaving Cairo

halasct (halarahal@hotmail.com) — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 00:07:00 GMT

I'm leaving Cairo this Friday after a month of continues work. I have always loved Cairo- something weird about it makes me feel at ease and it never cease to amaze me with new things/ sites to visit.

I had a very bad time at work- conflicts, fights, disagreements and I have to say I'm not the best project manager on earth- I tend to be very moody and demanding when it comes to work.

But why to talk about problems and work, let’s talk about fun a little! I bought so many nice things from places that I never get tired visiting; Khan El-khalili, El-Husain, Wes6 El-Balad, Roxy...etc

I was down when I left Dubai to Cairo as I knew I will miss my family and friends a lot. Now, I'm down because I'm leaving Cairo and all my friends in it.

I admit that I can't live in Cairo, but that is not because it is a bad place; it is simply different than what I am used to. It is too different that I can't adapt the life style in it. I can live in this life style for a while but will never be able to adapt it forever.

Driving is impossible in Cairo for people who are used to lanes and traffic lights and intersections...etc you can see every possible way of commuting available in one spot; carts, cars (and in this category you can find cars from 1960's- maybe older- till 2007), bicycles, and pedestrians. You will be shocked at first- but you will get used to it with time. The traffic feature will be so funny if you are new to the country; you will be alerted all the time- setting on the edge of your seat thinking that someone will be hit by a car or some kind of a horrible accident will/should take place. Nothing happens (el 7amdolelah) and that is because Egyptian drivers re used to driving in that way. No one exceeds the 100 km/hr while driving as the roads are packed all the time.

Crossing the roads is another story- you need a different license to be acknowledged as a "road crosser" :) Cars would be flowing as a stream and you should know when to cross the road; no pedestrians’ traffic lights, no zebra crossing lines- nothing of any sort can help you to cross the street but your experience and strong heart.

I still enjoyed my visit. I wanted to share some of it with you all and I hope that I will be able to come back soon :D

Regards,

El Jnoob

halasct (halarahal@hotmail.com) — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 13:27:00 GMT

This poem is great. It is written by a great person called “Ahmad Matar” to Mr. Hassan Nasr-Alla and his army. It was written for south Lebanon, to Lebanon and to all of the fighters and honorable people who paid their lives to teach Zionism and the rest of the world (Arabs included) a lesson. This is not the time to cut our selves from our origins - this is the time to go back to our origins and help the people of Lebanon get their lives (or what is left of it) back!

الجهاتُ الأربعُ اليومَ: جَنـــوب!

****

كُلُّ وقتٍ

ما عدا لحظة ميلادكَ فينا

هو ظِلٌّ لنفاياتِ الزمانْ

كُلُّ أرضٍ

ما عدا الأرض التي تمشي عليها

هي سَقْطٌ مِن غُيارِ اللاّمكانْ

كُلُّ كون

قبل أن تلبسَهُ.. كان رمادا

كلُ لونٍ

قبل أن تلمسهُ.. كان سوادا

كلُ معنىً

قبل أن تنفُخَ في معناهُ نارَ العُنفوانْ

كان خيطاً من دُخانْ

لم يكن قبلكَ للعزَّةِ قلبٌ

لم يكن قبلكَ للسؤددِ وجهٌ

لم يكن قبلكَ للمجدَ لسانْ

كلُ شيءٍ حَسَنٍ ما كان شيئاً

يا جنوبيُّ

ولمّا كنتَ.. كانْ!

****

كانتِ الساعة لا تدري كم السّاعةُ

إلاّ

بعدما لقَّـنَها قلبكَ درسَ الخَفقانْ!

كانت الأرضُ تخافُ المشيَ

حتى عَلمتْها دَفقاتُ الدَّمِ في قلبكَ

فنَّ الدّورانْ!

لن تتيه الشمسُ، بعدَ اليومِ،

في ليلِ ضُحاها

سترى في ضوءِ عينيكَ ضياها!

وستمشي بأمانٍ

وستمشي مُطمئـناً بين جنْـبَيها الأمانْ!

فعلى آثارِ خُطواتِك تمشي،

أينما يمَّمتَ.. أقدامُ الدُّروبْ!

وعلى جبهتكَ النورُ مقيمٌ

والجهاتُ الأربع اليوم: جنوبْ

يا جنوبيُّ..

فمِنْ أينَ سيأتيها الغروبْ؟!

صار حتى الليلُ يخشى السَّيرَ في الليلِ

فأَنّى راحَ.. لاح الكوكبانْ

مِلءَ عيْنيكَ،

وعيناكَ، إذا أغمضَ عيْنيهِ الكَرى،

لاتغمضانْ!

****

يا جنوبيُّ..

ستأتيكَ لِجانُ الجانِ

تستغفِرُ دهرَ الصمتِ والكبْتِ

بصوتِ الصولجانْ

وستنهالُ التهاني

من شِفاهِ الإمتهانْ!

وستَغلي الطبلةُ الفصحى

لتُلقي بين أيديكَ

فقاعَ الهذيانْ

وستمتدُّ خطوطُ النارِ،

كُرمى لبطولاتكَ،

ما بين خطابٍ أو نشيدٍ أو بيانْ

وستجري تحتَ رِجليكَ

دِماءُ المهرجانْ

يا جنوبيُّ

فلا تُصغِ لهمْ

واكنُسْ بنعْليكَ هوى هذا الهوانْ

ليس فيهم أحدٌ يملكُ حقَّ الامتنانْ

كُلهم فوقَ ثناياهُ انبساطٌ

وبأعماقِ طواياهُ احتقانْ!

هم جميعاً في قطارِ الذلِّ ساروا

بعدما ألقوكَ فوق المزلَقانْ

وسقَوا غلاّية السائقِ بالزيتِ

وساقُوا لكَ كلَّ القَطِرانْ!

هُم جميعاً

أوثقوا بالغدرِ أيديكَ

وهم أحيوا أعاديكَ،

وقد عُدتَ مِنَ الحينِ

لِتُحيينا.. وتسقينا الحنانْ

كيف يَمْتـَنّونَ؟

هل يَمتنُّ عُريانٌ لِمن عَراهُ؟

هل يزهو بنصرِ الحُرِّ

مهزومٌ جبانْ؟!

****

يا جنوبيُّ..

ولن يُصدِقكَ الغَيْرةَ

إلاّ عاهِرٌ

ليس لهُ في حلباتِ العهْرِ ثانْ

بهلوانٌ

ثُعْلبانٌ

أُلعُبانْ

دَيْدَبانْ

مُعجِزٌ في قبحِهِ..

فاعجَبْ لِمنْ في جَنبهِ

كُلُّ القباحاتِ حِسانْ

كيف يبدو كلّ هذا القبْح

فيمَن قد بَراهُ الحَسَنانْ؟!

هوَ من إلْيَتِهِ السُّفلى

إلى إلْيَتِهِ العُليا

نفاياتُ إهاناتٍ.. عَليها شفتانْ!

وهوَ في دولتهِ

-مهما نَفخْناهُ وبالغنا بتوسيعِ المكانْ-

دودةٌ من مَرْطَبانْ!

سوف يُفتي: إنهُ ليس قَراركْ

وسَيُفتي: مجلسُ الأمنِ أجارَكْ

قلْ لهُ: في قبصةِ المجلس

آلاف القراراتِ التي تحفظُ داركْ

لِمَ لا يَمسَحُ عاركْ؟

قُلْ لهُ: مِن مَجلسِ الأمنِ

طَلبْتَ الأمنَ قَبلي..

فلماذا أنت لا تجلسُ مثلي بأمانْ؟

قُلْ لهُ: لا يَقتلُ الجرثومَ.. إلا الغليانْ

قُلْ لهُ: إن بذورَ النّصرِ

لا تَنبُتُ إلاّ.. في ميادينِ الطِّعانْ

قُلْ لهُ: أنتَ مُدانْ!

****

يا جنوبيُّ

وَهَبْتَ الرِّيحَ باباً مُشرَعاً

من بَعدِما شرَّعتَ أسبابَ الهبوبْ

فَأصِخْ..

ها هو ذا صوتُ صفيرِ الزَّهوِ يأتي

مِن ملايين الثُقوبْ!

لا تقُلْ إنكَ لا تعرِفُ عنها أيّ شيءٍ

إنها.. نحنُ الشعوبْ!

وقصارى ما يُرجّى مِن ثُقوبٍ

أنَّ في صَفْرَتَها.. أقصى الوثوبْ!

سوف تحتلُّكَ

تأييداً وتعضيداً وتمجيداً

ونَستعمرُ سَمعيكَ

بجيشِ الهيَجانْ

يا جنوبيُّ

فَسَرِّحْنا بإحسانٍ

وقُلْ: فات الأوانْ

أنتمُ، الآنَ، تَجرَّأتُم على الزَّحفِ

وإنّي، من زمانٍ،

قد تجاوزتُ حدودَ الطيرانْ!

وأنا استأصَلتُ مِنّي ورماً

ثم تعافيتُ

ومازلتُم تُقيمونَ جميعاً

في خلايا السَّرطانْ!

وأنا هدًّمتُ للشرِّ كياناً

ولهُ في أرضِكُمْ..

مازالَ عِشرونَ كيانْ!

****

يا ابنَ لُبنانَ

بمضمارِ العُلا

طالعْتَ طِرْسَ العِزِّ

واستوعبتَ دَرسَ العُنفوانْ

قُلتَ: ماذا يجلبُ النَّصرَ؟

فقالتْ نفسكَ الحُرةُ:

إيمانٌ

وصبرٌ

وزِناد

وبَنَانْ

فتهيَّأتَ، وراهنْتَ على أن تَبلُغَ النَّصرَ

.. وما خاب الرِّهانْ

****

يا ابن لُبنانَ.. هَنيئاً

وحْدكَ النّاجحُ،

والعُرْبُ جميعاً..

سقطوا في الامتحانْ!

-------------------------------------

أحمـد مطـر

Trends- what next ..?

halasct (halarahal@hotmail.com) — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 16:16:00 GMT

I try to be as open as possible to the "new" community these days and all the weird habits invading it which -by the way- are a pure copy of what is happing in the west (imported to our societies without taxes even) or bad attempts to break the routine.

Take for example "smoking". How many people are smoking in the world now days? The problem is that these people think it is cool and okay to smoke.

I was watching "super movies" channel the other day and the "Marlboro" ad came on; a handsome man from the west lands of America, dark colored (asmar, my favorite) and has a very nice/athletic body running left and right on the back of his horse trying to gather other horses in the ranch. He jumps off his horse back and grabbed a cigarette, then starts smoking like a train chimney!! I laughed- honestly. I felt stupid while watching it. Is this supposed to address an educated, highly intellectual and sophisticated person who knows that a single roll of cigarette has 400 + poisoning chemicals packed in it? Yet, the number of smokers is increasing by the hour. I can’t get what they see in it.

Let’s name some of the negative points in cigarette;

1. Nicotine takes away the skin color (turns the melanin into a brownish-yellowish complexion),

2. Destroys the teeth, gum and vocal cords.

3. The smoke you inhale can, and will, turn your lungs into a black shredded piece of flesh hanging inside your chest trying to function but will not help you when you need it the most; you didn’t serve it well or took care of it so why do you think it will serve you at all!

4. Plus the bad breath and clothes smell.

What about the positive points in smoking? Ummmm- ummmm- nothing!!!

I know that a lot of you smokes and by writing this article I mean no offense at all to anyone of you. It is just one more article trying to wake people up and talk to their brains not their body needs.

Think about it. Smoking is a body need; once you start smoking it is the level of nicotine that makes you go back to the pack of cigarette and pick another roll to smoke. It is an addiction, a legitimate one though- without international rules to ban it and considers it internationally dangerous for human beings.

If every one of you- regardless of religion- go back to their religious books you will find multiple verses stressing on the fact that anything (actions, food, drinks, thoughts...etc) which can cause harm to the body is forbidden and who performs that harmful “thing” –whether it caused the damage while the person is alive or not- will be punished for it in the after life. The human body is a borrowed gift from the creator; God gave us a perfect body for two main reasons:

- God is merciful and companionate; God loves beauty hence gave us all perfectly functioning bodies

- Our perfect bodies are a test for our abilities to keep them perfect and in tacked hence functioning at their best.

Most of us insist on ruining their bodies; drinking, smoking, drugs…etc

God created sophisticated brain mechanism for us, and for us only to give us the chance to decide about what is in our best interest. God gave us the ability to choose and pick what serves us well and refuse what can bring harm to us.

What if you gave your mp3 player to your friend to use it and take care of it until you come back from a trip and you came back only to find out that your friend broke it and it can’t be fixed? You will be angry and you will lose trust to give him/her anything after that. Luckily enough you can buy another mp3 player. If your lung is damaged, can you buy another one from your next door supermarket or from Jumbo electronics? Guess not.

You will be in the hospital suffering from your own actions and no matter how strong and overwhelming the support from your family and friends is, you will be the one suffering the needles and the medications and the physical pain and you will be straggling with the thoughts of death all alone. You will be the one who is dieing; you can’t ask anyone to take your place- and no one can- even if you asked for it. It is God only who can help you and you will be so ashamed to ask for his help because you didn’t take care of God’s trust hence you are losing it.

Take precautions before it is too late- trust me, it isn’t worth it.

God bless you all.

Impressive

halasct (halarahal@hotmail.com) — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 02:03:00 GMT

Well, what can I say- I'm so in love with the best sayings and good lines that some people leave as legacy for us to quote when needed...

Please take just a second to analyze some of these lines and think in what way they can affect your life, future or even attitude. I wouldn't be posting them if they didn’t have such a tremendous affect on my life!

- An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

- Thrive- don't just survive.

- If the enemy if within range- so are you!

- Every kind action has a not-so-kind reaction.

- Nothing improves with age

- Smile, it makes people wonder what you are thinking.

- Love makes believers of us all.

- Good things happen when you least expect them!

I end up with a wonderful saying that lefts my spirit up

"Only as high as I reach can I grow. Only as far as I seek can I go. Only as deep as I look can I see. Only as much as I dream can I be"

Tell me what you think... tell me what you feel when you read every one of them. Which one you think is closer to life and to truth?

Let me hear from the good people in this site. Publicize this and see what you will get as feed back from others. It should be fun.

Regards,

Human Jungle for all...

halasct (halarahal@hotmail.com) — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 12:55:00 GMT

I read "Neveland's" post under the title "A Walk in Human's Jungle" and I think this is one of the most wonderful posts I've ever read in this site.

Well, Why do we look out side our fram to locate problems in other's society's! Let's focus inside our fram and take a closer look towards our internal mistakes.

I never thought that I will be writing about the same topic twice, but this is a topic which turns heads and minds daily- and it does the same to me!

In my office, I'm the only one who is wearing the head cover- and it is perfectly okay because the rest aren't Muslims and I respect all of them. I, in fact, fell in love with them as they are so nice and respectful.

When I first started, our office had only 10 employees- including my self. We were only two ladies in the office; a lady from the UK and my self. During the last two months our office started to hire a lot of people.

We grow from 2 ladies to 3- and some time a go the GM interviewed another lady for the position of a receptionist. She is from my country and covered... The GM- being all nice- thought it would be nice to introduce her to me (before even offering the job to her) just to make her feel at home and to get my feed back on her personality too!! When I saw her I was happy that I will have a covered girl with me. I don’t know why I felt this way, but maybe it is something inside each one of us that makes us all craving to attaché our selves to a group! So, I talked to her and I liked her.

A couple of weeks later they offered her the job and asked her to come to the company in order to sign the contract; she came- when she walked from the front door, our Marketing assistant was next to me and she gave me a weird sign- as if she was saying "someone is covered” or “some one took off a cover" and I wasn't sure about it so I didn't give it much attention. I went to pray- and while I was walking back to the office I saw the GM and he looked astonished... I couldn't tell why. I saw someone standing with the marketing assistant and talking to her- so I just passed by them and I didn't say a word. I heard someone saying "hello".. So I looked back and I actually gazed until I knew that she was the same covered (uncovered now) girl that I met some time a go. I said "hello" and we chatted for a while- and the question "why- why - why??" kept knocking the door but I couldn't ask her the question.

I can't explain why she took off her veil- and I’m not in a position to judge any one about that- but I swear to God it was embarrassing.

This same event took place in our university too but different girl with a different scenario of course. One of my professors back then –who was teaching that girl as well- asked me "will you be taking off your veil too at some point in time" and I didn't know what to say.. so I smiled and said "in another life maybe- but not in this one!!".

What kind of a message are we giving the "other" about us- about our religion and about our veil? Is it cosmetics- I wear it when I feel like it and take it off when I don't? To me this is big- and I keep getting shocked in several occasions by girls who does that.

I quote the Holy Quran at the end "وكان الإنسان أكثر شئ جدلا "

So don’t be shocked by people who follow no religion at all- in my opinion, it is better than selecting what pleases you from the religion while trashing the rest of it. To me, it should be all or nothing. And by that I’m not being extremist people, no, not at all. People who know me know for sure that I’m so open and modern but in a very conservative way. Some issues are taboo to me and one of them is the veil. Religion is like a building, one block supports the next one. If you miss a single block the whole building falls apart. If it doesn’t fall apart it would look so damn ugly.

May God protect us all.

Regards,