Why is everyone is playing the blame-game, trying to figure out whether the current higher-education mess is the fault of private universities or lack of government regulation and standards for them?
The simple answer is that here in Bahrain, as well as anywhere else in the Arab World, it is much easier for us to blame someone else than to fix the problem. Everyone wants part of the glory, but when the shit hits the fan, no one will claim responsibility.
I must admit, that when this situation began, I played my own part in this blame-game, sometimes blaming the Ministry of Education (MoE), but mostly blaming private universities for their greed and lack of ethical and moral standards.
I remain convinced that private universities are the ones with the most blood on their hands. However, I am also convinced that behind all this will be a positive outcome and at the end of the day, this education mess is good for Bahrain.
True, it might have damaged the reputation of Bahrain’s education system. True, it has screwed over students, both current and past, but only in the short-run.
Education reform, or any reform in Bahrain for that matter, is an evolutionary process. That is partly due to our transition from developing country to developed country, although we still have a lot of developing to do before we reach our end goal.
Be optimistic. Just like any other evolutionary process, the fit will survive and the weak will be swept away. In the end, Bahrain will have a better regulated private higher-education system with only the best of the private institutions offering over-valued degrees.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
On Bullshit
I have not posted any new enteries for a while. That was due partly to my vacation abroad. However, I also felt an overwhelming lack of interest in providing any commentary. For sometime , I was convinced that whatever I post on this website is a personal opinion and shouldn’t be forced upon others. I guess that opinion was formulated by my frustration with the Bahraini press (who specialize in bullshit). But all has changed now. All bullshit aside, lets talk about things and opinions that matter!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Islamist Hypocrisy & Palestine: The Olama Islamic Council example
I read an interesting item in al-Wasat newspaper that I thought I should pass along. Nothing about it is unpredictable. In fact, it’s the usual, humdrum response we’ve come to expect from all Islamist political groups.
If that’s so, then what makes it interesting? You may ask. Well, it’s interesting because it exposes the hypocritical way these groups approach the issue of Palestine. I am fully aware that the general public opposes dialogue with Israel. But why must we ignore the need for dialogue between Palestinians? Before I get ahead of myself, let me offer you a translation of the Olama Islamic Council in Bahrain’s response to Sh. Salman’s article in the Washington Post. Mind you, it does not mention Bahrain or Bahraini leadership. But then again, how thick in the head do you have to be not to get their message!
“The messages of peace demanded by the United States of America, in the form of normalizing relations with the Zionist entity, and the concrete measures taken to improve Arab relations with it, are only intended to deceive the general publics of the Muslim World, which refuse any settlement, normalization, or convergence with it. Only the vulnerable (people of Palestine) and their valiant resistance movement will pay the price of such an agreement”.
They speak of Palestine’s ‘valiant resistance movement’. What Palestinian resistance movement? Last time I checked, the PLO (Fatah) and Hamas were at each other’s throats. Too busy butchering each other than 'resisting' Israel. Both sides of the so called Palestinian 'resistance' are disreputable and pathetic. Fatah refuses to accept Hamas’ right to form a government, even though the later won 74 of the 132 available seats in the 2006 election. While Hamas refuses to recognize the need for it to abandon terrorist tactics – suicide bombing and firing rockets at civilians is terrorism – in order for it to become an acceptable political partner.
What has Essa Qassim and the OIC – and all the other Islamists who 'care' deeply about Palestine, for that matter – done to help the Palestinians reconcile? NOTHING. When Israelis kill Palestinians, they scream murder, which, rightly so, it is. But when Palestinians murder each other,there is nothing but silence. We have a 'Society against Normalization with the Zionist Enemy' ready to jump on any mention of government contact with Israel, whether it is the Foreign Minister shaking the hand of his Israeli counterpart, or the recovery of Bahraini detainees from Israeli prisons. But do we see anyone rushing to form a 'Society against Inter-Palestinian Slaughter', or 'Society for Inter-Palestinian Peace'? No we don’t.
What do we hear from these Islamists instead? They repeat the same nonsense of courage and resistance, never speaking of peace our even reconciliation between the Palestinians. The all-wise clerics claim that efforts made to achieve peace are “intended to deceive the general publics of the Muslim World”. Who gave you the right, Essa Qassim and the rest of the OIC, to speak on behalf of the “general publics of the Muslim World” and declare that they all “refuse settlement, normalization, or convergence”? Surely you haven’t seen war, having spent your life between the relative tranquility of Bahrain and the shiny domes of Qum. Had you seen war, Mr. Qassim, you’d be begging for peace. For that reason, none of you are entitled to speak on behalf of anyone other than yourselves. Especially not on behalf of the people of Palestine, who have endured more than you can imagine.
If that’s so, then what makes it interesting? You may ask. Well, it’s interesting because it exposes the hypocritical way these groups approach the issue of Palestine. I am fully aware that the general public opposes dialogue with Israel. But why must we ignore the need for dialogue between Palestinians? Before I get ahead of myself, let me offer you a translation of the Olama Islamic Council in Bahrain’s response to Sh. Salman’s article in the Washington Post. Mind you, it does not mention Bahrain or Bahraini leadership. But then again, how thick in the head do you have to be not to get their message!
“The messages of peace demanded by the United States of America, in the form of normalizing relations with the Zionist entity, and the concrete measures taken to improve Arab relations with it, are only intended to deceive the general publics of the Muslim World, which refuse any settlement, normalization, or convergence with it. Only the vulnerable (people of Palestine) and their valiant resistance movement will pay the price of such an agreement”.
They speak of Palestine’s ‘valiant resistance movement’. What Palestinian resistance movement? Last time I checked, the PLO (Fatah) and Hamas were at each other’s throats. Too busy butchering each other than 'resisting' Israel. Both sides of the so called Palestinian 'resistance' are disreputable and pathetic. Fatah refuses to accept Hamas’ right to form a government, even though the later won 74 of the 132 available seats in the 2006 election. While Hamas refuses to recognize the need for it to abandon terrorist tactics – suicide bombing and firing rockets at civilians is terrorism – in order for it to become an acceptable political partner.
What has Essa Qassim and the OIC – and all the other Islamists who 'care' deeply about Palestine, for that matter – done to help the Palestinians reconcile? NOTHING. When Israelis kill Palestinians, they scream murder, which, rightly so, it is. But when Palestinians murder each other,there is nothing but silence. We have a 'Society against Normalization with the Zionist Enemy' ready to jump on any mention of government contact with Israel, whether it is the Foreign Minister shaking the hand of his Israeli counterpart, or the recovery of Bahraini detainees from Israeli prisons. But do we see anyone rushing to form a 'Society against Inter-Palestinian Slaughter', or 'Society for Inter-Palestinian Peace'? No we don’t.
What do we hear from these Islamists instead? They repeat the same nonsense of courage and resistance, never speaking of peace our even reconciliation between the Palestinians. The all-wise clerics claim that efforts made to achieve peace are “intended to deceive the general publics of the Muslim World”. Who gave you the right, Essa Qassim and the rest of the OIC, to speak on behalf of the “general publics of the Muslim World” and declare that they all “refuse settlement, normalization, or convergence”? Surely you haven’t seen war, having spent your life between the relative tranquility of Bahrain and the shiny domes of Qum. Had you seen war, Mr. Qassim, you’d be begging for peace. For that reason, none of you are entitled to speak on behalf of anyone other than yourselves. Especially not on behalf of the people of Palestine, who have endured more than you can imagine.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Reactions to Sh. Salman's call for dialouge with Israel
As I expected, Bahrainis weren’t pleased with Sh. Salman’s article in the Washington Post yesterday. Al-Wefaq’s opposition MP Jameel Kadhim announced on al-Alam News channel (Iran’s preposterous Arabic language news channel) that Bahraini opposition rejects Sh. Salman’s call for Arabs to engage citizens of Israel in dialogue to promote peace, as he saw it as another form of normalization with the Jewish state. Mr. Kadhim stated that “the Zionist entity in its entirety, both government and citizenry, poses a threat to the region”. Consequently, he sees that engaging them in dialogue is meaningless and improper.
This criticism comes from a member of a Shia Islamist bloc that is eager to tarnish the reputation of the Bahraini government and suck up to Iran’s turbaned puppet-masters. Similarly, his statement was presented on an Iranian propaganda agency eager to denounce the Bahraini government for its ties to the United States and, now according to them, Israel. I suppose that says something about the credibility of Mr. Kadhim’s statement. After all, al-Alam does represent the views of Holocaust denying Ahmedinejad. So let’s go over this once more. Bahraini religious zealots teaming up with Iranian Holocaust deniers. what a match!
I suggest everyone read Ms. Mariam al-Sharooqi’s article in al-Wasat (7/19). For those of you unfamiliar with al-Wasat, it is a Bahraini opposition paper that serves the Shia community. It also is, in my opinion, infamous for its fondness for over exaggeration and constant nagging (who can blame them, their Bahraini. It runs in our blood). Ms. al-Sharooqi’s editorial highlights the benefits of Sh. Salman’s proposal, even if the majority of al-Wasat’s readership is quick to dismiss it. She relates a personal experience in which, following a lecture at the University of Minnesota, an Israeli student asked her about Arab society’s views on terrorism and the Holocaust. She responded by saying that Islam rejects terrorism and that Arabs do not deny the Holocaust (like al-Alam and Ahmedinejad do). The Israeli added that not all Israelis oppose the peace process and that some even recognize Israel’s involvement in the Deir Yassin and Sabra and Shatila massacres. Ms. al-Sharooqi ends her article with an appeal to her dismissive audience. Dialogue will do more for the future of our children and the future of Palestine than mutual resentment.
Link to Mariam al-Sharooqi's al-Wasat article
http://www.alwasatnews.com/2508/news/read/172948/1.html
This criticism comes from a member of a Shia Islamist bloc that is eager to tarnish the reputation of the Bahraini government and suck up to Iran’s turbaned puppet-masters. Similarly, his statement was presented on an Iranian propaganda agency eager to denounce the Bahraini government for its ties to the United States and, now according to them, Israel. I suppose that says something about the credibility of Mr. Kadhim’s statement. After all, al-Alam does represent the views of Holocaust denying Ahmedinejad. So let’s go over this once more. Bahraini religious zealots teaming up with Iranian Holocaust deniers. what a match!
I suggest everyone read Ms. Mariam al-Sharooqi’s article in al-Wasat (7/19). For those of you unfamiliar with al-Wasat, it is a Bahraini opposition paper that serves the Shia community. It also is, in my opinion, infamous for its fondness for over exaggeration and constant nagging (who can blame them, their Bahraini. It runs in our blood). Ms. al-Sharooqi’s editorial highlights the benefits of Sh. Salman’s proposal, even if the majority of al-Wasat’s readership is quick to dismiss it. She relates a personal experience in which, following a lecture at the University of Minnesota, an Israeli student asked her about Arab society’s views on terrorism and the Holocaust. She responded by saying that Islam rejects terrorism and that Arabs do not deny the Holocaust (like al-Alam and Ahmedinejad do). The Israeli added that not all Israelis oppose the peace process and that some even recognize Israel’s involvement in the Deir Yassin and Sabra and Shatila massacres. Ms. al-Sharooqi ends her article with an appeal to her dismissive audience. Dialogue will do more for the future of our children and the future of Palestine than mutual resentment.
Link to Mariam al-Sharooqi's al-Wasat article
http://www.alwasatnews.com/2508/news/read/172948/1.html
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Winds of change: Bahrain's approach to Israel
For very long Bahrain has approached Israel as all Arab states do. The hostile, tired and drawn-out attitude we maintained did not work then, and will not provide results in the future. Luckily, our leadership has realized that it is necessary to change this policy. Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa announced today in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post that Arabs and Israelis must put their differences aside and engage in constructive dialogue. His Highness recognized that the Israeli public is reluctant to accept a peace agreement because they view Arabs negatively. As a result, he calls on Arabs to reach out to Israelis through their media outlets, in order to present Arabs as willing partners in any upcoming peace-talks.
But if Sh. Salman is willing to build bridges for peace, most Arabs are eager to burn them down. The response of Bahraini Parliamentarians won’t shock any of us. They will without a doubt denounce Israel and call any normalization of relations the Jewish state and Bahrain an impossibility. Huffing and puffing, they will shake their fists in the air and then depart, having achieved nothing. Another missed opportunity at peace. So goes the story of the Middle East!
Sh. Salman himself predicts this reaction in his editorial. He announces that those “equating communication with normalization, may think that we are moving too fast toward normalization”. But that is not the case, as he does not call for diplomatic relations but advises Arabs to engage the Israeli public. This, he says, will “move minds and gradually build a relationship of trust and mutual interest, without which long-term peacemaking is impossible”.
Furthermore, Sh. Salman is also trying to tell Arabs that Israel is a reality and won’t disappear. The Jews won’t pack and leave. Learn to live with it!!
But if Sh. Salman is willing to build bridges for peace, most Arabs are eager to burn them down. The response of Bahraini Parliamentarians won’t shock any of us. They will without a doubt denounce Israel and call any normalization of relations the Jewish state and Bahrain an impossibility. Huffing and puffing, they will shake their fists in the air and then depart, having achieved nothing. Another missed opportunity at peace. So goes the story of the Middle East!
Sh. Salman himself predicts this reaction in his editorial. He announces that those “equating communication with normalization, may think that we are moving too fast toward normalization”. But that is not the case, as he does not call for diplomatic relations but advises Arabs to engage the Israeli public. This, he says, will “move minds and gradually build a relationship of trust and mutual interest, without which long-term peacemaking is impossible”.
Furthermore, Sh. Salman is also trying to tell Arabs that Israel is a reality and won’t disappear. The Jews won’t pack and leave. Learn to live with it!!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Name & shame those who abuse workers!!
Every now and then Bahraini newspapers, especially the English-language ones, will run articles relating tragic stories of South-Asian laborers and their abusive employers. Today I read yet another sad story in Gulf Daily News about a Sri Lankan house maid who was not given any salary for 20 months!!! Last time I checked, forced labor without pay is slavery, which has been illegal in Bahrain for a looong time.
The article mentions that the Bahraini employer’s wife reported him to authorities for failing to pay the maid after he planned to deport her without compensating her for 20 months of slavery. The wife, a school teacher, said that what her husband was doing was wrong and against human rights. She added that she wanted to teach her “daughters that this is not how people should be treated”. It is good to know that at least someone in that family has a conscience.
One thing I would like to touch upon is Bahraini newspapers’ practice of hiding the identities of those that commit offences. In the article mentioned above, the name of the Sri Lankan made is mentioned, but not that of her employer.
Do they keep him anonymous to protect his honor? An honorable man would not cheat an honest working person of their hard earned money. May be if he is named and shamed in the press, he would think twice about swindling this poor, helpless maid of her money. If not for the sake of goodness and morality, then for the sake of keeping his name from being dragged in the gutter.
I say name and shame these criminals. People must recognize that hiring servants is a privilege and not a right. If you cannot afford to pay them or treat them like human beings then spare them the misery slaving around your household.
The article mentions that the Bahraini employer’s wife reported him to authorities for failing to pay the maid after he planned to deport her without compensating her for 20 months of slavery. The wife, a school teacher, said that what her husband was doing was wrong and against human rights. She added that she wanted to teach her “daughters that this is not how people should be treated”. It is good to know that at least someone in that family has a conscience.
One thing I would like to touch upon is Bahraini newspapers’ practice of hiding the identities of those that commit offences. In the article mentioned above, the name of the Sri Lankan made is mentioned, but not that of her employer.
Do they keep him anonymous to protect his honor? An honorable man would not cheat an honest working person of their hard earned money. May be if he is named and shamed in the press, he would think twice about swindling this poor, helpless maid of her money. If not for the sake of goodness and morality, then for the sake of keeping his name from being dragged in the gutter.
I say name and shame these criminals. People must recognize that hiring servants is a privilege and not a right. If you cannot afford to pay them or treat them like human beings then spare them the misery slaving around your household.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Israel, Bahrain, and the 'Free Gaza' detainees
I have been hearing, in the media and through personal discussions, quite a lot about the Bahrainis detained by Israel as they tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. Those involved are being lavished with praise and admiration in the public for their so-called ‘heroism’ and courage in facing Israel, the much despised ghoul of the Middle East. Following their prompt release and return to Bahrain, the detainees, who were on board a ‘Free Gaza’ protest ship named the Spirit of Humanity, were quick to condemn Israel and demanded that Bahrain refuse to recognize Israel as a sovereign state. Quite honestly, I am bothered by their actions and the local response to the incident. It highlights the acute lack of understanding among the Bahraini public of international relations and the Middle East crisis.
Now before you label me pro-Israeli or ‘Zionist’, a term our insolent, religiously conservative countrymen are quick to use against anyone that disagrees with them, please refrain from making a judgment until you’re done reading this post. Israel is problematic and stubborn. But wouldn’t any other state act in the same fashion if it was given a blank check by the strongest country in the world? The blockade on Gaze is criminal and inhumane. Many innocent lives were lost due to the carelessness of the Israeli Army and their lack of respect for the safety of civilians.
With that said, I wish now to proceed and address the irresponsibility of Bahrainis released from detention by Israel. Following their detention, the government of Bahrain was put between a rock and a hard place, forced to negotiate their release from a state that it does not recognize diplomatically. I do not know if Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) negotiated directly with the Israelis or through an Arab state that recognizes Israel (Egypt or Jordan). However, the detainees were handed over to a Bahraini delegation, of “official capacity” according to the Jerusalem Post, at the Ben-Gurion International Airport the day following their initial detention.
As if what they had done had not caused enough embarrassment to the state, different organizations whose sole agenda is refusal of diplomatic recognition of Israel, demanded an explanation from the government of how a Bahraini delegation ended up on the tarmac of Ben-Gurion International Airport, which they saw as Bahraini recognition of Israel, instead of asking Egypt or Jordan to collect the detainees and then have them flown back home. How dare they insult the government after MoFA’s diplomatic scramble to ensure the detainees prompt release, from a country it doesn’t have diplomatic relations with nonetheless? What’s wrong with negotiating the release of Bahraini detainees with Israel? After all the government has to perform its duty toward its citizens, wherever they may be detained.
Peace can never be achieved in the Middle East as long as we have people that refuse to sit down and carry out dialogue or negotiations. I encourage all Arab states to establish an informal, concealed channel of communication with Israel. That way they can, at least, talk about their disagreements.
Now before you label me pro-Israeli or ‘Zionist’, a term our insolent, religiously conservative countrymen are quick to use against anyone that disagrees with them, please refrain from making a judgment until you’re done reading this post. Israel is problematic and stubborn. But wouldn’t any other state act in the same fashion if it was given a blank check by the strongest country in the world? The blockade on Gaze is criminal and inhumane. Many innocent lives were lost due to the carelessness of the Israeli Army and their lack of respect for the safety of civilians.
With that said, I wish now to proceed and address the irresponsibility of Bahrainis released from detention by Israel. Following their detention, the government of Bahrain was put between a rock and a hard place, forced to negotiate their release from a state that it does not recognize diplomatically. I do not know if Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) negotiated directly with the Israelis or through an Arab state that recognizes Israel (Egypt or Jordan). However, the detainees were handed over to a Bahraini delegation, of “official capacity” according to the Jerusalem Post, at the Ben-Gurion International Airport the day following their initial detention.
As if what they had done had not caused enough embarrassment to the state, different organizations whose sole agenda is refusal of diplomatic recognition of Israel, demanded an explanation from the government of how a Bahraini delegation ended up on the tarmac of Ben-Gurion International Airport, which they saw as Bahraini recognition of Israel, instead of asking Egypt or Jordan to collect the detainees and then have them flown back home. How dare they insult the government after MoFA’s diplomatic scramble to ensure the detainees prompt release, from a country it doesn’t have diplomatic relations with nonetheless? What’s wrong with negotiating the release of Bahraini detainees with Israel? After all the government has to perform its duty toward its citizens, wherever they may be detained.
Peace can never be achieved in the Middle East as long as we have people that refuse to sit down and carry out dialogue or negotiations. I encourage all Arab states to establish an informal, concealed channel of communication with Israel. That way they can, at least, talk about their disagreements.
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