The Royal Wedding: good but not Wow!

The Royal wedding between Prince William and Catherine Middleton was one of the most followed events on TVs and on the internet. Many sources have cited around two billion people watching and following the events on the 29th of April. But was it really worth it? Waiting for hours to see a car transporting members of the Royal family to the Abbey and then back to Buckingham palace in a carriage, or people following them to the palace to see the kiss or take a photo of them waiving to the crowd!

Prince William and Catherine Middleton after their wedding

Centuries ago, when the world was still ruled by monarchies, this spectacle would have been a solemn event, as people of that time would dream to see a glimpse of the Prince or watch the Queen waving. But in the twenty first century these images seem old-fashioned if not strange, especially when you witness such a large crowd of British marching in the streets of London like an army, reaching finally to Buckingham Palace to watch ten people on a balcony waiving for them for less than a minute! And then just after this moment of ecstacy, going back home.

One can understand that such event has generated good revenues for the British treasury (several  billion of British pounds) from hotel reservations, gadgets related to the events, brodcasting rights etc..otherwise it would have been out of question for the government to shut down the streets of the city and to halt business on a working day in London.

On the other side, even those amazed by the event have began to speak about the bride's dress and her general appearance, which was good but not great. Beginning with the dress, a clear flaw on the brest level was not well seen by fashion designers and critics, as the bride's dress on cameras was giving the impression of a tip on the brest level.

The bride's face was also looking a little fade, probably due to the fatigue from the last days of preparation before the wedding, and many analysts suggested that she looked like a 34-35 years old lady instead of 29. Observers underlined that the bride's general appearance and dressing should have deserved more attention in the preparation for this "wedding of the century".

As for the queen herself, and on the balcony of Buckingham palace, she was seen standing with her hands behind her back, in a bended posture; If this would be understandable for an 85 years old lady, it's rather a very unsual scheme for a symbol like the Queen of England who is considered by many to be the reference for noble gestures and "savoir-vivre".

If by this marriage event the image of the Royal family among people was meant to be improved, it was clear that the majority of the attendees who were interviewed in the streets were clearly not from the younger generation. We have mostly seen fifty and sixty years old people making the celebration. In the future, and with all the major events that the world is witnessing, it is clear that much less attention and interest will be given to royalties and monarchs! 

The importance of the family

The role of the family is prominent for the future of humanity. In today’s world families are facing many difficulties resulting from the changes of culture, poverty, conflicts, immigration and the new false cultural myths. Today’s media is playing a big role in promoting new ways of life implying that sexual conservatism is naiveté while free and casual sex is modernism and freedom. A recent study in the United States has revealed that more than twenty percent of American women have children from more than one partner.

Another plague regarding marriage between people of the same sex constitutes a dangerous attempt by man to counter the laws of nature and therefore sends another blow to family which is the only righteous and natural way for mankind to live and progress. Selfish ways of life are becoming dangerously common and individual’s physical pleasures or unnatural sexual orientations are being harshly defended in today’s world. Being responsible and showing respect for others is enforced by law, but unfortunately being responsible and showing respect to oneself and his body is largely lacking, thus extending inevitably to one’s descendants. In fact children always endure the emotional and social burden when they recognize being the fruit of a passing relationship and not belonging to a real family, or when they belong to an abnormal one with parents of the same sex.

A lot of courage and honesty are required to favor the plan conceived by nature for human beings.

Today’s society needs to work hard to succeed in promoting family as being a very strong union between a man and a woman and therefore offer help for this family to carry out its sacred mission as the core of human life, a lesson of responsibility, the symbol of coexistence and peaceful life, the example of sacrifice for each other, the school where life is welcomed and generously embraced. Love and peace inside families will then certainly shine to society and clear the way for better future generations where peace and fraternity prevail between men.

God and science

The Scientific Legacy of modern times has been undoubtedly marked with achievements and major advances. Nevertheless the image of scientific progress is sometimes divided into two different views. On one hand, science is considered to be the answer to any question and the remedy to any problem, in fact the numerous recent scientific achievements in the last decades appear to be confirming the theory that science could ultimately answer all the questions of man’s existence; On the other hand, science is sometimes believed to be a threat to man’s existence and a way of self destruction, notably because of the use of sophisticated armaments and nuclear weapons .

It is obvious that the scope of science is far from both extreme theories. Its purpose has been and will remain to be the continuous quest for the truth about space, nature and all aspects and phenomenon’s surrounding human life. This relentless search has conducted to many successes and has contributed to change the way we live, and has also created a sort of frustration as many other phenomena apparently trivial are still remotely understood though. Nonetheless, provisional conclusions constitute a good foundation for future understanding of the world we live in.

The scientific progress made in the last century in many disciplines has resulted in a much better understanding of the earth, center of all experiments which continue to be the main “laboratory” to discover and learn. In the last five decades, practically since the end of the second world war, the scientific and technological progress realized by man has outpaced by far all what we have learnt, discovered and invented in our entire history! It would be interesting to note that man’s knowledge about God remains the same throughout the centuries and not a single leap has been achieved in that direction. .

If mankind owes a lot to science and to the continuous scientific will of going further and deeper, scientists often question themselves about this secret hand that puts everything in order and makes our world function in perfect harmony. In fact scientists do not create, they only discover facts and truths, put them together and try to visualize their conclusions in man-made theories and inventions. Therefore man has always watched, experienced, learnt and tried to elaborate mathematical patterns and models in order to acknowledge, and to the best extent possible any natural phenomenon surrounding us. It is good to note that any scientific formula is only a good and close approximation of a natural event or phenomenon, and no theory in the world has ever claimed expressing an exact explanation of any event or phenomenon.

This reality leads us to admit the existence of a greater reason beyond man’s understanding of things, which sustains and controls our world, and this is the crucial point where science and religion converge. The result is that science can be the place where man encounters the creator of this world and therefore leads to a better and true understanding of this world.

As we are witnessing daily scientific achievements, we also discover the complexity and mysteries of our world, therefore the need for a new approach is imminent where morality shall be observed in scientific researches in order to reach better conclusions. Scientific achievements should always obey the imperatives of ethics and preservation of human rights and dignity, and deploy scientists efforts in the right direction for the good and the future of mankind. The evolution of our way of life will largely depend on our ability to use science for what is moral, just and good for humanity.

Japan and Libya overshadow a major crisis

With the war in Libya and the tragedy in Japan grabbing all news headlines, the world seems to be overlooking a very grave situation that has been unfolding in Ivory Coast. In fact more than one million citizens have fled their homes in the African nation, a country that seems to be slowly drifting towards a full-scale civil war. This is the reality of the situation facing this West African country and its population. Many calls have been made so far urging dialogue between the opposing parties. Very little attention is being paid by the international community and media to this worsening humanitarian crisis, which is causing massive exodus of people, many of whom have crossed the border into neighboring countries like Liberia and Ghana. Reports from Ivory Coast confirm that the situation is dramatic and is not getting the appropriate attention from the International community, and the events occurring in the African Nation are still being under-reported. Huge lack of funding also contributes to the worsening of the humanitarian situation.

The seriousness of the situation comes basically from the sharp political division in the country that is inevitably leading to a civil war in Ivory Coast. People are fleeing in all directions running for their lives with very little in hand or even nothing at all! Therefore the needs are huge and range from food, drinking water, to blankets and mattresses.

Why is the international community and the United Nations overlooking this crisis! Is it because Ivory Coast is a poor country or because it has no oil or natural reserves? The answer to this sad query remains unknown but what is sure is that hundreds of thousands of people are suffering and are in a desperate need for help.

Many observers are expressing regrets over the brewing civil war in a country that has been known for decades as being the “benchmark” for political stability in western Africa. The emergency funding in response to the crisis is yet far from seeing the light. Unfortunately we will only witness another big human tragedy unless the decision makers decide to make a move and contribute to the halting of such a tragedy.

The horror of wars

Seeing the pictures from Libya and the massacre of civilians from many Arab countries, we can only recall the abhorrent effects of war, of violence on man by man, and by doing so, strengthen the urgency of an appeal for an end to the use of weapons and to create a space for dialogue in the conflicts that are currently raging in Libya, Ivory Coast and the Middle East .

Following the atrocities witnessed on TVs on a daily basis, one can only fear for the safety of the civilian population and have concerns for the unfolding situation in Libya which is constantly growing. At moments such as these, of greatest tension, international bodies and people in positions of responsibilities must use all diplomatic means at their disposal to give space to even the weakest signs of openness to dialogue. Both sides of the Libyan conflict need to be appealed for an end to the use of weapons and an immediate start of dialogue.

What is happening these days is a most grave offense against humanity, because it is the deliberate violence of man by man. It is the most abhorrent effect of war, any war, while we should be seeking life and peace. The abyss opened by men who, when driven by blind violence, deny their dignity and brotherhood with each other. Yes, wherever he is, on every continent, in every nation, man is the son and brother to all humanity. But this being the son and brother is not a given. Unfortunately, this is revealed by the death tolls themselves.

We must want it, we must say yes to good and no to evil. We must believe in love and life, and reject any false image of Glory, that betrays man. Therefore, in times like these, the real answer is to join hands as brothers, and say: with the strength of love we desire to walk together in Peace, in Libya, North Africa, The Middle East and throughout the world.

Japan: from the earthquake to the nuclear plant

Recently, at the troubled Japanese nuclear power plants, a group of heroes are generously risking their lives to save the lives of many others. Like the firefighters of New York city on September 11. As then, the generous love for others, even at the cost of one’s life, is the true light in the darkness of this tragedy. It shines a light on the path to follow. It is a direction for a brave journey for all mankind to follow.


For days, images of the tragedy in Japan continue to upset every human being and provoke questions. From the very outset they have evoked memories of the tragic Indian Ocean tsunami six years ago, which also caused a frightening number of victims, and even more: a sea of suffering and pain that calls for our compassion, our sympathy and our prayers.

But with the space of a few days the world's attention has shifted to the disaster at the nuclear power plant. The Japanese have shown that they can cope with earthquakes in an admirable way, constructing buildings capable of withstanding the strongest shocks. In other countries the same shock would have caused countless deaths.

Yet even Japan’s technical progress has revealed, in one sense, and unexpectedly a weak point. It only took the serious damage of one of the approximately fifty Japanese nuclear power plants to cause a new fear of death that is spreading around the world, in addition to the tsunami’s destruction. Nuclear power is a great natural resource which man tries to use for his benefit, but if he loses control of it, it can turn against him. And nobody knows better than the Japanese people the effects of energy released from a nuclear source turned against man.

The safety of nuclear power plants and radioactive waste storage will never be absolute. It is right and necessary to reflect again on the proper use of technological power, its risks and its human price. This crucial topic should never be overlooked from now on. 

The law of silence will end

The time of terrorism is off.

Today is the time of liberation from repression, starting from today people will have the right to think, to speak, to say no, to believe in their country and in their new future full of hope, love and mercy.

Yesterday, people were obliged to accept that “The Man” is always right, he can do everything because he has full authorities, he is the leader, the chief, no one can stop him and no one should ask him why!

Tomorrow, this “Man” will be obliged to recognize that he is wrong, he made a lot of mistakes, his acts were dishonest and corrupt and people have the right to stop him at any time and to ask him to go!!!

History will never forget despotism and cruelty.

Yesterday, was the time of manipulation.

Tomorrow, will be the time of truth.

Yesterday, was the witness of fear and discrimination.

Tomorrow, will be the witness of trust and fairness because dictatorship is false and tyranny is immoral.

Yesterday, nothing was possible, the dream was illusion and the silence was an obligation.

Tomorrow, nothing will be impossible, the dream will come true and the law of silence will end…

Innocents always pay the price

In revolutions, conflicts, wars, uprisings, always innocents end up paying the price of any outcome. For we have learnt historically that all great and major changes in the world only came after hundreds of thousands were killed and as many injured. Those “unknown” people who are only recognized and counted by numbers, and nobody knows them for they are ordinary people, sometimes less than ordinary. But nevertheless humanity and especially the “free world” owes them a lot.

Historically, the United States of America succeeded to put an end to slavery and became the great nation that we know today, only after a long and painful war that lasted four years (1861-1865) and cost the life of more than 500,000 Americans. The French revolution which started in 1789 met its target and toppled the royal reign after bloody street fights in Paris and after ten years of long Napoleon’s battles which resulted in over 1,000,000 innocent deaths.

In modern history and according to some sources as many as eighty million people have died between 1939 and 1945 (most of them civilians) to put an end to the biggest conflict in history which resulted in putting an end to Nazi and fascist regimes.

More recently in Egypt, the change to democracy and the end of the 30 years old regime has cost so far the Egyptian people a death toll of 500 people, while in Libya the ongoing fights have resulted so far in the loss of thousands of Libyan civilians (exact figures still unknown) and this number is rising on a daily basis.

Innocent blood seems to be the ultimate price that humanity is deemed to pay in order to straighten the course of governments, topple monarchies and to make historical changes. The question remains when or if humanity will reach a stage where such changes will ever occur peacefully and decently, preserving the dignity and the life of human beings.

Barack Obama humble because smart

Every day we watch on TVs famous celebrities like actors, singers and politicians using their physical beauty,  their wealth and power or even their body to appear and to create their own world of authority, desire and even lies.

Simplicity and spontaneity are not the trend anymore, values and principles are becoming old fashioned.

But how did Barack Obama manage to become the US President, what did he use to make his dream come true:  his physical beauty, his wealth or his influence?

How is he doing to sustain his good leadership! Using the accurate and respectable wordings in all of his speeches, speaking with people with modesty and kindness and especially inviting people to open their hearts to accept the others and to build a new future.

Isn’t he the President of the United States? Shouldn’t he be raising his head, walking with great pride, addressing Nations in sophisticated kinds of speeches, talking with relative arrogance to people who wait for hours on the streets to cheer him or catch a smile from him?

Rather, he plays football with children, eats ice cream in the street and invites his friend for a hamburger lunch, and greets the white house staff as friends.

If I were Barack Obama, I would remind myself everyday that I’m the strongest man in the world, I would act accordingly and use my full authority to influence people and try to impose my opinions and thoughts.

But it seems that physical beauty, wealth and power are not the keys to be “the MAN”, The US President must have something else!

If we happen to be as intelligent as Barack Obama we would remember everyday that humbleness is stronger than power, more generous than wealth and more attractive than physical beauty.

People of Japan: magnificent strength!

I always asked myself how did Japanese people manage to become one of the biggest economies in the world, I know very well that Japanese people are very nice and smart but my question was always the same, how did this Country become so strong?

After the earthquake disaster, I was watching on TV the Japanese people and I was surprised: They were crying and they were praying for their missing beloved persons but they were, in the same time, incredibly calm and serene believing that Japan will be rebuilt again and very soon.

And I saw that most of them were leaving involuntarily their homes to avoid nuclear radiations and death, and in spite of such distress they still wanted to stay in their Country even  without home or food.

Today I’m asking myself if everyone of us is able to remain quiet and peaceful in such circumstances?

Is everyone of us able to pray and to hope even when he loses his family?

Is everyone of us able to keep believing even when, he feels that he lost everything?

Dear People of Japan, sorry because I still didn’t understand how can we build countries! With money? with weapons? with violence? with dictatorships?

Japan is the greatest example that nations are built with love, hope and a strong determination to restart when everything has been lost.

Very sad, but true...

JAPAN: more than 10,000 people die in a strong earthquake, the world is horrified and fully mobilized.


AFRICA: more than 15,000 children die everyday from starvation, nobody cares, nobody even mentions it.

Think about it, it's very sad but true!

Alcohol in Islam

Any alcohol consumption including alcoholic drinks is formally prohibited by Islam. However any act made by the drunk during his drunkenness is valid and should not be considered as void.

Due to this general prohibition regarding the alcohol or any of its derivative, the big majority of the « Fuquha’a »  estimate that the validity of the drunk acts shall be maintained as a punishment of his behavior, hence, deciding that the acts made by the drunk during his drunkenness do not engage him, will let him using from his mistake and fault as an apology for his acts .

There is obviously a sad confusion between the law and the moral. According strictly to the legal principles, the drunk is unconscious during the period of his inebriation which shall mean logically that any act made during this drunkenness is void accordingly.

Or the drunkeness depends on the drunk himself, because any person drinking alcohol knows that any excess in alcohol will make him drunk.

Consequently, deciding to annul any act made by the drunk during his inebriation  seems sometimes complicated, because the drunkeness is in principle temporary, therefore the proof of the drunkeness will seem difficult to provide once the rate of alcohol in the person’s blood becomes within acceptable/natural limits.

The strong ties between the USA and the KSA: is it love or reason?

The strategical relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia goes back to late 1940's, just after the end of world war II, upon the discovery of the oil in the KSA. Oil which is synonymous of energy and which (according to some analysts) was the main startegic reason behind the war of the pacific from 1941 to 1945. Establishing excellent relations with the new royal regime at that time in the KSA was of prime importance for the US.

In fact these bilateral relations grew relatively fast when US companies were commissioned to discover and extract the commodity from the Saudi soil. And for decades, companies like Halliburton, Schlumberger, Aramco and others had the absolute exclusivity to discover new oil fields in the Kingdom and to extract the black gold and to ship it.

With time, those ties evolved between the two nations and became deep enough to "re-invent" the Saudi economy, in fact the Saudi currency (riyal) became strictly tied to the US dollar in a fixed exchange rate; Most of the Saudi's government oil revenues (as well as the royal family's) were being invested in the US markets, experts believe that Saudi money invested in the US represents around 7% of the US market. Until recently, the Saudi armament program was exclusively provided by US firms like: Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Mcdonall Douglas; At last but not least Saudi Arabian Airlines flies Boeing aircrafts almost exclusively.

Politically and diplomatically both States were constantly in perfect harmony and the KSA was one of the major allies of the US. The State visit of a newly elected US president to the KSA became a ritual, while Saudi citizens are usually granted multiple visas to the US for undefinite periods. (unlike all other Arab countries)

The KSA became practically operating according to the american way, as everything was built, designed, commissioned according to US standards. The list is long: the building codes in Saudi are US codes, the design and technical specifications for infrastructure projects are conducted according to the US standards, the heavy and sophisticated equipments (power production, water treatment, new technologies) are designed, built and operated according to the US industry codes.

We also note that the US Universities became the preferential destinations for Saudi students. Most of the new Saudi generation that are highly educated have graduated from US Universities, in a need to discover the technology and know-how of what is being developped in their mother land.

According to such evidences, many analysts and observers argue that the "Americanization" of the Saudi society did not happen naturally as a result of the interaction between two populations sharing the same history or culture or background! Instead, it is the fruit of a strategical pact that ensures safe and continuous flows of oil into the biggest oil consumer in the world at preferential prices (much below markets), in return the biggest oil producer of the OPEC countries enjoys an unconditional support and backup from the US policies makers.

Alcohol in Muslim law (article in French)

L’usage de l’alcool et de toute boisson alcoolique est formellement interdit  par l’islam, pourtant tout acte accompli par un ivrogne durant son ivresse est valable et ne doit pas être considéré comme nul.

En raison de cette réprobation générale visant l’alcool et tout ce qui touche à l’alcool, la grande majorité des « Fuquha’a » estiment que ce serait faire bénéficier l’ivrogne d’une certaine excuse qu’il tirerait précisément de sa propre turpitude ou faute si l’on décidait que les actes accomplis par lui durant son ivresse ne le liaient pas ; d’après eux, la validité de tels actes doit être maintenue ne serait-ce que comme punition des actes de l’ivrogne.

Il y a là évidemment une confusion fâcheuse du droit et de la morale. A s’en tenir strictement aux principes juridiques, l’ivrogne pendant tout le temps que dure son ivresse, est privé de raison ce qui devrait mener logiquement à en déduire la nullité de tout acte fait en état d’ébriété.

Or l’état d’ébriété dépend de l’ivrogne lui-même, parce que toute personne en buvant sait que l’excès dans l’alcool peut la rendre ivre.

En conséquence, vouloir annuler tout acte de l’ivre pendant son état d’ébriété parait parfois chose difficile parce l’état d’ivresse est en principe temporaire et par suite la preuve de cet état d’ivresse serait difficile à rapporter une fois l’alcool ne circule plus dans le sang de la personne.

Lebanon After The War..(article in French)

Le Liban après la guerre..

Le Liban est sorti d’une longue guerre qui a duré de 1975 jusqu’ à la fin de 1990 et a laissé de profondes marques sur la société, comme sur l’Etat, l’économie et le peuple.

Suffisamment d’années se sont écoulées depuis la fin des opérations militaires pour que les Libanais s’engagent pleinement dans la reconstruction de leur pays et de leur société, cherchant, animés par l’espoir, à régler leurs problèmes et à améliorer leur niveau de vie aussi rapidement que possible.

Certes les années de guerre ne sauraient être tenues responsables des problèmes de déséquilibre structurels que rencontrent aujourd’hui les libanais, ces problèmes ayant contribué à l’explosion et à la poursuite du conflit.

L’on ne pourrait estimer le coût de la guerre du Liban en pertes humaines et sociales pour la société Libanaise.

Les effets de cette guerre sur les jeunes générations et les enfants sont plus graves et se manifestent à long terme; il faut signaler que les écoles, les ressources en personnel, le matériel et les programmes du secteur de l’enseignement et l’éducation, en particulier dans le secteur public, ont subi de très lourdes pertes, qui ont entraîné une détérioration significative dans le système de l’instruction qui s’avère ancien et parfois inadapté aux besoins du pays..

Les jeunes vont se voir refuser l’un de leurs droits fondamentaux, à savoir le droit à une bonne éducation et une solide formation à même de les préparer à remplir efficacement et convenablement leur rôle social et productif.

Il en va de même pour la détérioration des services de santé assurés par le service public, la dégradation de l’environnement, la perte des débouchés, la désintégration de la famille due au déplacement et aux problèmes d’intégration sociale, pour ne pas parler du décès d’un ou de plusieurs membres de la famille au cours de la guerre que ce soit un enfant, un membre de la famille de l’enfant ou un parent plus au moins proche, ou encore des préjudices corporels subis par l’un d’eux  .

Aujourd’hui, la protection juridique des personnes préjudiciées par la guerre pourrait ne pas présenter un problème dans les milieux où ces personnes bénéficient heureusement d’une protection adéquate, quand leurs intérêts sont pris en charge par elles-mêmes, les parents, le conjoint ou les enfants.

Pourtant, il subsiste malheureusement des personnes, que la guerre a préjudiciées, qui vivent dans un contexte où l’isolement est de plus en plus fréquent et où la possibilité de vivre sous la protection de la famille ou de l’Etat se réduit en permanence.