Originally posted by Scarlet: Anyone who agrees girls under 15 yrs who are going to countries that practice FGM should have a full body check at the airport, raise your hand! My hand is way up. I was disgusted and horrified to learn a distant family member did take her preteen daughters back home to perform FGM on them. I'd report her in a minute if I didn't think the attention would be more traumatic for the girls.

A worldwide survey was conducted by the UN. The only question asked was: "Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?" The survey was a huge failure because: In Africa they didn't know what "food" meant In Eastern Europe they didn't know what "honest" meant. In Western Europe they didn't know what "shortage" meant. In China they didn't know what "opinion" meant. In the Middle East they didn't know what "solution" meant. In South America they didn't know what "please" meant. And in the USA they didn't know what "the rest of the world" meant.

Abraar, dear Castro is just using the Socratic method to teach us a valuable lesson. You don't really think he's questioning the importance of af Somaali, do you? I mean, Castro? He's not some bitter sijui, ya know. He writes gabay, I bet.

Castro, nearly all the languages mentioned in the articles are marginal tongues spoken by people immersed in a culture speaking another language. Many of them are not written, most have few speakers to begin with, and some where actively suppressed. I just don't see Somali in that category. It's spoken by millions of people exclusively. There's no other competing language in Somalia, no large minority speaking another language, no active suppression, no slowing of births of native speakers. Somali is actually protected in some sense, as many Somalis are not even literate and not exactly at the cross-roads of global intellectual exchange. The example of French is just silly. It's in no danger of dying out any time soon. At most it will be lightly *******ized as it incorporates many foreign words for new concepts or inventions. The French are just bitter that their historic rival's English is the universal language. Boo hoo. Speaking of which, there always has been a universal language of trade and/or academia: Greek, Latin, Arabic, Portuguese. It's English's turn to shine.

You are a man of insight who speaks true words. I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but this is getting ridiculous. *Fights urge to check for dangly bits*

Come on, Castro. Somali will not go gently into the good night. It's just not feasible. There are millions of native speakers. There's a sizeable nation where it's exclusively spoken. Somalis themselves show little evidence of dying out, despite spirited efforts to committ mass suicide. The languages that have died out did so because the few speakers where overwhelmingly assimilated into a larger culture/language. Those Native Americans were forced to speak English, and prohibited from speaking their tongue even with one another. Whatever benefits Somali provides us, it is in no danger of going away any time soon.

^Yes but you mentioned masculine authenticity. What's more authentically masculine than futile struggling with a garment that could be improved by the simple addition of a zipper, belt or elastic band? Like every other girl, I did try on my brother's when I was little, but it just never held any appeal for me. The pants were far more intriguing. You can run, and jump and skip in them without some old biddy telling you "na lugaha isku du".

I thought I was going crazy with the Constant Gardener; straining my ears, wondering if I really heard Somali. I didn't watch the other two, but I heard about Black Hawk Down having non-Somalis acting as Somalis. Seems like the two movies should've exchanged expendable African actors.

^Well, if you want to be really authentic, then wear a garan, carry a caday, and skip the underwear. And if you do go out in public, every few feet make sure your groin is still attached to the rest of your body. Stand up without securing the knot and make a mad grab for modesty only after the macawis is well below the knees.

^ I know I find in indispensible in a crowded mall in middle America: to be able to gossip and bad-mouth others with them none the wiser. Just giving you a concrete benefit if Sincere's excellent list was too metaphysical for ya.

This is scary. I remember watching a documentary about a Native American tribe in which the last person to speak the language was being interviewed. Linguists recorded his words on tape, just to have a sample. There's something tragic about losing a language entirely, that's a whole way of thinking and perceiving the world that's no longer available to us (in reality it never would be to most people, but the possibility should exist ) But I don't think Somali is in danger of dying out. For one think, Somalis don't have another language widely spoken within Somalia (like Arabic or English or French), unlike many other African nations. Every Somali individual would have to learn another language and prefer it to speaking Somali. Very likely in the diaspora, but not so much so in Somalia.

Blessed and Baashi, very informative, thank you. Blessed, you wrote that, According to the sunni methodology, the khalif (muslim leader) has to be either selected or accepted (in the case where he's appointed by the former khalif or a sultanate / monarchy) by the people who are represented by a shura (consultative committee). So in your system, the shura would be elected by the people, and they in turn would appoint or approve the khalif? Are the shura members individually appointed, or as a body? Can any person run for this position, or would he have to demonstrate competence, and to whom? Would the shura or the khalif have limited terms? Khayr, as always, interesting reasoning. A quick peek at history books will show kings claiming to be god, claiming to be the sons of god, killing all their relatives to limit opposition, expecting people to prostrate before them, amassing obscene amounts of wealth and personal power, and so forth. But really as far as feeding people's egos/xawa, it is "the Lesser of the TWO evils" when compared to democracy. And your argument that monarchy is more stable than a democracy is also interesting, considering the bloody history of monarchies. If world history is too distressing or expansive, just check Islamic history. Tell me how long the first hereditary dynasty lasted and how it ended. If you still think that a hereditary monarchy is the preferred system in Islam, then you think that Ali bin abi Talib should have been khalif after the Prophet?

Originally posted by Mr. Jibis: This is one of the notions people have about a marriage such as this......Why does everyone think she will automatically drop out of school? What's the reasoning behind that? Does every woman in the world forget about school if she gets married? Girls at that age are having full-blown relationships with other boys, do they both drop out because of that relationship? Aw come on, Mr. Jibis. What part of the globe do you live in where girls are having "full-blown relationships" at 13? A few phone calls and the occasional movie date does not a marriage make. And do you seriously think the girl could take off a few days to have a wedding, enjoy a honeymoon, then return to full time studies at the local middle school? Who would show up on parent-teacher night, I wonder, her husband? And how would excuse notes sound? "My wife didn't do her homework because she was busy with wifely duties. Wink, wink. Also, please excuse her next Friday. She has to get an ultrasound scan, she might be pregnant!" Akhas.

^Pardon?

I understand where you are coming from, Mr. Jibis. Yes, it is a good thing that religion trumps skin color, and that was the point I was making, is that yes, you are black, but be vary wary of grouping yourselves with them in any other case, because really, skin color is the only thing Somalis have in common with African-Americans. Not necessarily. Somalis tend to live in the same neighborhoods, send their kids to the same schools, form the same job applicant pool. Thus it would be foolish not to align with blacks because Somalis will have more in common, for the most part, with other blacks than they will with whites in the same town (except for a few exceptions like your self, but even so, I suspect more blacks convert to Islam than whites). Even in terms of values, I think Somalis share more of them with blacks than we do with whites (Baptists may not like Muslims but at least they are religious and frown on homosexuality, abortion, etc). It is a complicated world.

Naden, Do you think this reverence sometimes blocks an honest relationship with a father (or a mother)? What do you mean by an honest relationship? I love my mom and dad, but they are my parents, not my friends or siblings. We don't run in the same circles, we don't have the same interests or concerns, and we don't always see eye to eye. That is a honest relationship. I would never begrudge them my money or respect, because there is something to the idea that they are our parents. They raised us, supported us and loved us for a couple of decades. Return the favor for a while. As for absentee fathers, the above doesn't apply to them, so I think the child has some discretion in how to treat them. I think I would still support my dad if he didn't raise me, but it would be out of generosity, not filial love. And I imagine it is challenging to support a father and his 5 kids, but if I could do it I would. Those kids are my little brothers and sisters, after all.

So, if democracy is evil, according to this author, what is an Islamically acceptable means of government? Monarchy? Fascism? Communism? Exactly how do you reject something without giving concrete alternatives? The author says that democracy is haram because Muslims are forbidden to follow any law but Allah's. But Allah is not literally ruling people from the presidential palace or the White House. At some point humans have to interpret and enforce his laws. How is a hereditary monarchy superior to democracy in deciding which law complies with Islam and which doesn't? These "scholars" get paid to give opinions that comply with their masters, and there's nothing divine about said masters.

Castro, I didn't say that I disagree with the principle of affirmative action, just that I would find it personally discomfitting. And speaking of dog-eat-dog, have you ever heard of the phrase "publish or perish"? There's a lot more background xin and hustling going on in the ivory tower than people figure. Mr. Jibis, you pretty much expressed the same sentiments you ascribe to the Christian Blacks: you would help your co-religionists (the African Muslims) while they would help theirs (the White Christians). Likewise many Somalis feel a greater affinity for their Arab brethren than they do for the Christian Africans. Isn't it a good thing that similarity of values trumps skin color? All things being equal, a Somali has more in common with Blacks than they do with Whites. Remember, you want to compare the Blacks from the deep south with the Whites from the deep south. Those Whites are not only conservative/evangelical Christians, but many still have rather dated opinions about race and foreigners. With respect to Blacks and Somalis, we don't have a choice about throwing in our lot with them. For one thing, job applications have a box you can check for race, and the closest one applicable is "Black" (unless "Other" is calling to you). A prospective employer is hardly going to let you clarify that, really, you don't consider yourself Black because you're Somali.

For example, take a good look at the 13 year olds in Somalia before the war, drought, etc. A 13 year old in Somalia is physically less mature than her counterpart in the West. Many girls reach menarche at 12 here, but I know many girls in Somalia do not until they are well into their teens, probably due to malnutrition. My aunt was given in marriage to her second cousin when she was 15 and he was in his 40's. She ran away and wouldn't come home until my grandad promised she wouldn't have to go to her "husband". People weren't surprised or scandalized. This was in the 70's, ya know, well before the war. It is not in our culture to give our girls in marriage at such a young age. The closest Northerner could get to 13 was 16/17. A 13 year old should be in school. No amount of maturity makes up for the sheer loss of opportunity from stopping her education at 8th grade so she can marry her grandfather's best friend, or anyone else for that matter.

I see. The men I work with shave pretty much every day, otherwise they look unprofessional. One Monday, my supervisor came to work without shaving all weekend. Everyone kept coming up to him and asking him if he was okay. I think he bought a razor by lunchtime.

The Respect Of A Cousin Edward Miller After the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten’s 12 caricatures of the prophet Muhammad were republished in European newspapers, riots erupted in Damascus, Gaza, Beirut and elsewhere throughout the Muslim world. The violence is an extreme manifestation of the deep hurt felt by virtually all Muslims. As we condemn the violence on the streets, perhaps we should take a moment to understand the hurt in the hearts of the great majority of Muslims who did not engage in violence. For Muslims, the mere rendering of an image of Muhammad is sacrilege. The portrayal of Muhammad in a pejorative fashion is to them an inconceivably offensive desecration, on the level of what would be for us the defilement of a Torah scroll. Because it was done in newspapers across Europe, it was a slap in the face repeated thousands of times. Perhaps it’s a question of respect, not freedom. Freedom of expression theoretically protects the right of a non-Jew to desecrate a Torah scroll. Yet we would all view freedom of expression as a hollow defense to such a vile act. Some say Muslims can’t take criticism and simply don’t understand freedom of the press. In my own limited experience, that has not been the case. For the past year I’ve written a column in a Muslim newspaper, Muslims Weekly, in which I’ve criticized suicide bombing, the treatment of Jews under Islamic rule, the anti-Jewish rantings of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and even Muslims Weekly’s own reporting about Israel. But it was all done with respect, an informed appreciation of the wonderful benefits that Islam conferred upon the Jewish people, along with a willingness to look at our own imperfections together with those of the other. Regardless of whether or not the European press was constitutionally free to publish the offensive images, the act was a blatant and vulgar act of disrespect to Islam. Such insults no doubt contribute to the frightening specter of a clash of civilizations. What can we do as Jews to lessen the hostilities? Perhaps, just perhaps, a little respect would help. Rather than ripping the wounds wider with editorial musings extolling freedom of speech and condemning violent protests, is it not time for a bit of healing? The pages of this Jewish newspaper present a place for a small start by showing Muslims right here that though we too have the freedom to say anything we like, we choose to convey respect to our Muslim cousins. Printing something positive about Muhammad best does this. There is a space between romanticizing the past and vilifying it. There is a time to focus on the dark side of history and a time to view the other in the best light. There is a time to cull from our rabbinic writings the good our sages saw in Islam and there is quite a bit of such sentiment recorded. We Jews need to learn to be more flexible, pursuing the claims of Jews expelled from Arab countries and criticizing anti-Jewish TV programs and cartoons in the Muslim media, while at the same time displaying gratitude for all the good Islam did for us. There is a time to jump over our pain and see the humanity of the other. That time is now. Let us start: There is a Hadith (oral tradition concerning the words and works of Muhammad) recorded by Bukhari in the name of Amer Bin Rabiha that reads as follows: “A funeral procession passed us and the Prophet stood up for it. We said, ‘but Prophet of God, this is a funeral of a Jew.’ The Prophet responded, ‘rise.’ †One can search the writings of the ancient non-Jewish world for a more powerful example of a public display of respect for the humanity of the Jew. There simply is no more powerful statement than the single word uttered by Muhammad nearly 14 centuries ago. Some readers will bombard this newspaper with reams of material showing a darker side to Islam, as if it were just too much for them to hear one good thing. But it is there, it is a sacred part of their tradition, it is good and we should hear it and respect it. When you give respect you get it. When you take criticism, you earn the right to give it. Perhaps this article will be republished in Muslim newspapers, compete with its critical comments about the pain we feel in the face of anti-Jewish cartoons and worse in Muslim media. Muslim readers may come to understand that an article by a Jew, in a Jewish newspaper, was one of respect, telling its audience: “We know that the one mocked in newspapers in Europe is the one who had the humanity to tell his companions to rise for the funeral procession of a Jew.†Source

Castro, stop being a hero. Stay home when you're sick. As for this issue of blacks in the workplace, I find the idea of affirmative action very disturbing. I would hate to work in a place where I would be wondering if merit got me the post, or if they needed to fill a quota. I understand the necessity, but it's disturbing anyway. The cool thing about academia is that nearly half the professors and postdocs are immigrants, and a few are African. It's a more dynamic setting, with so many ways to discriminate without resorting to mere race.

^You only need to shave once a month? Shouldn't you see a doctor?

Digaale, **NOTE** (All feminists) Warning Don’t quick attack me with your ideas and throw me a response with out thinking about it. *** This requires some thinking*** Actually, feminists have thought about these questions, so hardly any offense taken. The answer is that most societies do consider women to be inferior to men and Somalis are no exception. "Nin baad tahay" is a compliment, "naag baad tahay" is an insult. The English versions have similar connotations. You can see the perception is slowly changing, so that "I AM WOMAN" was a battle cry for feminists during the first wave of feminism. But I can't quite see a time when "nayaa" from a guy would be acceptable. Fortunately reer mudug have taken to referring to both men and women as "waryaa" . Odd at first, but it grows on you.

Originally posted by checkmate: No wonder we are happier. On the contrary, almost all those "perks" sounded sad to me. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Women begin dreaming about their wedding before they are old enough to understand that weddings --> marriage. I remember planning the ceremony, the dress, exactly how many guests and which of my friends would be the maid of honor, etc. The groom was a necessary prop, like a table or something. Hmmm, I think I might have a sketch or two in my old diaries. Chocolate is just another snack. Chocolate is ambrosia, gift of the gods to deserving mortals. Men just have inferior taste buds. You can be President. You can never be pregnant. Yes, I can see how being George W. Bush is preferable to bringing life into the world. Car Mechanics tell you the truth. Car mechanics almost always throw in a free tune up or battery test if I take a deep breath. Slowly. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another petrol station restroom because this one is just too icky. But can you hold it for 6 hours as you search for a bathroom that doesn't make your gorge rise? Wrinkles add character. Only if you are a bulldog or geography. Wedding dress £3000. Tux rental-£80. A black tube really shouldn't cost that much. People never stare at your chest when you are talking to them. We are just more discreet New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. Mmmm, new shoes... Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. Along with other kinds of interactions You know stuff about tanks. Very useful knowledge in your cubicle, Dilbert. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. Acts of thoughfulness come thoughlessly. Your underwear is £5.00 for a three-pack. Cotton boxers vs. silk camisole? Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. Perish the thought. You almost never have strap problems in public. Kix kix. I understand men have to adjust things on occasion though. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Others don't have the same handicap, and can see you also don't know how to use a washing machine. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe even decades. How awful. You only have to shave your face and neck. Daily. You can play with toys all your life. But do your toys compliment you, and buy you gifts and give you back rubs?