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Mar.24.2010 A Saudi woman on a song Hissa Hilal is currently the toast of the liberal Arab world and the western media. Is it because she has shown courage to call clerics “barbaric”, those who prey “like wolves”? Or is it because she is a contestant at a poetry contest that in some reports has been described rather rashly as an...	Mar.01.2010 Out with the Old, In with the New I’ve been working the equivalent of two jobs lately: Trying to get the word out that “The Sword of Medina,” the sequel to “The Jewel of Medina” has been published, and writing the partial manuscript and outline for my new book, “Queens of the World,” which has thrust me into a new era but, in many...
Feb.20.2010 Culinary Communalism Societies develop their own culinary culture frowned upon by others, whether it is certain insects in the Far East or restaurants in Africa serving game in what might be termed hunter style. The Halal Question Let us not confuse matters. France’s problem with the veil is different from its problems...	Jan.21.2010 Everyone comes back to Jerusalem Everyone comes back to Jerusalem. I don’t know why, I really don’t. It’s too hot. The people can be offhandedly mean, and they drive as though they want to kill you. It isn’t a very pretty place once you look close. Oh and, yes, sometimes it gets violent. With shocking self-obsession, it thinks the...
Dec.20.2009 4-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians? My latest dispatch on Global Post -- a week or so after it posted, because I've been in Italy and, well, the Middle East wasn't on my mind...I didn't miss the taste of humus too much either, not with all that saltimboca and gelato... Palestinians are divided; Israelis too. Not a good basis for...	Dec.19.2009 Liberals and Fundamentalists She is a blonde from Central America. Did she need to be stripped to her waist? As part of an armed gang of robbers, Alejandra Maria Torres could have been arrested. But a mob had gathered, torn off her blouse, poured gasoline over her and lit the match. And stood by to watch. (My apologies for...
Dec.04.2009 So? Tear down Christian churches due to their meaninglessness, tear down minarets due to their evil? "Is Islam good for Europe?" from El Mundo Did you happen to read this article from El Mundo yet? I glanced over the article finding no new ideas until I got to the sneaky last paragraph and the following comments. "Many Europeans in our day look at the old Christian churches in a...	Dec.03.2009 Ass-backwards on Gays When it comes to homosexuals, Palestinians have it all ass-backwards. That's why I introduced homosexuality as a theme of <a href="http://www.mattbeynonrees.com/nablus.htm">THE SAMARITAN’S SECRET</a>, my most recent Palestinian crime novel. I wanted to show how negative...
Dec.02.2009 Coco and A'isha: Women Who Aspire, Inspire Dear Reader, At last night's screening of "Coco Before Chanel," I had to swallow my tears more than once -- not because of the tragedy that occurs in the film (no spoilers here!) but because of the sheer courage and determination of Gabrielle (Coco Chanel, played by Audrey Tatou), the...	Nov.30.2009 Lindt it or lump it? Minarets don’t really float my boat, but to ban them? That too in Switzerland by a referendum from the people? 57.5 percent voted in favour. It has been opposed by the Swiss government, parliament, business groups and churches but given the thumbs up by the Right wing Swiss People’s Party. Here are...

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