America has a Muslim problem, professed the republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. Muslim-bashing has become a GOP platform, where everyone is trying to outdo each other on how Islamophopic he/she is. Now it is time for Muslims in America to go out and unapologetically celebrate the Eid Al-Adha (Feast of the sacrifice), where in post-9/11 …
Mark Twain once said: âWhen one has tasted watermelon he knows what the angels eat.â And most likely, that angel was an Egyptian. Egyptians were the first to discover watermelons 5,000 years ago and then shared them with the rest of civilisation in the 10th Century. When it comes to eating watermelons, there are many …
By Ahmed Tharwat In checking out the history of âFatherâs Dayâ, the date 5 July 1908 is often mentioned when a West Virginia church sponsored the nationâs first event explicitly honouring several hundred fathers who had died in a coal mine explosion six months previously. But it was a one-time commemoration and not an annual holiday. It …
By Ahmed Tharwat Cairoâs Tahrir Square is the global symbol of the 25 January Revolution, where millions of Egyptians, including women, went to demand the toppling of the regime. Lately, Tahrir Square has witnessed the courting of the Egyptian population by General Al-Sisi and his propaganda machine, as well as a âMillion Woman Marchâ demanding …
By Ahmed Tharwat French political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) said: âIn democracy we get the government we deserve.â He was, of course, talking about true representative democracy that produces leaders the people want and choose. The assumption here, however, is that people know what is good for them and they chose freely. The French philosopher was right …
By Ahmed Tharwat Standing along with a few hundred Muslims at the Garden of Eden Islamic Cemetery located in a remote corner of a Christian cemetery in Burnsville, Minnesota, mourning the death of one of our friends, the reverences and the respect were not just given by Muslims, but also by the staff and workers …
By Ahmed Tharwat In my last flight to Paris, I was fortunate to be sitting next to a young man who seemed cautious; with an excessive head turning motion. He seemed like he was waiting for something to come or to happen. We avoided each other for a few thousand miles, until I started playing …
By Ahmed Tharwat Harry S. Truman once said: âThe ‘C’ students run the world.â That was a long time ago, and now the world is run by âGeneralsâ – still âCâ Students – in two different camps. The first camp is usually run by military generals like Saddam, Gaddafi, Nasser, Sadat, Mubarak, Al-Sisi, Mugabe, Barre, …
By Ahmed Tharwat The American flag consists of 13 horizontal stripes, seven red alternating with six white. The stripes represent the original 13 colonies and the stars represent the 50 states of the Union. It has three colours; red symbolises hardiness and valour, white symbolises purity and innocence, and blue represents vigilance, perseverance and justice. As …
By Ahmed Tharwat âHe that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man.â â William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing Facial hair in Islam is complicated, and the politics of wearing a beard brings lots of heated debate and political wrangling. Besides the religious and Shariâa …
By Ahmed Tharwat Howard Schultz is the CEO of Starbucks, a coffee company that as he describes it, âis a third place away from home and work where Americans can come and enjoy drinking a good cup of coffee sitting downâ. Before Starbucks, Americans usually drank coffee on the run and everyone drank the same …
By Ahmed Tharwat In sports, as in life, as you grow older, the game gets slower and the ball gets smaller (pun intended). For me, I moved from playing football to tennis, and now to the game of golf. As a kid growing up in Egypt, I had never had the chance to play this elusive …
By Ahmed Tharwat Thomas Friedman, New York Times foreign affairs columnist, winner of three Pulitzer prizes, writer of several bestselling books, is a man known for his big ideas. Friedman never ceases to amaze us with a new âbig ideaâ every now and then, from the bizarre to the ridiculous. For example, Friedman created the …
By Ahmed Tharwat I just visited Las Vegas for the first time. In all of these years in America, Sin City had never successfully seduced me in spite of its flashy façade screaming its invitation and its attractive moral slogan, promising to keep everything I do a secret. But recently, I found myself in the …
By Ahmed Tharwat On 18 February 2015, the White House hosted the summit on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE). The purpose of the summit according to a statement issued by the White House was, âto highlight domestic and international efforts to prevent violent extremists and their supporters from radicalising, recruiting, or inspiring individuals or groups in …
By Ahmed Tharwat The grisly video images showing the torture and killing of a dog propelled a hot debate on social media and outcries allover Egypt. The hashtag, #AlHaremStreetDog, was one of the biggest trending on Twitter. The debate focused on whether it was the cruelty of animals or the cruelty of humans in Egypt. …
By Ahmed Tharwat In his book âPresidential Leadership and the Creation of the American Eraâ, Joseph Nye of Harvard University divided American presidents into two groups. One is made up of âtransformationalâ leaders – those with the grandiose goal of using American influence to spread democracy and liberty around the world. The second group contains …
By Ahmed Tharwat It’s so sad to hear people saying we should “Kill Jews” or “Kill Palestinians”. âAs if that’s going to solve anything SMH (shaking My head)â tweeted Deah Barakat, a 23-year-old student who was shot, according to his father, execution style, along with his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister, Razan …
By Ahmed Tharwat Last Sunday, more than 140 million Americans congregated in living rooms, bars, restaurants to eat, drink and watch the Super Bowl XLIX  (49). This is the biggest sporting event of the year, with highest TV rating (39.1 points); the game day ticket price averaging $10,466, it brought more than $500M economic value (debatable) to …
By Ahmed Tharwat A day before the fourth anniversary of the 25 January Revolution, a 32- year -old mother, activist and poet Shaimaa Al-Sabbagh  carried a wreath of flowers and went to Tahrir Square to commemorate the victims who lost their lives over the last four years. She did not know that this would be her last walk …
By Ahmed Tharwat This is the story of Jihan and Rasha; two young activists whose lives were shattered forever. The story of the forced virginity test that was performed on young Egyptian women activists by military security during the height of the revolution. The virginity test allegations first surfaced after a 9 March, 2011 rally …
By Ahmed Tharwat The Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris and the overhyped anti terror rally that followed exposed the hypocrisy of the Westâs secular free speech. It also started a debate about the future of Muslims in Europe and the US. There are about 7 to 8 million Muslims in France, the largest Muslim population in …
By Ahmed Tharwat It seems every time a Muslim or group of Muslims behave badly, the rest of us Muslim Americans are asked to respond to the situation, to try to explain their motives and to react to their horrible acts as if we were experts on terrorism or have special insight on Muslim rage. …
By Ahmed Tharwat The release of the Senate Intelligence Committee torture report has brought back painful memories. Now everyone knows that our government has âtortured some folksâ, as President Obama has put it when he wanted to be homey and cute. As someone who was tortured himself in an Egyptian jail, such charm is wasted …
Muslim Brotherhood members kidnapped and tortured by intelligence, says MB spokesperson
