In 2006 I moved to Qatar and things are not what many people in North America would expect - it is not like how the Middle East is portrayed in the media. I'm also a fan of skepticism and science so wondered how this works here in Qatar. Since I'm here for a while I figured I'd use the time to get to know this country better and with this blog you can learn along with me. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - So what posts have been popular recently . . .
"But we ban those books which seek to distort the image of Islam and adversely affect our youths,” al-Khalifa said."
OK, that's a good one! What planet do they live on? Did you ever notice the amount of crippled children in Doha? I've asked myself this question and was told that they encourage first cousins to marry. They do not like to search too far for mates and thus because of this practice many children are born with serious deformities. I hear that they are now re-thinking this practice. But in the meantime they are busing practicing censorship of books that might affect their youth. They could use some books on genetics....
BTW, happy to hear its just a disc degeneration. The pain will lessen overtime. The best thing for it is walking. In my case physio made it worse. :)
First cousin marriages are permissible in Islam and are common in the Gulf (I think in Pakistan it is even more common) so I doubt they will 're-think' the practice since it's halal. I have an old blog post about it. The Government does recognize the problem now and encourages (requires?)genetic screening before marriage.
Banning books is always a tricky issue. It happens to some extent in the West as well (a children's book fair would never allow "adult" books to be sold for example) but direct government intervention is more pronounced here.
Physio is helping me, the physio exercises I'm doing definately helps. Early days though so we'll see.
2 comments:
"But we ban those books which seek to distort the image of Islam and adversely affect our youths,” al-Khalifa said."
OK, that's a good one! What planet do they live on? Did you ever notice the amount of crippled children in Doha? I've asked myself this question and was told that they encourage first cousins to marry. They do not like to search too far for mates and thus because of this practice many children are born with serious deformities. I hear that they are now re-thinking this practice. But in the meantime they are busing practicing censorship of books that might affect their youth. They could use some books on genetics....
BTW, happy to hear its just a disc degeneration. The pain will lessen overtime. The best thing for it is walking. In my case physio made it worse. :)
First cousin marriages are permissible in Islam and are common in the Gulf (I think in Pakistan it is even more common) so I doubt they will 're-think' the practice since it's halal. I have an old blog post about it. The Government does recognize the problem now and encourages (requires?)genetic screening before marriage.
Banning books is always a tricky issue. It happens to some extent in the West as well (a children's book fair would never allow "adult" books to be sold for example) but direct government intervention is more pronounced here.
Physio is helping me, the physio exercises I'm doing definately helps. Early days though so we'll see.
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