The Amman Comedy Festival is the only stand-up comedy festival in the Middle East and December 2009 marked the second edition of this weeklong rib-tickling extravaganza. The first, held in 2008, attracted an audience of over 3000 Jordanians and Arabs, and was such a resounding success, organizers the Greater Amman Municipality decided to do it all over again. The event is held in collaboration with the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and invites comedians from Jordan and other parts of the world to come and raise laughs.

I think the festival’s a great idea, and represents a wonderful, good-spirited way to dispel some of the stereotypes and misrepresentations of Arabs in the mainstream press.

Experts at Making Fun of Ourselves

Audience members laughed deep from their bellies, as comedians stood up and revealed some of the anecdotes of Arab life, from the inside. Two of the festival’s seven nights were dedicated to stand-up material in Arabic.

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I just watched an interesting MSNBC programme entitled More Couples Saying I do in Baghdad about how marriages are booming in Iraq and sure enough, the video features a very lively wedding taking place between a gorgeous young couple in their early 20s.

The young couple getting married swirl around, surrounded by champagne and cute taffeta-clad bridesmaids, before due to jet off to a honeymoon in Syria. You can see them cutting their wedding cake with a ceremonial sword while around 350 proud and relaxed-looking relatives smile warmly and boogie on down while the DJ cranks it up. The mother of the bride beams with pride as the happy couple chat to guests and float around the dance floor.

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The Iranian population has soared since the 1979 revolution and in 2005, over 70% of Iranians were under 30 years old. Like counterparts in other countries, this generation of young Iranian adults has been exposed to the Internet, satellite TV and all the gadgets and know-how that make the world a smaller place in the 21st Century.

I found a great PBS article, featuring a journal written by an Iranian woman in 2005 when internet dating surged in Iran. She was  surprised by the amount of potential dates that flood in to her computer via her IM service. The author first assumed the chats are coming in from Iranians in LA, but was intrigued to learn her would-be cyberdates are actually based in Tehran: She decided to investigate further.

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As you’ve probably gathered from the spectrum of different topics we cover at Love Habibi, we’re a site dedicated to all Muslims and Arabs trying to find their way in the world, a world that, at times has some very fixed ideas about our faith.

We consider ourselves proud Muslims who enjoy participating in any debate, and looking at our faith from inside and out. There are some topics, that repeatedly come up, and which we aim to present subjectively, but most of all objectively. One of these for me, as a Muslim woman is the burqa/niqab/hijab debate. These are actually three very different debates. Today I’m going to concentrate on a story about a Muslim woman in the Netherlands from Gulf News that spoke to me on a very deep level.

A Woman From the Netherlands who Chose Islam

The Netherlands has a population of around 1 million Muslims, who constitute around 5.5% of the population. It is home to the second largest European Muslim population after France.

The article, which is based on another from Reuters, focuses on Rabia Frank, a Dutch woman in her thirties, who converted to Islam in 1994. Rabia has a Moroccan husband and the couple have 3 sons.

In 2005 Rabia chose to join a total of just  50  women in the Netherlands and wear the niqab veil. I was intrigued by this woman’s decision. As the article unfolded it became apparent that this was her personal choice, just as so many women like myself choose not to wear a veil.

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I’ve been following the development of the new controversial Malian family code with interest.

The adoption of the new code in this majority Muslim country in August ‘09 has sparked a great deal of hullabaloo. It consists of more than 1,100 new articles geared towards increased equality between men and women. They reform laws on land ownership, inheritance, education, employment and marriage.

Hot topics that have caused friction include articles that set the legal minimum age for marriage at 18, recognize only civil marriages, allow joint property ownership, expand parental rights, and extend inheritance rights to girls.

Family Code or Family Law?

Muslims make up 90% of Mali’s 12 million-strong population. Tens of thousands of Malians have protested the code. Now it’s up to Mali’s President Amadou Toumani Toure whether or not to sign it into law, but Muslim leaders warn that such a move could divide the population and destabilize the country.

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Doha is Arab Capital of Culture for 2010, and the festivities have kicked off with some fabulous events over the past couple of months in the name Arab culture.

I just found out about Arab Capital of Culture, via an article by the Syrian Arab News Agency: it’s an initiative undertaken by the Arab League under UNESCO’s Cultural Capitals Program that celebrates Arab culture and encourage cooperation in the Arab region. Doha has been selected for 2010, to follow in the footsteps of Damascus, Arab Capital of Culture 2008 and the Jerusalem, Arab Capital of Culture 2009.

Syria and Qatar: Partners in Promoting Arab Culture

The Doha event began with a series of activities to showcase Syrian Cultural Week, which took place at the end of January. In his opening speech, Syrian Minister of Culture Riadh Naasan Agha proudly announced that a Syrian start to the festivities highlights the level of relations between the two countries and their peoples.

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India’s (now former) Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh surprised the whole of India when he resigned last month to look after his health and his family.

Even more astounding was his parting comment, as reported by Rediff.

“For an apology to Muslims, a Muslim Prime Minister is needed”, said Mr Singh, as he quit leadership of in his party.

The apology he was talking about was for the Indian government’s failure to stop the 1992 Babri Masque demolition. This led to the death of more than 2000 people in ensuing riots in many major Indian cities including Mumbai.

Religious tensions began rising again in India a year ago after the Mumbai terrorist attacks that left many members of India’s Muslim community terrified they would be blamed. Bollywood stars came out and joined India’s Muslim community in wearing black to condemn the attacks.

Not surprisingly, opinions on Amar Singh’s recent apology remain divided within and beyond India’s Muslim community. Like many others, I’ve been trying to make sense of the situation from the outside.

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I just found this incredible site for Canadian Muslims: Young Muslims. It’s a directory, news-source, and one-stop research nucleus for Canadian Muslim young folk.

I found it hard to tear myself away, as the page’s creators successfully covers a broad spectrum of relevant topics for young Muslims. While many services it lists are in Canada, there are plenty of poignant and universal news and topics. I think the Young Muslim’s is a great resource for any young members of our faith who have questions and want to explore their roots in parallel with their everyday existence and practice.

The site also also introduced me to the Canadian TV Sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie, and now I’m utterly hooked.

Turn On, Turn Up, Tune In

Little Mosque on the Prairie is a Canadian sitcom on CBC, which premiered in 2007 and began airings its fourth season in September 2009 and it’s simply sublime.

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I don’t know about you but I find this Swiss ban on the construction of Muslim Mosque minarets really peculiar. Swiss voters approved the ban in November last year and I’m still utterly bewildered.

There are only 4 Swiss mosques (out of a total of 150) that even have minarets. And these minarets won’t be removed according to the ban; Swiss Muslims just can’t put up new ones.

So what’s all the fuss about? Are they really so hard on the eye?

The Anti-Minaret (Il)logic

As the wise women at Muslimah Mediawatch point out, Switzerland doesn’t share the colonial history with Arab or Muslim countries that nations such as for example, Spain does.  Over half of the Muslims in Switzerland came from the Balkans, predominantly from Bosnia and Kosovo.

While this may  explain why some Swiss citizens aren’t accustomed to their Muslim compatriots it still doesn’t really cut the mustard when it comes to why minarets have been banned. I was curious to find out when the controversy began. If I couldn’t find a why, I decided to at least look at a when…

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I’ve been thoroughly baffled by recent news coverage of the Arab ambassador who cancelled his Muslim marriage to his veiled bride upon lifting it and discovering she had a beard and a squint.

The groom had never seen his wife-to-be’s face because she wore a niqab throughout their courtship.

It throws up so many interesting questions, don’t you think?

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