Wednesday, 3 September 2008

Amir Ben Laden!!

Amir my 7 year old son had his first ever racist abuse the other day, Amir came home and asked me what "Ben Laden" meant? I told him it was just a name and asked him why he was asking! he was in the local park playing with his cousins when he had an encounter with a 5 year old white girl, he told me that the little girl came over to him and called him "Ben Laden" he did not understand what she meant but knew she was being nasty so he told her to go away.
After hearing that, I agreed with him that she was being nasty and that he was allowed to defend himself if anyone called him Ben Laden. of course the problem is not with the little girl, what would she know about Ben Laden, all she knew it was a nasty name to be directed at lets just say, people darker than herself and who should we thank for this racist education? well her sub trash parents of course, who if they had any manners or decency they would not teach their little children to behave like this.
In almost 29 years of living in the UK, I have never really suffered any racist abuse, of course racism is alive and well here, just like any other country but the majority of racist people here tend to keep it to themselves and use it behind your back while they smile in your face, in recent years this has been changing and more and more racists are becoming more vocal and abusive especially towards Muslims, in a TV program about Muslims that I watched recently, some British people were asked to read cards that contained abusive remarks about Jews and then were asked what they thought of what they read? all of them said rightly that this was not acceptable, the same cards were then shown to the same people but the word Jew was changed to Muslim and asked what they thought about the cards now, all the people now said it was different, they actually find the remarks acceptable! even though they shouldn't! (it shouldn't happen to a Muslim - Channel 4).
Of course as usual we have the trashy media in this country fuelling people's ideas about Muslims and not forgetting the so called Muslims that have caused more damage to Islam than anyone else. Allah help us all.

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Today Google released their new Web Browser called Google Chrome, you can download it from the main Google page, I am still looking at it, not sure just yet as I do always prefer Internet Explorer to any other browser.
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One more thing, as I was browsing the Internet I came across the following picture which is making me really suffer, so I thought you should look at it and suffer too.....

Turkish Coffee......mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

34 comments:

WEDA said...

really what a shame even a little five years old knows benladen.really this is a amatter of family as those small children can't know that expt 4m them........
really it seems nice coffee....but i don't drink coffee as i'm following drs directions......

Caught in the middle said...

Thank you so much Mr Anglo libyan for showing us a huge cup of delicious and tempting coffee (slurp slurp)
I'll be thinking about you when I break my fast an hour before you today... ;) (lol)
Happy Ramadan to you and your gorgeous family.

Sarora_S.K said...

Hi Anglo,
we can't blame the little girl she still young,and doesn't understand what does it mean,
sadly lots of people don't know any thing about Islam and hate muslims for nothing,,and i don't know why even arabic muslim people hate Osama Benladen, and think that he is a bad man?? I don't think he's bad as long as he is a muslim and fight for Islam,,
about the cup of coffee hmmmm i sometimes drink it, but with sweets"halawyat"(^_^)

BuJassem said...

i've seen pictures of Amir and Bin Laden (not on the same website) and I can assure you that Amir is much much better looking both inside and out than the latter specimen :)

My prayers go towards your family and every single muslim family to never have to suffer any kind of injustice like this..

mind you, the picture of the turkish coffee is pretty unjust in my opinion!!! Thank God I've seen it at 9.08pm :)

Anglo-Libyan said...

Weda, lucky you dont drink coffee, I should have posted a picture of a nice cake just for you :o)


caught in the middle,
thanks a lot :oS
best wishes to your family too.

hello sarora
of course we cant blame the girl, it is usually the parents that are at fault.
Coffee and Halawyat, YES PLEASE :o)

Ahlan Bujassem
I think anyone is better in & out than you know who! :o)
if you manage to go to the Turkish Mosque, walk down Kingsland Road towards Dalston, plenty of down to earth Turkish eateries and cafes, you wont find better reasonably priced food and sweets any where else.

abdullah SH said...

Thanx anglo 4 sharing ths story 'e us ... We cant blame little girl cuz stll young &we mst blame who teach ths girl about ths racism ... Waooo i dreaming now "imazing view 4 coffee" ... Salam

Um Dania said...

I liked the photo though !! ...a girl of five years old would never understand what is meant by Ben laden or terrorism unless she hears that from her parents.. shame on them...
caffe wise : if u posted a cuppocino or a nescafe picture I would die instantly ..turkish not my type ..feaw !!!
Ramadan Kareem .. wish u and ur family all the best

Benghazi Citizen said...

The problem is not in a 5 yeasrs old knowing who Ben Laden is,since this terrorist is well publicized in western media..I even saw some cartoons(like family guy ,or south park) talking about him..
The problem is,the shame is that a 5 years old KNOWS that he/she can direct this particular word to another based on ethnicity..This can only be taught by an adult..What a shamer..
----------About coffee:Thank God,,i dont like coffee,,i hate the way it tastes...lucky me..
best regards,,and my sympathy for all coffee addicts

BuJassem said...

hala dear Anglo Libyan,

thanks wallah for the advice.. but guess what.. i've already discovered these turkish pockets of good food! same with stoke newington.. i discovered it maybe 4 yrs ago (from cardiff).. i feel so proud!

i haven't been there yet (suleimaniye) but inshalla tonight.. btw, very close to this (hackney community college) is where we have our basketball games, so the area is familiar.

i'll get some sweets tonight and send u a picture tomorrow when you're fasting! just like what you did with the TURKISH coffee!

siyam maqbool inshalla

حنان شلبي said...

مرحبا
يلا بسيطة يا آنجلو كبر دماغك وخلي عامر يكبر دماغو كمان
بكرة لمة بيكبر حيشوف العجب فشكلو البنت هاي اجت لتوريه شو حيشوف بس يكبر علشان ما ينصدم فجأة

بس عالعموم كل شي بيعتمد عالترباية والمشكلة مو من البنت البنت هاي مجرد صفحة بيضاء احنا الكبار الي بنكتب فيها ، وصلك قصدي؟؟

وبالنسبة للقهوة التركي الللللللله عليك يا انجلو لازم اتزكرنا يعني كنا ناسيين وبنشتغل واحنا ساكتين

والله اشتقت لقهوة راجو عندي بالشغل هههههه كان مدلعني

تحياتي الك

Anglo-Libyan said...

you are welcome Abdallah
remember to have a coffee after iftar :o)

Ahlan Um Dania
I too prefer cuppocino or even Nescafe, thats what I drink every night, still Turkish coffee is good too :o)
Ramadan Mubarak to you, your husband and the lovely Dania.

Benghazi Citizen
you are the second coffee hater here (you & Weda) so I must find something else to tempt you... :o)

Ahlain Bujassem
Stokenewington, Dalston... all of Hackney is an area I am very familiar with and I like a lot, I do know where the college is, I went to see an art gallery there once.
enjoy the sweets and if you get hungry eat Pide or Lahmajun, mmmmm so nice :o)

salam Hanan
yes I do know exactly what you meant.
the coffee should be a punishment for you, remember all that nice food you posted on your blog????
have a nice iftar inshaAllah :o)

"صاحب الظل الطويل" said...

No one can blame her parents too, because in every culture and every religion always you will find some parents trying to copy their ideas and to their children no matter if this ideas is good or bad and I think all what we have to do is teaching our children what Islam really means and every thing about islam to defend themselves and their religion ....
sarora_S.K
no one against Osama Benladen or against "al-jihad fe sabeel Allah" because it's "shar3 Allah" we are may be against the way and the place of al-jihad ..
about the cup of coffee, it's really making me suffering right now :( ...

CrowdedMind said...

Salam Anglo
صحا شربتكم
About that girl we should blame her family or maybe the school who teached her to say this word for anyone darker than her.

My du3a for you and all muslim families there
fe aman Allah

Suliman said...

Hey, Anglo.
First, happy Ramadan to you and the family. I don't think I have ever discussed ethnic slurs with my children. I guess it won't be long now.

Then, since I am in one of those moods, here is a couple more things I'd like to add. I think you understand my sense of humor, but I hope others do as well. In any case, I'd like to dedicate this comment to our bored friend Cofman of the "Take it Easy" blog, who sounds like he should re-read his own blog name! lol lol Or read this comment.

To be honest with you, I have a hard time understanding people's shock here. What kind of insults would be hurled at the average Jewish child in Tripoli, I just wonder out loud. Oh, what the hell, what kind of insults ARE hurled at African children in Libya, or Pakistani, or even black Libyans and Libyan children of mixed marriages? Sorry, I ain't buying. Here is a verse of poetry that Muammar Gaddafi quoted in a televised interview, and in response to a question about turning his back to the Arabs and turning to Africa:

ابنضبّـطوا مسـعود بصناناتـه
لاجل العـروبـة وطنـها باعاتـه
Translation:
We will embrace Masoud with his body odors
Because the Arabs sold their homeland

Note: Masoud is one of the names used in Libyan folk literature as a generic name for black males. Those living in Libya should have no trouble remembering this poem from Libyan TV broadcasts-- or maybe not! lol lol.

Ebleeeeeez, beoble, how about some fasting off the holier-than-thou BS! lol lol

And one more thing... since some beebs seem so quick to label "us" one way or the other. I believe firmly that Bin Laden represents nothing but the scummiest scum ever to walk on or underneath the face of the Earth, a club that includes members from all cultures, religions and geographical regions. Further, I cannot possibly fathom why anyone would consider being labeled "bin laden" an insult while at the same time objecting to others despising the guy! How does that work? Let's flip it around and see... Would people also find it insulting for a black boy to be labeled "Mandela," or a Catholic girl to be labeled "Mother Teresa"? Would it be insulting for a Libyan child to be called "Einstein"? If Bin Laden is such a respectable, noble holy warrior, why then would his name be insulting to wear? Beats me!

Anglo-Libyan said...

"صاحب الظل الطويل"
a big welcome to my blog :o)

crowded mind, thank you for the du3aa.

Ahlan ya Suliman
Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family too.
racism is there everywhere as I made it clear in my post and Libya is no exception, my post was mainly about Amir's first ever racist insult, of course I knew it was coming so there is no shock for me here, its just that before it used to be different names, now we have a new insult "Ben Laden" :o)

did Gadaffi reall say that verse?
nothing surprises me!!

about your description of "Ben Laden" I can not agree more, he is a scum and yes scum can be of any culture or religion.

BuJassem said...

ah, ya AL.. i had many calls after iftar yesterday so didn't move from the house at all!

i cannot wait to do a bit more turkish exploration :) i remember a good friend took me to a turkish/greek fusion resto in stoke newington.. it was so delicious i still remember it today!!! (4 yrs past)

the ironic thing is that that same are is a well-known jewish area too :)

why can't people learn to live together in the middle east the same way they do in london?

Good Girl said...

Assalamo alikom and Ramdan Kareem to you and your family.
Yes agree with you, there is racism in this Great Britin. and do you know who is the most dangerous racists....? the professionals, because they are very aware of the law and can handle it around very well..they will let u suffer of racism without any evidence either by body language or other non verbal hints. things u can not put hand on but u feel it clearly.
Amir- bless him -is so innocent but needs to know how to stand for himself if going to live in this country.
Well regarding the coffee U did not succeed with me iam afraid....I did not suffer ..just not big fan of it...:)


gg

Benghazi Citizen said...

well,,thanks there..but really...I'm not very difficult to please ...A good glass of cold water or orange juice does the trick...hahaha...
best regards dear friend

libyan said...

I am so sorry that this happend to your little one. i just wanted to add something, we and our kids will face a lot of problems, doesn't matter what kind of problems they are, it is just important to show our kids the best way to deal with these situations. I have face two similar situations on my own, and i was too slow to deal the way i wished to deal. We should show our kids that it is not ok to speak bad about others and that people are different which doesn't mean that some are better than the others. However, i hope your son is laughing about the whole thing now.

naohama said...

I am missing Turkish coffee-Gahwa 3arbia - This made me homesick
Kol sana wa inta Taib

Highlander said...

Anglo Libyan Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family.

I'm sorry about what happened with Amir it was bound to one of these days. Though racism is everywhere some forms are more evil than others.

The following comment struck me as true from Good Girl above "do you know who is the most dangerous racists....? the professionals, because they are very aware of the law and can handle it around very well..they will let u suffer of racism without any evidence either by body language or other non verbal hints. things u can not put hand on but u feel it clearly."

This is the form of racism that you cannot pinpoint and yet it will haunt you forever....

Libyan Dentist said...

"In almost 29 years of living in the UK, I have never really suffered any racist abuse, of course racism is alive and well here, just like any other country but the majority of racist people here tend to keep it to themselves and use it behind your back while they smile in your face"....So very very true. The only other time is when the racist is drunk!, he then spills his heart out....then apologizes when he's sober!.

Anglo-Libyan said...

Bujassem
yes you are right, Stokenewington is famous for its Turkish community, Orthodox Jewish community and the very religious Bangladishi community too, different faith schools exist next to eachother, very peaceful area.

Thank you good girl and same wishes to you and your family.
I agree with Highlander regarding your comment. Thanks.

BC, next time, Orange Juice picture just for you :o)

Libyan, well said thank you.
Amir is laughing about it, he is a good boy :o)

naohama
I hope you found some Arabic coffee, im sure there is a large Arabic community where you are.
enjoy it :o)

ahlan Highlander, so good to see you and Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family.
yes that comment from GG was on the spot.

salam Libyan Dentist and a big welcome here :o)
thanks for the comment.

Living Away said...

i'm so sorry anglo!

i'm surprise you never suffered any verbal/racist abuse in england. in almost 6 years in the usa i suffered both verbal and racist abuse at the university and on public space as supermarket or streets. in switzelannd it happened every other day and if i was lucky enough it would happen daily.

so far, here't get any discrimination.

detail: i'm white and i have no religion.

i didn't like google's browser. since i download firefox i even forgot about the other browsers. i love it!

dusk till dawn said...

salam Anglo-ly
realy sorry to hear what happened to Amir , but thats the way now days, as u know kids are evil some times to each others , this little girl iam sure she does not know the meaning of ben laden , just to tease amir up , and try to be smart, its all depends on the parents as u said, and education system , but racist its every where now, iam proud of amir they way he took it and stood up for his self, its alesson for the young lad how life it can be hard and how he can be wise,
just how her father will react if amir called her a white milk bottle ?or spoty face ha ha
abt the coffee woooooooow , but iam spoiled those days ha ha i drink more tasty coffee then the one on the pic i have to say that matey or else ,,,,,,,,,, hope fasting is treating u well

DaMoon said...

la 7awla wala gowata ella bellah , i feel for Amir wallahi, hope he doesn't encounter such behaviour again...
ramadan kareem to u and ur family

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Your award will go live sometime on Sunday September 14, 2008

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Khalid said...

Anglo-Libyan,

Guess what?, you are not allowed to have a break!, you just can’t, we can disappear because we rely on you to cover for us while we are on leave, but when you take a pause, you are really leaving a boring emptiness that no one can fill :(

I hope everything on the personal level is well, I know Ramadan can be very hard in the UK, may Allah be with you, and with all Muslims in Ghorba…..haya update this blog 3ad.

Anglo-Libyan said...

many thanks for your comments
living away
Dusk til Dawn
Damoon
Famous Quotations
Abdullah Sh
and Khalid

I have been away for a week and I did not have any internet connection, I was going to update but can not just yet as a mark of respect for the passing away of Ibeebarbies dear mother.

Maya M said...

I am sorry for Amir but it is good that he is laughing now. Of course he is a good boy and the girl knew it. If she really thought he was bad, she would never tease him, because, being a boy and a little older than her, he could nail her to the ground.

Anglo-Libyan said...

thanks maya m :o)

Libyeah! said...

sadly, stuff like that is getting more common. 2 years ago i had just arrived in england again after a 2 month holiday in libya, and i was on my way to play football with some friends. i was carrying my football in my hands, and when some other teenagers passed on the other end of the street they called 'watch out, he's got a bomb!'

i didnt even know what it was about at the time; i hadnt been keeping upto date with the news in libya so i didnt know about the london bombings. or that every non-white was a bomber to some people :/