May 2006 Archives

Al-Watan's behaviour through the whole '5 For Kuwait' crisis has been nothing short of offensive, prejudiced and dangerous.

• They ran online polls asking people whether they support 5 constituencies and quickly withdrew them when they found an overwhelming majority supported the reform.

• They ran unflattering photographs of young men in Parliament yawning and the like (they were up almost all night showing their support for '5 For Kuwait).

• They ran critical pieces on the '5 For Kuwait' campaign and the 29 reformist MP's.

But now they really have gone over the line by photoshoping, by basically faking a large photograph that ran on the front page following featuring the "Blue Movement" (anti-5 constituencies).

Here are the pictures. Check out the size of the body types and heads featured (especially comparing crowds front and back and left to right - they are not in proportion to each other). And most of all check out the headless individual holding the flag. It is obvious that this picture has been extensively photoshoped with a variation of cut and paste images.

The Front Page

The Fake Photograph

This newspaper's actions have been so blatant, so predictable, they are now the laughing stock of the public here. I would expect this kind of pandering from an Iraqi newspaper under Qusai or Uday Hussein but not in Kuwait.

A big hearty thanks to Sand Dunes and A Kuwaiti Online for uncovering and highlighting this issue.For an in-depth look at the photographs with Arabic language commentary check out Safat Square as well.

"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office."

AESOP (~550 BC)

5 Constituencies Please.

No more Tribalism, Corruption, Favoritism.

Fight for 5.

Let us move into the 21st century.

A few months ago I linked a Nora Bostany Washington Post story about Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa and his inspirational line of Muslim superheros THE 99.

Well the great news is THE 99 has joined Marvel universe! Click HERE to access Teshkeel Comics.

In an email to Hilaliya Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa explained how THE 99 came about:

In the summer of 2003, after completing my MBA from Columbia I made a decision to combine the two very distinct parts of my educational life in a search to create new superheroes for the children of the Islamic World. The result of my search is The 99. The 99 is a series of traditional superhero comic books geared to the imagination of children and young adults. The 99 name is taken from the ninety-nine attributes of Allah. These attributes ­ strength, honor, truth, mercy, invention, generosity, wisdom, etc. -- combine to become the super powers of my superheroes. With the caveat of course that no one hero has more than a single power and no one power is expressed to the degree that Allah possesses it. My superheroes would be built neither on the Western style of individual heroes like Superman, Batman and the like nor on the Eastern mold of Pokemon where teamwork and shared values could overcome all. It would be an amalgam of East meets West-an appropriate compromise given the foundation of Islam and the geography of the Middle East. And so it was, armed with my characters and a business plan seeking the seed money to bring my characters to life, that I set out in the fall of 2003 to find my market and my financing.

Al-Mutawa is a true Kuwaiti hero, a creative and innovative individual who managed to meld pop culture elements with moderate and positive Islamic ideals in an effort to encourage Muslim virtues of tolerance, peace and non-violence.

The government of Kuwait could learn by Al-Mutawa's example. You don't need elaborate, stuffy conferences with dozens of talking heads philosophizing about why radicalism is present in some Arab societies. You need more creative, talented people like Al-Mutawa and you need society to nurture them. His example is worth 1000 government morale or moderation "awareness campaigns."

We wish Al-Mutawa much luck and success.