Disqus - Latest Comments for Esra'a

Re: Rally report

Esra'a — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 13:28:25 -0000

Thanks for doing this. It is very meaningful and touching. Tom Palmer is now trying to organize rallies in various parts of the world, and we organized one in Bahrain not too long ago.

We won't stop until Kareem is freed. Please keep fighting for his basic human rights.

Re: Double Standard?

Esra'a — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 17:00:42 -0000

Both of you couldn't be more wrong on how and why Kareem got the attention.

Please take the time to read my comments in that case. I feel sorry for those who truly don't understand why the attention on Kareem (which is coming from the international world as a whole, certainly not just the 'West') first arose and how hard his friends are working on maintaining this attention.

Don't draw conclusions on baseless accusations. There are no facts that support Yaman's argument and it is nothing short of a silly "conspiracy."

Re: Double Standard?

Esra'a — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 23:27:08 -0000

The fact that Michelle Malkin commented on the case is highly irrelevant, which is why I think Yaman's post proved his misunderstanding of the campaign.

Who leads the Free Kareem Coalition? Arabs and Muslims.

Who were Kareem's lawyers? Arabs and Muslims.

Who jumped to Kareem's rescue when he first got arrested? His friends, who are Arabs and Muslims.

We ensured the fact that the world knows about Kareem.

And now, we are being criticized for it. People are implying that Kareem is too insignificant to reach this much attention in such a short amount of time.

Others aren't willing to work hard enough for their fellow Arabs when they get imprisoned, so they get their pants in a twist when someone actually achieves worldwide recognition due to his friends' constant support. It's not due to any bias. Right-wing or Western bloggers are hardly the only ones commenting on this case, we have the upper hand in all issues and we were the ones being quoted for media reports. It was we, the Arab and Muslim activists, who achieved this. The media hype didn't just come out of nowhere.

We showed the world how much we are capable of through this case, and we showed them what's going on in our region. Furthermore, we swallowed our pride, and proved to the world that Arabs and Muslims CAN and they ARE being tolerant of those who oppose their views, be it Kareem or Malkin.

The fact that other imprisoned activists didn't get the same amount of attention is sad, but it shows that their supporters aren't working hard enough. There is no way anyone can work as hard as we did and then not get the worldwide attention - we basically sacrificed 90% of our time for months just to make sure that Kareem's case is known.

What Yaman is saying is totally misleading. This case works to our advantage, not the other way around. We are making a point about Islam, human rights, and youth activism all through one campaign.

Is it bad that Malkin commented on the case? No. Worldwide recognition means people of all backgrounds will comment on it. You can very well dislike Malkin's opinions and political beliefs, but when she supports your case, why create a gap? Because she will be a "turn off" for our campaign? Support is support. You don't stop people from supporting you for fear of them harming your reputation wherever you are from. Her support is for the very first time, creating an interesting dialogue between right-wing bloggers like her and Muslim bloggers like us. She now knows and understands that Muslims like us, tolerant and respectful, exist. Perhaps through our example, she might even be enlightened as to what true Islamic values are instead of relying on the main stream media for that.

If we keep thinking like this, no wonder why she has such a bad image about Islam. We fear from her involvement, or the involvement of anyone with her intellectual background and status. Let them speak, they can criticize all they want, we are proving a point by accepting all that criticism and at times, refuting it respectfully. Did we specifically target her to support us? No, she picked up the case through extensive media coverage which I repeat, we worked incredibly hard on.

Malkin has respect for us, as Muslims, for doing what we do. That is a good sign. I dislike her posts and her style greatly, and I don't like her paranoid mentality but now I at least know that deep down she will always have hope in the Muslim world due to the work we do.

I'm not denying the fact that her involvement wouldn't always work to our advantage, but Yaman completely missed the support that we got from the Arab and Muslim blogosphere, as well as Arab professors, economists, and human rights activists. Their support only came after the hard work we put into our campaign. I was really disappointed by the lack of interest in the Arab and Muslim blogosphere before we got all that attention.
The entire Arab and Muslim world is being exposed to this case through TV, news, radio, conferences, and why? Do you honestly think it's because Kareem mattered to them that much? No.

If I can only add up the amount of days and endless hours we stayed up to work on this case, maybe people will understand how much we had to go through to get Kareem the attention he has and deserves today.

My main problem with Middle Eastern activists is that, generally, they a) are never willing to work hard enough, b) give up way too easily and c) they can never maintain hope for a long period of time. They truly believe that things either just happen due to sheer luck or they will remain impossible. They dream, but they aren't willing to risk their lives to act upon such dreams. Well, I am. I am willing to do that, and that's why I get things done.

I refuse to associate myself with most Arab activists because they have the wrong mentality, and mostly, they are "activists" by name. Never did I attend a youth activist conference and actually saw any achievements, because for most it's just a phase.

They make a website, and they think that's all they need to do.

Well they are wrong, and we are proof that they are wrong. If they want to be like us, they better start working really hard, they better take their work seriously and they should be willing to risk their lives or security over this. That's what we did, and THAT'S why Kareem's case is paid attention to.

If you want to get attention for any arrested blogger no matter what his backgrounds are and what he got imprisoned for, here's the trick:

1) Effective strategy
2) Powerful team of at least 5 activists who are willing to put in just as much time and effort
3) Prioritise
4) Do your very best, not some half-assed lazy job, give it your BEST shot and know that it is your best
5) Believe in the campaign's mission. Don't be a dreamer and give up, don't rely on your wishes. Do it like it's going to be achieved tomorrow.

That's my advice if you want a campaign to reach worldwide support. As the leader of the Free Kareem campaign, I know for a fact that Yaman has it wrong in his analysis.

Re: Kaw's Rant-space, The brutal and ruinous clinical depression that...

Esra'a — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:58:18 -0000

What is the source of your guilt?

Re: Kaw's Rant-space, “The so-called ‘psychotically depressed’ person...

Esra'a — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:41:50 -0000

Re: Kaw's Rant-space, As hard as it’s going to be, I’ve created this...

Esra'a — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:36:19 -0000

Good luck with everything...

Re: Kaw's Rant-space, Virginity Fetish

Esra'a — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:19:39 -0000

You're really an amazing writer.

Re: Kaw's Rant-space, A part of me feels that it would be in my best...

Esra'a — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:18:13 -0000

Am sorry. Wish I could take it all back, but guess it's too late.

Re: Kaw's Rant-space, A part of me feels that it would be in my best...

Esra'a — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:32:03 -0000

It's easy to take things for granted. Sometimes, when you put so much effort into something, for the other person it just feels like it's "routine" to keep expecting, which is wrong and probably qualifies as a sickness of its own. You never truly realize the worth of someone's work until that person simply stops doing it.

On days when you're less active, it's easy to question that person's commitment, because you already know you can't doubt their outstanding capabilities, and that something must be wrong for them not to perform. But throwing a fit about it is much easier than trying to figure it out, because if you're insecure, it means you don't want to deal with the possibility that the issue might be with you as opposed to the other person.

It's the scariest thing in the world to have so much baggage and weight on your shoulders that you'd expect support to come by default, and tend to forget and dismiss the "volunteer" part of any work involved. So, again due to mere insecurities, you resort to questioning that person, cornering them, and trying to pressure them back into full work mode again, regardless of whether or not they're still passionate about it.

This is one of many challenges of dealing with volunteers, and needless to say, most "managers" fail. Either way, if it's your passion, you should find your way back into it, and set rules and personal limitations for yourself so that you're sure no one is over-expecting anything from you and that no one has any right to request anything more than what you can give them.

Re: Kaw's Rant-space, What makes a Muslim?

Esra'a — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:41:36 -0000

Atheist Jews are Jewish only by culture, and in Islam there are few things that are "cultural" which are not heavily inspired by the faith itself. The Jewish identity has a stronger cultural base, and ours is too integrated already with nationality. Most things we do is considered "Arab, Pakistani," etc culture, and not "Muslim" culture by itself. Maybe that has something to do with our size. But this is why you'd always hear atheist Arabs, Iranians, etc, but never atheist Muslims, because there is no universally agreed upon "Muslim culture," there are only beliefs, and traditions inspired by those beliefs, but these are seen as part of one's nationality now and not beleif system.

Hope this makes sense. Just got off a plane right now and feeling dizzy. Farfaramafarfar, wajawajamawajwaj, etc.

Re: When the brave go punished…

Esra'a — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 12:15:47 -0000

Amnesty puts it well when they state:

1. Always be polite. This rule is essential and invariable. Your aim is to help a prisoner, not to relieve your own feelings. Governments don't respond to abusive or condemnatory letters (however well deserved).

So we are aware of the fact that we need to do this calmly and with respect.

Re: When the brave go punished…

Esra'a — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 16:18:40 -0000

Hi Sarah. Yes you can help by giving people this link and checking back for frequent updates on Kareem's case. Be sure to sign the petition, too:

http://www.hamsaweb.com/c2/home.php?id=Kareem

Re: Release Abdelkareem Soliman

Esra'a — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 20:32:27 -0000

انا بطالب كل المدونين السكندريين والمصريين عامة لعمل اعتصام امامكتبة الاسكندرية للتضامن مع كري

جميلة الفكره

Re: Tom Palmer calls for more attention on Kareem’s case

Esra'a — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 07:18:29 -0000

There is this something called "tolerance."

It's very nice. You should try it.

Re: Kareem on the Columbia Spectator

Esra'a — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 13:54:23 -0000

Since Kareem writes primarily in Arabic the English spelling of his name has varied. But he uses Kareem, so we do too.

Re: Kareem writes from prison (#3)

Esra'a — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 07:01:42 -0000

Hi Siham, there's already a petition which you can sign -

http://www.hamsaweb.com/c2/home.php?id=kareem

Re: Kareem on Prensa Libre

Esra'a — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:57:56 -0000

Merci Larbi!!!

Re: Quick Update

Esra'a — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 15:22:07 -0000

Haisam, HRINFO says it's the 30th, so are you sure about your date? I have contacted them again to double check.

And "quick update" means short news, not "new" news. But I have updated using your post - thanks for directing attention to it.

Re: Quick Update

Esra'a — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:52:17 -0000

Haisam, I just sent you an e-mail. Thanks a lot for the corrections.

Re: Another Free Kareem petition

Esra'a — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 18:34:31 -0000

Great! There's also a MySpace page for him here:

http://www.myspace.com/abdelkareem

Re: Enough Talk, it is Time to Walk

Esra'a — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 11:26:42 -0000

Thanks for the head's up! I've added the CSM to the press coverage list.

Re: Trial adjourned. AGAIN!

Esra'a — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 14:09:56 -0000

Thanks! I posted this.

I will e-mail you now.

Re: Worldwide Demonstration in Support of Jailed Egyptian Blogger

Esra'a — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:57:38 -0000

Thanks, I just added Paris to the list and fixed the #

Re: Kareem’s Family Disowns Him; Father Wants Him Killed If He Does Not “Repent”

Esra'a — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:01:31 -0000

Thanks Marc. I just did:

http://richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t...
http://richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t...

All the best,

Admin.

Re: Kareem’s final trial

Esra'a — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:50:52 -0000

JJ, usually I do not have the time to reply to such comments here. But I will make this one exception.

You can argue that what he has been convicted of shouldn’t be a crime in the first place, but he is guilty of the crime as charged. He was a young, loudmouthed troublemaker. Even if you believe in free speech, what good comes out of what he wrote?

Imprisoned for insulting the president? Jailed for "insults"? You say locking people up for insulting the President, and his religion, is justifiable? If you agree that locking people up because you disagree with what they say, then you don't believe in free speech. What Kareem wanted to create was public discourse. He had the right to say the things he says, whether you disagree with them or not is your business. But he had the right to say it, as a human being with basic civil rights.

In any case -

The reason for your concerns are very simple:

We are very much aware that there are more people like Kareem suffering for similar causes. People often don't understand the simple fact that we can all easily change certain policies by focusing on a specific issue such as this one, and indirectly applying it to society as a whole. If you focus on a single issue, and make sure that the entire world knows about it, that is "widespread justice" in the sense that the authorities will think twice about committing the same mistake and getting the same amount of attention.

We are teaching them a lesson, and the lesson is, if you are going to imprison people for freedom of expression, then you better reconsider. Or Egypt's reputation will be tarnished, NOT by the likes of Kareem, but by the limelight that we have created on his case.

Secondly, Kareem is actually very lucky to have friends like us, who really care about his freedom and his safety. If you have friends and family going through the same thing, GET OUT AND DO SOMETHING. Speak up, and don't be bitter against us, the ones who are actually contributing positively to Egypt by making them understand that people will no longer stay silent when others have to face such consequences for practicing basic human rights.

The energy here is not "wasted." The energy here is making thousands of Arab and Muslim civilians aware of what's happening, and to speak up against what's happening for the sake of free speech. This is widespread justice. This is a good cause. These are risks worth taking, and efforts worth making.

Re: Kareem’s final trial

Esra'a — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:52:46 -0000

Dear Paula,

A link to Kareem's blog is provided on the sidebar of this Web site. For your convenience, I'll add it here too:

http://karam903.blogspot.com/

All the best.

Re: Kareem’s final trial

Esra'a — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:08:15 -0000

In your 2nd paragraph you are asking a question that I have already taken the time to answer. You ask, "why?" we don't see why not. If you aren't doing the things you propose yourself, then don't ask others to do it for you. This campaign is a statement on Egypt, on Islamic societies, and it's mainly aimed to free a dear friend. We think it's incredibly useful, and it's creating an interesting and important discourse that have never taken place before in the Arab and Muslim world so openly as it is taking now.

It is in bad taste to dismiss our efforts as useless. We have worked too hard to get where we are today, and we are willing to work even harder. If you think other things should be done, DO THEM. Don't ask others where they were, or why they're not doing the things that in your opinion they "should be" doing. Do it yourself. This is our fight.

And we are not super heroes. You don't just aim to save an entire country. You focus on small issues, and tackle them one at a time. How do you want people to have education, for example, if they won't even be able to apply their critical thinking skills in society due to huge restrictions and limits of free speech? How do you expect people to complain about their lacks if they will be shoved in jail for "tarnishing the reputation of Egypt" by criticizing the government? Free speech makes a lot of things possible. I said this before and I will say it again - this fight is worth fighting, and we won't stop, nor will we change the course of this campaign. If people want other things done, no one is stopping them from achieving it. Don't expect or wait for change - BE the change.

Re: Kareem’s final trial

Esra'a — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 17:49:17 -0000

JJ, I don't think it's right to come to a campaign that we personally set up for a personal friend and tell us all how to do our job properly, simply because you have no idea about our backgrounds and the history behind this campaign. We emphasize constantly that this has nothing to do with Islam, just because you are not exposed to that material doesn't mean that we're not taking part in that struggle as well. Whether or not people call it Islam AFTER we emphasize the fact that it's not; that's just their wrongdoing and is not our fault. We do our best and we do correct them as much as we can. We criticised entries by those who called this "Islam" instead of an ill caused directly by the government.

We are doing many things outside of this website where we make sure that Muslims understand what it means to be a true supporter of free speech.

As for your other accusations - we chose a friend. Is that so wrong? To think that a friend who spoke against Islam and the Egyptian government should be freed? I'm not going to sit around and wait while others are being punished for speaking out. "Wait until Mubarak is dead" is perhaps one of the laziest things a person could ever do.

If you want to fight a different fight, then go pick it.

We are making a difference in our own personal way, and we are seeing the positive results. We did this for someone we think should be freed. If you don't like it; simply start your own campaign for others!

As for the support of Muslim-hating foreigners, perhaps it would mean more if Muslim and Arab bloggers wake up to this human rights abuse. But many of them are fearful or asleep. It's not our fault. It is the fault of their mentality - they are either too careless, or they misundestand the fact that real free speech includes speech that we disagree with. Kareem's a fellow Arab, he doesn't have to be a Muslim for him to be one of us. His rights deserve to be fought for, and if you think his case is too extreme, then start your own campaign for someone whose case is lighter.

Due to lack of time this will be my last reply to you. All I'll say is that you should do something to help wake people up, and if you think this campaign isn't doing the job, then I will say once again - do something about it instead of complaining. We are working hard here and we believe that it's for the sake of our future - the very least it will do is increase the public discourse regarding Islam, free speech, and democracy in the Middle East. And the fact that Muslims are the ones handling the majority of this campaign says a lot about us and our religion. Hopefully others will understand what it means to be tolerant. We love our religion, but we deeply care for Kareem too. We are doing this for the sake of our pure religion; to show that we accept criticism, and even defend the rights of others who criticize it. Islam is meant to be like that.

Re: Kareem’s final trial

Esra'a — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 18:03:35 -0000

As someone who has met and even argued with Kareem, then I say yes, outside of the blogosphere he has expressed himself with respect. He may have been aggressive and even insulting in his posts, but I confronted him as a Muslim, and he had nothing but respect for me. Many of his other friends are also devout Muslims.

These accusations are so easy for you to make as a complete stranger who only has his blog to judge from.

But I know this man, he is completely harmless, and a good person. And he wrote a lot about women's issues and minority rights, don't ignore the good posts he contributed.

So I will dismiss your baseless remarks, and continue fighting for Kareem.

Re: Kareem’s final trial

Esra'a — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 09:00:57 -0000

Once again you managed to entirely miss the point of many of the above comments and jumped straight to generalizations about how you personally perceive Kareem's case. You have a personal bias, where you ignore the actuality of what's going on within the Middle East right now for the sake our overall reputation. We are not going to coat this campaign with sugar and deny our problems. If you want to deny it; go ahead and do so. WE WON'T.

I will not bother answering any more since I have done more than enough on my part. You are sounding more and more like the nationalists who refuse to support people like Kareem merely because he didn't conform. If you don't want to support Kareem, we won't beg you to! Stick with the same mentality and I hope you will realize how much you're hurting those in the Middle East as much as you claim that we are, even though we are giving thousands of Arabs and Muslims a voice for by creating this campaign. And it's a powerful voice, much more powerful than your silence.

We are not going to deny our problems for the sake of our worldwide reputation. We will not be silence due to our "pride." If you care about your reputation so much, why don't you actually do something about it rather than complaining to those who are actually working towards a stable and more tolerant future?

And for the record; I'm female.

Re: Kareem’s final trial

Esra'a — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 09:08:46 -0000

If Tibor made an effort to read the previous statement made in reference to this claim he/she would have the guts to support Kareem no matter what he said. JJ doesn't support Kareem (for the sake of "reputation") and instead chooses to whine about the fact that WE chose to support him, out of all the others that she claimed are going through the same things. Do you not understand the extremely simple fact that we are doing this for a friend? Must we repeat this on an hourly basis? What baffles the mind is how you come here to complain and ask us to change the route of this campaign when you're not willing to do anything for any just cause, or for anyone's sake. I made it perfectly clear (more than just once) that we chose to support Kareem for specific reasons which I have taken the time to outline and explain, and how I think this struggle is a worthy one and now many Arabs and Muslims are actually making their voices heard and are agreeing with the values set forth by this campaign. If you think this isn't helping anyone, I implore you to reconsider.

And make an effort to also read what Teri said, which refutes both of your arguments profoundly.

Stop whining, start acting. I am tired of repeating myself for those who refuse to understand what's been said frequently regarding the issues you bring up.

Re: Kareem’s final trial

Esra'a — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 10:45:28 -0000

You are the one who refuses to act.

Hmmm. By starting an entire campaign, that is a refusal to act? That's a rather wonky philosophy.

Once again the point is lost on you, no matter how often it was made and by how many people.

So now, I resort to only one thing. Copy/paste from a commenter who actually gets it -

But surely, you care alot about freedom of speech and human rights as well. That is why the work you do is even more valuable.

Because there is no doubt that it “works”, and that the “case is good enough”. The story is already in all major international news agencies. Heck, it´s on the front page of NORWAYs major newspapers online. Today! JJ may not know it, but this will raise internation attention on the matter. And international pressure sure may have a whole lot to say regarding how the Egyptian authorities act. Believe it or not.

And that refutes the following baseless argument which highlights your utter misunderstanding of this entire campaign -

ignore the fact that what is happening to Kareem is part of a widespread systematic attack on the rights of ALL Egyptians.

We are doing this BECAUSE his case represents human rights in Egypt. It's VERY simple! By defending Kareem, we are defending human rights in Egypt.

Finally, read the "note on comments" post. If you fail to see the significance of this campaign, then just wait until we achieve more and you might actually realize it.

Your comments at this point will not be replied to unless they are addressed in the correct forum which we have taken the time to start for these kinds of discussions to take place. If you want to continue this further, go here. If not, then please do not write comments.