You won’t believe what I have found in a the second largest morning newspaper in Sweden. It is something that I would expect to read in one of the Jordanian’s newspapers or any other country. There is an article talking about the risks of “virginity restoring” operations, forced marriages, and under-age marrying. Maybe you wouldn’t be that surprised if you know that around 25% of the Swede population has different ethnic background. There is a huge community of immigrants from the Arab and the Muslim world. The issue of immigrants is a big deal in Sweden, in one hand the society is trying to absorb the new comers, and in another hand, there are issues of differences in cultures and traditions and behaviour.
Swedes in general are tolerant people. They try to be very politically correct when they address anyone. Newspapers try to cater for the diversity of people living in Sweden, and there are some special organizations that work on monitoring what goes out in media in order to ensure no discrimination or hate speech going on.
I was happy to know that they have this special system at schools where they have this prequisite for high shcool which is to have students meet people of different minorities. Like for intance bringing a veiled girl, Imam, homosexual, black man, …etc to give those teenagers a chance to be closers to these minorities and ask them about whatever they have in mind.
I wish we can introduce such an initiative in Jordan. It would be a good idea to build more tolerance and harmony in our society. I suggest to bring a jew, a shite, a christian, a black, an american and a homosexual!
Fadi Zaghmout فادي زغموت 
The special system you mentioned would be really neat if its implemented in Jordan. But, we need tolerant people to begin with in order to introduce such an initiative.You said: <>“Swedes in general are tolerant people.”<> I’m glad to hear that was your impression, and hope it is true, but I have generally heard the opposite about Sweden. I never visited there myself though.I had a friend from an iranian background (atheist and very liberal) who grew up in Sweden. She suffered a lot and was bullied in school because she had darker skin. And, eventually she migrated to Canada, where she felt more accepted and could blend in easier. But still I am sure the racism she felt in Sweden doesn’t compare with the racism SriLankans face in Jordan.
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Could you please keep your suggestions to yourself. Whether you like that or not, we -Muslims- have the truth and NOBODY else does, so we do not really wannna hear from other groups .. I advice you as Christian -or whatever you are- to stick to your issues of supporting fags or whatever you usually do, and trust me, the least thing we wanna hear as Muslim is an advice from somebody who is not.
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To Mr anon,I am a Muslim Arab girl, who was reading the above post and didn’t notice Mr. Observer adding any suggestions or advices at all! only discussing a piece of news he read in a newspaper both of us might not be able to read its language!..So kindly shut up! And thank him for bringing this to us, even if you disagree with it.such intolerant hatred voices heard from Muslims like u, is the least we might need now a days !!
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lol What ever ur faith is you should not use irrelevent words! please keep it clean!See internet has many good things, but the bad thing is that u do not know who said what and what was said by whom! I can fake whatever I want with it!hope u learn smthing from that all!
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to Lasto-adri *Blue* , YOU SHUT UP.. OK… you think your Muslim, Hah .. go read through this blog and you will understand what I’m talking about .. I knew that a lot of who wants to look “cool” for some reason will be pissed from my comments .. stupid ..
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LOL! TheArabObserver…I guess parts of this comments thread demonstrate ur point above.A Jordanian pal who moved to Sweden some years ago feels more comfortable there, but still observes some racial pressures and says there’s a certain passive aggressive way they go about it, but it’s individuals and not mass, and certainly not policy. That’s life. Some people are more tolerant to diversity than others. What I do respect abt what you’re describing is that as a country they realize that, they are not shoving it under the carpet and instead trying to address/handle as best they see fit – thru open dialog. that is admirable. Arabs still hold on fervently to being defensive. we are obsessed that nothing is wrong with us and that we are victims of the imposition of others! That holds Arabs back as nations from being amazing. All we seem to want to do is blame the other for what’s happening to us (blanket generalization of course there are some exceptions).Last night in Cairo, the Egyptian authorities banned a stand up comedy act from continuing because Maysoon Zayid made fun of Egyptian stereotypes. How sad is that?! Basically, we cannot be progressive in our media and mass communication, and we cannot even laugh at ourselves in entertainment. But we will cry on the shoulders of the world, anytime!It’s about time the Arab world switched to more positive attitudes and beliefs, time to on the fact that our transformation is in our own hands, and very doable. Let’s talk about the great things about us, and be honest about the not so great, so that we can fix things for ourselves. An Arab renaissance can be right around the corner, if we want it…..Have a fantastic time in Sweden 🙂
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Mr. Anon,I’ll NOT go into this U… you’re voice is louder than hearing another voice..
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nadine, very well said. I totally agree with you.
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a different perspective, they do have new nazi’s people that are very extremists, but they mostly live in the suburbs. The general Swedes are tolerant, and they have people and regulations working on that, but then like any other country, it is always different in the big cities where everyone just blends in than small towns. anonymous, what kind of Islam you advocate? I have met many muslims in my life who showed much better manners and tolerance than this.lasto-adri, thank you, actually if we apply such initiative, we would have less people acting like that anonymous!haitham seelawi, hope he does!nadine, belzabt! That comment just showed how much work we need to do here. I agree with every single word you said. We need to realize the human intolerant nature and try to address that. It is time to start building a new culture that is built on tolerance. It is not enough that we import technology from the west, we need to start importing social processes and methods.
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Let me tell you something … Do not think that we are stupid … I totally understand the hidden messages you try to send from time to time between your posts.. Talking about changing the “culture” .. gay stuff .. virginity .. anyway .. you just do not get it, Islam is not just a religion for us and its way more than being just a culture .. Islam is our way of life .. its not culture and for sure it is not something we practice to get high .. You -and I feel sorry for you- will never get that for the reasons we all know.. so if you wanna be gay, or do not care about honor, or for you your faith is just a drink then please keep your sick stuff for yourself ..or at lest do not come and tell us how we should act or what we should do .. actually I suggest that you leave Jordan, I mean I’m sure an atheist country like Sweden fits you really well ..
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Mr. Anon,(Islam is not just a religion for us and its way more than being just a culture .. Islam is our way of life). am very surprised how ignorant you are.. what is islam has to do with all of this ?? and has he mentioned anything about gays or any stuff like this??or you just want attach the observer with your stupid and irrelevant thoughts..you call your self a muslim????am sure you know nothing about islam, only people like you would bring a bad image for islam.
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Mr. Anon,“Islam” should be our way of life, but apparently it is not.Don’t brag about Islam, while we Muslims are intolerant to each other and to others as well.الدين المعاملةBut you never find that anywhere, in the Arab World at least.Islam is turning superficial inside all of us. Committed to rituals without understanding the meaning behind it.I am not asking you to advocate gays or accept illegal relationships. I’m asking you to listen. Listen to Arab Observer’s words (and others too). I might not advocate gays’ rights, due to Islamic backgrounds may be or may be built on personal thinking that doesn’t understand the exceptions.However, all the above is not the point. The point is, we Muslims stopped listening. Stopped Working our minds to understand why he or she is saying so and for what reasons. We don’t save effort to attack with louder but weaker voices because we don’t have strong defenses. We stopped listening, tolerating and understanding!I beg you to read, and don’t attack. It’s one of the worst eras we’d ever pass by. So pass on knowledge and educate the people around you. Your family. Raise up your kids as tomorrow’s Omar Ibn El Khatab or Fatema el Zahraa. Don’t attack him for expressing his point of view, but be a Good Muslim, a Good Human Being, so people would -instead- listen to U..I say this from a human being to a human being, not only a Muslim to a Muslim, and I really wish You’d understand.
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anonymous, I remember you said you live in the states, no? maybe you should leave it either!You need to realize that religion is like culture, it does change with time and is differ from place to place and from time to time. Islam in specific is a dynamic religion. There is a big room for ejtehad and for changing rules to work for the current situation at hand. Islam is not my enemy, my best friends are Muslims, and I know many muslim people. They are all diverse as any other community. There are even a lot of progressive Muslims who have stronger stands than me on issues that I discuss here on my blog. Islam should not contradict with the human rights global values. If human rights values contradict with what you have been taught and lived to believe, that doesn’t mean that you have to fight them with the name of a religion that you dont seem to understand its core values *tolerance*. Change is not a bad thing. Truth doesnt lie only in what they have taught you in your childhoo. You ought to read and question. You ought to think and analyze. This country is for all of us. We should leave no room for hatred and anger. If you fail to fit in, then maybe you need to check up with a shrink. It helps if you had been through a trauma that you only manage to deal with by placing hatred anonymously comments on people’s blogs!
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Anon . We are all human being, we should not fight each other, we all have the same interests, we are born, we learn stuff like relegion, manners and knowledge .. but each one follows a different view, and christians, muslims and even jews worship one god, who is ” allah ” but some people may not have the same beliefs, so what ? we kill them ? people has different points of view, and different manners, but we humans always tend to make groups, to make war, whilst our own relegion commands us of peace, not war, so why fight people for not believing in what we believe in ? its their own freedom, you cant force people to believe, you can just advice them, for no one knows whats coming after life, there might not be an after life, it all revolves around the beliefs humans made for themselves and we are entering a phase of sience, so my advice is open your mind up for new ideas and new opinions, im not saying you should accept them but dont fight them, just respect other concepts, if you want other concepts to accept yours .
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To Tama: See, I already replied to that before, I’ve been reading this blog since like 2 years and I know what kinda message he tries to send, so my comment is not only about this post.. You need to learn how read between the lines.. And by the way.. YOU ARE THE STUPID..To Lasto-adri *Blue*: “while we Muslims are intolerant to each other and to others as well.” Now are telling me about how to deal with other Muslims.. DO NOT forget that it was YOU who told me to “SHUT UP” first .. “I’m asking you to listen. Listen to Arab Observer’s words”I’ve been listening to this guy since like two years and I know exactly what he is all about. Maybe you need to listen carefully to what he says.“Don’t attack him for expressing his point of view,” You just do not get it. This guy hates the fact that he lives in a Muslim community and he is trying to change that. He does not like the fact that Muslim ppl are real believers who do not negotiate their religion but he cannot say that out loud so he uses back doors such as gays rights, or changing the “culture”, virginity,.. etc . What he does not understand that we’ve seen a LOT like him ..
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To Observer: “You need to realize that religion is like culture, it does change with time” this is maybe for you, who never believed in something in his life .. you know I do not blame you because you‘ve never felt the faith in your heart, your religion for you is just like wine –I believe you said that- You need to understand is that culture is only one part from Islam, I told you before my faith is my life, and this is what makes Islam different. A lot of people all over the world have changed their religions instead of changing themselves, I see how some churches here allowed pre-marital sex, and then allowed gay marriage and very soon they will allow atheism, wow very cool indeed. This is the different between real Muslims and others if I believe in something I change my life to match my belief and not the other way.“There are even a lot of progressive Muslims who have stronger stands than me on issues that I discuss here on my blog. ” see this is exactly what I’m talking about here .. Those are not real Muslims because everything is crystal clear in Islam, for example in Islam gays are mentally disordered people and they should receive some thereby to get them back to the right straight bath. Other than that such as homosexual rights or gay marriage are totally against Islam and anyone who supports something against Islam is NOT real Muslim. It is like someone who claim to be Muslim but does not pray 5 times a day .. simply he is not Muslim. Islam is all about complete obedience, either that or NOTHING.
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Farah.K Zaghmout:You also do not get it .. Nobody said anything about “killing” others, OMG, I know that others are also human beings -except for gays- . How we should teat ppl with different faiths is also a clear thing in Islam.. I left my comment specifically to this guy. and again you too can read this guy’s blog and I’m sure you’ll understand what I’m talking about..
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Anonymous-san (In Japanese)Listen am not a fan of gays either, and accepting them as a part of Jordan is not something I will ever accept!But I keep thinking, as it is said, some of these gays are not gays by well, we need to find them a solution!Now the arab observer man thinks that they had to be granted freedom, it is the best solution as he thinks!So why are you attacking him? can not we have a room for discussing such an issue? they are a part of our community and we have to deal with it, like it or not.Why do not u provide us with a solution? (am not joking) this is what happen usually! I always think of a solution! But we better keep it to bio and psychology people! I think this can be better when an objective study is conducted!And guys, am sorry but why did u turn it into a fight about islam? see islam is not a culture if u want to discuss it! I mean that was to strange, there are Japanese muslims, American muslims, African muslims, they share islam but have different cultures! they will dump the bad things form their culture, but still will have their own cultures and Islam is more like a frame, within it u can do what ever u want, outside it u can not, but this frame is huge! So technically u are free in islam!
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People confuse religion with faith. In one of the most religiously important regions in the world, we seem to demonstrate and live with very little faith. Islam has within itself people who are doing it a great disservice unfortunately. IMHO, people who speak loud in the name of Islam have very little faith. The book of Islam, the Quran, is one of the most inspiring mind opening series of stories – if only people allow themselves to see that. Instead those interpreting it and holding megaphones are shrouding it with ignorance and fear. Very sad.Faith is a tough concept.
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Anon I live with the guy ! hes not gay ! hahaha and so what if some guy is gay ? who are you to judge him ? no offence pal, but who are we to judge people and blame them, we are not god , only god can judge them, they can do whatever they want, they can go to hell for all i care lol, why are you so concerned about them, they are free, we live in a free world, accept them, why are we the only countries left behind ! people love different kinds of people its not for us to judge them , and trust me i used to hate them, the way they act, walk, talk .. but i cant do anything to stop them, im not allowed ! im not god ! only god can judge those people, if you judge people you will be judged, ” For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” every one just has to do with his own beliefs, if you dont like gays, dont be one, just dont go around fighting them trying to vanish them ! hehe ! its ironic, at the same time some people may think that its weird for a guy to love a girl, people live with feelings, not every one can live with denial, and we cant stop people from being who they are, we cant stop people from being their own selves just because we lived our lives to please other people, which eventually only made us loose ourselves, There are different types of people, emos, goths, metalheads, punks, gays, hippies, nazists, capitalists, communists, homosexuals, straight, sport players, drunkens, smokers, druggers, rockstars, and normal people ! would fight every one whose not like you ? human beings are always afraid of whats different, but those people chose what they love, they dont fake themselves jjust to please other people or just to be with the flow, or just cause of traditions, they do what they do because they love it, and for me i respect them, they live for themselves not for other people .
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To Anon,(I see how some churches here allowed pre-marital sex, and then allowed gay marriage and very soon they will allow atheism, wow very cool indeed). If you live in the states as you said, you may realize that there are a lot of type of churches that are not even close to christianity, and christians don’t believe in them and they are not related to christianity..like any religious muslim (sheikh) who gives from time to time a really funny (fatweh) which even muslims think it is silly and don’t believe it it and even begin to laugh at it..does it mean that it is written in al quran or muslims have to follow that fatweh?so you have to know that churches and real christians people don’t support gay marriage or pre-marital sex or whatever is against human nature.
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nadine, very true! It is sad indeed. Guys, Farah is my little brother. He is 16 years old.Farooh, I am impressed with your debating skills. There are many things in life that we learn as we go. Keep up an open mind habibi and you’ll get so far. Anonymous, first why don’t you pick a nick name so that I can distinguish you from other anons when you comment. I mean I usually do figure you out from your tone of language but it would be easier if you pick a nick name. Don’t worry, it wont reveal your identity. Second, and this is for you and for Tama, listen carefully here guys, anon, YOUR version of Islam, and tama YOUR version of Christianity, is NOT the real Islam and Chrsitianity.There is no real Islam vs real Christianity. That is an absurd reasoning to deprive even other believers of your same religion from the right of considering themselves a believers just because they disagree with you on a certain thing. You are no less of a fake believer than them. What you know is not necessarily the truth. Tama, pre-marital sex and gay marriages are not against nature! You ought to re-define what natural means to you.Anonymous again, gay are human beings, why do you insist of depriving them of that?
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thanx fadii =], haha lameen bedi atla3 y3ni 😀
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tama seriously?! you think pre-marital sex is against human nature?Maybe you need to get laid to find out.
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LOOOOOOOLLLLLThis is the funniest comment thread I ever read!!! I wonder if I am laughing at our sorry state of intolerance instead of crying
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Maybe you need to learn a little bit from the tolerance and respect of the Swedes when you blindly accuse only Arabs and Muslims of taking part of underage marriages. Muslims and Arabs were the first to mandate the acceptance of both parties for the marriage to even happen.Why didn’t you think these might be Zulu immigrants? Or young Christians from Nigeria? Or Indian? or some Baha’i Persians from Iran? Or white prostitutes from Eastern Europe trying to find grooms in the US? or any other ethnicity? Why does it have to be the Arabs and Muslims who are always criminalized in your eyes?Sure, we need to improve. But to improve we shouldn’t be so negative.And you sir, have an eye for the negative. And the negative only.A different Perspective, have some respect for people. If you were a whore before you got married to your pimp. That doesn’t mean everyone else in the world are like you
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fadi,YOUR version of Islam, and tama YOUR version of Christianity, is NOT the real Islam and Chrsitianity.as long as you are not religious so i don’t think you would understand what is religon is all about. when terrorist kill innocent people without any reason in the name of islam.are they muslims? and when a church allows gay marriage, are they really chrisitians or is it mentioned even in the holly book that it is allowed.am just giving you an example. i hope you will understand.you may see that gay marriage is something nature..but i don’t
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@tama and @Mr ObserverThe question is: Who made you the arbiter of what is the true Islam and Christianity? Who made you the judge of what is natural and what is not? Since you seem to know the absolute truth of what is natural and what is not, what is allowed and what is not, please do enlighten us!!From your comments I would think that God himself has descended on us and is tell everyone what to do and not do. Unless you are God, please express your opinion respectfully keeping in mind that others are fully entitled to theirs. Just tolerating the other side is not enough
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zait w za3tar,i can see from your comment that you don’t understand what i meant.first am not god to judge or to say what is allowed or not,that is so stupid to say, you can get back to your holy book and then you can distinguish what is right and what is wrong and what is allowed and what is not. i only say things based on religon not from my own point of view.
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Has everyone here checked their temperature before clicking submit? Or did the oxygen just stop flowing here?!
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