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Eid al Adha: a day of joy,
reflection and sacrifice
A day of
remembrance and joy, Eid Al Adha begins with making a fresh start to the day
by wearing nicest clothing, most fragrant perfumes and attending an Eid
prayer in the morning
_By Ali Ahmed al Riyami_ |
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An aerial view shows pilgrims praying around
the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca |

Palestinians pray at Jerusalem’s
Al Aqsa Mosque compound. — AFP |
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Kosovo Albanians pray at a
mosque
to mark Eid al Adha in Pristina |

Thai children receive money
from villagers during the
Eid al Adha in Narathiwat province yesterday. — AFP |
TODAY, on the
auspicious occasion of Eid al Adha (celebration of sacrifice) the
most important Islamic holiday, Muslims around the world remember
the great sacrifice required of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) when, for
the sake of the Almighty and because of his unflinching belief in
the Creator, the Lord of the Worlds, and his firmness of faith he
was ready to sacrifice his first begotten son Prophet Ismael
(Ishmael).
Of course, it was a test from God — the Most Merciful, Beneficent
Lord of Mankind would never demand such an act from anyone amongst
his creation, much less one of His own chosen prophets. This is why
Prophet Ibrahim was prevented from sacrificing his son and rather
was told to sacrifice a sheep instead.
Likewise, on the 10th day of Dhul Hajja, of the Islamic Hijiri
calendar — corresponding this year to December 8 in the Gregorian
calendar; on this the most important Islamic holiday of Eid al Adha,
pilgrims who have completed the rites of Haj (pilgrimage) in the
holy city of Mecca al Mukarama, in Saudi Arabia, as well as all
Muslims who have the means to do so, are required to slaughter a
livestock animal on this day. The idea is to follow the example of
Prophet Ibrahim's readiness to make the ultimate sacrifice in
seeking the pleasure of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic.
In fact, except for Lailatul Qadr (the Night of Power, which occurs
in the Holy month of Ramadhan) the first ten days of Dhul Hajja are
the most holy days in the Islamic calendar. It is at this time that
millions of Muslims congregate around the Kaaba (the Crucible, which
was built, or rebuilt — after the deluge that occurred during the
time of Prophet Nuh (Noah) — by Prophet Ibrahim and Ismael) to
perform Haj — an obligation required of every able bodied Muslim to
perform at least once in their lifetime, if they have the means to
do so.
This holiday marks the beginning of three days of public holidays in
all Muslim countries and it gives a chance for the believers to
visit and dine with relatives. It is also a time when children are
pampered and it is customary to ensure that each child has a new set
of clothes. Their beaming faces reflect the joy of Eid Al Adha and
these days are filled with joy, happiness and merriment. |
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ISM students keep audience captivated
_By A Staff
Reporter_ |
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THE
three-day Annual Exhibition of middle section of Indian School Muscat ended
on Saturday. The audience was kept captivated by the rendition of two
melodious Hindustani classical songs. This was followed by two popular
foot-tapping Western numbers. The highlight of the evening was a mesmerising
Odissi dance performance by five graceful and talented students from classes
5-8.
Yusuf Nalwalla, Chairman, Board of Directors, Indian Schools in the
Sultanate, presided over the inaugural function. The chief guest formally
inaugurated the exhibition. The students had painstakingly prepared charts,
PowerPoint presentations, models, files, folders, scrapbooks and models in
all the subjects, the fine arts that included music, band, art, photography,
computer science, digital horizon and physical education.
The school’s English department portrayed literature through the ages,
grammar and English vocabulary.
The main attraction was the Activity Room, where the students put up a
puppet show on the courtroom scene from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice.
Apart from the language related topics, the Hindi department depicted
festivals of India and environmental issues. The visitors to the exhibition
were also entertained with a ‘Hasya Kavi Sammelan’.
The French department presented the culture and tradition of France along
with an insight into its cuisine. The audience was also entertained with
French authentic music. The Arabic department provided a window, to look
into the Arab world, while showcasing the rich culture and tradition and
also the unique calligraphy, so typical to the region.
Kerala was projected by the Malayalam department, with its history,
traditions, architecture and cuisine, in all its glory, through PowerPoint
presentations, models and live enactment. The Mathematics department
displayed through various projects topics such as tessellations, 3-D
figures, optical illusion, data handling etc. Through the various models and
objects, the applications of mathematical concepts in daily life was made
clear.
Budding scientists of the Science department presented the principles,
processes and phenomena that make the world go round, through their
enthralling working models. ‘The World Connected by Sea’ was the theme
chosen by the Social Science department, this year. A glimpse into the
maritime activities of the Sultanate was one of the highlights at the
exhibition. The visitors to the exhibition were given a glimpse into the
world of the vast oceans and seas and how trade has connected all the
continents, otherwise separated.
The world of computers and how technology has today made human life quite
stress-free and uncomplicated, were made evident through various computer
applications like Simulation, PowerPoint presentations, made by the
students. Various Network topology models were also on display. Seven IT
wizards from classes 7 and 8 with their contextual speech on the current
topics related to the world of the Digital World like Blue Ray Disc, Nano
Technology concepts, etc, kept the viewers riveted to their seats.
The Art department, where the students gave free rein to their imagination,
bore testimony to this fact, through the splendid works done in water
colours, oil pastels and glass paintings. Forty-eight young photographers
displayed their aesthetic sense, as seen by them through the lens of the
camera. Nature’s wonders, the marvels of architecture and the beauty, that
is so unique to Oman, were up on display.
The viewers also got an opportunity to see the vast and immense collection
of books, on a wide array of topics, that is available to the students, in
the Middle School library. The Annual Exhibition, thus became a platform for
students to showcase their talent, creativity and imagination. |
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Iconic keffiyeh
brings colourful clash to Beirut
This is not the first
time the keffiyeh has been co-opted by others. The garment has come in and
out of fashion, with youths in the 1960s and 1970s wearing it as a sign of
revolt or sympathy with the Palestinian cause. The scarf has also become a
signature item for anti-war activists, writes Rima Abushakra from Beirut |

A Lebanese youth tries
an keffiyeh at a shop in Beirut. The iconic black and white
keffiyeh famously donned by late Palestinian president Yasser
Arafat. — AFP |
THE
iconic black and white keffiyeh, or Arab headdress, famously
donned by late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat has hit the
streets of Beirut in a rainbow of colours — much to the chagrin
of older Palestinians.
Stylish youngsters, both men and women, can be seen in the
city’s chic cafes and restaurants sporting red, blue, pink,
brown and purple versions of the keffiyeh. Western and Arab
tourists are also snapping up the hip item.
The trend, however, is seen by many as an insult to a symbol
traditionally linked to the Palestinian cause. “These colours
aren’t for us... it’s nonsense, it’s a fashion show,” said Salim
Ali Kayd, 74, who has been a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon
since 1948, when Israel was created.
“The keffiyeh stands for a person’s honour and manhood. It was a
rite of passage to wear one upon reaching the age of 18,” he
added explaining the customs of his generation. |
Others like him living in the narrow alleyways of the Shatila refugee camp
on the outskirts of Beirut are also upset that their national symbol has
become a fad. “Yasser Arafat used to wear it for a reason. It means
something,” said Kalthoum Ghandour, a 45-year-old Palestinian doctor living
in Lebanon. “It was what the revolutionaries wore to conceal their
identity,” she added. “This is our revolution, our symbol.
“This trend distorts our heritage.”
Shops in Beirut’s neighbourhoods are selling the bright-coloured items
imported from Syria, Thailand and China. A backlash against the trend has
spread to college campuses in Lebanon, where Facebook groups have sprung up
called “Palestinian scarf: Understand it or don’t bother wearing it!” and “I
refuse to let the keffiyeh become a high fashion statement”.
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‘This trend distorts our heritage’
This is not the first time the keffiyeh has been co-opted by others. The
garment has come in and out of fashion, with youths in the 1960s and 1970s
wearing it as a sign of revolt or sympathy with the Palestinian cause. The
scarf has also become a signature item for anti-war activists. While the
latest trend may be more accessory and less ideology — the keffiyeh’s
powerful symbolism continues to resonate, and not only among Palestinians.
The issue grabbed headlines in recent months when the Dunkin’ Donuts chain
came under fire for an online ad that featured an American celebrity chef
wearing a paisley patterned scarf that some mistook for a keffiyeh.
The ad was pulled after a conservative US commentator complained that it
promoted jihad. The US clothing store Urban Outfitters this year also
stopped selling coloured versions of the keffiyeh because of controversy.
“They used to wear it around their necks and now they are wearing it around
their waists. What’s next?,” said Haitham, 28, a Palestinian refugee who did
not reveal his last name.
Dana, 25, said she recently purchased a blue version of the keffiyeh and
maintains that the garment carries no political symbolism. “I used to wear
the white one when I would go to protests in college,” she said. “These ones
are a pure fashion statement. “I got the blue colour because my eyes are
blue,” added Dana, who did not want her last named used. “Nonetheless people
who hate Palestinians shouldn’t wear them.” |

A Lebanese girl wears a blue
keffiyeh around her neck |
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Some young Palestinians, however, are proud to see the craze gather steam.
“I have about 10 of them... The keffiyeh belongs to us no matter its colour.
I am happy they have become popular,” said Ahmed el-Hassan, 22. Keffiyehs
are hard to come by in Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps that house an
estimated 400,000 refugees. They cost on average five dollars but some
high-end designers in Lebanon are selling them for over $100. “The original
one was white and black,” El-Hassan said. “These might be copies but they’re
still called keffiyeh which represents Palestine’s heritage.” — AFP
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Plastic jeans, denim paper, thanks
to fashion’s eco-warriors
_By Claire Rosemberg in Paris_ |
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TAKE
a load of empty plastic water bottles to manufacture jeans, or turn waste
denim into paper: as eco-consciousness spreads, makers of the planet’s most
popular item of clothing are increasingly resorting to recycling. High-end
makers of the denims and accessories that go into producing the now
150-year-old jean placed environmental concerns top of their agendas at a
gathering in Paris this week of the denim-to-jeans industry.
And given the environmental fall-out of the emblematic blue pants since they
crept to the top of the fashion charts from the 1960s, jean-makers have
little other choice. Greece’s Hellenic Fabrics, for instance, a leading
supplier to iconic jeans firm Levi-Strauss, is launching a new denim fabric
made from 37 per cent of waste plastic bottles recycled as PET, a polyester
synthetic fibre.
Italy’s specialist tags and labels company Cadica is transforming used denim
into paper pulp, while hi-tech Belgians UCO Sportswear weaves denim from
waste threads. “We are 100 per cent ethical,” the Greek company’s research
and development manager Panos Sofianos said. “We already had an organic
line, but wanted to find a way to use waste. “This is not just business,
it’s for the environment, for our children.” Likewise in Belgium, said
product development manager Sibilla Vanderlinden, who explained that her
company collects cotton thread leftovers in spinning mills in Italy and
Belgium to make new fabric.
‘We are 100 per cent ethical’
“It’s not as solid and is harder to dye than new thread,” she said. “But we
are sceptical that much of the so-called organic cotton on the market is
really chemical-free and prefer to work this way in favour of the
environment.” The Italian labels firm for its part collects unsold pants
from jean-makers to produce paper pulp then turned into labels which are
sold back to jean-makers.
“Our philosophy is to maximise the use of natural products and to recycle,”
said Italy’s Paolo Pavarotti. Cotton has long been criticised for harming
the environment, but since fashionistas cottoned on to jeans, the up-market
version of the once-upon-a-time workwear too has come in for flak. Making
brand-new jeans look 10 years old or more to please buyers is one of the
most technologically advanced processes in the textile business.
Jeans are made to look naturally aged only once stitched together, by being
washed and distressed over and over by pumice stones, then frayed, stained
and ripped. The process not only causes water wastage but the chemicals and
dyes impact on the environment. Using organic cottons, or weaving denims
with linen or even silks, is definitely on the increase across the industry,
but environmentally-correct items remain a niche product, according to
specialists at this week’s “Denim By Premiere Vision” event. Denim-makers
meanwhile are also moving into “intelligent” fabrics, with hi-tech weavers
developing cloth that regulates body-heat, keeps the rain out or even
moisturises the skin. — AFP |
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‘Internet enthusiasm is cooling’ |
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ENTHUSIASM
for the Internet is cooling, said German futurologist and trend analyst
Matthias Horx. “It’s becoming increasingly apparent that virtual worlds can
replace actual ones only up to a point,” he said in Frankfurt during an
interview. “A small but growing group of people who had a strong affinity to
the Internet and digitalisation are dropping out now,” remarked Horx, noting
that many companies had declared e-mail-free days. He cited studies showing
that some 2.6 million people regard themselves as “ex-onliners,” having cut
down on their digital communication to enhance the quality of their lives.
Born in Dusseldorf in 1955, Horx founded his Zukunftsinstitut, or “Future
Institute,” in 1998 near Frankfurt, central Germany. In their intensive use
of social networking websites such as Facebook, Berlin-based studiVZ and
Hamburg-based Xing, many people have found “their social bonds slipping
through their fingers, and that virtual ‘zombie friends’ are not so
reliable,” Horx said. The problem of “digital fakes,” he noted, was now a
topic of discussion in many Internet forums.
In a growing number of restaurants and cafes, cellphones and laptop
computers are no longer welcome. “They don’t want an atmosphere in which
everybody’s looking into his or her virtual tunnel, but rather social spots
where people really meet,” Horx said. He said that many companies, having
recognised the flood of e-mails to be a “time and productivity killer,”
regularly switched off internal e-mail communication, usually on Fridays.
“Instead, they encourage people to drink tea together again, which is a lot
more productive.”
“Offline” is one of nine societal trends named by Horx in his institute’s
Trend Report 2009. This “tendency to digital weariness” begets another
trend, which Horx and his team of scientists call “club couture.” “Club
formations will become very important for society in the future,” Horx said,
explaining he did not mean the sort of clubs that elites have always
organised themselves into, but new clubs based on particular themes or
interests.
This development, he said, was so far most evident in the tourism industry,
where exclusivity had gained in significance as a marketing tool — for
example in hotels for specific target groups. Many banks, too, have turned
to literature, art and culture — instead of financial products like
derivatives — as a means to retain wealthy private clients in the wake of
the financial crisis, he said.
Horx also sees a “renaissance of civic activity,” citing numerous
private-school foundings by parents, growing citizen involvement in
foundations, and community engagement portals on the Internet devoted to
donation distribution and the like. Regional action groups are also
proliferating, “new settlement movements” that combine multigenerational
living with ecological architecture, he said.
Politicians and political parties have not yet really noticed how social
commitment has shifted to more individuality and creativity, Horx remarked.
“People no longer want to be merely a number in a large organisation, but to
be able to develop their own style,” he said. Other examples of this were
“green” shopping portals on the Internet and travel that combined relaxation
with social or environmental activism, he noted.
Although the organic-food trend continues, Horx noted, he said the industry
faced a crisis due to hugely increased demand. “The market has got so big
that they now need to mass-produce, so it loses some of its charm and
comprehensibility,” he said. Horx foresees more scandals and turbulence in
the organic-food industry. “It’s losing credibility, but people still have
the need for a different kind of nutrition and food production,” he said.
One of the consequences was the increasing number of people who grow and
preserve their own food, Horx noted and pointed to the United States, where
hundreds of city dwellers had jointly leased a farming cooperative to
produce organic food for themselves. — DPA |
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