Irshad Manji deceives and doctors are the most likely to blog in Morocco

Now that I'm becoming more familiar with the Moroccan blogosphere, I can tell that one of its characteristics is the fact that many of its members are doctors or student-doctors.
In this week's roundup, we'll find out what interested some of those doctors-bloggers last week. We'll also pay a visit to some “news oriented” blogs, and will read excerpt from literary ones.

First let's welcome the spring and also remember that the first day of this beautiful season is also the international day against racisme. Isn'it Bluesman?

The conversion of Francis Fukuyama

Karim, one of the authors of ARAB OBSERVERS writes about Sweetness in the Belly, the story of a white Muslim woman, Lily, raised in Africa, who shifts between London and Ethiopia. Lily’s childhood is spent on many places, among them Tangiers when her Anglo-Irish hippy parents relocate in Morocco.

Some of the most beautiful passages are about Lily's (the main character in the novel) faith. Islam is her guiding force, as she seeks to discover the true meaning of jihad, “The holy war we have within ourselves … Our internal struggle for purity.”

IBAHRINE posts about the cost of commercial internet access in Cairo and some other cities around the world. The article stresses that in nine of the 24 most populated cities, the average person spends at least 10 percent of their daily income for an hour of Internet access at a commercial access point.

When people in Cairo or Jakarta spend a larger portion of their daily income on commercial Internet access, they find relatively less cultural content.

When Soumiaz finished reading “How I Learned to Love the Wall ” by Irshad Manji she felt it's well written article but it lacks balance.

Irshad’s article did not appease my trust for positivism but it did deepen my humiliation, because to me there is nothing more humiliating than the image of an old person hopping (as young soldiers are standing watching and refusing to help) over the wall to go about their business.

Back to Karim of ARAB OBSERVERS who's trying to understand the unexpected switch of Francis Fukuyama in his latest book America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy . Karim says the books argues that the war on Iraq was a mistake, and that American policy should be more mindful of the aspirations of third world countries.

It is good to see that a prominent neoconservative theorist has converted to a more realistic point of view on current world affairs and the relations between East and West.

Why don't you blog in Arabic?

With a new look, Larbi is back with his “embarrassing” questions. The latest one is about the Moroccans who prefer to blog in French or any other language than Arabic. Is the Arabic language still alive?(French) He asks his readers who were many to “justify” their choice of language.

Samir is posting good news for lovers of Moroccan Argan oil. Some 1400 hectares of argan tree land are to be replanted with the endemic tree in the south-western region of Souss-Massa-Draa in 2006 to fight desertification.

The Argan tree (argania spinosa) grows in a harsh environment, surviving heat, drought and poor soil. It is little known outside Morocco, and many Moroccans themselves have never heard of it because it grows only in the south-west of the country – roughly between Essaouira and Agadir, in an area covering 700.000-800.000 hectares.

Doctors’ talks

Arakgna is lost in the wide wild world. She is a student doctor and her latest post is about a test that has been designed to see if you have spent too much time in medical school and whether you are having adverse side effects due to prolonged exposure.

Astyanax is very desapointed to realise that some young “white” Moroccans believe that black means scary.

It's scandalous!

bloodlover(French) and Bsima(French) announced the event(French) and Lemrina posted a briefing about it(French).

Hoba Hoba rocks!

Imanita posted a sad yet nice heart warming text about a fascinating journey she had with her small red box(French) .

Between the sky and the ground I'm still suspended. The mirror inside my box reflects my gaze. I smile to myself.

Othmane Boumaalif is the star doctor of the Moroccan blogosphere since his appearance in the Moroccan television channel 2M. He Lately gave an interview to the magazine jeune Afrique(French) and he's posting about it(French).

Not only those student doctors like to blog , they've also created a blog for their association MEDVILLE(French). Its main goal is to allow them to stay in touch but also to discuss special issues concerning their researches.

Coup de coeur

Kahina is the name of a woman, a hero from north Africa. She was the queen of Amazighs and her name means prophetess. But the Kahina(French) I want you to know this week is a blog I discovered last year and found myself instantly under the charm of its warm posts and pictures.

myrmecie(French) is a blog I ‘ve discovered lately and I just love it. It's warm and interesting . The author, Lillytwill is a student doctor (another one?) and her name means literally “my night is long”. Hmm, it's hard to be a doctor who blogs!

That's it for this week. See you next Wednesday, Inshallah.

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