ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Middle East and North AfricaAny word on M+S's baby?

oh congrats salwa and mark. How wonderful, a baby girl? What's her name?

Her baby girl's name is Aisha. My wife says she's spelling it wrong, should be "Aicha". ;)


Aisha is a beautiful name and spelling it "Aicha" is actually the WRONG way...;)

In Arabic the word is spelled with a SHEEN...Arabic has no "CHA" sound...only "SHA"...

Also, there is really no "right" or "wrong" way to transliterate Arabic words into English, it's all a matter of opinion...however the "cha" issue is pretty clear because there is no "cha" in Arabic.

True, but "ch" in French is pronounced "sh"...
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-05-13 10:57:00
Middle East and North AfricaAny word on M+S's baby?

oh congrats salwa and mark. How wonderful, a baby girl? What's her name?

Her baby girl's name is Aisha. My wife says she's spelling it wrong, should be "Aicha". ;)
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-05-13 09:15:00
Middle East and North AfricaAny word on M+S's baby?

she is here I had the baby today at 10a.m she is pretty like her dad..I have internet at my cell phone so I thought to log in and tell u guys... she is adorable :)

Woohoo! Congratulations Salwa & Mark! Welcome Aisha!

Looking forward to the pictures. :)
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-05-09 14:54:00
Middle East and North AfricaAny word on M+S's baby?
Has anybody heard if they've had their baby girl yet?

Let's hear the good news!
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-05-08 07:37:00
Middle East and North AfricaHorrible Casa News

<snip>
did you ladies also know that there was also another terrorist bombing back in 2003.? they killed many people hurt several others, but no idea how long it took to reopen the consulate. if you look up the moroccan consulate in google it shows about it. it was huge!!!
love natalie

My first trip to Morocco occurred one week after those bombings. My friends thought I was crazy. After meeting Aicha at the airport she took me to a "Salon de The" right next to a protest march; she said TV put the numbers at over a million.

At no time then or since (8 more trips) have I ever felt in danger or targeted because of my citizenship. Except, of course, in the souks, and it's not my citizenship that's the target there. ;)
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-05-13 09:13:00
Middle East and North AfricaHorrible Casa News
Has anyone tried to reschedule using the online system?

The U.S. Consulate General in Casablanca is temporarily closed to the public. Applicants with nonimmigrant visa appointments today will need to reschedule via the online appointment system.


My in-laws finally have their passports and I was going to get them set to apply for their tourist visas. I'm hoping they can apply and get an appointment, and if others have rescheduled then they should be OK. Otherwise my wife will be very upset that her mom won't be here for the birth of their grandson.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-05-08 15:47:00
Middle East and North AfricaCasablanca, Morocco CO

Cheryl (Aicha), could you please check to see if the consulate opened as posted in the other threads? Since you're in Kenitra I figure you're final word on this.



What other threads? and last I looked - it was still closed as of tonight. I am checking everyday - sometimes more than a few times. Will go do some checking again.

These threads:

http://www.visajourn...showtopic=66408

http://www.visajourn...showtopic=67359
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-05-14 17:31:00
Middle East and North AfricaCasablanca, Morocco CO
Cheryl (Aicha), could you please check to see if the consulate opened as posted in the other threads? Since you're in Kenitra I figure you're final word on this.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-05-14 16:38:00
Middle East and North AfricaCasa update

ummmm...i got an e-mail from them today saying they were still closed to the public.


ditto but they are opened i got a phone call from zaki this morning and he was in casa and he said that they were open!!
love natalie

I think you should read this post. It seems that consular officials and employees are going to the consulate (it's "open" for them) but for processing visas and providing other services to the public it is not open.

The consulate's website says they're still closed to the public.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-05-15 09:58:00
Middle East and North AfricaCasa update
My wife called the Moroccan consulate in NY to see if they had any more information. They said they couldn't help, but they did mention that Casa is holding Moroccan passports and there's no return for them yet. So if you were in the process of trying to get a tourist visa, they've got your passport, so you can't travel to another country to try their US consulate.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-05-10 14:46:00
Middle East and North Africasnakes on a plane in cairo
Enough is enough!
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-05-24 14:55:00
Middle East and North AfricaSalwa's baby pics,
Come on, Salwa! We haven't seen baby Aisha pictures yet!
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-05-28 10:02:00
Middle East and North AfricaLatest from Casa

I just tried the online appointment system for my mother-in-law and there is no availability in June or July, and August isn't open yet. Is there any other way she could get an appointment before say the end of the month? Or is the online system the best or only way?


Wow, that's crazy, they filled up fast. I made an appt for July 18th around 9am this morning.

Thanks Jenn. Exactly the kind of info I need.

So, at 0600 PDT they had a little less than half of July available, by 1200 when I had a chance to try it was fully booked.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-06-04 16:45:00
Middle East and North AfricaLatest from Casa
I just tried the online appointment system for my mother-in-law and there is no availability in June or July, and August isn't open yet. Is there any other way she could get an appointment before say the end of the month? Or is the online system the best or only way?
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-06-04 14:31:00
Middle East and North AfricaLatest from Casa
It has to remain a secret. If they say when they'll open, the terrorists win!
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-05-27 11:10:00
Middle East and North AfricaThey all miss the TV, don't they...?!
If you have a south-facing mount location, get a 36" satellite dish and an FTA satellite receiver. You'll spend about $300 but then you've got a ton of Arabic programming for free on Galaxy 25 @ 97W. They've got 2M and Al Maghribia, for example.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-06-11 10:23:00
Middle East and North AfricaEvery Moroccan who resides in the U.S.A should be

the way I was reading the consulate site is IF your marriage was witnessed by two muslims then its already valid in Morocco but if not then you will want to get it validated by the consulate

marriage validation


can i just have two muslim people at my wedding for this? or does it have to be a muslim wedding? lol

I don't think so, and no, it doesn't. For us to register our marriage we had to go to this mosque in Anaheim where the scary, non-English speaking imam and a couple other guys asked my wife a few questions, she answered them, then there was a prayer, and that was that. We got an Arabic certificate saying (I guess) that we were married as far as Islam is concerned, and the consulate in New York was happy with it.

I liked the imam at the Islamic Center in our town, he totally reminded me of my mom's Catholic priest when I was a little kid. Thing is it's very hard to get ahold of them so we ended up in the (possibly) Wahabbist mosque. *shudder*
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-07-02 10:50:00
Middle East and North AfricaGuess what....
Congratulations on your pregnant visa lottery win!
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-07-03 10:08:00
Middle East and North AfricaCasa tourist visa success

Thanks for posting and good news. Glad your in-laws can be here for when the baby arrives. BTW though, how did you manage to schedule an interview so shortly? I thought all the July appts were booked when you checked.

They were, but then like a week later I tried again and they had appointments pretty much every day. So I clicked on the first one, 5 July, and there were two appointments available, 0800 & 0815. I'm thinking they added early appointments, maybe to make up for the downtime.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-07-05 13:07:00
Middle East and North AfricaCasa tourist visa success
My in-laws had their tourist visa interviews this morning 5 July and they were successful. So my mother-in-law can be here for the birth of her grandson. :)

I made the appointments for them about three weeks ago and FedExed the applications to them, they took care of the rest. Sounded like the process was pretty painless. My wife said they kept asking her why she wanted to go and where I work. But it was all OK and they pick up their passports tomorrow.

(this is a cross-post, figure the MENA ppl would want the info)

One thing that's interesting, my wife said that BOTH their visas would be ready tomorrow. So I'm wondering how my father-in-law avoided the background check. Maybe cause he's 74?
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-07-05 12:31:00
Middle East and North AfricaOffical MENA Cultural Differences Thread
Please note: I was referring to bacteria, not poop. By that standard, yes a dog's mouth is cleaner than yours. I agree, I certainly don't want my dog licking my face after he's been licking his balls.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-06-24 14:55:00
Middle East and North AfricaOffical MENA Cultural Differences Thread

Oh, and how my husband and I feel about dogs are completely different. I was raised always having a dog for a pet. They were allowed in the house too. Hicham likes dogs, but definitely he definitely feels they need to stay outside. We had problems with that at first. But especially now that our son has come along, I do agree that the dogs don't need to be inside and all in his face.

I have the same problem with my wife. At first she hated my chihuahua, but as time has gone on she's learned to like him. But Timmy unfortunately will pee in the house if you're not vigilant, so he has to stay outside to sleep, which in SoCal is not a problem. When it's cold he just buries himself in his blankets and he's fine. :)

Oh, one thing about a dog's mouth: it's cleaner than yours. There are fewer bacteria in a dog's mouth than in a typical human's. ;)
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-06-24 12:20:00
Middle East and North AfricaWhat are your SO's favorite American TV shows
OMG: Studio 2M. (basically "Moroccan Idol")

Every Saturday.

Can't escape it.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-07-10 14:48:00
Middle East and North AfricaNon muslims in a Muslim Country..

BUT I DO HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU GUYS--Hamid wants meat that is hamal or however you express that. There are several places in a nearby city to buy it. Do you have difficulty adjusting to some of those types of things?
Debbie (and Hamid)

Here in SoCal we live near "Little Arabia" so my wifehas no problem finding halal meat.

I keep asking her to find halal bacon... so far no luck.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-07-16 13:55:00
Middle East and North AfricaGreetings from Marrakech!

wish i was there or close by in Safi anywy, hows the temp. stay safe flying back :thumbs:

It was quite nice in Casa/Rabat, in Marrakech it was hot but not oppressive. I even walked to the hotel (.6 miles according to my GPS) and didn't notice it until I was checking in, then I was sweating hard!

The hotel has a (tiny) swimming pool that would've been wonderful had I brought a suit. Ah well, we'll be back I'm sure.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-07-25 16:11:00
Middle East and North AfricaGreetings from Marrakech!
Yup, 12 August is the due date. Still gotta buy a car seat, otherwise everything's ready.

Flight yesterday was pretty decent. Typical RAM service (or lack thereof), but immigration was a breeze and so was customs. We even were able to catch an earlier flight on JetBlue and got in a full 3 hours before our original plan! My MIL was a good flier, a little nervous on takeoff & landing but afterward she said "thank God for such wonderful technology!" :)

So all's good here for the moment. :)
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-07-25 13:49:00
Middle East and North AfricaGreetings from Marrakech!
Well, I'm here in a little cybercafe next to the cinema on M'hmed V blvd. Tomorrow I fly home with the mother-in-law in time for our baby to be born.

Just thought I'd say "hi" to VJ!
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-07-23 03:50:00
Middle East and North AfricaMarriage and Divorce in a foreign country
In Malaysia some men do the "triple talaq" via text message:

I D1V0RC3 U X 3 LOL OMG
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-07-26 17:00:00
Middle East and North AfricaWhy does it seem Egyptians/Arabs don't like dogs , and does anyone have any experience with how your SO adapted to your dog once they came.
My wife didn't like my little chihuahua at first, especially cause he's not well house-broken, but she slowly warmed to him. And her mom (staying w/ us for the birth) absolutely loves him, so her attitude is similarly improving. :)
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-08-01 14:52:00
Middle East and North AfricaNew VJ baby!
QUOTE (ME~n~HIM @ Aug 19 2007, 08:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
He's beautiful!! Mabrouk!!!! Mother is doing fine, I assume... and MIL must be beside herself to be here for this joyous occasion! Happy Birthday Michael Naseem! star_smile.gif

Yes, both grandmas are here and shortly after his arrival they came in to see him. One wore a hijab, the other not, but both had the same tears of joy in their eyes.

Mom was up and about taking short walks yesterday, she's doing fine.

Thank you, everybody. smile.gif
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-08-19 09:17:00
Middle East and North AfricaNew VJ baby!
I'm cross-posting this from Off Topic, but it's appropriate I think to post here as well.

Michael Naseem Clouse was born at 0844PDT August 18, 2007.

We named him Michael cause it's a good American name, and Naseem ("beautiful wind") to reflect his Moroccan/Arab heritage.

He's beautiful, he's healthy, he's perfect.

I'm so proud and so happy. smile.gif
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-08-19 07:42:00
Middle East and North AfricaI know it took so long
You have a very beautiful baby, Salwa... But not as precious as mine!!!

/pics coming soon
//jk
///yay! 6 hrs sleep last night
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-08-24 23:12:00
Middle East and North AfricaDo I Need To Fast.
QUOTE (Jenn! @ Sep 13 2007, 02:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Can someone explain to me what the reason would be for not fasting while you are traveling on an airplane? What is the big burden? It's not like you're walking to your destination.

There's no burden in air travel? When's the last time you flew? 1977? ;)
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-09-14 09:00:00
Middle East and North AfricaDo I Need To Fast.
Here:
QUOTE (tom&tata @ Sep 13 2007, 01:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (rclouse @ Sep 13 2007, 02:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
This is one of the things I dislike so much about Islam, this splitting hairs nonsense. IMHO if you're in a situation where fasting is a hardship, then don't fast. Either make it up later or donate to charity instead.

I was reading how some sheikh said just brushing your teeth during the fasting time invalidates your fast. You've got to be fscking kidding me. LIGHTEN UP! Is God really going to send you to hell for something like that? Sheesh!

While I'm on it, the fasting start time is completely arbitrary. I found a calculation that said it was at 0523 this morning, I found another that said 0502. Guess which one I gave my MIL. Again IMHO one should get up, eat & drink what they want, then say "I intend to fast today" and start their stopwatch. 12 hours later, break fast. That way you don't have a really short one in winter and a really long one in summer, or you don't cheat and fly to Sweden in the winter and New Zealand in the summer (winter there).


I am just wondering how is it going to help the OP ?

rclouseMaleMorocco2007-09-13 14:26:00
Middle East and North AfricaDo I Need To Fast.
This is one of the things I dislike so much about Islam, this splitting hairs nonsense. IMHO if you're in a situation where fasting is a hardship, then don't fast. Either make it up later or donate to charity instead.

I was reading how some sheikh said just brushing your teeth during the fasting time invalidates your fast. You've got to be fscking kidding me. LIGHTEN UP! Is God really going to send you to hell for something like that? Sheesh!

While I'm on it, the fasting start time is completely arbitrary. I found a calculation that said it was at 0523 this morning, I found another that said 0502. Guess which one I gave my MIL. Again IMHO one should get up, eat & drink what they want, then say "I intend to fast today" and start their stopwatch. 12 hours later, break fast. That way you don't have a really short one in winter and a really long one in summer, or you don't cheat and fly to Sweden in the winter and New Zealand in the summer (winter there).
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-09-13 13:30:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe hadith is not islam!
QUOTE (chiquita @ Sep 6 2007, 05:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (mona_jamie @ Sep 6 2007, 08:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Just wanted to say that I appreciate these discussions a great deal in ways that I can't really express right now.

As for the secondary part of this thread where things have heated up a bit, I do hope the folks involved can continue to express their opinions without going personal about it. Honestly, hearing several points of view is so valuable.

I will say one thing which has frustrated me. I have been told that my English translation of the Quran will help me but that ultimately I won't understand everything I need to understand because the only real Quran is in Arabic. Okay, I can accept this, but were I to learn Arabic, were I to study Arabic through the last years of my life, I would never truly understand Arabic. My reading of the Quran would still be a translation, but instead, I would be doing the translation in my head. I believe my own translation would be far less reliable than that of scholars who have been essentially bilingual since birth and who have other scholars to agree or disagree publicly with their translation. I don't know Arabic. I was not born into a Muslim family. I didn't know any Muslims growing up. So now, if I approach Islam and the Quran from where I am, will I always get that pat on the head, "nice try, kid, but"... ? Will I always be "less than" those "born speaking" Arabic or "born into" the religion? I can answer with what I believe. What I believe is no, that God sees us as equals and will never see my questions and opinions as any less valid than those of someone who was born in a particular place or to particular parents. So my faith is between me and God, and I will go to God without fear or shame with whatever questions I have, without feeling pressured to believe this or that just because another living, breathing human being says I should. But I won't be sharing much of what I believe with other people in the real world, at least not at this time. It's too tender and too precious. Does it make sense that the Bible and the Quran can both move me to tears, that when I pray I believe I am praying to the God that I know from the Bible and that he is the same as the God who gave the Quran? But people murder each other over this! Maybe a naive statement for me to make -- it's something a kid will say, "Why are they fighting?" The problem is that nobody ever answers the kid.

Years ago, I made a comment about current events that my uncle disagreed with. His response was that since I had not lived through World War II, I would never really understand how the world works, and therefore my opinions about politics, international relations, all of that, were not as valid as his own. Okay, so, boom, now he has won every argument we will ever have. I never felt any desire to express an opinion to him after that day. I feel the same frustration when the trump card in an argument is language or background or "because God says so." You don't speak it or you weren't born into it. Therefore, your opinions will always have less weight than someone else's. I can accept this when it comes to sociology, to understanding man-made traditions and so on. But in matters of religion, I simply do not believe the God who made us all equal intended to set us against each other that way. So I'm still muddling through that mess when it comes to learning about Islam, and Christianity as well, for that matter. And I'm not going to give up based on games of semantics that people want to play with each other and which, in my opinion, guide us away from the true message.

Maybe this doesn't belong on VJ, but there's really no other place I can express it. So thanks for listening, and back to topic...



honestly---you took the words right out of my mouth!! every word speaks from my heart as well.

chi

Wow, I didn't notice this one.

THIS.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-09-07 14:35:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe hadith is not islam!
I don't have the time (unfortunately) to read this whole thread, but I would like to say that I think that individual hadith should be followed only if it makes sense to you. For example, this hadith makes absolutely no sense to me:

Book 38, Number 4348:

Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas:

A blind man had a slave-mother who used to abuse the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and disparage him. He forbade her but she did not stop. He rebuked her but she did not give up her habit. One night she began to slander the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and abuse him. So he took a dagger, placed it on her belly, pressed it, and killed her. A child who came between her legs was smeared with the blood that was there. When the morning came, the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) was informed about it.

He assembled the people and said: I adjure by Allah the man who has done this action and I adjure him by my right to him that he should stand up. Jumping over the necks of the people and trembling the man stood up.

He sat before the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: Apostle of Allah! I am her master; she used to abuse you and disparage you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not abandon her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and she was my companion. Last night she began to abuse and disparage you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed her.

Thereupon the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Oh be witness, no retaliation is payable for her blood.


Source.

Basically, if you want to kill someone, do so and say s/he was insulting the Prophet. You'll get away with murder.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-09-06 17:12:00
Middle East and North AfricaKiss - Because Im A Girl
I'll give you my eyes!


rclouseMaleMorocco2007-09-27 10:41:00
Middle East and North AfricaDoes Islam allow Muslim men to marry Christian women?
QUOTE (Jenn! @ Oct 2 2007, 03:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
"The faith encourages thinking and reason, but dogma has taken over and some Muslims refuse to think or question anything."

Is that better?

wacko.gif

The same things could be said for pretty much any faith IMO.

THIS.

I never meant to say ALL Muslims are unthinking robots. Just a lot, when it comes to matters of faith. ;) I have a lot of questions and I don't get them answered; I'm told to stop thinking and just do it. Sorry, that may be the way you were raised, but not me.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-10-02 15:26:00
Middle East and North AfricaDoes Islam allow Muslim men to marry Christian women?
QUOTE (peezey @ Oct 2 2007, 09:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
This might be one of the worst, biggest generalizations I've heard in a long time.

Furthermore, the doctor just doesn't fast, end of story. It's not a freaking hardship for an ob/gyn to fast. Men who work in the desert all day in 115 degree weather fast while they work all day. A doctor in a US office in air conditioning doesn't fast because she doesn't want to, not because it's a dang hardship. And, if she chooses not to fast, that doesn't mean she isn't a real Muslim, it means that's her choice in her faith, and it's quite serious to call people out as a hypocrite, something I would think people would at least refrain from during Ramadan.

I completely disagree with your first point. It is a hardship for a doctor to fast, especially one who's on call at all hours. I'd hate to have a car accident at 6:00pm and be brought to the air conditioned emergency room where the Muslim doctor has been fasting all day and is ready to pass out from thirst and hunger.
rclouseMaleMorocco2007-10-02 10:07:00