ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Middle East and North AfricaThose who lived in Morocco or who are living in Morocco.
Let me add something maybe interesting, my family has a house in Sale Eljadida,there is no french school there.french school are located mostly in big cities, Rabat, casablanca, agadir,marrakesh,tangier...sale eljadida is a new small town and no private big french school there.i`ve been there many times since the whole city was built.Public schools are free and even better.

Edited by rachbel, 09 November 2010 - 08:14 PM.

rachbelMaleMorocco2010-11-09 20:14:00
Middle East and North AfricaThose who lived in Morocco or who are living in Morocco.
Why dont you enroll your son at the public school? most successful students in Morocco come from public school

French schools are so expensive wherever you go in Morocco,public school staff is more experienced than any private school.i can guarantee that for you.

Edited by rachbel, 09 November 2010 - 10:05 AM.

rachbelMaleMorocco2010-11-09 10:04:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe Occupation of Western Sahara
Dolphin,Do not reply or answer this lady , her intention is to make trouble between neighbours, do not fall into her trap, she knows nothing of north africa,it`s clear from the way she is talking. nobody denies Algeria as a great nation and if anyone knows that in the world it`s Morocco because we shared it with them and we lived it with them.Sahara is a political problem , will be solved soon or later.
This topic should have been closed by the moderator of this forum, i do not know why he/she didnt do.
we love Algeria and its people and history, they love us too,and if someone has any sympathy for the Polizario he/she better go and hang-in-there with them.
rachbelMaleMorocco2010-11-12 10:12:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe Occupation of Western Sahara
AND [font="Arial"]Finally i want to say that i do not want to discuss a topic that may cause misunderstanding between neigbours on this discussion Board, would be better if you choosed another topic instead of surfing in politics. Polticis is like a swimming pool, everybody swimms in it the way he /she wants.
Good luck to you in your visajourney.Am done with this topic.
rachbelMaleMorocco2010-11-03 19:03:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe Occupation of Western Sahara

First and foremost, until Morocco invaded the Western Sahara, pushing refugees with napalm into Algeria, there was no conflict between the two. The frontier remains shut but Oran remains a center of commerce and there are many illegal Moroccans living in Oran and working in Oran because of the poverty on the frontier. Even though there are no direct connections between the 2 countries, people holding dual nationality bring goods back and forth into Algeria and the people living in the frontier share family ties as well as commerce.

Algeria is spending 400000 dollars a year lobbying the US government. Morocco has spent over 3.5 million dollars over the last couple of years lobbying congress. Algeria is not presently in violation over 100 UN referendums. Morocco is. The US played it smart. When it was time to build a base to over see the hunt for Al qaeda in the magreb, they did not choose Morocco. They chose Tamranasset, Algeria. The US apparently know that Algeria is much more important to us strategically than Morocco.

The reason Algeria and Morocco have been at war is quite simply because of the invasion of western sahara. The US is not on your borders. Your problems is ongoing and its not about personal relations. Its about a 35 year illegal occupation of a sovereign country and the subsequent human rights violations being carried out daily against the people of western sahara. Amnesty International has documented over 50 incidents since Sept 2010 including rape, torture, police brutality and the number of saharaouis still missing are in the hundreds. The EU has called for a stop to any licensing to the moroccan government for licenses involving fishing and phosphates in the western sahara.

Dear , you seem you know nothing , and i do not know from where you bringing these informations, or you just invent them. The Africom base is in Tan tan Morocco. what strategically place are you talking about? Have you located Morocco on the map or never?.
Second.Moroccans and Algerians are in love, for whatever happened before,, we always shake hands and embrace each other,because we shared the past and we share the present and we`ll share the future, either you want it my dear friend or not, it`s our destiny.we`ll always be together especially in the most difficult time.
You`ll need to correct your informations , they are all wrong.
Morocco has been always a very good friend to all the world,we have very good relations with everybody,and we have very wise politicians.Thanks God.
Here is the link that will show you that your informations are completely wrong.
http://cabalamuse.wo...-tan-confirmed/

Edited by rachbel, 03 November 2010 - 06:57 PM.

rachbelMaleMorocco2010-11-03 18:57:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe Occupation of Western Sahara

What do you even really know about Algeria? Did you know that Algeria was the only arab country to successfully throw out a coloniser? They were at war with France for over a 130 years in which a million algerians died. Morocco avoided that by co operating with the French and the only part of Morocco that fought back against Spain and France was Napalmed ( ABDEL KRIM AND THE WAR OF THE RIFF). There are several ruling families in Morocco and an extreme concentration of wealth and Algeria does not have a king. Its a revolutionary state. You have to really understand that while you think Morocco has some kind of claim to western sahara, they walked down into the land and essentially told the people there that it was now Morocco. Even teachers in Morocco, poor people, all donated money to the western sahara to build roads, schools etc. Moroccans have invested alot in Western Sahara. But if you take a look at the gross human rights violations in Layoune and the fact that the people that are actually native to there have little influence on how their country is governed and that there natural resources are sold off to Europe without any of the money benefitting the natives, its not much different than what we Americans did to the American Indians.

I hardly think that any saharaoui is truly happy with the level of abuse they are dished out on a daily basis. For Gods sake, Morocco does not even allow foreign journalists to report from Western Sahara. There is a media black out there. That hardly sounds fair.


They are two totally different cultures. Algeria has a wealth of history from the byzantines,the Romans, the vandals, berbers, turks,sephardic jews not to mention the imprint the pied noirs left on the country. Algeria has been actively fighting invaders where as Morocco cooperated with them

My dear, i love Algeria, and i love Algerians, and everybody knows about the sacrifice they did to get their independenace,and Moroccan did also the same,and tunisians and lybians did the same,nobody deny that,we are all brothers and sisters, and we helped each other.and all the leaders of the resistance were settled in Oujda(Moroccan city by the borders) including the actual president who is bouteflika, do you know that he was Born in Oujda Morocco , maybe you do not know that ? but all Algerians know that.
I came from the place of Abdelkarim alkhatabi and i know his life and history better than you.
You can not know the history of north africa better than me, you may be dreaming,you do not even know that the first country to recognize the independance of the USA was Morocco.Add it to your notebook.
and to your knowldege i studied the American history for 4 years.
Do not try to create ennemies between Moroccans and Algerians , you`lll not succedd simpply because both are tired of this games.nobody wants another country on the borders.
rachbelMaleMorocco2010-11-02 19:48:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe Occupation of Western Sahara
i just noticed that your name is Ahmed. like me :).are you Algerian? north african? nice to meet you, give your brother a vote by clicking on this link
http://wildfireapp.c...868?ogn=website
rachbelMaleMorocco2010-10-31 18:25:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe Occupation of Western Sahara

So, according to your logic, when Morocco was under the French protectorate, it was inexistent as a country.

Protectorate does not deny a country.Protectorate say it itself, means simply a superior power to PROTECT an independant Country. it`s Not a colony.
Beleive me, if the Moroccans and Algerians were left alone to deal with this issue without the greed of the west, we would be one of the most influencial countries in the world.we have all the sources to complete each other and make a better living, than to create another piece of land to separate us and make more problems for us.the power nowadays is in reuniting not separating. what do you think Polizario will bring to Algeria or Morocco? or to the whole Maghreb? Just trouble and more drama.most who claim themselves to be Sahrawi are poor peaple coming from central africa, to work for few coins, they have no relation to Algeria or Morocco or Sahara ,All sahrawi are in Laayoune their capital,having a perfect life with their Moroccan brothers including most of their leaders.
rachbelMaleMorocco2010-10-31 18:20:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe Occupation of Western Sahara

A person who believes Algeria did not exist in 1884 is ignorant. Sorry, I thought you were here to discuss politics. I thought the whole issue is a political one.

I assume you didnt understand my post.nobody said Algeria didnt exist as a land ,you need to put any statement within its political,social context before calling peaple ignorant.i said Algeria was under the OTTOMAN authority,was governed by OTTOMAN empire.means was not considered a country , it was just a state under the OTTOMAN EMPIRE since 1517, they ruled it for 4 centuries.Morocco was considered a country and could not be invaded by OTTOMAN empire .
i hope i could make it clear.Algeria was part of OTTOMAN EMPIRE.then the french occupation came and Algeria was considered part of Paris. until 1962,after so many sacrifices of the true nationalist of Algeria who gave their lives for Algeria and maybe none remember them.
rachbelMaleMorocco2010-10-31 16:25:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe Occupation of Western Sahara

So according to you, the proof is the word of a Moroccan pilot (an ignorant one who thinks that in 1884 Algeria did not exist)? Still I don't see clearly from what you just posted how Algeria is the cause of the problem.
In Morocco, you are taught that the reason the conflict between Morocco and the Sahara is not solved is because of external forces, namely Algeria, but the real reason is that Morocco does not want to abide by the international rules. Algeria doesn't hold its own unique position about this issue, Algeria supports the U.N. resolutions.
In your previous post you said "if we let people chose." That's exactly the position of Algeria; a referendum, but Morocco has been delaying it.
When Spain withdrew from the Sahara, it's Morocco and Mauritania who attacked it not Algeria. Algeria found itself with thousands of Sahrawi refugees after the brutal oppression by the King's Army.
Please, if you want to post anything, try to list neutral sources, not the usual Moroccan propaganda that always blame everything on Algeria.

First when you want to post never say somebody is "Ignorant",you must either be not familiar with the area or talking with more emotions . you should give respect to a soldier whose duty is to defend his country. The whole north Africa including Algeria was under the OTTOMAN AUTHORITY, EXCEPT MOROCCO,WAS RECOGNIZED AS A STATE and never submitted to the OTTOMAN authority..then comes the french occupation i think 1830.
Am not here to discuss political issues,am not qualified for that and you do not seems qualified either,i`ve nothing against Algerienn ppl, i`ve so many very good friends and i lived with them,and my uncle is ALGERIENNE,they love Moroccans , and we love them.
there is no neutral source in Politic, do you have any neutral source? how and since when?are you kidding me? the only thing i knew and the world knows and confirm is that before 1860 Sahara was not an empty wasted land. and that Morocco was the only recognized state governing it in North africa.
rachbelMaleMorocco2010-10-31 11:22:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe Occupation of Western Sahara

How is "Algeria supporting and causing the problem"?

Here is a simple good answer that show how Algeria support and caus the problem.this the feedback of a moroccan prisonner in Sahara.i just found it by chance on the net .
"My Name is Ali Najab, I am a ex-Moroccan Fighter Pilot who spent 25 years in Tindouf in Algeria as a prisoner of War.
Question: Is Algeria directly involved in Sahara Conflict or not? The answer is YES indeed!!!!!Otherwise Algeria and those who support its policy should answer these Questions:
1-Why did Boumedienne send his 4 battalions to the Sahara in November 1975even before the Moroccan troops got there.The whole world knows that 106 Algerian soldiers were taken prisoner of war in Amgala in the middle of the Western Sahara in January 1976.
2-The Moroccan prisoners were always questioned by Algerian Officer. It was the case of myself: as soon as I arrived in Tindouf 4 Algerian Officers took me to the Algerian Head Quarters in Tindouf where I spent 55 days being many times tortured.
3-The Moroccan prisoner were held in Algeria.So Algeria was the main responsible for the torture and inhuman treatments We went through during a quarter of century:
-We were forced to do hard works.
-they made us to live in Holes without shilters under the summer hot sun and the very cold winter without any blankets.
-We were forced to give our own blood to the enemy hospitals.
-We were denied adequate food or medical care.
- we were forced to read propaganda in their radio against our country.Any time we refused we were tortured and put in cells for months.Some of us died in their cells.
-At any escape attempt Algerian helicopters were to search for us and when we were re-captured we were automatically tortured and put in cells until death.
- Any time they present us to the Press if our answers did not please either the Algerians or the polisario we were severely punished( torture and cell)
We have buried ourselves 46 of our fellow countrymen who mostly died under torture.
We have mentioned to the International Red Cross (ICRC) when they visited us in 1994 (3 years after the sease-fire) that about 56 articles of the Geneva third Convention were violated by both Algeria and polisario.
If Algeria pretends that She is not taking part in the Conflict why the algerian second desk had taken 476 moroccan prisoners to the north of Algeria ( Blida, boufarik, Boughar) near Algiers. 150 of them were exchanged against 106 algerian prisoners the rest was sent back to the polisario in 1994.
Why Moroccan prisoners were held 13 years after the ceasefire which is a violation of the Geneva Convention which stipulate that prisoners of war must be released immediately after the ceasefire.
According to the article number 1 of the UN convention about torture,there was not a day in which Moroccan POWs were not tortured.
Finally, I'll tell this to Messieurs Halim and Mourad who probably are Algerians:
In 1884 when Spain started colonizing the south of Morocco, was the Sahara( which was not called Western Sahara by the way!)terra nillus? the answer is of course NO.
So at that time which country was a Power or State in the region capable of governing these populations?
Was it Algeria? Algeria did not exist at that time. Was it Mauritania? It did not exist at time. Was it Mali? Mali did not exist at that time. The Only Country which was organized as a State was MOROCCO. It's enough for today!
rachbelMaleMorocco2010-10-31 08:56:00
Middle East and North AfricaThe Occupation of Western Sahara

Morocco did not offer them autonomy. They invaded them. They sent 350000 people on a march and sent settlers in to live much like Israelis did to the Palestinians.

The referendum/autonomy that Morocco is offering the saharaouis is be quiet,we will take your resources, we will not put your leaders in jail, we will hold the beatings of college students and protestors to a minimum. And while we are at it, maybe autonomy will cut into the 3.5 million Morocco has spent lobbying congress to turn their backs on the saharaouis and the over 100 UN resolutions for a free and independent western sahara. How is the polisario more brutal than the Moroccans who threw Napalm on them and imprisoned their leaders, kidnapped members of the leadership and basically made people disappear. In fairness to Morocco, the polisario held Moroccan military hostage for years and years but they in return have missing people and are consistantly subjected to torture and abuse...

Western Sahara was always Moroccan,and will be always,at a time countries are reunited to become more strong,some peaple are still calling for a 100 persons independance, this is soo funny.it`s all about greed and the problem was not Morocco, the problem was Spain, france and all those who invaded africa at a time, torn it and turn it into pieces to control it.if we were left as we were we wouldnt be like this,we would have gone far with the "great almaghrib" but the west never want that happen.Western sahara is a problem created by Spain to continue its domination.
it`s bad that Algerian leaders are supporting and causing this problem, while all of her leaders during the resistence were getting help from Morocco,and living in Morocco, and even some have studied in Morocco.
if the peaple were left to their choices, Morocco and algeria , tunisia, lybia,egypt, mouritania would be one country without borders.
The leader of Polisario was studying in Marrakesh having a Moroccan schoolarship .
rachbelMaleMorocco2010-10-28 10:05:00
Middle East and North AfricaApproved!!!!
Congratulations Brother...
rachbelMaleMorocco2010-10-28 10:11:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA making one upset....

Assalaamu'Alaykum/Salutations:

I hope this finds everyone okay. I'm just wondering, has of the women that are engaged or married to their MENA men can upset you with their tempers to where you just want to withdrawal the petition?

MM

You better be with the one who show his real temper either it makes you happy or upset than being with the one who hide it to reach what he wants:) and i`ve seen and meet a lot of this kind of peaple who hide their real faces. be patient and Best luck to you.
rachbelMaleMorocco2010-11-01 09:11:00
Middle East and North Africabiometric moroccan passport
As Squeaky mentioned, try to see if they have a " mobile consulate", i`ve heard they startedthat in California to reach all Morrocans. i think the best answer that can help you will come from the association of Moroccans in Texas, here is the link if you want to contact the Board.am sure they`ll be so helpful because they get updated about everything concerning the consulate or the embassy.
http://www.moroccoboard.com/contact
rachbelMaleMorocco2010-09-12 09:50:00
Middle East and North Africabiometric moroccan passport
Morocco is now issueing new biometric passport, if your passport is old and you want to renew it you`ll need to go to the consulate in NY and get your fingerprint there, you`lll mostly get your new passpoprt in 1 hour, and if you have your old mOROCCAN id( carte nationale) take it with you and ask them to replace it with the new one. The new ID will be sent to you in the mail in less than a month for sure.
Conclusion, you`ll need to travel to NY and get your new passport done. Best of luck.
rachbelMaleMorocco2010-09-11 19:26:00
Middle East and North Africaquestions for those of you with experience in Morocco
there is so many certified translators in Sale and Rabat( near Bad al Had) especially. he can go to anyone who does translate from arabic to english, it cost 120 Dirhames for each document.make sure there is no mistakes on the translated documents, verify them carefully caus they do a lot of mistakes very often.
for k-1 they do not ask for affidavit of support when interviewd,they`ll ask for it after your get married here in the states,but to avoid any delay or problem , you fill the I-134 form , it should be certified but a US notary , send it to your fiance in Morocco, he`ll have to take it with him to his interview .
Good luck to you.
rachbelMaleMorocco2011-02-12 10:36:00
Middle East and North AfricaProtests in Morocco
We,Moroccans love our king, We are blessed, and things are getting so much better the last 10 years.
Morocco can not be compared to what`s i going on tunisia or egypt.totaly different.
rachbelMaleMorocco2011-02-12 10:52:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
salam o alikoum !! im thinking to follow you girls .... i really want to put hijjab inchalah , but first i should not cut my prayers all the time :-(
SihamFemaleMorocco2009-08-30 16:17:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
rajaa_reda i sent you a private message but cant get ur answer !! need ur help

salam
SihamFemaleMorocco2009-08-16 14:44:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
is there anyone from PA ? my husband lives in Pennsylvania , i'd like to have friends from there before i go !
SihamFemaleMorocco2009-08-16 07:29:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
salam everyone , im new in this forum smile.gif
wishing you happy ramadan !!!!!
SihamFemaleMorocco2009-08-16 03:38:00
Middle East and North Africathe magicjack

I work for a VoIP company, a competitor of magic jack, there is a couple of reasons for the "robot voice" that you are experiencing:
First is latency and bandwidth, you have to make sure that your connection speed is at least 1 Mbps and your latency should be low to Magic Jack's
proxy servers (contact Magic Jack and ask for their proxy IP address and then ping it from the computer you are using MJ from, if its over 300-350ms you
might have problems.)

Another thing is, at least in my opinion, the MJ device itself is poor quality as it utilizes a cheap USB device. I recommend Trying Google phone as stated
earlier in this thread.


Thanks for your information, i checked the video for Google phone but i didnt find that "CALL PHONE OPTION" on my chat area !! do i need to unstall some additional software to be able to use Google phone ?
Moroccan wifeFemaleMorocco2010-12-16 05:01:00
Middle East and North Africathe magicjack

why don't you try google phone it's free for calling In USA, just need to creat a account on gmail, and enjoy free calling to USA,


Can you provide a link to that google phone and how can i use it, i wanna call my hubby's mobile.
Moroccan wifeFemaleMorocco2010-12-15 12:22:00
Middle East and North Africathe magicjack
I heard of the magical magicjack tool to make free calls to the US and Canada, does anyone here have some information about that technic (Price, Method of working,...).
Moroccan wifeFemaleMorocco2010-12-15 11:30:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
QUOTE (LuLu @ Aug 1 2008, 09:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
During Hajj, both are together. When they circle the kabbah, they are side by side.


Yeah, I knew that too, it is just an infrastructure thing, too much chaos to even attempt to organize that aspect of it I guess. I don't like the whole women's balcony idea or whatever they do today in modern mosques, because that just gives the women license to talk during the khotba which makes me FURIOUS but I can't say anything about it because then my prayer will be invalid. I don't go to jumuah here in Morocco because they speak too fast. I do go when I'm in the States and if I keep having problems with the women who won't zip it, I'm going to request to the mosque director to let any women who want to, to be able to sit behind the men downstairs during the khotba to hear the imam. Let's see how that goes. headbonk.gif Then once the khotba's over I'll go run back to the women's section to hang out with the ladies lol.
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-08-02 05:42:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
QUOTE (Rajaa_Reda @ Jun 30 2008, 07:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
perhaps both are right here.... awww the tea on the table, the sounds of the street below, the call to prayer in the air... I miss it there


"L yidin y zamro" That's what they say out here which loosely translates to "it's the hands that whistle" meaning the hands that play the flute, metaphorically meaning the hands that make the food. It's hard to explain cultural expressions from other languages, but you know what they're trying to say right Rajaa? I'm sure Casa misses you too. star_smile.gif When are you coming back? Btw BIL and wife and kids are here! Alhamdulillah. I am not crazy about mint tea anymore after it being placed on the table every morning and every afternoon. Twice a day, they're killing me. crying.gif I can't eat or drink ANYTHING twice a day every day! I need a wide variety. I started to revolt and drink soda or juice when everyone else drinks tea. I'm like, weird. To each his own, it's all about being happy and comfortable to me! kicking.gif
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-06-30 09:35:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
Hey guys my BIL is coming into town tomorrow for a month, I'm getting nervous about having house guests. wacko.gif Gonna mop everything tonight. Let the games begin.
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-06-28 10:01:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
QUOTE (Virtual wife @ Jun 27 2008, 03:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
With all due respect, the folks at Islamqa throughly enjoy pronouncing haram things that have not been made haram by Allah, the only One who can declare something haram. It also employs the political tactic of declaring anything they disagree with as "western" (read: modern), as tho being non-Western is more Islamic than being western. Allah was not concerned with dictating that Muslims follow Arab practices - recalled in the fatwa (a legal opinion we is free to adopt, discern, or disregard) by the tradition of calling people "‘ibn’ (son of) or ‘ibnatu’ (daughter of) between their own names and the name of their fathers."

Islam was sent to all parts of the earth, and, frankly, it is not an Arab faith, nor are we required to take on Arab cultural affectations to be a good Muslims. Just as the Message was transmitted and prayers offered in many languages before Arabic became the norm, the practices of other cultures were allowed to be interpreted within the Message as long as it did not corrupt it.

The bottom line is, the explanation for a wife not changing her name to her husband's is that she "belongs" to her father, as children from her marriage belong to their father. Her lineage is subordinated to her husband's; it is his that is central to the family. The argument is that a woman is to keep a family name only for the purpose of making it clear which man she "belongs to"; an adjunct position is that upon marriage, she takes on her husband's status and preferences, and moves to his home (Islam, in this mode is portrayed as patrilineal and patrilocal), thus becoming his appendage, defined by him.

This view can only be accepted if one also believes that, in Islam, women are defined by men, and not by God, that Islam inherently adheres to patriarchal norms found in Arab cultures, and that "western" is unIslamic and "non-western" is Islamic. Political resistance to the concept that one can be Muslim and western (modern), and that Muslim practice does not always equal ancient Arab practice has done much to preclude an honest discussion re interpreting the texts in a way that allows for Muslims of all stripes and cultures to make legitimate contributions to the ummah without having to bow to the perceived "authenticity" of a mere 18% of the Muslim world that is Arab in practice.


Woo-hoo! Good for you, I agree with everything you just said. I too find it intensely irritating when American/Western cultural practices are deemed unIslamic or haram, but all of the haram Arab or Indonesian or Indian etc. practices are overlooked. Some people here think that you have to act exactly as the Arabs do and if not then you're being fully Muslim. My husband told me it's haram to pray in pants. Mind you, loose long pants, not butt-tight jeans! Can you or anyone else shed light on that one? I've seen truckloads of women praying in pants in the masjids in California and my husband looked at me like I said they were all praying without wearing scarves. It's interesting how people pay attention to minute details that are not necessarily as important as other details, like improving your actual faith, praying on time, etc. I just feel like people over here are focusing so much on the little practices and rituals instead of actually being spiritual, are they subconsciously trying to avoid it?
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-06-27 10:14:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
Hey guys we got our NOA2 today and we got approved! My mom scanned it and e-mailed it to me. I'm SO excited right now!
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-06-26 14:46:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
QUOTE (sarahaziz @ Jun 16 2008, 10:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Jealous girls are worse though!! Usually of shaytan. This girl from my university saw my husband and always looks at him when we walk by hand in hand in downtown next to school and he didn't know she liked him. Today she asked me who he was and how long we been together and I said "we been together for couple of days now" and she says ohh ok I was just making sure cause I remember dancing with him at my party 2 months ago! But don't tell him bc I was drunk and might have done something. Wow I didn't know he could come and go thru USA and Algeria like that laughing.gif I told my spouse he was so angry and asked what she looked like so he could slap her and talk to her parents. Yeah as much as I'd like that it doesn't work like that here. no0pb.gif


Daaaaaang that's triflin...and many other adjectives. That's funny you guys hold hands, my husband and I never touch each other in front of people over here, and I think he'll still be like that in the States even if he sees people all up on each other, because that's just the way he is. I had to warn him about my family members so that they don't catch him off guard lol. His family is very *shy*. If I knew a girl liked my husband, I'd keep HIM locked up in the house and make him wear hijab! Because like I said, chicks can be triflin...and don't forget that there's nothing that a shaytan loves more than to cause problems between a husband and wife, so let's keep our wits about us.
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-06-16 18:20:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
QUOTE (Rajaa @ Jun 16 2008, 12:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (palilover @ Jun 15 2008, 05:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
yes I think the bad jealousy is no good. you know, the kind where the guy accuses you of sleeping with every guy just because you talk to a guy. Well, being flirtatious is no good as there is a fine line. but I think we can all agree that if a woman lives in the western world, she will without a doubt come into contact with men.
but the good kind of jealousy I do not believe has a literal translation into English and that is why we call it jealousy. The arabic word I'm speaking of is gheerah.

In fact, I tased my husband about this last night:) He was kinda cute:)

Me: I forget how I know 971 is country code for Jordan". (and I begin to crank my brain cuz I hate it when I forget where I come up with things)
Habibi: oh......ok habibi you are smart girl"
Me: Oh yeah. I know. <making a bad face> "About 5 years ago before I was a Muslim I talked to a stupid Iraqi guy and he was living in Jordan so thats how I know."
Habibi (his ears perk up when he hears "another guy" uh oh big uh oh) "Habibi dont say that. I am jealous now.." (and he said jealous as jee-ay-lus...cuz he did not nkow how to say it in english:)
After I assured him it was 5 years ago, LONG BEFORE HIM he was fine, lol


lol... yeah gheerah??? tell me more what that means? Mine likes it when I say things he hasn't taught me to him...

mine likes to believe I didn't have a life before him..


Me too! Especially when I say funny things like "you're annoying" or "geez who can put up with you?" when we're joking around! Mine doesn't necessarily like to believe I didn't have a life before him, but anything concerning members of the male persuasion, he passes on the information, doesn't even want to know general things, let alone details, because like you all were saying, he's jealous, but in the good kind of way, the way you would hope your spouse would be jealous over you. If not, that might be a problem! Such a fine line though. I like to know things though, especially details about the family history. I've uncovered quote some stories via my MIL, things my husband didn't even know, like when he was being born he almost suffocated, and his grandma was divorced before she married his grandfather, lots of good stuff. He was surprised that I knew things about his family that he didn't even know, but I'm way into family histories. I want to compile a notebook of stories of our families so my kids can know what happened way back when.
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-06-16 09:29:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
QUOTE (palilover @ Jun 14 2008, 12:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Rajaa @ Jun 14 2008, 01:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
rolleyes.gif That's soooo funny even though i ate slow they still watched what and how much I ate.. .Koli Rajaa Koli... always the same. Finally I told my husband "do you want a fat wife??" now when they say that to me he tells them that I'll eat if I am hungry and to leave me alone. LOL..


what's kuli kuli?
you know my husband even when we are alone is this way as well. I am by default a slow eater (esp the more full I get, lol) and when we are alone, he will see if I dont have something on my plate. And he will say "Habibi eat this" and put it on my plate;) My husband wants me to stay skinny but if he keeps feeding me the way he does alone, I will be fatter than a tank!!!! smile.gif


Kuli or kooli is the command verb for "eat" for a woman and "kool" is for a man, and "kooloo" is plural. I believe it's the same in Pali dialect because it's the same in classical Arabic as well. As for me eating, I'm a decent size, not overweight but not a toothpick either, and my husband keeps telling me to eat more so that I can GAIN weight! I'm like you're crazy, being big is so not cool from where I come from, and he's like yeah well you're in an Arab country and we like women a little bigger out here! It's true too, because I've successfully been trying to lose weight, and now everybody's been asking me if I'm okay, if I'm sick, because people only lose weight if they're sick! SO funny. They're also afraid of my mom thinking that they're not feeding me out here when she comes to visit next month, but little do they know that she'll probably congratulate me on my weight loss! It's so funny, the beauty standards of each country/culture and how much they can be polar opposites sometimes.

So is it heating up for anyone? I finally broke down and gave in and brought my fan out of storage, I was trying to hold out but I'm not getting a draft coming through my bedroom (on the 2nd floor) so that's not good. Well summer's begun for me I guess! I've also been daily taking my naps, because it's a little too hot from about 2-4. I always thought it was only the Spanish who take their "siesta" but Moroccans do too! What about you guys Henia, wach tdirou la sieste kol mor lftor? Ila makanch les invitées bien sur! laughing.gif
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-06-14 15:22:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
QUOTE (palilover @ Jun 12 2008, 07:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
What is the secret to letting them know you are full without being rude? I feel so bad if I have to deny becaues I'm full because I feel like I'm hurting their feelings. but I do not eat as much as I did when I was younger and if I get too full, I make myself sick:( ANd it's even more rude i think to spew guts all over the MIL's floor isnt it? AUGH!!! I can imagine the HORROR of my MIL and my brother in laws wife's at that! smile.gif It'd be a combination of "OMG, an american cannot handle our food!" and "OMG we have to clean THAT!" lol I WOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO STEP FOOT IN PALESTINE AGAIN:(
The oddest bathroom exp. I had there was that 1.) They don't understand toilet paper because they have the spicket thingies from the toilet. I was no I am american and I use toilet paper. Of course I did not know how to say it in arabic, nor did I know where they hid it so that made it even more awkward. But some of the girls would actually follow me to the bathroom. Not inside but they would wait at the door for me to get out and statre at me. Is that normal?smile.gif


The reason why they push food on you (hey Henia, kuli kuli!!!) is because feeding you is their way of showing honor to their guests, so by them constantly wanting to feed you and paying attention to when your plate/glass gets near empty, it's their respectful duty to keep up on that, because over here, a woman would be offended if they DIDN'T say kuli kuli because that would mean that they didn't care about her!!! So you won't be offending them at all when you're full, it's more so that they are trying to not offend YOU by "neglecting" you, if you will. Did that make sense? wacko.gif I know kind of weird because Americans don't push food on their guests, they'll set it out and then it's up to you if you want to eat it or not. But waiting on your guests hand and foot out here at least is how we respect and honor our guests, and anything less than that will offend our guests and let them know we don't care much for them. But you know, even though I fully 100% understand this, sometimes the kuli kuli still gets to me when they catch me off guard! What we have to do is just take our vengeance and dish it right back out at them. So I tell my MIL and definitely guests kuli kuli all the time, and whenever I say "kuli, marhababik!" they practically fall out of their chairs with joy! Try that next time, you'll blow them away!
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-06-13 17:48:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
QUOTE (Alhamdulillah @ Jun 12 2008, 03:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (April and Mohamed @ Jun 12 2008, 06:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (palilover @ Jun 11 2008, 09:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
In Palestine (at least my husban'ds house) the men and women can all have guets over. the houses are so big there that teh men take up one side and women stay in kitchen. Sometimes they go into the tv room to watch tv but thats it. But I only like staying in the kitchen when they are making food:) lol


Yeah, I forgot to mention that when it's the immediate family, we do all eat together, like my husband's brother and uncles and cousins, there's no problem there, we all eat at the same table even. Which is good because I love talking to his uncles and brother. Some families I know don't even "mix" company even when it's the immediate family members! My husband's family is traditional and conservative but not in the extreme, not to a point of overkill alhamdulillah, and the guys always have different topics of conversation so I like to mix it up a bit now and then. My brother-in-law is coming out in 3 weeks insha'Allah! I'll be busy in the kitchen in the hopes of giving my MIL more time to spend with him and his wife and their two kids. We're thinking of hiring a maid for two weeks to help out because we're going to have 6 house guests all at once for two weeks and it's just going to be a circus! kicking.gif headbonk.gif helpsmilie.gif I love the chaos though, it makes me feel alive.

In Libya the houses are set up so that the men who visit don't need to have access to the main house to visit with the men there. They come in and there's a big room they stay in. They have a bathroom and everything and then at the end of the hallway there is a door that leads into the main house where the women are. So basically the men have a room and the women have the whole rest of the house laughing.gif
I've been trying to set up something similar to this design at my own house but it presents a problem since the bathroom is in the back of the house, so no matter what, if someone has to use it, they have to come thru the rest of the house.
When we have guests I usually take the women in the kitchen and we leave the men in the living room alone. I put up a sheet in the door way that separates the two rooms (I don't know why there isn't a door there rolleyes.gif ) and if my husband has guests and I don't, I just stay in my room until they leave.
What do you other women do with your houses? How do you set this separation design in your home here in the states?


That's funny you mention that because generally over here if you're not immediate family or very close cousins or whatever, you won't dare use someone's WC out of "heshooma", because one time I had to go and my MIL told me not to and I was like I can't hold it woman you're crazy! And I made them leave "tea" from a friend's house early because nature was calling! LOL So that's how we do, or don't do, restrooms for guests. So funny compared to the States, I was telling my husband that we don't even mind about doing all our business in the WC at someone else's house and he looked at me as if I said that we normally plant C4 bombs in friends' restrooms! LOL
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-06-12 13:09:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
QUOTE (palilover @ Jun 11 2008, 09:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
In Palestine (at least my husban'ds house) the men and women can all have guets over. the houses are so big there that teh men take up one side and women stay in kitchen. Sometimes they go into the tv room to watch tv but thats it. But I only like staying in the kitchen when they are making food:) lol


Yeah, I forgot to mention that when it's the immediate family, we do all eat together, like my husband's brother and uncles and cousins, there's no problem there, we all eat at the same table even. Which is good because I love talking to his uncles and brother. Some families I know don't even "mix" company even when it's the immediate family members! My husband's family is traditional and conservative but not in the extreme, not to a point of overkill alhamdulillah, and the guys always have different topics of conversation so I like to mix it up a bit now and then. My brother-in-law is coming out in 3 weeks insha'Allah! I'll be busy in the kitchen in the hopes of giving my MIL more time to spend with him and his wife and their two kids. We're thinking of hiring a maid for two weeks to help out because we're going to have 6 house guests all at once for two weeks and it's just going to be a circus! kicking.gif headbonk.gif helpsmilie.gif I love the chaos though, it makes me feel alive.
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-06-12 05:42:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
QUOTE (Henia @ Jun 11 2008, 05:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Here too, in Algeria women rule the roost. Men are basically "displaced" to sit on the corner stoop or in the cafe. Esp, when I know these are unemployed men. I have a neighbour, who is pregnant, her husband does not work. Not that it is my business ... but I just want to kick him in his backside sometimes! Get a job, man!

I rarely see, amoung my neighbours ... the men bringing around their friends for coffee ... while the women have their guests over daily. Something, I guess become cultural acceptable since women in 2 generations pior did not even leave the house.

Saddening, how sometimes one can be coming home from functions and still see men outside just sitting there at 1 or 2am! LOL ... go home already! Makes me wonder what type of homelife they have ... maybe they donnot want to go home!



Exactly! LOL I love it!! Hahahaha. Yeah I think that the whole not bringing their friends over for tea is because it's common knowledge that the house is the woman's territory and the cafés are for men's entertainment. I live in a tiny city here on the border and there are NEVER any women EVER in the cafés because everyone knows each other and that's just the way it is. Kind of weird at first but after my mom's observation it kind of made me happy that we get to keep the house and that it's not US being displaced elsewhere lol! I notice that the guys always stay out late when the women have guests over, and also in my husband's family the guys do have guests over, but when they do we know at least a day in advance because we're the cooks so we have to be prepared and we give the men our shopping list to bring us our ingredients, then when the guests come over we stay in the kitchen and close the curtain so they don't see us because we're all running around in lbass without scarves hehe. Especially in the summer when the kitchen gets way too hot! So you're in Jaza'er huh? I live in Ahfir, know where that is? I think our cultures are almost identical because here on the border we share a lot of Algerian customs and even language from the dialect, we speak a darija quite different from Western Morocco. Eat any bouzalouf lately? rofl.gif Do you guys wear jabador and jellabas and stuff like that too? I love it here, been here a year. How long have you been there? Baslama w tel belati inchallah!
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-06-11 14:50:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
QUOTE (palilover @ Jun 7 2008, 01:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (estadia @ Jun 7 2008, 08:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (palilover @ Jun 7 2008, 05:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (estadia @ Jun 7 2008, 07:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Virtual wife @ Jun 6 2008, 09:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I'm fascinated by how often any conversation about Islam or being Muslim turns into a discussion about hijab for women, especially among converts. Most Muslim women don't cover, but on message boards, you would think it's what Islam is all about for Muslimas. Strange.







blink.gif huh??



I don't think she was meaning offence, just an observation. Maybe it is because we are women that we discuss hijab, I dunno. "wonders what main topics brothers babble on about" smile.gif




lol i dont know but im confused i have been muslim all my life and everyone that i know uses hijab so that kind of shocked me......but i know when we are in pakistan u can always see the men that have women problems they set in the market drinking tea and all their friends trying to give them advise how to fix the problem lol it is very cute


awww hehe so men do same thing as women? smile.gif Well, they'd never admit it though:) Interesting observation though. That did amaze me though when I was in Palestine. All the men would hang out with men and hardly talk to their wives. I kept asking my husband "Don't these guys have wives to go home to?" I thought that a bit weird. But to each his own I guess:)


My mom made the interesting observation out here that it's not that the guys want to be in the cafés, it's that they've most likely been kicked out of the house by the women who want to have guests over for tea, and my mom observed that women pretty much rule the roost here in northeast Morocco which I'd agree with so she actually felt sorry for all the poor chaps displaced in the cafés!!! Haha. We women get to make good food and good tea while the guys are stuck with the poor-quality ####### they serve in the cafés, I'd rather make my own stuff any day. And I actually like it when my husband goes to the café, it gives me a break, and I definitely like hanging out with the women of his family, it's like hanging out with my own girlfriends back home, because I need my girl time and he needs his guy time. I love it when relatives come back for the summers because then he's out with his cousins and friends who live in Europe and I get to visit with his cousins or his cousins' wives, etc. But I'm one of the lucky ones!

As for charity, I only do zakat once a year, and I do sadaqa (charity) once or twice a month, depending on when I can go hit up the ATM. My neighbor who lives directly across from me in an apartment building is poor and they have 2 little boys and her husband just had an accident at work, he's a carpenter and he cut off two or three fingers so basically he's screwed, so I try to buy them things that are a bit expensive like oil and laundry detergent and chicken, because her husband still goes to the shop trying to work so it's not like he's sitting on his butt saying "oh I'm such a miskeen" and she cleans houses too so I try to help out a little bit because they're both making efforts to help themselves, THOSE are the kind of people in MY opinion that really deserve charity, not the people glued to the sidewalk with their hand out, and they have a kid next to them posing as their daughter or son when it's really their neighbor's kid that they "borrow" to receive donations from people. It's my dream one day to sponsor a young couple who are poor and who want to get married, that I'll pay for their wedding and give a little extra $ to start with, what more beautiful kind of sadaqa could one give than to help a couple get married, after all it is half the deen star_smile.gif It's unfair that couples are kept from getting married because the cultural standards of weddings call for such expensive weddings and it's heshooma if they have a small wedding so their families would rather not even bother which only puts the couple in a hard situation, don't you think? At least out here in the northeast, they'd rather break the bank and create debts with everyone they know than to have a small simple wedding, and for what? It's just one day! It's not like all that $ is going to guarantee that the marriage will be a success, if that were the case then of course by all means, go for the gusto. I'm lucky to have had a beautiful taksera wedding, but my heart goes out to those who can't afford it, out here, in the States, and everywhere.
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-06-11 10:30:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
hehehe that's cute..i just love kids!



I have a question too.. To those who went from not covering...to covering:
I would LOVE to cover coz I really and truely believe it is a great way to find more of a sense of self rather than worrying about how my outward appearance is to others. I'm really worried though and even feel semi-embarrassed to start covering since the ppl I know have already seen me uncovered. Did anyone else feel an initial sense of embarassment or a feeling of it not seeming "right" when u started covering? I'm really having problems with this and could use some tips and stories from others on it. How did you all get thru the initial transition? How long did it take to feel comfortable?

Thanks
rose.gif amal rose.gif
[/quote]


I started my 4th year in college as a Muslim, had just converted but not wearing hijab yet, our first day of school was on a Thursday, then the next class was on Tuesday, and on Saturday Ramadan was starting so when I had converted 3 weeks before Ramadan I told myself I'd go 100% on Ramadan and until then I'd just sort of "practice" wearing the scarf to the store and restaurants and gas station to see how people would react. Sort of a letdown as they didn't seem to notice me at all lol. I was all prepared star_smile.gif So then the second day of our classes I'm wearing a scarf and long sleeves in the desert of Sourthern CA in September so it was kind of hard to go unnoticed especially since everyone had known me for 3 years but since they were my classmates and friends they were just innocently curious about it, and then by that point the people who asked me the weird questions (are you bald?) didn't affect me at all. Also, I was in a sorority (I'm alum now) and I TOTALLY freaked out my whole sorority when I started to cover, but the majority of the girls just asked me why I was wearing it and when I told them they were like "oh cool, it's really cute!" and the worst reactions were just girls not talking to me at all anymore but I didn't really give a hoot about them to begin with so no love lost there! tongue.gif I was also the president of the governing council of sororities on our campus so I was pretty high profile at that time and kind of hard to fade into the background, and I've been having a blast ever since, never been insulted or attacked or yelled at etc. People were pretty mellow where I was living at the time. I wish you the same Amal.
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-06-07 05:47:00
Middle East and North AfricaMuslims
QUOTE (nana_356 @ May 31 2008, 06:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
The evil eye is a folk belief that the envy elicited by the good luck of fortunate people may result in their misfortune, whether it is envy of material possessions including livestock, or of beauty, health, or offspring. The perception of the nature of the phenomenon, its causes, and possible protective measures, varies between different cultures.

Belief in the evil eye is found in Islamic doctrine, based upon the verse of the Qur'an, "And from the evil of the envier when he envies," [Chapter al-Falaq, verse 5][1] and the statement of Prophet Muhammad, "The influence of an evil eye is a fact..." [Sahih Muslim, Book 26, Number 5427][2]. Authentic practices of warding off the evil eye are also commonly practiced by Muslims: rather than directly expressing appreciation of, for example, a child's beauty, it is customary to say Masha'Allah, that is, "God has willed it", or invoking God's blessings upon the object or person that is being admired. [3] Aside from beliefs based upon authentic Islamic texts, a number of unsubstantiated beliefs about the evil eye are found in folk religion, typically revolving around the use of amulets or talismans as a means of protection.


Don't forget that even if the evil eye exists, nothing will befall you unless Allah swt allows it to. So I wouldn't be so much afraid of the evil eye as I would be afraid of Allah swt Himself. And I like to think that if you yourself say masha'Allah and tabarakallah to people, then Allah will reward you for giving Him props. And whenever people are like ooooh wow for whatever and all they say is wow, I myself say alhamdulillah and masha'Allah and hope that that will suffice with Allah, and usually they pick up on it too and repeat it after me. I like the hand necklace, what they call "lkhemsa", but I wouldn't necessarily use it in a religious way because that just might fall into the category of bid3a. I like the keychains and decorations with it because it's pretty, but not because I believe in its powers, I don't believe it has any powers, only Allah swt can protect me from the evil eye.
April and MohamedFemaleMorocco2008-05-31 14:51:00