Material Mecca: Islam's holiest site goes 'Vegas'; and Nobel-Leaks

The UK's Independent brings us this story on Mecca becoming a material den, using a Vegas comparison to show the absurdity of this holiest of pilgrimage sites turning commercial and glitzy; Nobel-Leaks reveal Egypt is in the running for a prize; NGO's code language translated; and a tale of Lebanese rape.

The holiest site for Islam and the dream come true for Hajjis (pilgrims) worldwide is being denounced with the label
'Las Vegas' in reference to a decade long transformation to glamor and glitz from simplicity and sand.

Muzlim Buzz [2]

Mecca for the rich: Islam's holiest site 'turning into Vegas'

The adulterated version of traditional Mecca is gaining commercial appeal and risks being more Mall less Muslim. "Behind closed doors – in places where the religious police cannot listen in – residents of Mecca are beginning to refer to their city as Las Vegas, and the moniker is not a compliment."

Sleepless in Amman [3]

MY TOP 5 GUILTY PLEASURES

"Everyone has guilty pleasures that they can’t live without…. Mostly or as the world stereotype goes, usually (not always) but usually they have to do with food, or so I like to convince myself, as I list up the top 5 foods that I enjoy the most but cause me ultimate guilty trips… Do you have any favorites of yourself?"

Live From Occupied Palestine [4]

I am Nabi Saleh

"Dear friends, the village of An Nabi Saleh is one of the hundreds of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank which is engaged in non-violent struggle againsts Israel's occupation. I first went to the village in December 2009, when the village began holding its non-violent demonstrations against the stealing of more of their land and water springs by the illegal Israeli colony of Halamish. Since that time, I have spent a lot of time in the village and befriended a number of the families, as a result the village and its residents are very special to me."

Egyptian Chronicles [5]

Nobel-Leaks: And Egyptians are once again nominated to get Nobel Prize

Nobel-leaks.:With all esteemed institutions suffering leaks, why shouldn't this venerable peace-pushing tradition follow suit. "Some European president once said that the Egyptian people deserve a Nobel Prize , well it seems that we are going to be nominated after all. Today there are leaks from the Nobel peace prize committee that Wael Ghonim, Israa Abdel Fatah and April 6th Youth movement as well Tunisian blogger Lina Ben Mhenni."

Cafe Thawra [6]

On NGOs vs Activism: the Impact of Structure and Donor Trends

On NGO and Charity organization-speak: "So, did you get the grant? » « Who are your donors? » are sentences that I've been hearing more than I care to mention. Welcome to the lovely world of activism and NGOs, of movements and organisations, where the competition's so fierce a lawyer's study seems like a quaint little place in comparison and where half of the people have existential crisis at night, asking themselves if they're really impacting change on society or merely selling themselves to the highest donor. Or maybe that's just me."

Rita KML [7]

The Aftermath of a Rape in Lebanon

'This is a follow up on a previous post: “Let’s talk about rape“. A girl shares her story: “We’ll see what we can do.” This is what the police said when I voiced out the names of the men who raped and beat me. But it was not enough. I had to repeat the story including every single detail a myriad of times in the police station, in front of different police officers and a friend who was also acting as my translator. I felt humiliated, dirty, hopeless, and defenseless and every other “less”.'