Will the Muslim Brotherhood Kill Persians too?

Check out this YouTube video*. It's a clip from the Spanish version of the movie 300, with fake Arabic subtitles  written below. The Spartans are the Muslim Brotherhood, and the other fighters they meet on the hill are the Egyptian public:

Translation of the subtitles:

Spartan leader: Pick up the pace, to the Parliament! 

Narrator: The Muslim Brotherhood advances, and approaches the Parliament. 

Spartan leader: (encountering a group of other fighters) Greetings, we are on our way to Parliament. 

Other fighters, looking worried: You haven't picked out a presidential candidate yet….what are you waiting for?

How does the Muslim Brotherhood not have a candidate for president?

Spartan leader, looking sly: Because we promised that we wouldn't field anyone for president. 

Other fighters: Don't make excuses, you don't have anyone who capable of being president, of dealing with that position. 

Spartan leader: Are you talking about us?

You! (points to Fighter 1) Who are you going to nominate for president? 

Fighter 1: Abd al Munam Abu-Fatouh

Spartan leader: And you! (points to Fighter 2) Who are you going to nominate for president? 

Fighter 2: Hazem Abu Ismail!

Spartan leader: (smiles) And you! (points to Fighter 3) Who are you going to nominate for president? 

Fighter 3: Abu Al-az Al-Hariri

Spartan leader: That's not a presidential contest, that's a parliament of old men!

Spartans, who has our nomination????

Spartans (collectively shouting): Shater, Shater, Shater!!!

Spartan leader: Khairat Shater….we're committed to the decision of the Brotherhood leadership!!!!

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This video was actually posted by supporters of Khairat Shater, i.e. guys who want him to run for president. If you don't know who Shater is, then you better find out. No doubt he will have a huge influence on the Egyptian presidential election. For background, check out the New York Time's profile on Shater here.

* We found this one posted by one of our Egyptian-American friends on Facebook. This being a blog on Arabic social media, we usually link to where we find content, but for privacy purposes we haven't included it here. 

Hey Women: Satan Can Enter You Through Your Chair

Although the actual footage is from December, this thread just popped up on Iraqcenter. 

In the thread, a user posts a video featuring the famous Egyptian TV presenter Hala Sarhan on NasBook, her popular TV show.  NasBook is a talk show aired on Rotana Masriya (Egyptian Rotana), in which Sarhan hosts famous Egyptian and Arab politicians, stars, etc. to talk about current affairs. As it's on Rotana, the show leans toward a younger look and feel, and it's one of my favorite talk shows to watch. 

In this video, watch as Sarhan discusses a particularly unusual fatwa from a Yemeni sheikh. The sheikh apparently forbids the use of chairs by women, saying that evil spirits enter women when they sit on chairs. He notes that chairs (and anything similar to them, like couches) are an unusual, Western invention, and how can we enjoy an invention from our enemy, the West? He notes that the original followers of prophet Muhammad never used chairs - they sat on the floor, so we should too. According to Sarhan, the sheikh even said that for women, sitting on chairs is equivalent to adultery. 

Interestingly, Sarhan, who is not very overtly religious and pretty liberal in her outlook, doesn't lay into the fatwa with sarcasm as much as I thought she would. She actually interprets it in various ways. In my opinion they're ridiculous, but they are definitely worth noting:

1. She says that originally, she thought the fatwa was an attack on حزب الكنبة (Party of the Couch) in Egypt. The 'Party of the Couch' is a term used to describe apathetic Egyptians that aren't involved in protests or don't actively participate in politics.  She says she thought that the fatwa was meant to get them to vote and prevent them from 'sitting on their couches' during the elections. 

2. She then says that wait, this guy isn't Egyptian, he's Yemeni, so he can't be attacking the Party of the Couch. He must be talking about the Yemeni protestors, who 'stood' (i.e. not sitting) in public squares, protesting their revolution. They never sat until their ruler was kicked out of his throne (the word in Arabic for chair is the same one used for throne). 

3. She then says that this fatwa can be interpreted as a warning to all Egyptian presidential candidates that Satan is calling them to the seat of power, basically noting the dangers of too much power and how, I assume, it can erase gains made by the revolution. 

Honestly, Sarhan's interpretations at the end definitely make this clip worth watching, but I really just thought she was going to rip into this guy. 

Dubai Police v. Qardawi: Reactions

In my last post, I discussed how Dubai's police chief Dahi Khalfan threatened prominent Shiekh Yousef Al-Qardawi for his criticism of Dubai's deportation of protestors at the Syrian consulate in the emirate.

On several forums, it looks like predictable battle lines were drawn: 

Some people criticized Khalfan for what they interpreted as a position against the Syrian revolution, and praised Qardawi for being steadfast in his support of the Arab spring across the region (I guess they all forgot about his conspicuous silence on Bahrain?)

Others noted that Khalfan was simply enforcing the laws of Dubai, where it is well known that you can't take part in protests without getting government permission. Interestingly, Amhed Salama, the user I just linked to, keeps an admiring picture of Hosni Mubarak in his signature block....I guess he's just a fan of authority in general?  Not all proponents of this position are old-Arab-regime types, however, there's some  pro-revolution types also pointing to 

While still in the minority according to what I've seen, some people actually criticized Qardawi for "زرع الفتن"/ "sowing discord" by creating conflicts in the Arab nation. This position isn't as clear, and I haven't seen anyone explain how Qardawi is spreading discord anymore than Khalfan. 

Dubai's Police Chief Threatens Qardawi

According to forum reports on Hanein and some others, Dubai's police chief Dahi Khalfan has threatened prominent Islamic cleric Yusuf Al-Qardawi, with Khalfan saying that he will request an Interpol arrest warrant against the sheikh.

Khalfan's threat comes after Qardawi's appearance on "As-Sharia w Al-Hayat" (Sharia and Life) on Al-Jazeera, in which Qardawi criticized the UAE government for deporting Syrians who protested against the Asad regime at the Syrian consulate in Dubai. You can see the video here below....the good stuff starts at around 2:15

Not much commentary so far. As would be expected, most users are praising Qardawi for his defense of the Syrian opposition.