http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IcY7QcUH2A[youtube/]

http://seattletimes.com/avantgo/2019056246.html

By SCOTT SAYARE

The New York Times

CAIRO — In what was called a first for Egyptian state television, a woman wearing a headscarf presented headlines in a newscast Sunday, breaking with a code of secular dress that for decades effectively barred the wearing of Islamic head coverings.

The anchor, Fatma Nabil, wearing a dark suit coat and an off-white hijab that covered her hair and neck, presented headlines at noon on Channel 1, one of several television stations operated by the state.

A vast majority of Egyptian women choose to wear some form of Islamic head covering. By Sunday evening, however, an online debate had broken out over whether Nabil's appearance might be one step in an effort by President Mohammed Morsi, a former leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, to encourage a more Islamic sensibility on Egyptian newscasts and in society.

Veiled women have been presenting the news for years on private satellite television here, including Nabil, who previously worked for the Brotherhood's satellite station, Misr 25. On Saturday, newly appointed Information Minister Salah Abdel-Maqsoud, a Brotherhood member, told an interviewer that Nabil's wearing of the hijab would represent the "enforcement of the principle of justice in the field of media," in the spirit of the Egyptian revolution, according to MENA, the official state news agency.

At least three other veiled women will soon be appearing on state television, including a weather presenter, Abdel-Maqsoud said, a shift from the standards established when state television was founded five decades ago. Though headscarves were not explicitly disallowed, in practice they were tolerated only for off-screen employees.

"Why is the veil denounced in Egypt while 70 percent of Egypt's ladies are veiled?" Abdel-Maqsoud asked, according to the Egyptian newspaper Al Masry Al Youm. "It's a shame that veiled women appear on Arab and international channels while they don't in Egypt."

Under the secular authoritarians who preceded Morsi, state television functioned as a mouthpiece of the government. Until recently, state news media appeared to be campaigning against Morsi, with coverage that broadly favored the military leaders who have vied for influence with the Islamist president.

http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/08/...is-speech/

By Larbi Arbaoui

Morocco World News

Tinejdad, August 31, 2012

According to Iranian media, the Iranian Radio and Television Corporation manipulated the Persian interpretation of the speech of the Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi, delivered in the Non-Aligned Summit in Tehran. This manipulation was aimed at fitting in with the Iranian regime’s rhetoric.

During Morsi’s speech, broadcast by official Channel One in Farsi, the translator tampered with the immediate translation of Morsi’s speech declining to translate the Egyptian president’s severe attack on the Syrian president’s regime.

In an interview with the Al Arabiya, Amine Maqdam, Iranian media activist, said that the translator, who looked “confused” while translating Morsi’s speech, has replaced “Syria” by “Bahrain” when translating the president’s speech about the Syrian crisis, and deliberately used “Al Sahwa Al Islamiya” (Islamic Awakening) instead of Arab Spring.

In stark and deliberate distortion of Morsi’s speech, the Official Iranian TV deleted the four Caliphs when Morsi started his speech by offering prayers to the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH), his companions and the four righteous caliphs Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali.

Iranian media also confirmed that the official Iranian TV manipulated the speeches delivered by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UN General Assembly President Nasser Abdul Aziz on the Syrian crisis.

Posts on social media denounced the deliberate distortion of the speech of the Egyptian president by the Iranian official TV saying that these acts may create tension between both countries and exacerbate the religious split between Shiites and Sunnis.

Relations between the two countries (Iran and Egypt) were broken after the Iranian Revolution and Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel

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2011 is the International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011) and the centenary of Marie Curie’s Nobel prize in Chemistry. Therefore, ChemViews will introduce interesting women throughout the year.

Zeinab Shaaban Abd El-Ati Abou El-Naga is a lecturer at the Zoology Department at Mansoura University, Mansoura City, Egypt. By making the unusual combination of zoology and chemistry, she has developed a career with natural products from organisms to find new targets for environmentally friendly insecticides.

Please tell us a bit about how your career has developed?

I was born in January 1980 in Egypt and graduated in May 2000 from the Chemistry/Zoology double program of Science at Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt. The course was in English. I received my Masters and PhD Degrees in the field of Chemical Insect Pest Management.

I finished my PhD by the end of 2007. Since then, I have had a great feeling of scientific freedom. At the beginning of 2008, I had traveled to Germany to take up a post doctoral fellowship at Jacob's University, Bremen, in the lab of Professor Nikolai Kuhnert working on natural product chemistry. I attended some international scientific meetings at different German Universities, as well as many international and national conferences.

Since 2008, I have been a lecturer at Mansoura University and soon I hope I will be promoted from lecturer to assistant professor — this is my next career goal.

What do you enjoy most about your career?

Actually, I like both research and teaching which gives me the sense of contributing to my community. In research, I enjoy working in teams for a specific goal. Dealing with natural product chemistry is very exciting for me. Moreover, my career gives me the opportunity to travel abroad to attend international scientific meetings and conferences. I enjoy getting in contact with scientists from around the world, exchanging ideas and experiencing different cultures. All of these enjoyable things in my life as scientist make me satisfied and very happy with my career.

When did your interest in sciences begin?

In general, when I was a child I was attracted to some scientific TV programs: I was crazy about them. My father noticed that and encouraged me by bringing me scientific books about the role of Arabia in science during the Middle Ages. He always said to me words which I’ve never forgot: “Your book is your honest friend, who will give without asking for anything back."

When I was in secondary school, I mentioned to my father that I wanted to study science at the university. He said to me, “It's up to you; but I should inform you that it will be hard for you as a woman". But, I decided to try to achieve what was my goal at that time.

In the faculty of science, I found that I enjoyed studying chemistry and biology together. I believe that chemistry is the secret of our life. I can't deal with chemistry separately from life or living organisms. This is the reason I specialized in the field of chemistry and zoology.

What has been your biggest motivation?

Professor Nikolai Kuhnert, who I spent my post doc with in Bremen, Germany, impressed me with his kindness and intelligence. He gave me the chance to deal with the advanced technology of natural product chemistry which was not available at my university in Egypt.

I was further motivated when I met Professor Müfit Bahadir and Professor Henning Hopf, at TU Braunschweig, Germany, during my first term in a DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, German Academic Exchange Service) summer school. Here I was also chosen to be the group speaker at a UNESCO conference for the NOP (Nachhaltiges Organisches Praktikum – Sustainability in the Organic Chemistry Lab Course) project.

My biggest motivation is to become a skilled and well known scientist.

Do you think there are still differences between men and women in chemistry?

There are no differences between men and women if they have the same motivation and are given equal opportunities in pursuing education.

In life, there are duties only women can perform, like pregnancy, but these are short periods of time in which women have to stop dealing with chemicals. But that doesn’t stop them thinking about chemistry!

How do you combine family and job?

Thanks to God, I am lucky that I have strong support from my family. I have only one child. My daughter now is in primary school. I am following her education carefully because she is very smart. When I travel, she accepts staying with my mother and father: She loves them very much.

Have you experienced any personal struggles typical for women in sciences?

I sometimes find it hard being away from my daughter during collaborations with other labs or during conferences. But as I said, my parents take good care of my daughter. I think experiences abroad and good opportunities not only have a good impact on my career, but also on my family and community. And I enjoy getting in contact with scientists around the world.

What do you do in your spare time?

I spend most of my spare time with my family. I like cooking for them and we watch action movies together. Moreover, I enjoy participating in student and community activities.

What would you like to be doing ten years from now?

I would like "Insha'Allah" to be a professor in the field of environmental or green chemistry, to travel, to participate in more and more scientific activities, and to have a great number of valuable scientific publications. Moreover, I am looking forward to being involved in international scientific projects and community activities.

In my personal life, I look forward to having more children.

What else would you like readers of ChemViews to know about you, your experiences, or women in sciences in your country or in general?

Actually, in Egypt women and men have equal opportunities in science education.

I would like to say that in our country there is a problem with scientific research not with women, because of insufficient equipment and availability of chemicals. There are very low budgets for research. We as scientists suffer a lot from this.

After the Egyptian revolution we predict a change of the governmental strategy towards scientific research which is the most important factor for the development of our country.

Thank you very much for this interview.

Zeinab Shaaban Abd El-Ati Abou El-Naga, born in 1980, studied chemistry and zoology at Mansoura University, Mansoura City, Egypt. After her PhD, she performed a post-doc at Jacob's University, Bremen, Germany. Since 2008, she has been a lecturer in the faculty of science at Mansoura University.

Dr. Abd El-Ati studies the relationship between the chemical structure of the isolated natural compounds and their biological activity in order to illustrate their mode of action as insecticides. She looks for new biological insecticides, originating from different organisms, such as plants and microorganisms, which will be used for the development of new environmentally safe insecticidal products.

Selected Publications

Insecticidal activities of Zingiber officinalis and Cynbopogon nardus

Z. Abo Elnaga, N. Kuhnert , M. Abdel-Mogib,

Pharmaceutical Biol. 2009, 47, 27.

Super-course lecture entitled "Green chemistry and its role for sustainability"

Insecticidal Metabolites from the Green Alga Caulerpa racemosa

W. M. Alarif, Z. S. Abou-Elnaga, S. N. Ayyad, S. S. Al-lihaibi,

Clean Soil Air Water 2010, 38 (5-6), 548–557.

DOI: 10.1002/clen.201000033

Chemical constituents and insecticidal activities of the non-polar extract of Curcuma longa against Tribolium confusum

Z. Abou-ElNaga, A. El Demerdash, E. M. Keshk, A. M. Dawidar, and M. Abdel-Mogib,

J. Egypt. Ger. Soc. Zool. 2011, 63E, 50-67.

New Larvicidal Acetogenin from the red alga Laurencia papillosa

Z. S. Abou-Elnaga, W. M. Alarif, S. S. Al-lihaibi,

Clean Soil Air Water 2011.

DOI: 10.1002/clen.201000597

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http://islamqa.com/en/ref/14246

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast...47102.html

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has vowed that he will retake control of the Sinai after an attack near the Israeli border left at least 16 Egyptian guards dead.

The Israeli military says that five of the attackers, who attempted to enter Israel through the crossing during the raid, were killed.

"I have given clear orders to all of our security forces, the armed forces as well as the interior police, to move swiftly in capturing those behind this vicious attack," Morsi said in a television address early on Monday.

"This incident will not go lightly. The security forces will implement entire control over all of these areas within Sinai and will ensure they are controlling it. Those behind the attacks will pay a high price as well as those who have been co-operating with those attackers, be it those inside or anywhere in Egypt."

Sunday's assault at Karem Abu Salem crossing in north Sinai - on the border between Egypt and Israel - took place as gunmen reportedly tried to smash their way across the border into Israel.

The Israeli military said the attack was part of a plot to abduct an Israeli soldier, and two vehicles commandeered by the attackers crashed into Israel, where one blew up.

Egyptian state television said that armed foreign fighters were behind the attack.

"State media is quoting unnamed officials saying that foreign fighters, armed groups, belonging to some previously unknown extremist group have infiltrated the country from Gaza through the tunnels criss-crossing the porous border area," Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reported from Cairo on Sunday.

"But we are unable to independently corroborate these allegations just yet," she said.

Rageh said the border police patrol were ambushed by masked armed men while they were having their traditional meal at the end of the daily fast during the Muslim month of Ramadan.

Strong response

After the attack, Morsi held an urgent meeting with the country's military, and promised a strong response to the attack.

"Those who were martyred in this attack during the time when they were breaking their fast during this holy month of Ramadan, those martyrs, their blood will not go in vain," Morsi said.

A senior security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to reporters, said seven other guards were wounded in the attack.

He said the attackers seized an armoured vehicle before driving away.

Israel said the attackers commandeered two Egyptian vehicles and tried to storm its border.

One of the vehicles exploded and the second was targeted by Israeli aircraft, Avital Leibovich, a military spokeswoman.

Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, said that eight of the attackers had been killed. He said the raid showed need for "determined Egyptian action" to impose security and "prevent terror in Sinai".

Brigadier-General Yoav Mordechai, an Israeli military spokesperson, said on Monday that intelligence services had received reports of a planned attack beforehand and were "prepared for it".

'Ugly crime'

In a statement, Hamas, the Palestinian group controlling the Gaza Strip near Sinai, condemned the attack, calling it an "ugly crime" and extended "deep condolences to the families of the victims and to the leadership and the people of Egypt".

Security officials told Al Jazeera early on Monday that they were in possession of three bodies of the perpetrators of the attack. The three are believed to have been killed while trying to enter Israel.

The official did not specify whether those attackers were killed by Egyptian or Israeli fire. He said that 10 people were believed to have carried out the attack.

Al Jazeera reporters said there was increased security along the border area following the attack. "The entire border area has been sealed with very heavy security on all the roads leading up to Sinai and not just the border area," Rageh said.

Meanwhile Al Jazeera's Cal Perry reported from Jerusalem that Egypt has indefinitely shut down the Rafah crossing on the border with the Gaza Strip. Rafah is the only crossing into Gaza not controlled by Israel.

Taher al-Nono, a Hamas spokesperson, meanwhile, said that the group was temporarily closing all tunnels along the border with Egypt immediately.

The Sinai is home to Egypt's Red Sea resorts, a source of lucrative tourist income, and is also where the country's Bedouin, who were long marginalised under the regime of fallen president Hosni Mubarak, are based.

"There was actually a warning out three days ago directed at Israeli civilians who vacation in the Sinai, warning against possible kidnapping attacks and threats from the Sinai," reported Al Jazeera's Perry.

"The Sinai is known [in Israel] as the 'wild west' [...] because really the lawlessness is out of control. There are drug runners, there are smugglers, and there's a lot of arms in the Sinai peninsula. Add to that the tunnel system from Gaza, and I think this is something that we'll be seeing the Israelis take action on in the next 24 hours."

The attack comes a month after armed men believed to be Islamist fighters shot dead two Egyptian soldiers in a dawn raid in north Sinai.

Before the July attack in Sheikh Zuwaid, a town roughly 15km west of the Gaza Strip, the fighters had distributed pamphlets calling on the army, brought in to restore security, to leave the lawless north of the peninsula.

The military sent tanks and soldiers into the region last year to quell Islamist fighters, after receiving permission from Israel. Under a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, Egypt should have a limited military presence in the area.

945

Narrated Adi bin Hatim (Radi Allahu anhu):

When I was sitting with Allah's Messenger (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam), two persons came to him; one of them complained about his poverty and the other complained about prevalence of robberies. Allah's Messenger (SalAllahu alaihi wasallam) said, "As regards stealing and robberies, there will shortly come a time when a caravan will go to Makka (from Al-Madinah) without any guard. And regarding poverty, The Hour (Day of Judgment) will not be established till one of you wanders about with his object of charity and will not find anybody to accept it. And (no doubt) each one of you will stand in front of Allah (Jallay Shanahu) and there will be neither a screen nor an interpreter between him and Allah (Jallay Shanahu), and Allah will ask him, 'Did not I give you wealth?' He will reply in affirmative. Allah (Jallay Shanahu) will further ask, 'Didn’t I send a Messenger to you?' And again that person will reply in affirmative.

Then he will look at his right and he will see nothing but Hell-Fire, and then he will look to his left and will see nothing but Hell-Fire. So let each of you save himself from Hell-Fire, even by giving half of a date-fruit (in charity). And if you do not find a half date-fruit, then (you can do through saying) a good pleasant word (to your Muslim brother).

Sahih Al-Bukhari 2:494

Reaping the Benefits of Ramadhan

Adapted from a lecture by Ali Al-Timimi

In the month of Ramadaan it is very important that we spent a few moments to understand some of the wisdoms and lessons that we can learn from this month of fasting.

Unfortunately, many Muslims come in to this month and they are as a companion of the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Let it not be that the day that you fast and the day that you break fast be equal." Meaning, one's behaviour, attitude and outlook are the same whether one fasts or not, i.e. fasting has no effect upon that person. This is why we need to reflect on some of these lessons.

LESSON 1: Gaining Taqwaa

Allah legislated fasting for gaining taqwaa,

"O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed upon you as it has been prescribed upon those before you, so that you may attain taqwaa." (meaning of Soraat ul Baqarah (2):183)

Taqwaa in this case means to make a shield between oneself and Allah’s anger and Hellfire. So we should ask ourselves, when we break our fasts, ‘Has this fasting day made us fear Allah more? Has it resulted that we want to protect ourselves from the hellfire or not?

LESSON 2: Drawing closer to Allah

This is achieved by reciting and reflecting on Al-Qur’aan during night and day, attending the taraaweeh prayers, remembering Allah, sitting in circles of knowledge and, for those who can, making `umrah. Also for those who can, making I`tikaaf (seclusion) in the last ten nights of Ramadaan, so as to leave all worldly pursuits and seclude oneself in a masjid just thinking of Allah, so as to bring oneself closer to Allah (SWT). When one sins, one feels distant from Allah. That is why one might find it heard to read the Qur’aan and come to the masjid. However, the obedient worshipper feels closer to Allah and wants to worship Allah more, because he is not shy from his sins.

LESSON 3: Acquiring patience and strong will

Allah has mentioned patience more than seventy times in the Qur’aan and has commanded patience in more than sixteen ways in His Book. So when one fasts, and gives up one’s food and drink, and one’s marital sexual relations for those hours, one learns restraint and patience. This Ummah needs man and women that are strong willed, who can stand upon the Sunnah and the Book of Allah and not waver in front of the enemies of Allah. We do not need emotional people, who just raise slogans and shout, but when the time comes to stand upon something firm, they cannot do so, they waver.

LESSON 4: Striving for Ihsaan (righteousness and sincerity) and staying away from riyaa’ (showing off)

Ihsaan means to worship Allah as if one seeks Him, and even though one does not see Him, He sees all. Hasan al-Basree said, "By Allah, in the last twenty years, I have not said a word or taken something with my hand or refrained to take something with my hand or stepped forth or stepped back, except that I have thought before I have done any action, ‘Does Allah love this action? Is Allah pleased with this action?' So when one is fasting, one should gain this quality of watching oneself and also staying away from riyaa’ (showing off). That is why Allah said in a hadeeth qudsee, "Fasting is for Me and I reward it." (al-Bukhaaree) Allah singles out fasting from all other types of worship saying, "Fasting is for Me", because no one knows whether you are fasting or not, except Allah. For example, when one is praying or giving charity or making tawaaaf, one can be seen by the people, so one might do the action seeking the praise of the people. Sufyaan ath-Thawree used to spend the nights and the days crying and the people used to ask him, "Why do you cry, is it due to the fear of Allah? He said, ‘No.’ They said, "Is it due to the fear of the Hellfire?" He said, ‘No. It is not the fear of Hellfire that makes me cry, what makes me cry is that I have been worshipping Allah all these years and doing scholarly teaching, and I am not certain that my intentions are purely for Allah.’"

LESSON 5: Refinement of manners, especially those related to truthfulness and discharging trusts.

The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "Whoever does not abandon falsehood in word and action, then Allah (SWT) has no need that he should heave his food and drink." (al-Bukhaaree) What we learn from this, is that we must pay attention to the purification of our manners. The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "was sent to perfect good manners." (Maalik) So we must check ourselves, are we following the behaviour of the Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him)? For example: Do we give salaam to those we don’t know and those we do know? Do we follow the manners of Islaam, by telling the truth and only telling the truth? Are we sincere? Are we merciful to the creation?

LESSON 6: Recognizing that one can change for the better

The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "Every son of Adam sins and the best of the sinners are those who repent." (Ibn Maajah) Allah provides many opportunities to repent to Him and seek His forgiveness. If one was disobedient they can become obedient.

LESSON 7: Being more charitable

Ibn `Abbaas said, "The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) was the most charitable amongst the people, and he used to be more so in the month of Ramadaan when Jibreel used to meet him on every night of Ramadaan till the end of the month…" (al-Bukhaaree) The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "He who gives food for a fasting person to break his fast, he will receive the same reward as him, without nothing being reduced from the fasting person’s reward." (at-Tirmidhee)

LESSON 8: Sensing the unity of the Muslims

The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "… Those of you who will live after me will see many differences. Then you must cling to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided khaleefahs. Hold fast to it and stick to it." (Aboo Daawood) In this month we sense that there is a possibility for unity, because we all fast together, we break fast together, we all worship Allah together, and we pray Salaatul-`Eid together. Therefore we sense that the unity of Muslims is possible. It is possible for Muslims to be a single body, but this will only be achieved when obedience is only to Allah and His Messenger.

LESSON 9: Learning discipline

The Prophet (ma Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) made us adhere to discipline and strictness, strictness that does not lead to fanaticism or going outside the bounds that Allah has laid down. One cannot knowingly break the fast before the sunset, as this will not be accepted by Allah. Muslims should learn to be very strict in their lives, because they are people of an important message, which they mold their lives around.

LESSON 10: Teaching the young to worship Allah

It was the practice of the people of Madeenah, that during the fast of `Aashooraa (which is now a recommended fast of one day) to get their children to fast with them. When the children would cry of hunger and thirst, their parents would distract their attention by giving them some sort of toy to play with. The children would break their fast with their parents. (as mentioned in al-Bukhaaree).

So the young should be brought to the masjid and they should pray with their parents, so that they are able to get into the habit of becoming worshippers of Allah. If one does not encourage children to fast when they are young, they will find it very difficult to fast for thirty days at the age of puberty. This is why the Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "Command your children to pray at the age of seven and spank them at the age of ten (if they do not pray." (Haakim)

LESSON 11: Caring for one’s health

Fasting has many medical benefits and it teaches Muslims to take care of their health and too build strong bodies. The Prophet (may Allah send His blessing and peace upon him) said, "A strong believer is better and is more beloved to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone." (Muslim).