Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Adriana on August 25, 2011 at 11:08am

Impressive indeed, Amal. Now you made me feel like reading Dr. Al-Najjar's books.

 

I didn't know you taught Arabic for non-Arabic speakers, my husband is teaching himself Arabic with books and DVDs, doing well,  but it could be so great if there was a way you could teach him through the internet! Maybe one day I'll try to learn Arabic too, although first I would like to learn some Mandarin. My other hobby besides running is languages.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michel on August 25, 2011 at 11:42am

Yes, learning Arabic is quite a feat!

I taught myself the alphabet a long time ago, when I was into calligraphy. And the basics of the language. They have a fascinating lexicon built on triads of consonants.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Adriana on August 25, 2011 at 12:01pm

My husband is a crazy language buff: he speaks 5 languages and is learning his 6th!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michel on August 25, 2011 at 2:34pm

Yes, I know the type (have one in my family.)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Adriana on August 25, 2011 at 5:55pm

There is no cure for that disease :-)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michel on August 26, 2011 at 12:27pm

Nope, all you can do is feed it.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Carl Pastor on August 27, 2011 at 1:21pm

amal, still in saudi arabia??  please be careful.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Bill on October 14, 2011 at 12:07am

Thanks Amal, your story gives me Hope for humanity :)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Carl Pastor on October 14, 2011 at 12:21am

be careful!!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kat Hula Parks on September 1, 2012 at 6:29pm

I just finished reading "In My Father's Country: An Afghan Woman Defies Her Fate" by Saima Wahab. It's a wonderful book, though it seems that she's always been a fairly non-religious person, it was still interesting how she went back from Portland, OR to Afghanistan to be a civilian translator for the US Military, speaking Pashtun and being very familiar with tribal customs of the Pashtun people.

I wonder if you have had a chance to read this book, as it is very enlightening of the culture in many Muslim countries, besides just the Pashtun's of Afghanistan.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by David Tamayo on September 1, 2012 at 7:38pm

In the same type of book, I'm currently reading Infidel which is a very interesting real story of a country Muslim girl from Somalia who became a member of parliament in Holland and currently lives in the Washington DC area with a bodyguard.  She is, of course, an atheist now, but she was an extremely devout Muslim when she was young.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michel on August 24, 2011 at 10:53am

Me.

• Old guy. Been through a lot. Was mostly lucky.
• Born a cath from non-practicing parents, liberal education, in French. I was exposed to the wilderness very early on, thanks to my Dad, a Lt-Colonel in WW2.
• Studied fine arts, worked all my professional life in TV and film production.
• Always had a keen interest in science and curious about how people & things work.
• Spent most of my adult life investigating the extraordinary, the improbable and the so-called miraculous, starting of course with altered states of consciousness =).
• Quickly became a skeptic and an agnostic.
• Turned into an atheist in the long run.
• Been married 33 years, raised two boys, now adults. I now live alone.
• Was healthy for most of my life, then found out I had MDS and had only a few years left. Spent a while contemplating death. Became hard-core #7 atheist.
• Sheer luck: found a compatible bone marrow donor, and survived the heavy-duty procedure. Became an active atheist, involving myself with on-line communities.
• Making things, making art, reading science-fiction, taking pictures, riding motorcycle, cooking (meat-eater,) light videogaming, learning stuff, beaches, rivers, mountains.
• I watch PBS, Discovery, CNN, NatGeo, Planète, documentaries, Stewart & Colbert, read science magazines and listen to a lot of all sorts of music. I rarely watch or go to the movies.
• I'm not good with money, I have weird eating and sleeping habits, I don't drink a lot of alcohol, mostly wine, and I love smoking hashish, cigars and cigarettes. 
• I'm responsible for the look and feel of this website.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• …
• 57
• Next ›
• Page