Posted on 11/04/2011 9:37:06 PM PDT by Cardhu
JEDDAH: Saudi tweeters have created a hashtag called IsmOmi (Arabic for “my mother’s name”) in an attempt to break a longstanding taboo that prevents Saudi men from mentioning the name of their mothers.
The hashtag enables them to say their mother’s name and allows them to bypass a critical society.
Hashtags are created by adding # to a “tweet” on Twitter. They are terms invented to add to tweets on a given subject and build a community of tweets or build toward a “trending topic.”
Saudi tweeters see this as a way to express their love and gratitude for their mothers. It is also considered a step toward empowering Saudi women. Saudi tweeter Khalid Al-Ahmed believes the hashtag is a healthy way to break down some of the social customs that he sees have unnecessarily burdened Saudi society for decades.
“Women’s names have been the obsession of Saudi men forever. They see this as something they must protect and keep unrevealed. It is shameful for them if people know the name of their mother, sister or wife,” he said. “A Saudi man would blackmail another if he knew his mother’s name,” he added.
Saudi women are frustrated by this attitude and Saudi men should be more reasonable, according to a tweet by Abeer Hamdoun. “Refraining from mentioning your mother’s name is the first step toward undermining Saudi women’s rights. The younger generation are too shy to say their mother’s names for no reason at all,” she said.
“Our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) was not shy of his mother’s name and King Abdulaziz used to call himself Akho Noura, which is Arabic for Noura’s brother,” she added. Ahmed is a 28-year-old man who changed his Twitter name to “Omima’s son” to celebrate the love and pride of his mother.
“I don’t see anything wrong with saying my mother’s name to random people. It’s like saying any other name,” he tweeted. “Without my mom I wouldn't be here. Her name is Omima, and you bet I'm proud to mention it,” he added.
You have got to be freakin' kidding me. Just when you think they can't be any more insane.
“Is Mommy” is Arabic for “my mother’s name”?
I think someone is freakin’ kidding.
And I’m thinking that access to the new media might just be the catalyst that will start the civilization of the middle East. It will be a couple of generations, but there may be some hope.
LOL - I never noticed that.
My brother said when he was working in Iraq that you could ask your Iraqi co-workers whether their family was well and ask about their sons, but you could not ask about the daughters. The daughters were never mentioned. I guess this article explains that reticence.
They long for freedom of speech. I am so grateful.
They long for freedom of speech. I am so grateful for freedom of speech! And all my other freedoms.
““Women’s names have been the obsession of Saudi men forever. They see this as something they must protect and keep unrevealed. It is shameful for them if people know the name of their mother, sister or wife,” he said. “A Saudi man would blackmail another if he knew his mother’s name,” he added.”
I got just one thing to say to this fool “Yo Mama”
“Just when you think they can’t be any more insane.”
It’s like they want 1/2 the human race to not exist, or exist in some void.
They are just creepy weird.
BTW, my mother’s name was Patricia.
Sounds like data mining to collect the secret question answers to get into bank accounts, lol.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.