Posted on 05/29/2008 10:27:54 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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Bahrain's king has appointed a Jewish woman as the country's envoy to the United States. Houda Nonoo said she was proud to serve her country "first of all as a Bahraini" and that she was not chosen for the post because of her religion. She is believed to be the Arab world's first Jewish ambassador. Ms Nonoo, 43, has served as a legislator in Bahrain's 40-member Shura Council for three years and is head of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch.
"It is a great honour to have been appointed as the first female ambassador to the United States of America and I am looking forward to meeting this new challenge," Ms Nonoo told the Associated Press news agency. Her family is originally from Iraq, having moved to Bahrain over a century ago. Bahrain has one of the world's oldest and smallest Jewish communities. It was, at one time, home to as many as 1,500 Jews. Today the community has a synagogue and numbers around 50 people. Bahrain is a close US ally but has no diplomatic relations with Israel. It has a Shia Muslim majority, roughly 65% of the population, but the ruling elite is Sunni. |
That’s definitely great progress.
I'd like to ask her how that sits with her.
How about that ping
Not surprising a Jewish ambassador for a muslim country would be a no-no.
GUILTY !
hey, this is a big step for this country, give them credit for taking it!
News of Note.
Congratulations, Bahrain and welcome to the 21st century!
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Bahrain - whose name means "two seas" - was once viewed by the ancient Sumerians as an island paradise to which the wise and the brave were taken to enjoy eternal life. It was one of the first states in the Gulf to discover oil and to build a refinery; as such, it benefited from oil wealth before most of its neighbours.
OverviewBut Bahrain never reached the levels of production enjoyed by Kuwait or Saudi Arabia and has been forced to diversify its economy.
The king is the supreme authority and members of the Sunni Muslim ruling family hold the main political and military posts. There are long-running tensions between Bahrain's Sunnis and the Shia Muslim majority. On occasion, these have spilled over into civil unrest. In 2001 Bahrainis strongly backed proposals put by the emir - now the king - to turn the country into a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament and an independent judiciary. Elections were duly held in 2002 for a 40-member parliament, the Council of Deputies. It was the first such poll in nearly 30 years. The new body included a dozen Shia MPs.
The country has enjoyed increasing freedom of expression, and monitors say the human rights situation has improved. However, opposition groups and campaigners continue to press for political reforms, including greater powers for the elected assembly. Bahrain - a chain of around 30 islands - is a haven for tourists from the region, who take advantage of its relaxed social environment. A close ally of the US, it is home to the American navy's Fifth Fleet. Facts
Leaders
King: Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifah Sheikh Hamad's title changed to king when Bahrain switched from being an emirate to a monarchy in February 2002.
Born in 1950, he was educated at a public school in Cambridge, England, and went on to study at Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, England, and at the US Army Command and Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1968, he founded and became commander-in-chief of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF). He served as minister of defence from 1971 to 1988. MediaBahrain is keen to promote itself as a regional media hub; the London-based pan-Arab satellite broadcaster MBC chose it as the base for its MBC-2 channel. Most radio and TV stations are state-run. The country's first private radio station - Sawt al-Ghad - launched in 2005, but the authorities shut it down in 2006, alleging irregularities. A press law guarantees the right of journalists to operate independently and to publish information. But they are liable to jail terms for offences which include insulting the king, and self-censorship is practised. The press
Television
News agency
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Ping!
It’s a tiny place...have you made a stop there?
Well, Jewish anyway.
Lots of Saudis and westerners who work in Saudi frolick in the various bars there. :-)
geez! Thats one for the books! Nice surprise ..
How many islamists in Bahrain?
evening Miss Allegra .. a pleasure to see you as always. I hope that you’re taking care of yourself ....
But Bahran is majority moderate Shia and their leader certainly has a good resume:
Born in 1950, he was educated at a public school in Cambridge, England, and went on to study at Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, England, and at the US Army Command and Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Bahrain's king has appointed a Jewish woman as the country's envoy to the United States... Ms Nonoo, 43, has served as a legislator in Bahrain's 40-member Shura Council for three years and is head of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch... Her family is originally from Iraq, having moved to Bahrain over a century ago. Bahrain has one of the world's oldest and smallest Jewish communities. It was, at one time, home to as many as 1,500 Jews. Today the community has a synagogue and numbers around 50 people. Bahrain is a close US ally but has no diplomatic relations with Israel. It has a Shia Muslim majority, roughly 65% of the population, but the ruling elite is Sunni.So... the Sunni ruling elite is carrying out the Zionist agenda, led by the 50 Jews in the country. JIHAD! JIHAD!
Likewise, sofaman. I hope all is well with you. :-)
The Sunni ruling class keeps close to the West & is more open than is usual. The majority Shi’a population is poor, hate the government, prone to rioting, & loathe Israel. The government is rightly frightened of their seething underclass & deals with them harshly. Rape, torture, the works. Things were worse before - the new emir is kinder to them. They import Sunni Muslims from anywhere & give them citizenship very quickly in order to lower the Shi’a population. Army is off-limits for Shi’a.
Some of the worst-behaved Arabs I’ve ever met. It’s full of foreign workers, including many from other Arab countries, & they are shocked at the behavior of the native Shi’a. They were friendly, like all Gulf Arabs, & I do like them, but this is how it is. Nice country. Everyone likes it unless they’re Shi’i. Westerners love it.
As for Islamists, they are still in the early stages of what happened to the Shi’a population in Lebanon. Angry, marginalized population drawn to either communist parties or Islamist parties. In Lebanon, the Islamist parties won out & it ended with Shi’a militias. Unknown where it will go in Bahrain. No one bothers native Jews, but then again, Shi’a got along very well with native Lebanese Jews too.
Two cheers for Bahrain. A third one if they would recognize the state of Israel.
I’ve lived in Bahrain for years and I can tell you from first hand experience that Bahrainis are NOT slammie nutjobx like the Sauds. They do allow Churchs and free expression of belief.
“Yep. It’s a pretty forward place, actually. “
When were you there? We lived there before, during and after the 1st Gulf War. It was pretty forward when we were there. Except during ashurra(not sure of the spelling). I worked at the American Mission Hospital. It was a busy time at the hospital but the Westerners couldn’t be there to help. That was the only time I didn’t feel safe.
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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...drawn to...communist parties....
Atheist muslims?
Just for three days in 2005, for a conference. We all enjoyed the respite since Iraq was pretty wild in those days. :)
It is meaningful progress to be sure. Of course Bahrain is a bit of an enigma in the ME. One can see where the potential for such an appointed was feasible.
Good to know that they are a more open society then the rest of the Muslim world. I imagine that has to do with education of their population.
I’ve met some Bahraini atheists, but the ones in the communist parties are mostly secular & not necessarily atheist. Shi’a are drawn to leftist parties at first for two main reasons: they are the underclass & class warfare rhetoric appeals to them, their religious philosophy is anti-government & revolutionary (unlike pro-government, conservative Sunnis). There seems to always be a convergence of communists & Shi’a in the early stages of their radicalization. It happened in Iran, then Lebanon, & I see it now in Bahrain. The Islamists win out in the end. So in Shi’a neighborhoods in Bahrain you see the phenomenon of both Soviet flags & Hezbullah flags.
Bahrain is one of those countries that Westerners have a very different idea of unless they actually live & spend their time among the real natives, not just the Western part. The Bahrain the Westerners see has a synagogue, churches, hindu temples, alcohol, & even gay bars. The real Bahrain spits at Indian workers in the street, throw molotov cocktails at the police, scribble “death to Israel” on the walls, hang Nasrallah portraits on their walls, & use Israeli flags as doormats.
Good Luck Nonoo!
The real native Bahranis are tough warriors who are grudgingly becoming urbanized.If I were in Bahrain, I would find a decent stable, rent a horse and a pack horse,and buy an AK-47 on the black market, a small tent, water bottles, and head out to tour some remote villages.
When I go to such places, I go completely native.
And I have never had any problems except for the ocassional case of dysentary.
lol me too! Who wants to see foreign workers at a hotel? I like to be with the real people & see how they live & think. I’ve been lucky so far - the worst that has happened to me is some severe vomiting after drinking bad water in South America.
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