Feb 11The Egypt Protests: Mubarak Resignation Celebrations

01.
Egyptian celebrates after the announcement of Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of
protest finally swept Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of
one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning
to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah
Dalsh

What started out as a day of anger ended in joyous celebration. Last
night the people heard Mubarak say he was going to stay President until
the elections in September. This angered the protesters so much they
planned new protests and dubbed today Farewell Friday. Hundreds of
thousands joined marches in Alexandria, Cairo and across Egypt.

Just before the afternoon prayer the Army issued a statement saying they
wanted the protests to stop and would guarantee Mubarak kept his word
in September. This did not appease the protesters and they defied the
Army. The End Game was set in motion and Mubarak finally threw in the
towel in the early evening by announcing his resignation from the
position of President of Egypt with immediate effect.

After 18 days of protest the people of Egypt did it. President Hosni
Mubarak – on the thrown for the last 30 years – finally listened to the
people of Egypt and quit. This joyous news sparked celebrations by
Egyptians from London to Jordan to Athens to Paris to Germany to Paris
to Alexandria and to Tahris Square Cairo.

We wish the Egyptian people well in their search for a stable and
democratic country. It is not going to be an easy ride, but the first
steps have been taken.

02.
Opposition supporters perform Friday prayers near tanks in front of the
presidential palace in Cairo February 11, 2011. Egypt’s powerful army
gave guarantees on Friday that President Hosni Mubarak’s promised
reforms would be carried out, but protesters insisted he quit now and
cranked up the pressure by massing outside his palace. REUTERS/Goran
Tomasevic

03.
An opposition supporter prays near a tank in front of the presidential
palace in Cairo February 11, 2011. Egypt’s powerful army gave guarantees
on Friday that President Hosni Mubarak’s promised reforms would be
carried out, but protesters insisted he quit now and cranked up the
pressure by massing outside his palace. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

04.
An Egyptian soldier stands guard atop a tank in front of the state TV
building on the Corniche in Cairo February 11, 2011. Egypt’s powerful
army pledged on Friday to guarantee President Hosni Mubarak’s reforms in
a move to defuse a popular uprising, but many angry protesters said
this failed to meet their key demand that he resign immediately.
REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

05.
Egyptian soldiers stands guard next to a machinegun on a balcony of the
state TV building on the Corniche in Cairo February 11, 2011 as
thousands of protesters demonstrate in the streets around the building.
Egypt’s powerful army pledged on Friday to guarantee President Hosni
Mubarak’s reforms in a move to defuse a popular uprising, but many angry
protesters said this failed to meet their key demand that he resign
immediately. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

06.
An anti-government protester holds a flag in front of a tank guarding
the state TV building on the Corniche in Cairo February 11, 2011 as
thousands of protesters demonstrate in the streets around the building.
Egypt’s powerful army pledged on Friday to guarantee President Hosni
Mubarak’s reforms in a move to defuse a popular uprising, but many angry
protesters said this failed to meet their key demand that he resign
immediately. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

07.
Thousands of Egyptian anti-government protesters march in Alexandria ,
230 km (140 miles) north of Cairo, February 11, 2011. Egypt’s powerful
military gave guarantees on Friday that promised democratic reforms
would be carried out but angry protesters intensified an uprising
against President Hosni Mubarak by marching on the presidential palace.
REUTERS/Stringer

08.
Anti-government protesters shout anti-Mubarak slogans and celebrate in
front of a tank outside the state TV building on the Corniche in Cairo
after Friday prayers February 11, 2011. Egypt’s powerful army pledged on
Friday to guarantee President Hosni Mubarak’s reforms in a move to
defuse a popular uprising, but many angry protesters said this failed to
meet their key demand that he resign immediately. REUTERS/Yannis
Behrakis

09.
Thousands of Egyptian anti-government protesters march in Alexandria ,
230 km (140 miles) north of Cairo, February 11, 2011. Egypt’s powerful
military gave guarantees on Friday that promised democratic reforms
would be carried out but angry protesters intensified an uprising
against President Hosni Mubarak by marching on the presidential palace.
REUTERS/Stringer

10.
Anti-government protesters wave flags outside the state TV building on
the Corniche in Cairo after Friday prayers February 11, 2011. Egypt’s
powerful army pledged on Friday to guarantee President Hosni Mubarak’s
reforms in a move to defuse a popular uprising, but many angry
protesters said this failed to meet their key demand that he resign
immediately. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

11.
Opposition protesters make their way into their stronghold of Tahrir
Square in Cairo February 11, 2011. Egypt’s powerful army pledged on
Friday to guarantee President Hosni Mubarak’s reforms in a move to
defuse a popular uprising, but many angry protesters said this failed to
meet their key demand that he resign immediately. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

12.
Opposition protesters pray in their stronghold of Tahrir Square in
Cairo February 11, 2011. Egypt’s powerful army pledged on Friday to
guarantee President Hosni Mubarak’s reforms in a move to defuse a
popular uprising, but many angry protesters said this failed to meet
their key demand that he resign immediately. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

13.
Anti-government protesters ride motorbikes during a march through the
presidential palace in Cairo February 11, 2011.Egypt’s powerful army
gave guarantees on Friday that President Hosni Mubarak’s promised
reforms would be carried out, but protesters insisted he quit now and
cranked up the pressure by massing outside his palace. REUTERS/Amr
Abdallah Dalsh

14.
An Egyptian flag is placed in front of the Presidential palace in Cairo
February 11, 2011. Egypt’s powerful military gave guarantees on Friday
that promised democratic reforms would be carried out but angry
protesters intensified an uprising against President Hosni Mubarak by
marching on the presidential palace. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

15.
An anti-government protester holds up a shoe with a picture of Egypt’s
President Hosni Mubarak in front of the Presidential palace in Cairo
February 11, 2011. Egypt’s powerful military gave guarantees on Friday
that promised democratic reforms would be carried out but angry
protesters intensified an uprising against President Hosni Mubarak by
marching on the presidential palace. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

16.
Opposition protesters celebrate Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak’s
resignation, from their stronghold of Tahrir Square in Cairo February
11, 2011. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on Friday that
Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned, handing
power to the army, he said in a televised statement. REUTERS/Suhaib
Salem

17.
Opposition protesters celebrate Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak’s
resignation, from their stronghold of Tahrir Square in Cairo February
11, 2011. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on Friday that
Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned, handing
power to the army, he said in a televised statement. REUTERS/Suhaib
Salem

18.
Opposition protesters celebrate Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak’s
resignation, from their stronghold of Tahrir Square in Cairo February
11, 2011. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on Friday that
Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned, handing
power to the army, he said in a televised statement. REUTERS/Suhaib
Salem

19.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on Friday
that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned,
handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

20.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on Friday
that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned,
handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

21.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on Friday
that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned,
handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

22.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on Friday
that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned,
handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

23.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on Friday
that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned,
handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

24.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on Friday
that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned,
handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

25.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday
after 30 years of rule, handing power to the army and bowing to
relentless pressure from a popular uprising after his military support
evaporated. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

26.
Women hold the Egyptian flag after the resignation of President Hosni
Mubarak, outside the country’s embassy in London February 11, 2011.
Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday after 30
years of rule, handing power to the army and bowing to relentless
pressure from a popular uprising after his military support evaporated.
REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

27.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday
after 30 years of rule, handing power to the army and bowing to
relentless pressure from a popular uprising after his military support
evaporated. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

28.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday
after 30 years of rule, handing power to the army and bowing to
relentless pressure from a popular uprising after his military support
evaporated. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

29.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday
after 30 years of rule, handing power to the army and bowing to
relentless pressure from a popular uprising after his military support
evaporated. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

30.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday
after 30 years of rule, handing power to the army and bowing to
relentless pressure from a popular uprising after his military support
evaporated. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

31.
Egyptians living in Greece celebrate the resignation of Egypt’s
President Hosni Mubarak outside the country’s embassy in Athens February
11, 2011. Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday after 30
years of rule, handing power to the army and bowing to relentless
pressure from a popular uprising after his military support evaporated.
REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis

32.
Egyptians and supporters celebrate the resignation of Egypt’s President
Hosni Mubarak outside the country’s embassy in London February 11,
2011. Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday after
30 years of rule, handing power to the army and bowing to relentless
pressure from a popular uprising after his military support evaporated.
REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

33.
Egyptians and supporters celebrate the resignation of Egypt’s President
Hosni Mubarak outside the country’s embassy in London February 11,
2011. Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday after
30 years of rule, handing power to the army and bowing to relentless
pressure from a popular uprising after his military support evaporated.
REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

34.
Egyptians and supporters celebrate the resignation of Egypt’s President
Hosni Mubarak outside the country’s embassy in London February 11,
2011. Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday after
30 years of rule, handing power to the army and bowing to relentless
pressure from a popular uprising after his military support evaporated.
REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

35.
Egyptians living in Germany celebrate the resignation of Egypt’s
President Hosni Mubarak in front of the Brandenburg gate in Berlin
February 11, 2011. Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday
after 30 years of rule, handing power to the army and bowing to
relentless pressure from a popular uprising after his military support
evaporated. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski

36.
Egyptians celebrate in Paris after the announcement of Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation February 11, 2011. A furious wave
of protest finally swept Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of
one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning
to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond. Mubarak, the second Arab
leader to be overthrown by a popular uprising in a month, handed power
to the army after 18 days of relentless rallies against poverty,
corruption and repression caused support from the armed forces to
evaporate. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

37.
Egyptians celebrate with their flag in Paris after the announcement of
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation February 11, 2011.
Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday after 30 years of
rule, handing power to the army and bowing to relentless pressure from a
popular uprising after his military support evaporated.
REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

38.
Egyptians celebrate in Paris after the announcement of Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation February 11, 2011. Mubarak stepped
down as president of Egypt on Friday after 30 years of rule, handing
power to the army and bowing to relentless pressure from a popular
uprising after his military support evaporated. REUTERS/Gonzalo
Fuentes

39.
Anti-government protesters celebrate next to soldiers inside Tahrir
Square after the announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s
resignation in Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest
finally swept Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of one-man
rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning to
autocrats across the Arab world and beyond. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

40.
Egyptians celebrate in Paris after the announcement of Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation February 11, 2011. Mubarak stepped
down as president of Egypt on Friday after 30 years of rule, handing
power to the army and bowing to relentless pressure from a popular
uprising after his military support evaporated. REUTERS/Gonzalo
Fuentes

41.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from
power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on
the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and
beyond. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

42.
An Egyptian man waves Egyptian flags inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from
power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on
the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and
beyond. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

43.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from
power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on
the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and
beyond. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

44.
A woman celebrates inside Tahrir Square after the announcement of
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo February 11,
2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from power on
Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the
streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and
beyond. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

45.
Anti-government protesters shake hands with an army officer atop a tank
in Tahrir square in Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest
finally swept Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak from power on Friday after
30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and
sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond.

REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

46.
Thousands of Egyptian anti-government protesters celebrate inside
Tahrir Square after the announcement of Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of
protest finally swept Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of
one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning
to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah
Dalsh

47.
Anti-government protesters celebrate atop a tank in Tahrir square in
Cairo February 11, 2011.A furious wave of protest finally swept Egypt’s
President Hosni Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of one-man
rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning to
autocrats across the Arab world and beyond.Ecstatic Egyptians celebrated
in carnival mood on the streets and people embraced in Cairo’s Tahrir,
or Liberation, Square, the main focus for protest. Many simply sobbed
for joy. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

48.
Protesters celebrate in front of the Egyptian embassy after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Amman
February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from
power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on
the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and
beyond. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji

49.
Thousands of Egyptian anti-government protesters celebrate inside
Tahrir Square after the announcement of Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of
protest finally swept Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of
one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning
to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah
Dalsh

50.
Egyptian anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square
after the announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation
in Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept
Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking
jubilation on the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the
Arab world and beyond. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

51.
Thousands of Egyptian anti-government protesters celebrate inside
Tahrir Square after the announcement of Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of
protest finally swept Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of
one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning
to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah
Dalsh

52.
Anti-government protesters celebrate atop a tank in Tahrir square in
Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Egypt’s
President Hosni Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of one-man
rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning to
autocrats across the Arab world and beyond.Ecstatic Egyptians celebrated
in carnival mood on the streets and people embraced in Cairo’s Tahrir,
or Liberation, Square, the main focus for protest. Many simply sobbed
for joy.

REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

53.
Egyptians celebrate after the announcement of Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of
protest finally swept Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of
one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning
to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah
Dalsh

54.
People chant pro-Egypt slogans as they celebrate announcement of
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation at Tahrir Square in Cairo
February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from
power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on
the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and
beyond.evaporated. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

55.
A couple celebrates the announcement of Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak’s resignation at Tahrir Square in Cairo February 11, 2011. A
furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from power on Friday after
30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and
sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond.
REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

56.
Egyptian youths wave a large Egyptian flag as they celebrate the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation at Tahrir
Square in Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally
swept Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule,
sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning to autocrats
across the Arab world and beyond. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

57.
People take pictures next to an army tank as they celebrate the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation at Tahrir
Square in Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally
swept Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule,
sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning to autocrats
across the Arab world and beyond. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

58.
Fire works are launched as Egyptians celebrate the announcement of
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation at Tahrir Square in Cairo
February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from
power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on
the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and
beyond. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

59.
Opposition protesters celebrate President Hosni Mubarak’s departure
from their stronghold of Tahrir Square in Cairo February 11, 2011.
REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

60.
Opposition protesters celebrate President Hosni Mubarak’s departure
from their stronghold of Tahrir Square in Cairo February 11, 2011.
REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

61.
Opposition protesters celebrate President Hosni Mubarak’s departure
from their stronghold of Tahrir Square in Cairo February 11, 2011.
REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

62.
Protesters celebrate in front of the Egyptian embassy after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Amman
February 11, 2011. Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday
after 30 years of rule, handing power to the army and bowing to
relentless pressure from a popular uprising after his military support
evaporated. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji

63.
Opposition protesters celebrate President Hosni Mubarak’s departure
from their stronghold of Tahrir Square in Cairo February 11, 2011.
REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

64.
Opposition protesters celebrate Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak’s
resignation, from their stronghold of Tahrir Square in Cairo February
11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from power on
Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the
streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and
beyond. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

65.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from
power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on
the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and
beyond. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

66.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from
power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on
the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and
beyond. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

67.
Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from
power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on
the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and
beyond. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

68.
Thousands of Egyptian anti-government protesters celebrate inside
Tahrir Square after the announcement of Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of
protest finally swept Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of
one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning
to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah
Dalsh

69.
Anti-government protesters pray as Egyptians celebrate after the
announcement of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo
February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from
power on Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on
the streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and
beyond. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

70.
Opposition protesters celebrate Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak’s
resignation, from their stronghold of Tahrir Square in Cairo February
11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally swept Mubarak from power on
Friday after 30 years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the
streets and sending a warning to autocrats across the Arab world and
beyond. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

71.
Egyptians celebrate after the announcement of Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of
protest finally swept Mubarak from power on Friday after 30 years of
one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a warning
to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah
Dalsh

72.
Palestinians celebrate the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak in Gaza City February 11, 2011. Palestinians in Gaza let off
fireworks and shot into the air to celebrate the resignation of Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak on Friday, and the Islamist group Hamas called
on Egypt’s new rulers to change his policies. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

73.
Anti-government protesters carry a placard and celebrate in Tahrir
square in Cairo February 11, 2011. A furious wave of protest finally
swept Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak from power on Friday after 30
years of one-man rule, sparking jubilation on the streets and sending a
warning to autocrats across the Arab world and beyond.Ecstatic Egyptians
celebrated in carnival mood on the streets and people embraced in
Cairo’s Tahrir, or Liberation, Square, the main focus for protest. Many
simply sobbed for joy. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

Hosni Mubarak and Friends 1981 – 2011

01.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak gives a speech at Cairo’s Police
Academy in this January 24, 1985 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar
Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure
from the street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/Stringer/Files

Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak was appointed vice president in 1975,
and assumed the Presidency on October 14, 1981, following the
assassination of President Anwar El Sadat. He is the longest-serving
Egyptian ruler since Muhammad Ali Pasha. Before he entered politics
Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force, serving as its
commander from 1972 to 1975.

On January 25th 2011 the Egyptian people had had enough of him and
started 18 days of protests until on February 11th 2011 Hosni Mubarak
resigned as President of Egypt. Starting wild celebration across Egypt,
of which you will see images on TotallyCoolPix soon.

02.
U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with Egypt’s President Hosni
Mubarak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington in this
September 1, 2010 file photograph. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman
said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the
street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/Jason Reed/Files

03.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) laughs with U.S. President Bill
Clinton during a joint press statement at the White House in this July
1,1999 file photograph. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on
February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and
had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised
statement. REUTERS/Larry Downing/Files

04.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (C) hosts a three-way handshake
between himself, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak (R) and Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat at the close of the statement Mubarak issued at
their three-way summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in this
March 9, 2000 file photograph. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said
on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street
and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised
statement. REUTERS/Handout/Files

05.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak shakes hands with U.S. President
Clinton (R) after they and other leaders from the Middle East signed the
Israel-PLO accord in a White House ceremony in this September 28, 1995
file photograph. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February
11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had
resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Rick Wilking/Files

06.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (R) and U.S. Secretary of State George
Shultz embrace before starting their talks on middle east peace moves
and the Gulf war in Cairo, Egypt in this October 19, 1989 file photo.
Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that
Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned, handing
power to the army, he said in a televised statement. REUTERS/Aladin
Abdel Naby/Files

07.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (C) listens to a question as Israeli
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (L) and US. Secretary of State Warren
Christopher look on during a news conference in Cairo in this June 9,
1995 file photograph. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on
February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and
had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised
statement. REUTERS/David Silverman/Files

08.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and U.S. President Ronald Reagan pose
for photographers in the White House Oval Office in this January 28,
1988 file photograph. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on
February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and
had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised
statement. REUTERS/Stelios Varias/Files

09.
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak greets Military Commanders of the Armed
Forces in Cairo, Egypt in this October 6, 1989 file photo after laying a
wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier. Egypt’s Vice President Omar
Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure
from the street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/Aladin Abdel Naby/Files

10.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is greeted by U.S. President George W.
Bush (R) in the Oval Office of the White House in this April 2, 2001
file photograph. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February
11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had
resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Win McNamee/Files

11.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak shakes hands with Israeli Defense
Minister Ehud Barak (L) during a meeting at the presidential palace in
Cairo in this June 21, 2009 file photograph. Egypt’s Vice President Omar
Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure
from the street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih/Files

12.
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak (L) meets Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi
at the Egyptian border city of Mersa Matrouh in this October 16, 1989
file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February 11,
2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had
resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
BLACK AND WHITE ONLY. REUTERS/Frederic Neema/Files

13.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) and his wife Suzanne Mubarak (R)
pose with President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan before a
state dinner in honor of Mubarak at the White House in this January 28,
1988 file photograph. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on
February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and
had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised
statement. REUTERS/Stelios Varias/Files

14.
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak (R) meets with U.S. Vice-President
George Bush at the Presidential Palace in Cairo in this August 3, 1986
file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February 11,
2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had
resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Jim Hollander

15.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak gestures (R) as he and Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit down for talks in the Red Sea resort of
Sharm el-Sheikh in this May 27, 1997 file photograph. Egypt’s Vice
President Omar Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed
to pressure from the street and had resigned, handing power to the
army, he said in a televised statement. REUTERS/Jim Hollander/Files

16.
Egyptian President Hosni Murbarak tells the United Nations General
Assembly that the conditions now favor a Palestinian Israeli dialogue
without any preconditions, predicated on exchanging land for peace and
the rights of the Palestinian’s in New York in this September 29, 1989
file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February 11,
2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had
resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine

17.
U.S. Defence Secretary Caspar Weinberger (L) speaks with Egypt’s
President Hosni Mubarak during a one-hour meeting at the Presidential
Palace in Cairo in this September 28, 1987 file photo. Egypt’s Vice
President Omar Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed
to pressure from the street and had resigned, handing power to the
army, he said in a televised statement. REUTERS/Aladin Abdel
Naby/Files

18.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) and South Africa’s leading
anti-apartheid Churchman Desmond Tutu meet in Cairo, Egypt in this
October 24, 1989 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said
on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street
and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised
statement. REUTERS/Aladin/Files

19.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) meets with Israeli Prime Minister
Shimon Peres at Ras El-Tinn palace in Alexandria, Egypt in this
September 11, 1986 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said
on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street
and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised
statement. REUTERS/Khaled Abu Sief/Files

20.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak looks at U.S. civil rights activist
Reverend Jesse Jackson while greeting him at the start of a meeting in
Cairo in this July 7, 1989 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar
Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure
from the street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. BLACK AND WHITE ONLY. REUTERS/Cheryl Hatch

21.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (R) meets with U.S. Senator Gary Hart,
contender for the 1988 Democratic party presidential nomination, to
review Middle East peace moves in Cairo in this July 5, 1986 file photo.
Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that
Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned, handing
power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Khaled/Files

22.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (C), flanked by his Defense Minister
Field Marshall Abdel-Halim Abu Ghazala (L) and Chief of Staff Lieutenant
General Ibrahim Orabi (R), visits the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in
this April 24, 1986 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman
said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the
street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/Khaled Abu Seif/Files

23.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak pose
for photographers in the White House Oval Office in this January 28,
1988 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February
11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had
resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Stelios Varias/Files

24.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) shakes hands with French President
Francois Mitterand at Elysee Palace in Paris in this July 17, 1986 file
photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February 11, 2011
that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned,
handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement. In centre
is an unidentified interpreter. REUTERS/William Stevens/Files

25.
King Hussein of Jordan (L) and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt meet in
Cairo to coordinate positions ahead of separate visits to Washington
later this month to discuss Middle East Peace prospects in this
September 14, 1985 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said
on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street
and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised
statement. REUTERS/Mona Sharaf/Files

26.
British Prime Minister John Major (L) and Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak listen to reporters during a news conference at the Presidential
Palace in Cairo in this October 24, 1992 file photo. Egypt’s Vice
President Omar Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed
to pressure from the street and had resigned, handing power to the
army, he said in a televised statement. REUTERS/Stringer/Files

27.
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak (L) greets Israeli President Chaim
Herzog during a bilateral meeting while both are in Tokyo to attend the
funeral of Emperor Hirohito in this February 23, 1989 file photo.
Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that
Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned, handing
power to the army, he said in a televised statement. REUTERS/Denis
Gray/Files

28.
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak shakes hands with Israeli counterpart
Shimon Peres during a meeting at the presidential palace in Cairo in
this August 1, 2010 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman
said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the
street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Files

29.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) laughs as he welcomes Libyan
Leader Muammar Gaddafi (R) on his arrival at the presidential palace in
Cairo in this July 21, 2002 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar
Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure
from the street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/Aladin Abdel Naby/Files

30.
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak (L) answers a question while Britain’s
Prime Minister Tony Blair looks on during a news conference at 10
Downing Street, London, in this June 5, 2002 file photo. Egypt’s Vice
President Omar Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed
to pressure from the street and had resigned, handing power to the
army, he said in a televised statement. REUTERS/Adrian
Dennis/Pool/Files

31.
U.S. President Bill Clinton (R), Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
(L), Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (2nd L) and Jordan’s King Hussein
all adjust their ties as PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat (far R) looks on, in
this September 28,1995 file photo as the leaders prepare to exit the
White House on the occasion of the signing of the Israeli – Palestinian
Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Egypt’s Vice
President Omar Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed
to pressure from the street and had resigned, handing power to the
army, he said in a televised statement. REUTERS/Handout/Files

32.
France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) greets Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak as he arrives at the Elysee Palace in Paris in this July 5, 2010
file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February 11,
2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had
resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/Files

33.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) applauds as Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi smiles during the Milano Med Forum 2009 in downtown
Milan in this July 20, 2009 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar
Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure
from the street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo/Files

34.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) and Pope John Paul II stand at
attention during the playing of National Anthems at Cairo Airport in
this February 24, 2000 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman
said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the
street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/Pool/Files

35.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, (C), listens to French First Lady
Bernadette Chirac while French President Jacques Chirac looks on during
their dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris in this May 18, 1998 file
photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February 11, 2011
that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had resigned,
handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Pool/Files

36.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (R) talks with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas as they meet at the presidential palace in Cairo, in this
August 12, 2010 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on
February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street
and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised
statement. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih/Files

37.
Lebanon’s Parliament majority leader Saad al-Hariri (L) talks with
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the presidential palace in Cairo, in
this June 23, 2009 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman
said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the
street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih/Files

38.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (R) and Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak meet before a private meeting at Palazzo Chigi in Rome in
this March 9, 2006 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said
on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street
and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised
statement. REUTERS/Max Rossi

39.
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak (R) talks to his Russian counterpart
Dmitry Medvedev during their meeting at the presidential palace in
Cairo, in this June 23, 2009 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar
Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure
from the street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Dmitry Astakhov/Files

40.
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
react as they address a news conference following their talks at the
chancellery in Berlin, in this April 23, 2008 file photo. Egypt’s Vice
President Omar Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed
to pressure from the street and had resigned, handing power to the
army, he said in a televised statement. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/Files

41.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) meets with Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak at a hotel in Washington in this August 17, 2009
file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February 11,
2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had
resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Files

42.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L) listens to Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak on his arrival to Egypt in this December 8, 2003
file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February 11,
2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had
resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Aladin Abdel Naby/Files

43.
U.S. President George W. Bush looks toward Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak as he speaks to the media in the White House following their
meeting in this March 5, 2002 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar
Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure
from the street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

44.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and U.S. President Clinton walk down
the Colonnade prior to their joint press conference in the White House
in this October 25, 1993 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar
Suleiman said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure
from the street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/Stephen Jaffe/Files

45.
(L-R) Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and Israeli Foreign
Minister Shimon Peres laugh during the Euro-Mediterranean forum in the
resort of Formentor on the Spanish island of Majorca in this November 2,
2001 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February
11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had
resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Dani Cardona/Files

46.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) is escorted by Tunisian President
Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali upon his arrival in Tunis in this October 30,
2002 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman said on February
11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the street and had
resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a televised statement.
REUTERS/Mohamed Hammi/Files

47.
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak waves during the opening session of the
annual conference of the National Democratic Party (NDP) in Cairo in
this October 31, 2009 file photo. Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman
said on February 11, 2011 that Mubarak had bowed to pressure from the
street and had resigned, handing power to the army, he said in a
televised statement. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Files

I will be the first to admit that I may have made mistakes, and I readily welcome all constructive criticism.
Feel free to use or publish this translation, but please credit me with it. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy it.

Imad E Ajam

In the Old Bar

The bar is not far away, no matter
you’re like a sponge
sucking up all the bars, never getting drunk
what remains of the night, measured in the drunkard’s cup, saddens you
why did they leave her? Were they lovers!
were they consenting homosexuals like their leader’s summits?(*1)
Was she a whore, with no one in this filthy world?

And I whispered warmly into her cold lungs ….
does the cold kill you?
The half-warmth kills me, and the half-positions too
my lady, we are all whores like you
oppression fornicates with us, as does false religion, and false thought,
and false bread
and slogans ….and the color of blood, falsified grey even in funeral rites
and all the people, or most of the people, agree …. that the ruler is not one-eyed*2

my lady, how can a man maintain his honour
whilst the security services’ hands probe everywhere
and yet worse is to come,
we’re put in the blender, to extract oil

cheers …. cheers my lady
only your mortal flesh has been corrupted
as some sell it all, green or barren,(*3)
and stand up for everyone else’s causes
but flee from their own
I will piss on him and drink, then piss on him and drink
then you’ll piss on him and we’ll drink(*4)

the bar’s overcrowded by a generation you don’t know
a country you don’t know
language ….chatter, things you don’t know
except for booze, after the first glass it takes good care of you
warms your cold legs
and you don’t know where you met, or when
your head deliriously slumps into your hands
something hurts, like the ringing of silence
the silence becomes a part of your delusions

you stare at all of life’s cups, they are empty!?
The waiter has put out the lights, several times, for you to leave
Oh how you love booze …. Arabic! and the world…
to balance between passion and pomegranates….(*5)

“take this glass and leave your enchanted bar” (*6)
waiter, don’t get angry, for the lover is high
fill it, till it spills over the brown wood
do you know what that slab is for? for booze …
that other for a coffin, yet another for a notice board
fill it openly, sir
I’m not leaving your great bar until I’m drunk and high
the smallest bit of creation gets me drunk, what of mankind?
O God almighty, I can accept anything … except for humiliation
and for my heart to be caged, at the sultan’s palace
and I’m satisfied for my share of this world to be like a bird’s
But O lord, even birds have homelands
to which they return
but me, I’m still in flight
for my homeland, from ocean to ocean
is a series of adjacent jails
with jailers holding hands(*7)

*1 it is meant to be derogatory, homosexuality is a taboo in Middle Eastern culture, and calling someone gay is an insult

*2 This is probably an allusion to the “elections” frequently held in the region, where the outcome is 99% in favor of the incumbent

*3 green and barren (akhdar wal yabes) is a term in Arabic which closely resembles the English term “everything but the kitchen sink”, or “everything that wasn’t bolted down”, but I’ve kept the more literal translation here as it’s easy to surmise the meaning from it

*4 you, feminine personal pronoun

*5 pomegranate is a sensual fruit in eastern culture, here perhaps alluding to a woman’s body, or paradise or both

*6 here, the waiter is addressing the drunk poet

*7  as in a human chain of jailers, perhaps a cynical twist on protests involving human chains

See a video of the poet reciting this poem at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCqahdR9NLU

See more of Mozafar’s poems (in Arabic) at:

http://www.adab.com/modules.php?name=Sh3er&doWhat=lsq&shid=323&start=0

The original text of the poem, in Arabic:

في الحانة القديمة

المشربُ ليس بعيداً

ما جدوى ذلكَ، فأنتَ كما الاسفنجةِ

تمتصُ الحاناتِ ولا تسكر

يحزنُكَ المتبقي من عمرِ الليلِ بكاساتِ الثَملينَ

لِماذا تَركوها ؟ هل كانوا عشاقاً !

هل كانو لوطيين بمحضِ إرادَتِهمْ كلقاءاتِ القمة؟

هل كانت بغي ليس لها أحد في هذي الدنيا الرثة؟

وَهَمستَ بدفء برئتيها الباردتين…

أيقتلكِ البردُ ؟

انا …. يقتلني نِصفُ الدفئِ.. وَنِصفُ المَوقِفِ اكثر

سيدتي نحن بغايا مثلكِ….

يزني القهر بنا..والدينُ الكاذِبُ.. والفكرُ الكاذبُ ..

والخبزُ الكاذبُ ..

والأشعارْ ولونُ الدَمِِ يُزَوَّرُ حتى في التَأبينِ رَمادِياً

ويوافقُ كلُّ الشَّعبِ أو الشَّعبُ وَلَيسَ الحَاكِمُ اعْوَر

سيدتي كيفَ يَكونُ الانسانُ شريفاً

وجهازُ الأمنِ يَمُدُ يَديهِ بِكُلِّ مَكانٍ

والقادم أخطر

نوضعُ في العصارَةِ كي يَخْرُجَ منا النفطْ

نخبك …. نخبك سيدتي

لمْ يَتَلَوَّثْ مِنْكِ سِوى اللَّحْمِ الفَاني

فالبعضُ يَبيعُ اليَابِسَ والأخضر

ويدافِعُ عَنْ كُلِّ قَضايا الكَوْنِ

وَيَهْرَبُ مِنْ وَجهِ قَضِيَّتِهِ

سَأبولُ عَليهِ وأسكرْ …. ثُمَّ أبولُ عَليهِ وَأَسكر

ثُمَّ تَبولينَ عليهِ ونسكرْ

المشربُ غَصَّ بجيلٍ لا تَعرِفُهُ.. بَلَدٍ لا تَعرِفُهُ

لغةٍ.. ثرثرةٍ.. وأمورٍ لا تَعرِفُها

إلا الخَمْرَةُ؛ بَعدَ الكأسِ الأول تَهْتَمُ بِأَمْرِكَ

تُدّفِئ ُ ساقيكَ البارِدَتينْ

ولا تَعْرِفُ أينَ تَعَرَّفتَ عليها أيُّ زَمانْ

يَهْذي رأسُكَ بينَ يَديكَ

شيءٍ يوجعُ مثلَ طنينِ الصَمّتْ

يشارِكُكَ الصمتُ كذلِكَ بالهذيان…

وَتُحَدِّقُ في كُلِّ قَناني العُمرِ لَقَدْ فَرَغَتْ؟!

والنادِلُ أَطْفَأَ ضَوْءَ الحَانَةِ عِدَّةَ مَراتٍ لِتُغادِرَ

كَمْ أَنْتَ تُحِبُ الخَمْرَةَ…. وَاللُّغَةَ العَرَبِيَّةَ…… وَالدُنيا

لِتُوَازِنَ بَينَ العِشْقِ وَبَينَ الرُمْانْ

هاذي الكأسُ وَأترُكُ حانَتِكَ المَسحورَةَ ..يا نادِلُ

لا تَغضَبْ… فالعاشِقُ نَشّوَانْ

إمْلأها حَتى تَتَفايَضَ فَوْقَ الخَشَبِ البُّنِّيِ

فَما أدراكَ لمِاذا هَذي اللوحةُ .. للخَمْرِ…

وَتِلّكَ لِصُنْعِ النَعْشِ.. وأُخْرى للإعلانْ…..

أملأها عَلَنا يَا مولايَ

فَما أخرُجُ مِنْ حانَتِكَ الكُبرى إلا مُنتشئً سَكْرَانْ

أصغَرُ شيءٍ يُسْكُرُني في الخَلْقِ فَكَيّفَ الإنسانْ؟

سُبحانَكَ كُلُّ الأشّيَاءُ رَضيتُ سِوى الذُّلْ

وَأنْ يُوضَعَ قَلبِيَ في قَفَصٍ في بَيْتِ السُلطانْ

وَقَنِعْتُ يَكونُ نَصيبي في الدُنيا.. كَنَصيبِ الطيرْ

ولكنْ سُبحانَكَ حتى الطيرُ لها أوطانْ

وتَعوْدُ إليها….وأنا ما زِلّتُ أَطير…

فهذا الوَّطَنُ المُّمّتَدُ مِنَ البَحْرِ إلى البَحْر

سُجُوْنٌ مُتَلاصِقَة..

سَجانٌ يُمْسِكُ سَجان…

source: http://www.independent.co.uk

1 The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a certain berry. He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly the first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. By the late 15th century it had arrived in Mecca and Turkey from where it made its way to Venice in 1645. It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee who opened the first coffee house in Lombard Street in the City of London. The Arabic qahwa became the Turkish kahve then the Italian caffé and then English coffee.

2 The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a laser, which enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters the eye, rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haitham. He invented the first pin-hole camera after noticing the way light came through a hole in window shutters. The smaller the hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set up the first Camera Obscura (from the Arab word qamara for a dark or private room). He is also credited with being the first man to shift physics from a philosophical activity to an experimental one.

3 A form of chess was played in ancient India but the game was developed into the form we know it today in Persia. From there it spread westward to Europe – where it was introduced by the Moors in Spain in the 10th century – and eastward as far as Japan. The word rook comes from the Persian rukh, which means chariot.

4 A thousand years before the Wright brothers a Muslim poet, astronomer, musician and engineer named Abbas ibn Firnas made several attempts to construct a flying machine. In 852 he jumped from the minaret of the Grand Mosque in Cordoba using a loose cloak stiffened with wooden struts. He hoped to glide like a bird. He didn’t. But the cloak slowed his fall, creating what is thought to be the first parachute, and leaving him with only minor injuries. In 875, aged 70, having perfected a machine of silk and eagles’ feathers he tried again, jumping from a mountain. He flew to a significant height and stayed aloft for ten minutes but crashed on landing – concluding, correctly, that it was because he had not given his device a tail so it would stall on landing. Baghdad international airport and a crater on the Moon are named after him.

5 Washing and bathing are religious requirements for Muslims, which is perhaps why they perfected the recipe for soap which we still use today. The ancient Egyptians had soap of a kind, as did the Romans who used it more as a pomade. But it was the Arabs who combined vegetable oils with sodium hydroxide and aromatics such as thyme oil. One of the Crusaders’ most striking characteristics, to Arab nostrils, was that they did not wash. Shampoo was introduced to England by a Muslim who opened Mahomed’s Indian Vapour Baths on Brighton seafront in 1759 and was appointed Shampooing Surgeon to Kings George IV and William IV.

6 Distillation, the means of separating liquids through differences in their boiling points, was invented around the year 800 by Islam’s foremost scientist, Jabir ibn Hayyan, who transformed alchemy into chemistry, inventing many of the basic processes and apparatus still in use today – liquefaction, crystallisation, distillation, purification, oxidisation, evaporation and filtration. As well as discovering sulphuric and nitric acid, he invented the alembic still, giving the world intense rosewater and other perfumes and alcoholic spirits (although drinking them is haram, or forbidden, in Islam). Ibn Hayyan emphasised systematic experimentation and was the founder of modern chemistry.

7 The crank-shaft is a device which translates rotary into linear motion and is central to much of the machinery in the modern world, not least the internal combustion engine. One of the most important mechanical inventions in the history of humankind, it was created by an ingenious Muslim engineer called al-Jazari to raise water for irrigation. His 1206 Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices shows he also invented or refined the use of valves and pistons, devised some of the first mechanical clocks driven by water and weights, and was the father of robotics. Among his 50 other inventions was the combination lock.

8 Quilting is a method of sewing or tying two layers of cloth with a layer of insulating material in between. It is not clear whether it was invented in the Muslim world or whether it was imported there from India or China. But it certainly came to the West via the Crusaders. They saw it used by Saracen warriors, who wore straw-filled quilted canvas shirts instead of armour. As well as a form of protection, it proved an effective guard against the chafing of the Crusaders’ metal armour and was an effective form of insulation – so much so that it became a cottage industry back home in colder climates such as Britain and Holland.

9 The pointed arch so characteristic of Europe’s Gothic cathedrals was an invention borrowed from Islamic architecture. It was much stronger than the rounded arch used by the Romans and Normans, thus allowing the building of bigger, higher, more complex and grander buildings. Other borrowings from Muslim genius included ribbed vaulting, rose windows and dome-building techniques. Europe’s castles were also adapted to copy the Islamic world’s – with arrow slits, battlements, a barbican and parapets. Square towers and keeps gave way to more easily defended round ones. Henry V’s castle architect was a Muslim.

10 Many modern surgical instruments are of exactly the same design as those devised in the 10th century by a Muslim surgeon called al-Zahrawi. His scalpels, bone saws, forceps, fine scissors for eye surgery and many of the 200 instruments he devised are recognisable to a modern surgeon. It was he who discovered that catgut used for internal stitches dissolves away naturally (a discovery he made when his monkey ate his lute strings) and that it can be also used to make medicine capsules. In the 13th century, another Muslim medic named Ibn Nafis described the circulation of the blood, 300 years before William Harvey discovered it. Muslims doctors also invented anaesthetics of opium and alcohol mixes and developed hollow needles to suck cataracts from eyes in a technique still used today.

11 The windmill was invented in 634 for a Persian caliph and was used to grind corn and draw up water for irrigation. In the vast deserts of Arabia, when the seasonal streams ran dry, the only source of power was the wind which blew steadily from one direction for months. Mills had six or 12 sails covered in fabric or palm leaves. It was 500 years before the first windmill was seen in Europe.

12 The technique of inoculation was not invented by Jenner and Pasteur but was devised in the Muslim world and brought to Europe from Turkey by the wife of the English ambassador to Istanbul in 1724. Children in Turkey were vaccinated with cowpox to fight the deadly smallpox at least 50 years before the West discovered it.

13 The fountain pen was invented for the Sultan of Egypt in 953 after he demanded a pen which would not stain his hands or clothes. It held ink in a reservoir and, as with modern pens, fed ink to the nib by a combination of gravity and capillary action.

14 The system of numbering in use all round the world is probably Indian in origin but the style of the numerals is Arabic and first appears in print in the work of the Muslim mathematicians al-Khwarizmi and al-Kindi around 825. Algebra was named after al-Khwarizmi’s book, Al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah, much of whose contents are still in use. The work of Muslim maths scholars was imported into Europe 300 years later by the Italian mathematician Fibonacci. Algorithms and much of the theory of trigonometry came from the Muslim world. And Al-Kindi’s discovery of frequency analysis rendered all the codes of the ancient world soluble and created the basis of modern cryptology.

15 Ali ibn Nafi, known by his nickname of Ziryab (Blackbird) came from Iraq to Cordoba in the 9th century and brought with him the concept of the three-course meal – soup, followed by fish or meat, then fruit and nuts. He also introduced crystal glasses (which had been invented after experiments with rock crystal by Abbas ibn Firnas – see No 4).

16 Carpets were regarded as part of Paradise by medieval Muslims, thanks to their advanced weaving techniques, new tinctures from Islamic chemistry and highly developed sense of pattern and arabesque which were the basis of Islam’s non-representational art. In contrast, Europe’s floors were distinctly earthly, not to say earthy, until Arabian and Persian carpets were introduced. In England, as Erasmus recorded, floors were “covered in rushes, occasionally renewed, but so imperfectly that the bottom layer is left undisturbed, sometimes for 20 years, harbouring expectoration, vomiting, the leakage of dogs and men, ale droppings, scraps of fish, and other abominations not fit to be mentioned”. Carpets, unsurprisingly, caught on quickly.

17 The modern cheque comes from the Arabic saqq, a written vow to pay for goods when they were delivered, to avoid money having to be transported across dangerous terrain. In the 9th century, a Muslim businessman could cash a cheque in China drawn on his bank in Baghdad.

18 By the 9th century, many Muslim scholars took it for granted that the Earth was a sphere. The proof, said astronomer Ibn Hazm, “is that the Sun is always vertical to a particular spot on Earth”. It was 500 years before that realisation dawned on Galileo. The calculations of Muslim astronomers were so accurate that in the 9th century they reckoned the Earth’s circumference to be 40,253.4km – less than 200km out. The scholar al-Idrisi took a globe depicting the world to the court of King Roger of Sicily in 1139.

19 Though the Chinese invented saltpetre gunpowder, and used it in their fireworks, it was the Arabs who worked out that it could be purified using potassium nitrate for military use. Muslim incendiary devices terrified the Crusaders. By the 15th century they had invented both a rocket, which they called a “self-moving and combusting egg”, and a torpedo – a self-propelled pear-shaped bomb with a spear at the front which impaled itself in enemy ships and then blew up.

20 Medieval Europe had kitchen and herb gardens, but it was the Arabs who developed the idea of the garden as a place of beauty and meditation. The first royal pleasure gardens in Europe were opened in 11th-century Muslim Spain. Flowers which originated in Muslim gardens include the carnation and the tulip.

“1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in Our World” is a new exhibition which began a nationwide tour this week. It is currently at the Science Museum in Manchester. For more information, go to www.1001inventions.com.

Dealing with Islamophobia

Ahel Cairo

America can now imprison, torture and shoot American citizens at will:

http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts02102010.html

As our Founding Fathers and a long list of scholars warned, once civil liberties are breached, they are breached for all. Soon U.S. citizens were being held indefinitely in violation of their habeas corpus rights. Dr. Aafia Siddiqui an American citizen of Pakistani origin might have been the first.

Dr. Siddiqui, a scientist educated at MIT and Brandeis University, was seized in Pakistan for no known reason, sent to Afghanistan, and was held secretly for five years in the U.S. military’s notorious Bagram prison in Afghanistan. Her three young children were with her at the time she was abducted, one an eight-month old baby. She has no idea what has become of her two youngest children. Her oldest child, 7 years old, was also incarcerated in Bagram and subjected to similar abuse and horrors.

Siddiqui has never been charged with any terrorism-related offense. A British journalist, hearing her piercing screams as she was being tortured, disclosed her presence. An embarrassed U.S. government responded to the disclosure by sending Siddiqui to the U.S. for trial on the trumped-up charge that while a captive, she grabbed a U.S. soldier’s rifle and fired two shots attempting to shoot him. The charge apparently originated as a U.S. soldier’s excuse for shooting Dr. Siddiqui twice in the stomach resulting in her near death.

On February 4, Dr. Siddiqui was convicted by a New York jury for attempted murder. The only evidence presented against her was the charge itself and an unsubstantiated claim that she had once taken a pistol-firing course at an American firing range. No evidence was presented of her fingerprints on the rifle that this frail and broken 100-pound woman had allegedly seized from an American soldier. No evidence was presented that a weapon was fired, no bullets, no shell casings, no bullet holes. Just an accusation.
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oh and read this about how the American army just shoots unarmed students ( of course they make a fuss when Iran just arrests students,) the incident is called the kent state massacre

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings

Jeffrey Miller transferred to Kent State University from Michigan State in 1970. He was a smart kid and had many friends. When first arriving at Kent State Miller pledged Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and became a member. On May 4, 1970 he was shot and killed by an Ohio National Guardsmen in the Kent State shootings. Miller was part of a large group of unarmed students who gathered on the Kent State campus to protest the U.S. war efforts, especially the recently announced invasion of Cambodia. At some point the guardsmen became agitated and fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others. There was a significant national response to the incident and many students all over the U.S. conducted a walk out and strike. Jeffrey Millers last photograph is truly a sad site. John Filo was on campus the day of the shooting and took some iconic images. One of them was the Pulitzer Prize-winning picture of a young girl screaming while leaning over the dead body of Jeffrey Miller. It is one of the most famous pictures in U.S. history and shows the realism of the event. Jeffrey Miller was a kind hearted passionate man who was murdered at a young age. I strongly feel that the final picture of Jeffrey is a fitting tribute to his life and has helped teach a generation about an important cause.

http://www.syriapath.com/forum/

We are calling random phone numbers in Gaza, and expressing our solidarity to those people, and letting them know that we are with them all the way ……

The people in Gaza respond by saying that they will remain strong and defiant, may God bless them all.

Now you can do the same, just call any of these numbers, and replace the xxxx with any 4 numbers. If you get through to a family in Gaza, just let them know that they are not alone, and never will be forgotten.

DO IT NOW, YOU HAVE NO REASON NOT TO. IT ONLY COSTS A COUPLE OF DOLLARS AND A FEW MINUTES.

The phone numbers, plus international and local codes are:

009708282XXXX
009708283XXXX
009708284XXXX
009708286XXXX

Spread the word, post these numbers on your profiles and blogs, send them to your email contacts. Make a difference NOW.

God bless you all.

 The Massacres are still going on ..…please pray for our children and to all those martyrs who were killed by the Israeli army