Brits don't do topless

First there was this: http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Society/10323472.html

Then in less than 24 hours, there was this: http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/General/10323797.html

This is about the warning by the British Government to British Citizens not to bare their tops when in the UAE. What I find rather weird is that the Brits quickly found a voice via Gulf News to complain about this (complaining is a national pastime in the UK) and the tone of the article implies that the Brits are angry at the gulfies for having this rather negative opinion that they tend to take off their clothes when in fact the finger should point to the Europeans (again they imply that Brits are not Europeans).. oh well..

I tend to agree that continental Europeans (e.g. French, Italians, Spaniards, etc) tend to have more relaxed rules about sunbathing, but I strongly believe this is another piece of rubbish journalism that should not exist. Instead perhaps Gulf News should forward the voices of these angry Brits towards the UK Embassy in Dubai or David Milliband himself at the FCO.

Honestly, it's a completely internal British matter.

Sheikh Mo in Tony Blair's Speech

An interesting speech by Tony Blair today at the "Islam and Muslims in the world today" conference, hosted by the University of Cambridge.

Important topics of education, (education, education - is there an echo in here, Tony), Islam and integration were touched on.

But the role of education goes much wider than simply religious education. At the recent Middle East World Economic Forum, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the creation of a groundbreaking $10 billion foundation to promote education in Arab countries.

The foundation will focus on human development, supporting and empowering young minds and focusing on research, education and investment in the infrastructure of knowledge. It will provide scholarships for study at world-reputed institutions. In neighbouring Qatar, the Government has invited top international universities to develop an "Education City" with the aim of becoming the beacon of educational excellence in the Arab world.

Many of these initiatives are designed to tap into the ages-old tradition of Islam where - in line with the Koran - knowledge is revered and Muslims urged to pursue it.

The transcript is here.

The Jewish school where half the students are Muslim

Cool story via The Sudanese Thinker blog.

...half the 247 pupils at the 40-year-old local authority-supported school are Muslim, and apparently the Muslim parents go through all sorts of hoops, including moving into the school's catchment area, to get their children into King David to learn Hebrew, wave Israeli flags on independence day and hang out with the people some would have us believe that they hate more than anyone in the world.

Read the rest of this heartwarming story here: The Independent Online