I do not know...a worldview you said?

There are many things I do not know. True! but I love the fact that I do not know everything because it gives me a reason to wake up everyday.


I love learning, discovering new theories, trying to look at things from different angles (very difficult sometimes), to test different worldviews...and wait a minute, I just wrote worldview...but what is a worldview? it consists of what? is it something we can think of, discuss about it? change it? remove it? erase it and make another one?


Can you guess what was my first reaction after asking myself all these questions about worldviews....yes you are rigth...I went to my teenager's room and I asked him, what is a worldview?


He looked at me, first, puzzled and then, as usual, his answer came out full of wit and charm, "Am I asked what is 'my' worldview or what is 'our' worldview?


hummmmm great question....does that mean that I am not applying the rules of democracy ...I mean democracy principles, the ideals of universal freedoms, such as the right to free speech...in our home? NO, this cannot be possible ;) right??


What guides a person's decision making? This question may seem abstract and philosophical, but it is actually very practical. When decisions need to be made, are there guidelines to follow?


Everyday decisions, as well as abstract and philosophical decisions, are influenced by one's worldview. For example, deciding which political party to support, choosing how to make financial decisions, and many other practical matters are decided on by one's worldview.


Most people who encounter the concept of worldview first do so during their college education. But even as adults, few people take the time to think about, examine, and identify their own worldview. Many consider the topic too heavy or too philosophical, yet whether it is perceived or not, each person has a worldview that impacts their life.


Decisions are all determined by a person's worldview. If people understand their own decision making process and can explain it, they are well on their way to understanding and articulating their worldview.

What is a Worldview?

According to Nash, "It is a conceptual framework, pattern, or arrangement of a person's beliefs. The best worldviews are comprehensive, systematic, and supposedly true views of life and the world" (Nash, 1999, p. 13).

According to Sire, "A worldview is a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true, or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic make-up of our world" (Sire, 1988, p. 17).

Many authors who write on the topic of worldview use a common analogy to explain what a worldview is and how it influences our thinking.

A worldview is like a pair of eyeglasses that influences how one sees the world. The purpose of eyeglasses, of course, is to bring the world (reality) into clearer focus. Eyeglasses should help a person see well. Some glasses change the way things appear because of colored lenses.

The origin of the prescription becomes the foundation of worldview.

Hoffecker (2007) noted that worldviews impact every area of life. "One's worldview, or world-and-life view, consists of one's most basic beliefs and framework of understanding Directly or indirectly, basic beliefs influence every dimension of human life" (p. xi).

WHAT IS YOUR WORLDVIEW? I am going to tell you about mine next time..

Have a great day!

Democracy?

More democratic regimes would lead to less military aggression and international terrorism. But democracy requires a history of civic traditions that many authoritarians countries do not have! Some countries, after decades of oppressive autocratic rule, are not ready for democracy. 

Democracy is needed throughout the world. By helping to guarantee freedom and human rights, democracy can improve the lives of people regardless of their cultural background or religion.  

Democracy is universally applicable and must be actively promoted. People who have experienced authoritarian regimes are more receptive to a political process that protects their liberty.

We want Freedom! not Civil War!

We have to save Libya! we have to save Libyans! We do not want Qaddafi and his sons to regain power!But we do not want civil war!

The freedom fighters are seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. They need help and guidance in order to follow forever the path of democracy! They want a Libya which will diversify its economy and encourage the private sector.

The freedom fighters are a little bit disorganised but they are determined to fight for democracy in Libya. The rebels did not even know how to operate rocket-propelled grenades when the fighting started but they did not get discouraged! 

Who are the rebels? They consist of defectors from the army as well as thousands of civilian volunteers. Moussa Koussa's defection represents a serious blow to Gaddafi's regime. The Libyan Foreign minister had decided to defect to UK today. 

I just hope that the risk of retaliatory massacres or even genocide will not happen in Libya. Let us not forget Bosnia's conflict! 3 years of war and 100,000dead!

Gaddafi once was a sponsor of terrorism. Nobody tried to stop him! After 2003, he converted to a U.S. ally, surrendering weapons of mass destruction, paying compensation for past attacks, and providing intelligence against radicals Islamists. 

I am really worried about Libyans. What began as a peaceful uprisings is set to degenerate into a civil war. For several weeks pro-democracy fighters and forces loyal to Gaddafi have been fighting across a strip of land between Ajdabiya and Bin Jawad.

And what about the fact that France and England are arming the Libyan pro-democracy fighters? I hope that these weapons would not fall on the hands of terrorists. 

Does NATO's plans for Libya means only one of two: Afghanistan's Karzai or Iraq's Chalabi???

What do you think?

Democracy can still work!

Everytime we ask an Arab president (Egypt, Syria, Algeria, Yemen, Bahrain, Tunisia, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Jordan,...) this following question: When are we going to have democracy? They tense up and snap back, "If I do what you want, the Islamic fundamentalists will seize power." OH MY, aren't they tired of this same excuse in order to legitimate their dictatorships!!! 

Democracy can work in the Arab world and these Arab presidents must stop using the fundamentalists as an excuse to sit on power pour toujours. These dictators create societies deferential to authority, with a powerful state and a bureaucracy which is corrupted. These presidents created passive citizens who are meekly submitted to hierarchy. Why? Fear! Fear to die, fear to be persecuted, fear to die in jail, fear to be tortured...would turn every citizen like that!

These Arab dictator have created in fact the problem of the 'Islamic fundamentalists.' These dictators have ruled their countries for decades and they have suppressed all political activity. The one place where people can have a dialogue about politic was at the mosque. Of course, these dictators could not shut down the mosques. Therefore, the mosques became the center of political activism and discourse and religion became the language of the opposition.

In Algeria, weeks of protests forced the government to cut taxes on sugar and cooking oil, and wheat supplies increased! Thank you for the cadeau!

Jordan Abdullah II, King for 11 years / Saudi Arabia Abdullah King for 5 years / Tunisia Zine el Abidine Ben Ali President for 23 years, ousted / Bahrain Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa In power for 11 years /  Morocco Mohammed VI  King for 11 years /  Egypt Hosni Mubarak President for 29 years /  Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika President for 11 years /  Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh In power for 32 years / Syria Bashar Assad President for 10 years

En tout cas!! I wonder how they can still sleep at night! With Ben Ali gone and Mubarak gone, who's next?

"Bombed Lebanon anchor wins award"

A Lebanese television journalist who was badly maimed in a car bomb attack last year has been awarded Unesco's annual World Press Freedom Prize.

Since losing an arm and a leg in a bomb blast meant to kill her, Lebanese journalist May Chidiac returned this summer to television and her trademark criticisms of Syrian involvement in her homeland. She has received two major press freedom awards.

On the day that changed her life in September 2005, Chidiac hosted her regular morning political talk show on the privately owned Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, one of the country's most influential and respected news providers.

As she often did, she addressed Syria's possible involvement in the murder of Rafik Hariri, the anti-Syrian former prime minister who was killed in a massive explosion along with 22 others on Feb. 14, 2005.

A few hours after the show, 500 grams of explosives detonated under the driver's seat of her Range Rover. The explosion blew off her left leg below the knee and shredded her left arm, which was subsequently amputated. Her face was spared, largely because she had turned toward the back seat when the bomb went off.

"I knew I was disturbing them," she told Women's eNews recently, referring to Beirut's ruling pro-Syrian class and their mentors in Damascus. "But I never thought they would have been able to consider killing me," she said in an interview at her home in a leafy Christian suburb overlooking Beirut. Her attackers have not been found.

Syrian troops occupied Lebanon from 1976 to 2005, after entering as a peacekeeping force. They soon became a party to the bloody civil conflict that raged from 1975 to 1990. But in a country where dissent against Syria often meant death or disappearance, Chidiac didn't shy away from asking difficult questions, even during the Syrian presence in Lebanon.

Chidiac is largely dependent on her wheelchair until she learns how to walk again on her prosthetic leg. Her two bodyguards double up as assistants. She can't get ready in time to host her morning show, which she's put on hold, but she is still teaching two broadcast news courses at a university and fronting her evening program.

"My body is different but my mind is still the same," she said, pointing to her bejeweled, French-manicured prosthetic arm. "I'm still as tough as before, maybe tougher."

This article has been written by Rania Abouzeid. She is a freelance journalist based in Beirut. She has covered Lebanon for the last seven years.

Morocco: from Feudal to Modern

When France granted independence to its protectorate in 1956, Morocco was a largely feudal kingdom of 12 million inhabitants. King Hassan II, who succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, Mohammed V, in 1961, ruled the country with a firm and arbitrary hand for 38 years. In Morocco, France did not adopt any steps to promote social welfare in the country. France wanted to maintain Moroccan society in a state of underdevelopment: illiteracy, poor health conditions, poverty and an abscence of industry.

King Mohammed VI has set himself the challenge of creating a modern state while maintaining the feudal veneer: 20-minute daily diet of state functionaries kissing the royal hand. Well, it is easier to be a dictator than a democrat ;) Is the King Mohammed VI ready to hand the power to the people?

I am not sure! Neither the Moroccan Monarchy, nor the Tunisian secular modernizing regime, nor the Algerian revolutionary junta, are showing interest in creating democratic systems of government.

Is Morocco ready for Democracy? Democracy requires adherence to some values, such as belief in the virtues of dialogue, tolerance of different opinions, acceptance of criticism and abiding by majority decisions. The longer the period of dictatorship, the greater the likelihood of a disorderly transition to democracy. Authoritarianism prevents the development of a tradition of dialogue and compromise. 

Mohammed VI: " I do not know. I have a lot of respect for His Majesty Juan Carlos. I call him Uncle Juan because he is an extraordinary person whom I have known for a long time. He is a relative almost. We often speak on the phone and I ask him for his guidance. But Moroccans are not Spaniards and they will never be.Democracy in Spain was very good for Spain. There should be a Moroccan model specific to Morocco."

Well, let us see if the King, who personifies the new Eurocentric Moroccan, will install democracy in Morocco. He seems to have some leanings towards democracy.

Algeria and the Surrealistic Vote

To get a taste of the kind of bias one finds toward Bouteflika in much of the media, understand that El Moudjahid, the semi-official French-language paper, describes Bouteflika as
“l’homme qui défend les valeurs authentiquement algériennes dans leur triple dimension l’amazighité, l’islam et l’arabité pour imprégner les valeurs nationales, de paix et de fraternité à la jeunesse”.

Bouteflika always wins the elections with a surrealistic 84.99 per cent of the votes cast. When Bouteflika first ran for the presidency in 1999, all opposition candidates dropped out on the eve of the election. Why do you think all the candidates gave up? The vote was marred by fraud, of course!

Bouteflika is the chosen one by the shadowy military structure that we call (the Algerians and I) "the power" or the "deciders."

Bouteflika presented himself as the savior of the nation: the only man who could guarantee the eradication of terrorism and the miracle of the "national reconciliation"!!!

But Bouteflika does not rule the country! It is the army, the Algerian Generals, who rule Algeria with their cruel methods and their repressive methods. Bouteflika is indeed trying to limite the army's function and role but it is very difficult since the army is still the actor who decides for Algeria! We do not have any laws that limit the power of the army and the security forces. The gendarmerie, the army and the security forces kill the demonstrators without impunity.

Impunity, in the human rights context, refers to the lack of accountability for human rights violations committed by the agents of state. The army, which considers itself as the guardian of justice, is killing the demonstrators.

The FLN, since its foundation in 1954, represented itself as the "incarnation of the unified nation whose survival had to be guaranteed by an all-compassing state represented by the FLN regime" (Lamchichi:1991). As Frantz Fanon said it so well, in order to be free, the subjugated Algerians have to purge their minds of the regime left by the FLN.


Hutchinson, Martha, Crenshaw, 1978. Revolutionary Terrorism: The FLN in Algeria, 1954-
62. Stanford, Calif: Hoover Institute Press.

Lamchichi, Adderrahim, 1991. L’Algérie en crise. Paris: L’Harmattan

FLN is the acronym for Front de Libération nationale. FLN launched the Independence War in 1954. FLN was the only legal party since the independence 1962 up to 1989.

http:///www.mission-algerie.ch/anglais/index2.htm. Preamble to the 1996 Constitution.

Education and Democracy

"Education is the guardian genius of democracy.It is the only dictator that free men recognize, and the only ruler that free men require."

Teachers must find all sorts of new ways to instill democratic values in their students.

Ataturk said, "Teachers, the new generation will be your devotion." Indeed, if the students internalize the democratic values and principles in their behavior at school, they will be able to build a democratic society free of corruption! Therefore, teachers must create democratic attitudes and attainments in children. A democratic society can be achieved only by means of a democratic education.

Critical pedagogy uses knowledge to raise students' political and social consciousness and it encourage students to question the government. In our Amnesty Club, students learn about democratic values by openly discussing issues and I encourage them to hold different perspectives. I always make sure to create a supportive climate of high expectations!

Teachers must engage students in thinking critically about their society by giving them writing prompts, guiding questions, and opportunities to meaningfully discuss the readings that we use in class about human rights and democracy.

Teachers need to give their students subjects and assignments regarding democracy, human rights, peace, citizenship education, and environmental awareness. Teachers play a crucial role in laying the foundations of democratic institutions.

Democracy and the World

Democracy does not mean one man, one vote, one time,... right?

The new Arab generation is not motivated by religion or ideology, but by the aspiration for a peaceful transition to a decent, democratic, and "normal" government.

Arabs politicians who complain that Islamists are no democrats should be told that they are not DEMOCRATS either!

In 1991, the government of Algeria said that the ISF (Islamic Salvation Front) cannot be trusted and if they grab power, they could never be trusted to give it up again. Therefore, the government of Algeria cancelled the second round of the election in which the Islamic Salvation Front was going for a second round.

But look! who is still holding the power in Algeria?? Bouteflika! He is ruling Algeria with a tough hand since 1999, maintaining power through elections that we all know were rigged.

Mostafa Boshashi, head of the Algerian League for Human Rights, said: "Algerians want their voices to be heard too. They want democratic change.

Algeria has the eighth largest reserves of natural gas in the world, and is also oil-rich, but its youthful population suffers mass unemployment, a chronic lack of housing, and widespread poverty. Political corruption is also endemic.

Thousands defied a government ban to hold a pro-democracy rally in Algiers. They chanted "Bouteflika out!" - in reference to the country's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

About 30,000 police are reportedly deployed in and around capital, and extra police with water cannons are on stand-by.

Earlier this month, President Bouteflika said the country's state of emergency would be lifted in the "very near future". He said protests would be allowed everywhere in the country except in the capital.

President Bouteflika, when are we going to have democracy in Algeria? Algerians are longing for freedom and liberty. Algerians want a change of the system not a change in the system!

Maqam Shahid , the monument to the million martyrs of the war of independence, graces the heights of Algiers.

Youth of Algeria! your great grandparents made enormous sacrifices to create Algeria, a free Algeria. You must be ready to make great sacrifices to fight for DEMOCRACY! fight for a truly free country!

Democracy in the Middle East

Do Westerners have a different meaning of Democracy than Arabs?

Many Arab countries are seeking freedom through the right of elections in different countries like Kuwait, Bahrain, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt,.....

The original meaning of democracy comes from the Greek language-democraci, which means "the people," and krato which means the "power of the people".

Today in the West, the current meaning of democracy has changed from its original Greek meaning that emphasis on people power. In the West, democracy is understood as meaning the authority of the majority to make decisions.

Democracy happens when people can affect change with their vote. Well, in some Middle East and African countries, we still have a long way to go!

United States president Lincoln (1809-1865) defined democracy as: “Government of the people, by the people, for the people.” This suggests a more active role of the citizens in government decision making because it is not just for the people, it is by the people. So, citizens have more access and influence on government actions.

Each nation has to develop its own type of democracy that is based on its own culture's experience and history.

Democracy is a form of government where a constitution is created that guarantees basic individual rights, political rights, independent courts of law, free elections, a transparent government, and a press and media that is free and open.

A free press means freedom of conscience for journalists and bloggers.

But most of the time people see a conflict between Islam and Democracy. Is there a conflict between Islam and Democracy?

According to Jamal (2006), "Islam is a monolithic, hierarchical faith devoid of individualism, liberalism, and political freedoms. But more important, these explanations assume that Islamic culture, Islamic interpretations, and Islamic religiosity all similarly stifle the democratic process and do so the world over." (Jamal, 2006, p. 53).

Then, as President Obama has suggested, in order to institute democracy, all people must be included, even Islamic fundamentalists

According to Ottaway, Schwedler, Telhami, & Saad (2005), Islamic fundamentalists "are substantial, they are on the ground, they are disciplined, and they are committed. They have been performing important social services for the poor and the needy, and they have managed to project an image of a corruption-free political force in contrasts to regimes that are plagued by corruption." (p. 11)

In Egypt and in Algeria, the governments are trying to scare the population with the Islamic fundamentalists threat in order to maintain their regime plagued by corruption.

Many Islamists scholars like Mazrui (2004) agree about the strong relationship between Islam and democracy. He states that "some Democratic principles have been part of Islam from the beginning."

Then, it is possible to have a secular-Muslim government. We can have democratic Middle East countries. We can have Muslim secular states!

A secular state involves a neutral stance toward different religious beliefs. A secular state has no preferential links with any religion in general.

We should not let the Islamists political parties to challenge secularism on Sharia based arguments but we should let the Islamist political parties have a voice in the Middle East countries.

We should develop a version of secularism which would not ostracize manifestations of religious beliefs from the public sphere.

This is what democracy is about.

Jamal, A. (2006). Reassessing support for Islam and democracy in the Arab world? Evidence
from Egypt and Jordan. World Affairs, 169(2).

Ottaway M., Schwedler, J. Telhami, S., & Saad, E. I. (2005). Democracy: Rising tide or
mirage? Middle East Policy, XII(2), 1-27

Sarsar, S. (2006). Quantifying Arab democracy: Democracy in the Middle East. Middle East
Quarterly, XII(3), 21-28

Scahill, J. (2005). Bush’s war against Al-Jazeera. Retrieved on April 4, 1-2, from
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/?Page=Article&ID=5634.

People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika won a third-year term last April with a reported 90 percent of the vote!!!

We can only react with sullen DISDAIN, right?? another crooked election like all the other elections which had taken place in Algeria!

But how to promote Democracy in Algeria? How to promote Human Rights and the rule of law in the country in order to have a more secure environment?

We need to analyse the case of Algeria in a particular context: the colonial legacy, the threat of political Islam, and the impact of the political elite.

Algeria was a French colony from 1830 to 1954, when the War of Liberation began, and, after eight years of war, Algeria declared its independence in 1962. The major legacy of the colonial war and the war of Liberation was the strong, centralized state structure designed by the military and civilian elite, which affected the prospects for democratization in Algeria.
The supremacy of the military, an authoritarian government, the bureaucratic elite...

The military, the bureaucratic elite, and the PRESIDENT, form the three pillars of the centralized state structure... and power is centered in their hands!

The Algerian parliament is bicameral, consisting of a lower chamber, the National People's Assembly (APN), with 380 members and an upper chamber, the Council of Nation, with 144 members.

The APN is elected every 5 years. Two-thirds of the Council of the Nation are elected by regional and municipal authorities; the rest are appointed by the President.

The Council of the Nation serves a 6-year term with one-half of the seats up for election or reappointment every 3 years. Either the President or one of the parliamentary chambers may initiate legislation. Legislation must be brought before both chambers before it becomes law. Sessions of the APN are televised!

Algeria's central bank has some $140 billion in foreign exchange reserves, invested in treasury bills and central bank deposits abroad.

The finance ministry also has a hydrocarbon stabilization fund, known as the Fonds de Régulation des Recettes. According to finance minister, this has a dinar-denominated equivalent of about € 50 billion. It acts as a savings fund, helping ensure that the budget will balance if there is a hydrocarbon price crash, so that, for example, infrastructure projects can continue.

Everyone in Algeria knows that the country is far too dependent on using hydrocarbon exports to fund imports, which are often subsidized. Algeria, for example, is the world's largest importer of wheat, and Africa's largest importer of milk. This is despite vast tracts of unused farmland.

"Northwestern Africa, after all, was the breadbasket of the Roman Empire." (O'Neill Dominic, 2008).

Amnesty International Club: Democracy

Every Tuesday, I have got a group of determined and kind-hearted students who really want to make an impact.

Last Tuesday, we started discussing the word democracy: a definition of democracy, the conditions that are necesary for democracy to flourish, and the current challenges facing the creation of democracy in many countries in this world.

1. democracy [Gr.,= rule of the people], term originating in ancient Greece to designate a government where the people share in directing the activities of the state, as distinct from governments controlled by a single class, select group, or autocrat. The definition of democracy has been expanded, however, to describe a philosophy that insists on the right and the capacity of a people, acting either directly or through representatives, to control their institutions for their own purposes. Such a philosophy places a high value on the equality of individuals and would free people as far as possible from restraints not self-imposed. It insists that necessary restraints be imposed only by the consent of the majority and that they conform to the principle of equality.

(from the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia)

Then, we discussed this excerpt from Thomas Jefferson's inaugural address on March 1, 1801.

From Thomas Jefferson's first Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801

"During the contest of opinion through which we have passed, the animation of discussion and of exertions has sometimes worn an aspect which might impose on strangers unused to think freely and to speak and to write what they think; but this being now decided by the voice of the nation, announced according to the rules of the constitution, all will, of course, arrange themselves under the will of the law, and unite in common efforts for the common good. All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful, must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal laws must protect, and to violate which would be oppression. Let us, then, fellow citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things. And let us reflect that having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions."

Then, we have discussed the conditions which are necessary for a democracy to exist and flourish.

· functioning civil institutions
· free press
· educated middle class
· generally open economy
· increased prosperity
· free elections
· pluralism
· respect for law
· independent judiciary
· rule of law
· freedom from oppression

Which, if any of these conditions exist in Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Togo, Ivory Coast, Sudan, Egypt...

A suivre...