Iraqi vote attracts opinionated frauds
Re: U of T’s Muslims watch and wait as Iraq vote-counting begins, Feb. 7.
As a Muslim and an Iraqi, I was frustrated with several mistakes presented in the article regarding Muslim responses to the Iraqi elections. To begin with, the recent elections were not Iraq’s first in decades, as stated in the article, but rather the first ever democratic elections in the country’s history. Needless to say, these elections were truly consequential for Iraq and its citizens, both in the country and abroad. Secondly, other than the terrorists and insurgents aiming to sabotage Iraq’s newfound freedom, there exists little to no tension between the Shi’i and Sunni people of Iraq; in fact, over 70 per cent of voters in the Iraqi province with the greatest Sunni population voted for the United Iraqi Alliance, a predominately Shia party.
Such suggestions of conflict and civil war constitute yet another myth disseminated by the worldwide media in an attempt to incite hostility where there is none. Finally, Iraqis have grown weary of being looked upon as a naïve and ignorant people; the unidentified student who says that “the freedom Bush sells is not necessarily the turn Iraqis want to take” should realize that Iraqis, more than any other group, are aware of their situation and, as Furat al Yassin states, “they have no illusion about U.S. interest.” It is easy for outsiders to weigh in on the elections, yet only an Iraqi can give a genuine account of what these elections meant for his people.
Mayce Al-Sukhni
Heavenly Helena
Re: The Puck stops here, Feb. 7.
I’m a Dalhousie student who was in town expressly to see the student-run production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and I would like to dispute the-I believe-poorly-written criticism of the production.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and, hey, the flu bug is going around. Maybe the writer of said article was….feverish, but that is the most startlingly alive and fantastic version of the play I have ever seen. I am considering a move to U of T expressly for your theatre department.
There is nothing not to love about the 80s theme. In fact, I had to be talked out of seeing the play two nights in a row. I thought it was fantastically directed and filled with gifted actors. I found it especially surprising that the columnist decided to attack the actress playing Helena. I thought she brought more life and character to the part than I have ever seen. I remember studying Midsummer nights dream in highschool and renting the Hollywood version. Calista Flockhart played the most waifed-out version of Helena I have ever seen and I unceremoniously feel asleep. There was no danger of falling asleep during this brilliant and very much alive interpretation and I worry that your readers might be mislead by this obviously hastily written critic.
It would be a shame for anyone to miss this play. I was horrified that it was not sold out when I went on Friday night. If it had been a Dalhousie play there would have been people standing in the aisles to see Jessica Moss in such a starring role.
Kendall Hall
All-Arts all good
Just wanted to drop you guys a line to say congrats on the Arts issue. Saw it on the rack at the library and wondered what the colourful cover was all about. Cool concept for the photo, it looked really great. Also thought the articles were varied and interesting, especially the campus-related stuff. I imagine pulling off a special issue like that must be pretty tough, so kudos to all involved and thanks for the good read.
Kristen Coolmes
Palestine free-for-all
Re: ‘A Pisgah sight of Palestine,’ Feb. 7.
While Sarah Barmak joins in the fun of the Middle East peace discussion with her thoughts on her religion and her opinion on 19th century history, after a week of controversy and propaganda, I am still not sure if she is correct in stating that people cannot be blamed for making the “inevitable connection” to apartheid in South Africa. While we should all be reminded of the lessons of 19th and 20th-century Europe we perhaps should not lose sight of the events leading up to the ’67 war and the events of the Intifada that has hopefully ended, if we are going to compare Israel to some other country.
George Jakubovits
