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Browse published articles attributed to Thabet Sava Hassan, with full-archive search.
Criteria for evaluating one’s relationship with one’s partner Creating a healthy environment for a mutually satisfying relationship became the most hard and tedious task that a couple has to face in the complicated society in which we live. Nowadays, divorce is the norm and ...Criteria for evaluating one’s relationship with one’s partner
All my life, I was looking into the stars in the sky, captivated by the sight of the extremely emotional yet tranquil, peaceful soothing waves of the ocean. I was seeking the help of every creature of our great, creative and merciful God. I listened tentatively to the birds while they were ...All my life, I was looking into the stars in the sky, captivated by the sight of the extremely emotional yet tranquil, peaceful soothing waves of the ocean. I was seeking the help of every creature of our great, creative and merciful God.
To Coexist Harmoniously, All We Need Is Tolerance As a writer and educator, one of my routine daily tasks is scanning through my favorite newspapers to be familiar with current affairs. Lately, most of them have been cluttered with items that focused on the tension betwee Muslims and Westerners along with conflicts among nations of different religious, political or racial backgrounds. That prompted me to wonder about the reasons behind all major conflicts that we are exposed to on a daily basis through the various venues of the media and how can we resolve them peacefully.
On March 8th, 2016, the whole planet celebrated the International Day of Women. However, one may ask about the reasons that could gear the members of the gentle gender to participate in that precious event. Did they achieve their objectives of being treated as equals to their male counterparts? It is too obvious that we made a great progress in our own perceptions regarding the role that they play in our societies of today. Should we be complacent with that progress? Some men may rush to ask: “What do women want more than what they have today?
As Father’s Day approaches (June 16th, 2013), I began to contemplate about significant means to pay tribute to the forsaken heroes, our fathers. We should seize the opportunity to pay respect toward our dads by celebrating the event in joyous manners. The fundamental question should focus on the reasons behind celebrating Father’s Day. Without stating the obvious, most individuals are caught on the daily struggle of survival in the complex societies of today. Consequently, we acquired the tendency of taking our fathers for granted.
Few days ago, an acquaintance of mine uttered the phrase “We will keep in touch” before leaving. The tone of his voice and the expressions on his face indicated that he has no intention of ever contacting me and he wishes that I would do the same. That led me to take a moment and flash back to my previous encounters with some of my acquaintances. To my surprise, I discovered that neither those who uttered the phrase nor I kept in touch with each other..
As the international day of women approaches, I began to contemplate about means to pay my genuine respect for, and ete al admiration toward, them. I was fortunate enough to be blessed with having a remarkable mother who spent her entire life up to her demise raising her children after the death of her husband, a devoted Chinese wife who would sacrifice her own happiness to ensure mine, a daughter whose love inspires me to be the best, friends and colleagues who, unconditionally offered their help and support in my hours of need.
Without exaggeration, mothers are angels living among us. They cater to our needs regardless of their states of minds and health. They nurture us with their unconditional love through hard times. Mothers feel euphorically ecstatic for our success and share tears through our hours of sorrow and failure. The sky is the limit for their generosity of spirit. They are willing to sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of ensuring ours.
The word romance is associated with the notion of being vulnerable in men's minds. They are conditioned to perceive being romantic as being feminine or being a wimp. Even the meaning of the word romance is confusing to men in general. I took upon myself the task of asking the men whom I ... The word romance is associated with the notion of being vulnerable in men's minds. They are conditioned to perceive being romantic as being feminine or being a wimp. Even the meaning of the word romance is confusing to men in general.
Few weeks ago, I watched in bewilderment one of my students getting infuriated for misplacing her cellular phone. That prompted me to ask her the following question: “What would you do if you lose it and you could not afford buying a replacement?” With horror on her face for the thought of living without a cellular phone, she responded “I would die.”r
The latest terrorist attack on the Roudah Mosque in Bir Al-Abd in Sinai, Egypt that claimed the lives of more than 305 including 27 children and wounded more than 128 people, proved beyond any doubt that terrorism is blind to race and religion when it comes to targeting its unsuspected innocent victims. It doesn't choose its victims according to their nationality, religion, gender or age. Terrorists with their distorted logic randomly destroy the lives of families in multiple nations in every continent.
We, all without exceptions, spend most of our lives chasing after an intangible or an abstract idea called Happiness. However, is it a tangible feeling or an elusive concept? The fundamental question should focus on the meaning of happiness and the means to experience it.
Many people don’t believe in the existence of guardian angels but I do. They live among us and shower us with their bottomless treasure of love and affection. They, generously, sacrifice their lives to cater for our needs without ever complaining. They are our mothers. After carrying us for nine months, they spend their times taking care of us as babies and never cease to offer helping hands even when we become adults with our own children.
Without stating the obvious, communication is the fundamental element of any interactions between human beings. It is the backbone of a successful relationship either it is a marriage, a friendship or a partnership. No one can deny the fact that it is an essential ingredient in establishing a lucrative business. We may wish to explore the reasons behind our needs to communicate. One of the main incentives or motivation to communicate is the fact that we refer to communication to satisfy our daily needs.
As the New Year approaches, I begin to contemplate about my own resolutions regarding it knowing in advance that they will be broken or to be precise ignored after few weeks into the New Year. As far as I can remember, I always enthusiastically made resolutions conce ing my health, my career, my interactions with my fellow human beings, my conduct in general and about every aspect of life. Nonetheless, I kept only few ones.
It is a well-known fact that education plays a fundamental role in shaping one’s future. Consequently, parents must be selective in choosing the appropriate schools for the education of their beloved children. Some experts believe that private schools have the means to offer a high quality education while others insist on the fact that their public counterparts, effectively, prepare their students for the challenges of the future.
During an exchange of pleasantries in a friendly chat with some of my friends, we unintentionally ventured into the abstract concept of happiness. One of our friends was feeling down. In an attempt to cheer him up, we tried to convince him that his state of unhappiness was temporary and it would soon fade into oblivion leading him to become his jovial self again. We stressed the fact that it is normal for one to experience the blues from time to time. None of us can claim experiencing happiness at all times.
After residing in China for the past twelve years, I still dread the arrival of summer due to the fact that I am having an endless struggle with the smart yet aggravating Chinese mosquitoes. Regardless of my efforts, I seem to fail in persuading them to leave me alone in order to accomplish the impossible task of having a peaceful night sleep. My struggle with them began as soon as I arrived in China in 2003.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if one could have complete or partial control of one’s life! I am absolutely certain that the skeptics among us would convincingly state that it is an impossible task to say the least. Nevertheless, it is not only possible but it is scientifically feasible.
It seems that a new Trump's scandal or controversy surfaces on the venues of the media on a daily basis. One may wonder about reasons behind his ability to withstand the heat to remain president of the USA(POTUS). With a defiant attitude, president Trump is using Twitter to defend his illogical and impulsive behavior while lauding his questionable accomplishments.
Being a Muslim author and educator, I have been. Frequently, asked by some of my students about ISIS and why it is becoming a fixture in the media. I attempted to explain to them that ISIS has nothing to do with Islam or its principles in vain. I realized that due to the extensive coverage of the movement, most youth worldwide had acquired a profound curiosity regarding its authenticity and its impact upon the world in which we exist.
After residing in China for the past twelve years, I had the opportunity to explore the exotic city of Guilin. Actually, it was my second visit to the city. However, during my first visit, I had no time to enjoy its magical scenery. During my recent visit, I was accompanied by Chinese wife, which facilitated our movements since my Chinese leaves a lot to be desired. This time, we opted to take the fast train to go to Guilin to permit us the chance to rejoice in the beautiful scenes of the road to our destination.
Recently, President Trump signed an executive order to ban travel from Sudan, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Libya and Yemen to the USA. The executive order caused furor everywhere including the USA. The executive order already faced protests at airports worldwide. The executive order defies logic, realism, decency and the international legal system. In addition it jeopardizes the diplomatic relationship between the USA and the Muslim world in general and between the USA and those countries in particular.
Today, most parents attempt to exert absolute control over the lives of their children. Without any doubt, they are following on the footsteps of their own parents. We tend to be afraid of changes. Since our own parents raised us with the approach of controlling every aspect of our lives and most of us turned out fine, we lean toward following the same path of dealing with our own children. Parenthood is a license to guide not to control. The important question must focus on the difference between guidance and control and how they are accomplished.
A close look at the life of president Trump, one will come to a definite conclusion that he is a goal-oriented person. He would impulsively pursue an objective, regardless of its feasibility, and does not rest until he achieves it. After the election of Barack Obama, he found a new goal in life, which was removing Obama from office. To achieve his objective, Trump established the Birther movement through which he fought fiercely to prove that Obama had no right to become president of America since he allegedly was not born in the USA.
As the Year of the Goat came to an end along with the arrival of the Year of the Monkey, I sat down to contemplate about the highlights of the passing year and my hopes and aspirations for the new one. One of the highlights of the year of the goat was my discovery of the mesmerizing beauty of Guilin. After residing in China for more than 12 years, I thought that I had acquired sufficient information about China that nothing would captivate my mind and capture my attention anymore. However, after visiting Guilin during the Year of the Goat, I realized that I could not be more wrong.
A close look at the life of president Trump, one will come to a definite conclusion that he is a goal-oriented person. He would impulsively pursue an objective, regardless of its feasibility, and does not rest until he achieves it. After the election of Barack Obama, he found a new goal in life, which was removing Obama from office. To achieve his objective, Trump established the Birther movement through which he fought fiercely to prove that Obama had no right to become president of America since he allegedly was not born in the USA.
As I was scanning the daily newspapers, I came across the horrible news regarding the latest horrendous terrorists’ attacks in Brussels, Belgium, on March 22nd, 2016 at the airport and the train stations that claimed the lives of more than 30 victims and injured more than 200 persons. With a broken heart, I realized that those horrifying attacks and explosions have become almost daily occurrences.
Recently, the American public was disgusted and horrified by the despicable lewd and vulgar remarks about women which were made by Donald Trump. The remarks were uttered during appearances on Access Hollywood and the Howard Ste Radio show. They were discovered by the Washington Post and CNN. In the video clips and tapes, Trump indicated his desire to sleep with a married woman and his rights to make sexual advances to women given to him by his stardom status.
Nowadays, one can’t go through any newspaper or turn on a television channel without coming across an article or a talk show discussing the latest terror attack that took place somewhere. Those attacks are usually committed by few fanatic Muslims who had come up with their own version of the Islamic holy book, the Quran and the teachings of the prophet Mohammed, to justify their horrendous acts of terror.
As an educator, I do believe that one of my fundamental responsibilities is teaching the virtues and values of a morally traditional society, such as the unconditional love and appreciation of our parents, to my students. Consequently, I often stress the importance of seizing every opportunity to display those sentiments toward our dads and moms. To accomplish the previous objective, every year as Father’s Day approaches, I allocate a class to open a forum of discussion about the reasons that should prompt us to celebrate the precious event.
Despite being Canadian, I still have a great deal of conce about my birth nation, Egypt. It will always have a place in my heart due to the fact that the rest of my family live there. To put my mind at ease, I usually, scan the venues of the media looking for news about Egypt. During the past few weeks, I began to suffer from mental anguish after reading about the latest protests against president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi after he handed over two strategic Red Sea islands to the Saudis. The latest demonstrations and protests prompted me to pose the following questions:
Scanning through daily newspapers, one may fall victim to despondency and despair. Nowadays, the majority of the media is focusing on the friction betwee Muslims and other religions. Reading all about the protests in Europe and USA against Islam leads one to believe that people of various religious beliefs can’t coexist with one another.
As Christmas and the New Year approach, I begin to feel the heartache and anguish of being far from home. I do miss the festive atmosphere of celebrating the holidays in my country, Canada.
Following my daily routine of scanning through venues of the media to become aware of the latest in current affairs, I began to acquire an empathetic feeling toward those who tend to complain endlessly about their misfortune while painting a bleak picture of the future. Most publications, motivated by their desire to widen their readerships, put emphasis on tragedies, scandals and wars, on their coverage of current affairs. That leads people to become pessimistic enough to acquire negative attitude toward life, which influences their states of being happy or otherwise.
Few days ago, after thanking one of my students for helping me to accomplish a teaching task, I was surprised by, yet proud of, her graceful response. The genuine exchange occurred naturally without any pretentiousness from either my student or I. I uttered the words of gratitude “Thank you for helping me” And she gracefully and eloquently responded “It was my pleasure”. That minor incident prompted me to flash back to my first year in China. Back then, whenever I expressed by gratitude for services rendered, I received no response or the words “No thanks”.
Since my arrival to Chinaï¼my rich-in-fat Canadian blood has been the victim of unrequited love affair from the Chinese mosquitoes. They seem to have singled me out to fulfill their destiny of surviving on the blood of their victims in general and mine in particular. Of course, I have no intention of deterring them from accomplishing their mission in life. However, I am confused about the reasons that prompted them to select me as their first source of blood.
A close look at the current American Election, the latest polls put Hilary Clinton ahead of Donald Trump due to the disastrous performance of Mr. Trump. Nevertheless, despite his divisive statements and unorthodox conduct, Donald Trump gathered enough support to gear some political analysts to believe that he may become the next president of the USA. Jonathan Ernst, a professor who has accurately predicted the outcome of every presidential election since 1984, told The Washington Post that Donald Trump will win the November Presidential Election.
Few days ago, I was conducting a seminar for Chinese primary, middle and high schools English teachers. A couple of the fundamental questions that I posed to the attendees of that seminar were: “Why did you select teaching as a career? What is the most important quality that should be acquired by a teacher? I was surprised by the responses that I received from them.
Up to the beginning of the Republic convention in Cleveland, Ohio, I, as most people worldwide, was holding to a shred of hope that the American Republican Party would come into its own sense and find a logical and legal means to replace Donald Trump with a reasonably tolerant and reconciliatory candidate for the American presidency election that will be held on November 8th, 2016. However, the official nomination of Mr. Trump during the convention shattered the hopes of sensible people everywhere.
“Give a person a fish and he/she will eat a meal, teaches him/her how to fish, he/she will eat for life” Few weeks ago, I began to contemplate about the above adage when my students expressed their inability to grasp the concept of English writing. Their fear of failing their English writing exams aroused my curiosity and led me to venture into the task of simplifying the process of composing a stimulating and thought provoking piece of penmanship.
I am often asked by my students the following question: “How can one become an effective and a stimulating conversationalist?”. My response was and still is the same “One must fathom the essence of a conversation and its main components.” After contemplation, I felt compelled to write this article to discuss the topic aspiring that it would be helpful for those who are seeking enlightenment about being excellent communicators.
Despite the festive mood of this precious time of year, the news, of chaos and turmoil that are attempting to spread their wings of doom upon our world, may lead one to be cynical pertinent to acquiring a jovial attitude in celebrating Christmas and the New Year. Nevertheless, we need to perceive it as an opportunity for reflection and a chance for a renewal of our hopes and aspirations.
Every year, on Mother’s Day, I write an article to emphasize the major and essential role that women play in sustaining the survival of the human race. However, this year, in the era of #Me too movement, I am compelled to focus on the women’s achievements during the last couple of years. On Mother’s Day this year, Sunday, May 12th, women have the opportunity to celebrate their route to enlightenment.