Une Petite Histoire – A Little Story

I’m sorry for the radio silence!  I had a few very quiet days (with nothing really to say) followed by a very busy week (with a lot to say, but no time to say it), so I’ll have to catch up this weekend.  But for now, have a silly story!  An old friend of my mother’s (who lived in Egypt but is now back in England) sent it her way recently, and I found it amusing.

The original:

Un salafiste monte dans un taxi. Il demande au chauffeur d’éteindre la radio: “La radio n’existait pas au temps du prophète Mohammed.” Le chauffeur éteint la radio, puis s’arrête. “Les taxis n’existaient pas non plus à l’époque du prophète: je t’invite à descendre et à attendre le passage d’un chameau.”

The translation, for the non-Francophones among you:

A salafist gets into a taxi.  He asks the driver to turn off the radio: “Radios didn’t exist in the time of the Prophet Mohammed.” The driver turns off the radio, then stops the cab. “Taxis didn’t exist either in the time of the Prophet; I suggest you get out and wait for a camel to pass by.”

…what can I say, it’s as good a caricature of the Salafists as I’ve ever encountered.

Oh!  Also, I’ve finally started to post photos of Egypt on Facebook.  If you aren’t my “friend” there and want to see them, email me for the link and I’ll send it your way.  Two samples below (both of which happen to be things that will no longer happen if the Salafists do indeed get their way):

The first is a poster advocating in favor of Egyptian tourism; the second is a shot of the local…well, the term “liquor store” is a bit of a stretch, but I guess it’ll do.  They’ll get bigger if you click on them…  Enjoy!

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