Congratulating An Atheist - An Excerpt ( Islam 101)

- Photo by Oxymanus

by Dr. Zakir Naik

CONGRATULATING AN ATHEIST


Normally, when I meet an atheist, the first thing I like to do is to congratulate him and say, " My special congratulations to you", because most of the people who believe in God are doing blind belief - he is a Christian, because his father is a Christian; he is a Hindu, because his father is a Hindu; the majority of the people in the world are blindly following the religion of their fathers. An atheist, on the other hand, even though he may belong to a religious family, uses his intellect to deny the existence of God; what ever concept or qualities of God he may have learnt in his religion may not seem to be logical to him.

My Muslim brothers may question me, "Zakir, why are you congratulating an atheist?" The reason that I am congratulating an atheist is because he agrees with the first part of the Shahada i.e. the Islamic Creed, ‘La ilaaha’ - meaning ‘there is no God’. So half my job is already done; now the only part left is ‘il lallah’ i.e. ‘BUT ALLAH’ which I shall do Insha Allah. With others (who are not atheists) I have to first remove from their minds the wrong concept of God they may have and then put the correct concept of one true God.


LOGICAL CONCEPT OF GOD


My first question to the atheist will be: "What is the definition of God?" For a person to say there is no God, he should know what is the meaning of God. If I hold a book and say that ‘this is a pen’, for the opposite person to say, ‘it is not a pen’, he should know what is the definition of a pen, even if he does not know nor is able to recognise or identify the object I am holding in my hand. For him to say this is not a pen, he should at least know what a pen means. Similarly for an atheist to say ‘there is no God’, he should at least know the concept of God. His concept of God would be derived from the surroundings in which he lives. The god that a large number of people worship has got human qualities - therefore he does not believe in such a god. Similarly a Muslim too does not and should not believe in such false gods.

If a non-Muslim believes that Islam is a merciless religion with something to do with terrorism; a religion which does not give rights to women; a religion which contradicts science; in his limited sense that non-Muslim is correct to reject such Islam. The problem is he has a wrong picture of Islam. Even I reject such a false picture of Islam, but at the same time, it becomes my duty as a Muslim to present the correct picture of Islam to that non-Muslim i.e. Islam is a merciful religion, it gives equal rights to the women, it is not incompatible with logic, reason and science; if I present the correct facts about Islam, that non-Muslim may Inshallah accept Islam.

Similarly the atheist rejects the false gods and the duty of every Muslim is to present the correct concept of God which he shall Insha Allah not refuse.

(You may refer to my article, ‘Concept of God in Islam’, for more details)


QUR’AN AND MODERN SCIENCE


The methods of proving the existence of God with usage of the material provided in the ‘Concept of God in Islam’ to an atheist may satisfy some but not all.

Many atheists demand a scientific proof for the existence of God. I agree that today is the age of science and technology. Let us use scientific knowledge to kill two birds with one stone, i.e. to prove the existence of God and simultaneously prove that the Qur’an is a revelation of God.

If a new object or a machine, which no one in the world has ever seen or heard of before, is shown to an atheist or any person and then a question is asked, " Who is the first person who will be able to provide details of the mechanism of this unknown object? After little bit of thinking, he will reply, ‘the creator of that object.’ Some may say ‘the producer’ while others may say ‘the manufacturer.’ What ever answer the person gives, keep it in your mind, the answer will always be either the creator, the producer, the manufacturer or some what of the same meaning, i.e. the person who has made it or created it. Don’t grapple with words, whatever answer he gives, the meaning will be same, therefore accept it.

SCIENTIFIC FACTS MENTIONED IN THE QUR’AN: for details on this subject please refer to my book, ‘THE QUR’AN AND MODERN SCIENCE – COMPATIBLE OR INCOMPATIBLE?


THEORY OF PROBABILITY


In mathematics there is a theory known as ‘Theory of Probability’. If you have two options, out of which one is right, and one is wrong, the chances that you will chose the right one is half, i.e. one out of the two will be correct. You have 50% chances of being correct. Similarly if you toss a coin the chances that your guess will be correct is 50% (1 out of 2) i.e. 1/2. If you toss a coin the second time, the chances that you will be correct in the second toss is again 50% i.e. half. But the chances that you will be correct in both the tosses is half multiplied by half (1/2 x 1/2) which is equal to 1/4 i.e. 50% of 50% which is equal to 25%. If you toss a coin the third time, chances that you will be correct all three times is (1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2) that is 1/8 or 50% of 50% of 50% that is 12½%.

A dice has got six sides. If you throw a dice and guess any number between 1 to 6, the chances that your guess will be correct is 1/6. If you throw the dice the second time, the chances that your guess will be correct in both the throws is (1/6 x 1/6) which is equal to 1/36. If you throw the dice the third time, the chances that all your three guesses are correct is (1/6 x 1/6 x 1/6) is equal to 1/216 that is less than 0.5 %.

Let us apply this theory of probability to the Qur’an, and assume that a person has guessed all the information that is mentioned in the Qur’an which was unknown at that time. Let us discuss the probability of all the guesses being simultaneously correct.

At the time when the Qur’an was revealed, people thought the world was flat, there are several other options for the shape of the earth. It could be triangular, it could be quadrangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal, octagonal, spherical, etc. Lets assume there are about 30 different options for the shape of the earth. The Qur’an rightly says it is spherical, if it was a guess the chances of the guess being correct is 1/30.

The light of the moon can be its own light or a reflected light. The Qur’an rightly says it is a reflected light. If it is a guess, the chances that it will be correct is 1/2 and the probability that both the guesses i.e the earth is spherical and the light of the moon is reflected light is 1/30 x 1/2 = 1/60.

Further, the Qur’an also mentions every living thing is made of water. Every living thing can be made up of either wood, stone, copper, aluminum, steel, silver, gold, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, oil, water, cement, concrete, etc. The options are say about 10,000. The Qur’an rightly says that everything is made up of water. If it is a guess, the chances that it will be correct is 1/10,000 and the probability of all the three guesses i.e. the earth is spherical, light of moon is reflected light and everything is created from water being correct is 1/30 x 1/2 x 1/10,000 = 1/60,000 which is equal to about .0017%.



The Qur’an speaks about hundreds of things that were not known to men at the time of its revelation. Only in three options the result is .0017%. I leave it upto you, to work out the probability if all the hundreds of the unknown facts were guesses, the chances of all of them being correct guesses simultaneously and there being not a single wrong guess. It is beyond human capacity to make all correct guesses without a single mistake, which itself is sufficient to prove to a logical person that the origin of the Qur’an is Divine.


CREATOR IS THE AUTHOR OF THE QUR’AN


The only logical answer to the question as to who could have mentioned all these scientific facts 1400 years ago before they were discovered, is exactly the same answer initially given by the atheist or any person, to the question who will be the first person who will be able to tell the mechanism of the unknown object. It is the ‘CREATOR’, the producer, the Manufacturer of the whole universe and its contents. In the English language He is ‘God’, or more appropriate in the Arabic language, ‘ALLAH’.


QUR’AN IS A BOOK OF SIGNS AND NOT SCIENCE


Let me remind you that the Qur’an is not a book of Science, ‘S-C-I-E-N-C-E’ but a book of Signs ‘S-I-G-N-S’ i.e. a book of ayaats. The Qur’an contains more than 6,000 ayaats, i.e. ‘signs’, out of which more than a thousand speak about Science. I am not trying to prove that the Qur’an is the word of God using scientific knowledge as a yard stick because any yardstick is supposed to be more superior than what is being checked or verified. For us Muslims the Qur’an is the Furqan i.e. criteria to judge right from wrong and the ultimate yardstick which is more superior to scientific knowledge.

But for an educated man who is an atheist, scientific knowledge is the ultimate test which he believes in. We do know that science many a times takes ‘U’ turns, therefore I have restricted the examples only to scientific facts which have sufficient proof and evidence and not scientific theories based on assumptions. Using the ultimate yardstick of the atheist, I am trying to prove to him that the Qur’an is the word of God and it contains the scientific knowledge which is his yardstick which was discovered recently, while the Qur’an was revealed 1400 year ago. At the end of the discussion, we both come to the same conclusion that God though superior to science, is not incompatible with it.


SCIENCE IS ELIMINATING MODELS OF GOD BUT NOT GOD


Francis Bacon, the famous philosopher, has rightly said that a little knowledge of science makes man an atheist, but an in-depth study of science makes him a believer in God. Scientists today are eliminating models of God, but they are not eliminating God. If you translate this into Arabic, it is La illaha illal la, There is no god, (god with a small ‘g’ that is fake god) but God (with a capital ‘G’).

Surah Fussilat:

"Soon We will show them our signs in the (farthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that thy Lord doth witness all things?"

[Al-Quran 41:53]

Reference: http://www.irf.net/irf/comparativereligion/index.htm

Many Still Have Doubts over 9/11 - Excerpt from AlJazeera

Many still have doubts' over 9/11
By Alex Sehmer



Many find it hard to accept the official version of what happened on 9/11 .

More than 50 per cent of people reject the official belief that the attacks on the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, were carried out by al-Qaeda, a new survey has revealed.

The findings, released late on Wednesday, suggest that the official version of events - that the attacks, which killed more than 2,900 people and sparked the US so-called "war on terror", were carried out by al-Qaeda - is still a long way from being generally accepted.

Only 46 per cent of respondents named al-Qaeda, while 25 per cent said they did not know and 15 per cent said the US government was behind the attacks.
Related



- America and Al Qaeda examines the 'war on terror' seven years on.

- In Plain Sight: Intelligence cover-ups in before 9/11

Steven Kull, the director of WorldPublicOpinion.org, which carried out the survey, told Al Jazeera: "Broadly what this says is that there is a lack of confidence with the United States and so people mistrust the narrative the US puts forward."
Officially, hijackers took control of four passenger aircraft in the September 11 attacks. Two of the aeroplanes crashed into the World Trade Centre in New York and the "Twin Towers" subsequently collapsed, bringing down two other buildings nearby. The third aircraft hit the Pentagon while the fourth is said to have crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

Kull's organisation asked more than 16,000 people world wide "Who do you think was behind the 9/11 attacks?", leaving the question open-ended.

Blaming Israel

While a substantial number of those polled believed the US government was in some way behind the attacks, seven per cent point the finger at Israel.

The 2001 attacks prompted the so-called US 'war on terror' [EPA]
Of the countries surveyed, Egypt and Jordan had the highest percentages of people who believed Israel was behind the attack, polling 43 and 31 per cent respectively. Nineteen per cent of those polled in the Palestinian territories claimed Israel was in some way responsible.

"In Muslim countries - where we've carried out a number of focus groups - it's clear there is a feeling that the US had some kind of motivation, such as invading Iraq," Kull said.

"There are also some difficulties with the idea that Muslims carried out attacks on civilians - which is widely seen as wrong and contrary to Islam... And there are plenty of people in Muslim countries who say it would have been too technically difficult [for al-Qaeda] to pull off."

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, a majority 57 per cent said they did not know who was behind the attacks. Only five per cent said that Israel had been involved.

'Conspiracy theorists'

In 2002, the US government set up the 9/11 commission, chaired by Thomas Kean, a former governor of New Jersey, to investigate the event. It published its report in 2004, concluding that the 19 hijackers were all members of al-Qaeda. It also concluded that there had been intelligence failures on the part of the CIA and the FBI, the US's spy agencies.

But the World Trade Centre attacks quickly proved fertile ground for "conspiracy theorists" and sceptics have a wide range of alternative theories to choose from - including that US military personnel were involved in the attack or that the towers were brought down with the help of a controlled explosion.

"There are people who are saying that US soldiers were flying the planes ... or people who say simply that the US government turned a blind eye to the threat or that they somehow got them to do it through some means," said Kull.

One of the proponents of an alternative version of the events has been Willis Carto, editor of the American Free Press newspaper, which frequently points the finger of blame at Israel.

He told Al Jazeera the attacks were "perpetrated by the Israeli Mossad [secret service] in conjunction with the American government".

"There's no real evidence whatsoever that the official story of the planes smashing into the building was true. It's impossible to believe that a few furtive little characters armed with box cutters who had no idea how to fly ... could have manouvred the planes like this," Carto said.

"There are so many holes in the story that no one in his right mind can believe it."

Classroom politics

Those who expound alternative versions of the events have themselves become the targets for debunking. Loose Change, a popular series of internet videos that counters the official version of events, has itself inspired a blog called Screw Loose Change.

More than 2,900 people died in the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Reports in engineering publications have sought to counter alternative theories that say the towers could not have collapsed as they did simply by being hit by an aircraft.

In 2007, research by Keith Seffen, a senior lecturer in Cambridge University's engineering department, used analysis of an engineering model to show the tower collapse had been "quite ordinary and natural".

The US has also seen the debate enter the university classroom. Both Ward Churchill, of the University of Colorado, and Kevin Barrett, of the University of Wisconsin, provoked a public outcry over the fact they professed to believe alternative versions of the events.

Their critics feared the academics might be tempted to bring there beliefs into the classroom. Their supporters said that even if they did, a university classroom was the place for alternative theories.

'Structural failure'

Michael Newman, from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Nist), which worked for several years on reports about how and why the World Trade Centre towers collapsed, told Al Jazeera the debate was unlikely to ever go away.

"Whenever we put out one of our reports, we get phone calls and emails from those with alternative views," he said.

"And you always get a lot of interest around the time of the anniversary - it's a part of history now.

The Nist reports say the towers' collapse was due to "structural failure" after the aeroplanes hit them. The reports have been welcomed by building code regulators and many of Nist's recommendations from its investigations have been adopted, but those with alternative viewpoints have continued to dispute the organisation's findings.

"We've heard opinions from all sides," Newman told Al Jazeera.

"At the end of the day, people are entitled to their own opinions and we probably won't be able to convince them otherwise."
Source: Al Jazeera

Why Riba ( Usury) Is Haram In Islam - An Excerpt

Photo by : Oxymanus

>Written by Subhan Ahsan · August 31, 2006 ·

“Those who devour usury will not stand except as stand one whom the Evil one by his touch hath driven to madness. That is because they say: “Trade is like usury,” but God hath permitted trade and forbidden usury. Those who after receiving direction from their Lord, desist, shall be pardoned for the past; their case is for God (to judge); but those who repeat (the offence) are companions of the Fire: They will abide therein (for ever).”
- Quran Verse 2:275 (Chapter Al-Baqara)

For some such Quranic verse will come down as very unpleasant & stern judgment and they are infact very severe as Islamic Shari’a looks upon consumption of Usury (common definition: interest on money) as serious offence.

Quran prohibits its followers from Riba (Usury) and has couple of stern verses to dissuade the people from brining in the concept of Usury in their economic & social life.

At another place Al-Lah says:

“O ye who believe! Fear God, and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if ye are indeed believers.”
- Quran Verse 2:278 (Chapter Al-Baqara)

Verses like such (”…if ye are indeed believers.”) further highlights the gravity of offence by exhorting people to obey if they indeed think themselves as Muslims.

Quran not only put a stop on Usury but it also encourages leniency towards debt-ridden as way to social upliftment.

“If the debtor is in a difficulty, grant him time Till it is easy for him to repay. But if ye remit it by way of charity, that is best for you if ye only knew.”
- Quran Verse 2:280 (Chapter Al-Baqara)

But why has Islamic Shari’a prohibited the Usury from economic and Business transactions?

To understand the wisdom behind such prohibition we need to be first aware of 2 key Islamic principles on wealth-creation.

1. Islam permits increase in capital through trade and, at the same time, it blocks the way for anyone who tries to increase his capital through lending on interest (riba) - whether it is at a low or a high rate.

Allah Almighty says :

“O you who believe, do not consume your property among yourselves wrongfully, but let there be trade by mutual consent…�?
- Quran verse 4:29 (Chapter An-Nisa)

I would also like to point to another prohibited means of earning (though not the subject of this post) - ‘gharar’ (transactions based on speculation/gambling).

Modern financial practices that are Haram under ‘gharar’ include use of derivatives such as futures and the purchase of insurance. However, investment in the stock market, except holding preferred stock with a fixed dividend, is permissible on the principle of shared risks and rewards.

The Hadith of Prophet says:

Do not buy fish in the sea, for it is gharar. (Ibn Hanbal)

Buying ‘fish in the sea,’ or alternatively, ‘what is in the womb’ highlights the speculative nature of the transaction.

2. ‘Gharar’ (speculation/gambling) violates the principle that all parties have both complete knowledge and access to the product before the transaction.

In summary, Quran forbids both risk-less gain, as in the case of Riba (Usury), and transactions based entirely on risk, as in ‘Gharar’ (Speculation/Gambling). Islamic Shari’a encourages Muslims to be “risk neutral” and earn profit through neither seeking speculative gain nor hoping to lock down all risk with fixed returns.

With these explanations on Islamic principles of Wealth-creation let me now put forward the wisdom behind prohibition of Usury (interest on money) in Islam.

The strict prohibition of Interest in Islam is a result of its deep concern for the economic, moral, and social welfare of mankind.

Economic: Dependence on interest discourages people from working/trading to earn money and the value of work/trade is reduced. Such people won’t bother to take the trouble of running a business or risking money in trade/industry. For most of the readers this statement may not make sense (or won’t be able to relate) as they themselves are from class of Workers or Traders (and not money-lenders). For such reader, I would recommend them to read this short macro-level explanation of today’s debt-ridden economies (The facts about Usury: Why Islam is Against Lending Money at Interest)

Moral: Acceptance of Usury discourages people from doing good to one another and lend out of good will. A society which encourages interest on lending will require needy people to pay back more than he borrowed, which quite often is a source of huge burden.

Social: If interest is allowed, the rich (who are most likely to be lender) will exploit the poor (borrower). As a result, the rich becomes richer and the poor becomes poorer. This generates envy and hatred among the poor toward the rich, resulting in social disorders, conflicts and at times breeds revolutions & movements.

To understand these economic, moral and social effects we Indians don’t have to look further than Vidarbha and the plight of farmers there which in recent time has received much publicity for unfortunate circumstances. And Vidarbha is a part of much larger problem area.

Between 2001 and 2006, over 14000 farmers have committed suicide in various regions including Vidarbha and Telangana. In almost each of these suicide cases the only recurring reason is debt-trap.

Jaideep Hardikar in his report Loan after Loan notes:

A farming family holding 27 acres in Vidarbha has become a marginal landholder in a span of few years, and a vicious cycle of usurious debt robbed their lands and hopes. There are hundreds of others in the lurch similarly.

These farmers who very often had to borrow from money-lenders at 60-120% interest, to sow seed, and toil every day from sunrise to sunset and if-and-only-if the harvest is good or saved from natural torments will they be able to pay out the interest and some principal. But seldom it happens as willed and for years after years they are still trying to come out of debt. And for many the only way out of these miseries was through death. Suicide is not an easy route as some would think. It is an end for those who see all hopes vanished. It is also thus no surprise that Vidarhba and Telangana are demanding separate States.

Thus, in a society which permits interest, the strong benefit from the suffering of the weak, resulting in conflicts, social-disorders, and revolutions.

Ramadan In Kuala Lumpur

All photos by : Oxymanus

Like almost as always, in most places in urban KL, the holy month of Ramadan calls for a time of religious festivities and joyful mood of iftar and the blessed fasting ritual for all Muslims young and old. All over the city, colourful bazaars sprung up and busy throngs of patrons can be seen mingling in their energized spirits of determination to fulfil one of the pillars of Islam revered by universal Muslims

New Encounters Of The Weird Kind

Photo by : Oxymanus

We have, in fact, two kinds of morality side by side: one which we preach but do not practice, and another which we practice but seldom preach.

Well,the aforesaid proverb would not have much bearing or relationship to what my next topic of blogging statements will conjure as reflected by what you will be reading very shortly.Simply put,it's one of the famous words written by Bertrand Russell who also has created several golden words pertaining to the philosophy of life for much of humankind thoughts and actions.
Tonight, i had the pleasure to encounter an old colleague or more precisely an ex -neighbour who used to stay near my home almost 40 years ago! Surely it has been a long time since then and that is what makes it even more interesting to discuss here for this moment. The place was at a McDonald's outlet in Ampang Jaya as i have selected this venue as the rendezvous for my meeting with a friend 2 hours after my iftar at Setiawangsa.
To my jubilant surprise, i met with my old neighbour and obviously, i was excited about it. Somehow, i noticed that not many people like to feel oblige to meet someone they once knew or happen to know, purportedly or not.It was something hard to establish or clear away, in this case some doubtfulness and reservations about a total oblivion of a character they once knew or seen or even heard, if that really matters. Sure, time or even years may have passed and people changed, whether through physical appearance or level of societal standards but surely middle age memory does not have to lapse quite easily for a business couple, this being my personal humble opinion.
Why do people run into oblivion ? Was it something they like to ignore, forget or just brushing off unnecessary wasteful encounters to avoid any personal embarrassment if such a situation persists or was it hypocrisy of sorts? What is worth the effort that make people want to exchange an exclamatory remark out of the blue in the most unusual places or of all unexpected times ( mind you, a place like Mcdonalds is definitely not unusual by any standards ).

As i would like to continue about this encounter, i introduce myself as the once younger neighbour that she used to know where cheerful childhood memories still linger evidently in my mind but apparently,the passing time has dragged her mind into a more clouded detail of apprehension ,hard to diffuse its origin of that "somebody" she might once knew.
It would have been a tough introduction for me, especially to accept such a denial of truth as i admittedly like to say that i am one person who is very hard to forget about people whom i have met before in my life, whether it be friends, relatives, teachers, neighbours, office colleagues or just plain acquaintances or associates . In my previous blog registers, i did mention about how i re encountered my old friends through communicating via the telephone with the help of the internet. It was a successful feat personally as i manage to address some long lost acquaintances and rebuild and rekindle old friendships long lost over time.

Even by giving some details and information to re assure my true identity did not hold any faint judgement or recognition as i spoke to her gradually. She keeps on missing my relativity link. Hmmmm, well some people do, it seems, i mean they forget easily but strangely, that really makes me wonder why.
So i realised that the man sitting opposite her was her husband, quite elderly i would say where our age difference is concerned. But again, that was not the matter.
Why would people think that they cannot recall a friend or neighbour or rather a reluctance to admit such face to face realities in rather good and healthy times ?
As a relevance to this,a few months ago,i had an uncommon opportunity to spot another ex working colleague of mine at a supermarket which incidentally was located adjacent to this same complex where i also met my ex neigbour tonight. The same words of initial denial were exchanged much to my disgust or lament but what could i do to re position her frame of thoughts at that juncture to make her remember me in as quick as possible moment after all these years of absence and disappearance? People seemed more comfortable to exercise their own prerogative about making their own decision to either accept your introduction or just ignore them wishfully.

I really felt funny about the whole situation where people "pretend" not to know one another especially if the person wants to admit their "acquaintanceship" that is deem unforgettable. Not because of any intolerable bad experience but about knowing one another way back when. True, over the years of our life span, we have met and mingled with many people, good or bad, young or old, rich or poor, clever or ignorant, humble or otherwise but i soon realised that many rich people did not like to associate themselves with someone they are rather not comfortable with. Come to think of this, i soon realised that this trait is very common among politicians, although i dont really mixed with them personally. Not that i did not have any chance to know them but simply because they like to put a barrier of ostentatiousness to themselves for others not to tread in their own privacies.

Most Obnoxious Tourists ? - An Excerpt

Photo by : Oxymanus

Most Obnoxious Tourists? The French - Excerpt from Time.com

By BRUCE CRUMLEY / PARIS Sun Jul 6, 10:45 PM ET

Remember the tightwad tourist whose baggy shorts, frequent complaining and shouted questions about why none of the locals spoke any English made the ugly American the world's Visitor From Hell? Well, it's time for Archie Bunker to move over and make way for Petulant Pierre. According to a recent international survey, the French are now considered the most obnoxious tourists from European nations, and behind only Indians and the last-place Chinese as the worst among all countries worldwide. And it's not only the rest of the world that have a gripe with the Gallic attitude: the French also finished second to last among nations ranking the popularity of their own tourists who vacation at home.
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But it's the unflattering image being reflected from abroad that may give pause to the millions of French travelers now heading off to summer vacation destinations across the globe. Will that move them to improve behavior the poll characterized as impolite, prone to loud carping and inattentive to local customs? If so, that's just the start: the study also describes the voyageur franÇais as often unwilling or unable to communicate in foreign languages, and particularly disinclined to spending money when they don't have to - including on those non compris tips. Over all, French travelers landed 19th out of 21 nations worldwide, far behind the first-place Japanese, considered most polite, quiet and tidy. Following the Japanese as most-liked tourists were the Germans, British and Canadians. Americans finished in 11th place alongside the Thais.

The survey was carried out among employees in 4,000 hotels in Germany, the U.K., Italy, France, Canada and the U.S. for the French travel website Expedia.fr. The study asked respondents to rank clients by nationality on criteria of general attitude, politeness, tendency to complain, willingness to speak local languages, interest in sampling local cuisine, readiness to spend money, generosity, cleanliness, discretion and elegance. Many replies simply conformed to long-established reputations: Italians, for example, were described as the best-dressed tourists, with the French not far behind.

American tourists fared well in some surprising ways: despite being notoriously language-limited, for example, they top the list of tourists credited with trying to speak local languages the most, with the French, Chinese, Japanese, Italians and Russians coming in last in the local language rankings. Does that mean Americans are the most polyglot tourists on the planet? Maybe not, says Expedia's marketing director for Europe, TimothÉe de Roux, who notes the poll's focus on hotel operators may explain the counterintuitive outcome.

"Most hotel staffs around the world speak English, meaning they'll communicate far more easily with native English-speaking American or British clients than with French or Italians who - it's true - are pretty bad with foreign languages," de Roux says.

De Roux explains how external factors similarly account for why Americans wind up as the biggest-spending and best-tipping tourists, while Germans and the French are among the worst penny-pinchers. "Our findings show the average French employee will get 37 vacation days spread over seven trips in 2008, versus 14 for an American - who won't even take them all," de Roux believes. "That means the French tourist will more tightly budget his or her spending over more trips, while the American spends freely on the one or two vacations taken all year."

By contrast, poll finds the French and Americans similar in being perceived as critical and rude when they travel - though for different reasons. The same local attractions that make France the world's top destination for 92 million foreign visitors each year, says de Roux, also explains why over 85% of French vacation in-country - and wind up spoiled by it when they leave. "When they go abroad, French travellers demand the same quality they'd get at home," de Roux says. "Americans, by contrast, demand the same exceptional service they are used to at home, which is why they rank as the loudest, most inclined to complain, and among the least polite." View this article on Time.com

Bangkok Jams

Photos by : Oxymanus




My second trip to Bangkok was amazingly interesting. It was a business trip with my client and i took advantage to get as much information as i can to prepare for the final event that is taking place early next month.

The impressive new airport greeted my anxious soul to the Land of the Smiles,this time only more cautiously albeit breathtakingly. Bangkok has changed through leaps and bounds, its people modern and affluent and its infrastructure more developed than before. This is evident at the point of arriving at its airport doorstep right until you have boarded your limousine that brings you to the hotel ultimately.It is not that i have not seen the shifting scenes of Bangkok's modernity in the past but knowing and having noticed about the various hotels being opened in that City of Angels and all the television and internet reports about whats going on through the years, good or bad notwithstanding, have given me some sort of an idea of what to expect and see of this thriving ASEAN city. The smiles are still intact on their Thai faces except that they are not smiling while they are driving into the city. Reason ; ? the infamous and ubiquitous Bangkok Jam.

Wow the city has tremendously grown pretty well with its fine planning and good governance. Modern skyscrapers that painted the panorama from all broad directions clearly enthused Modern Thailand as an Asian economic tiger that was something to reckon and gawk at especially if you are driving towards the metroplis

I don't see people climbing over the roof of the buses anymore, i.e. people in their sarongs that clung hard in the hot basking sun to the railings on the vehicle either going to work or returning home smiled gleefully watching you as though happy too to see you on the other side of the vehicle.The foul dark diesel fumes that was emitted by its engines along the bumpy laterite roads have also disappeared. All that is a thing of the past.

The highways that lead to the city denote the tremendous years of development that has been going on for the past 25 years. The Thais should be commended for their hard work and determination to transform their country into what it is today, almost to one's great pride and personal admiration.

The old airport at Don Muang was quite near the city then but i was already being warned about getting to the airport early, even many years before. So you can say that the Bangkok Jam is very much a social character of the City of Angels way back when.

After my check-in at the Dusit Thani Hotel, long regarded as the Dame of Thai Traditonal Hospitality in the city i decided to explore the city almost immediately.
Why the Dusit ? my Thai friend asked me. I told him that i have always admired the Dusit as the finest hotel in the city long before the other hotel chains embraced the country in anticipation of its successful tourism campaigns in the years later on often with the "VISIT THAILAND YEAR " tagline.

The economic recession is over, the protests and demos are still going on near the Democratic monument, the military government is still running the country and the southern region is still unstable but Thailand as in Bangkok is far from anything that would give in to any of its woes. Bangkok is alive, growing and kicking almost daily. The throngs of tourists queuing at the airport is testimony of this.
There's an Israeli El Al carrier, ANA ( All Nippon Airways), Turkish Airlines, Qatar etc. Yes the Middle Easterners are invading Bangkok but this has been going on for many years already.

While Malaysia was quickly to learn from the success of its Thai neighbour's tourism strategy, the Middle East tourists are still coming to enjoy Bangkok , in more numbers than ever before but without their women and children. The visitors are more younger and adventurous. Rather noisy too i should say, maybe its what most Arab people are especially when in their own group of travelers mingling and overeacting about almost anything they encounter along the way, not much of a package tour kind i observe but due to their regular visits which made these visitors feeling very like their second home,i supposed.