.اللهم احسن الاوضاع في مصر

Hesham and I were sitting on a bench in Sharm El-Sheikh overlooking the choppy waves of the Red Sea.  The sun had just set and dusk was underway.  After a long day seeking a hospital that would administer a malaria test, both of us needed a quiet moment to replenish our energy reserves.

Enjoying the cool sea breeze on our face, we discussed our respective futures, our dreams and hopes, and Hesham asked me whether I believed in destiny.  I replied that I only believed in a destiny that I shaped myself.

"Do you know what we Muslims believe?" he asked.  I shook my head.

"We believe that your fate is written on your forehead, not anywhere else, but right here."  He gently drew a line above my brow with his finger.  "It's already there when you're born, chosen for you."

I believe that, if his fate was indeed written, then the popular uprising is only a means towards the destiny that has always been invisibly inscribed on the foreheads of the Egyptian people for fairness, security and prosperity.  I wish them strength in their struggle and offer my solidarity in creating the future they deserve.

But Raoof, the human rights activist, said that many people with different perspectives were banding together around a common goal.


"There is no political group leading the people. There is no one leading the people. People are going in a very organic way ... people are just doing it," he said.

Kwenda mzuri, my friends. 

My thoughts are with you.