The renewable energy sector, in the Middle East and North Africa, is in a rapid and strong growth and expansion process. The region offers unique potential for the development of solar and wind power, with geographical and climatic unbeatable features.

In addition, the high cost of fossil fuels coupled with technological advances and lowering costs of the growing economies of scale are playing in favor of renewable energy sources, an industry that has more government support and is fostered by concerns linked to global warming.

It seems that finally some of these countries have decided to boost renewable energy and bet on them to maintain the pace of growth they have had in recent years.

The main technologies that are emerging in the Middle East are Solar photovoltaic systems, especially in Jordan and Saudi Arabia; Wind-power, in Egypt and Turkey; Solar-concentration power, also in Egypt, Morocco, United Arab Emirates and Oman.

These countries are betting high on the development of these new technologies by investing in ambitious projects and pharaonic infrastructure, for example, the sustainable city of Masdar, completely supplied by renewable energy, which was begun in February 2008 on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.

In addition, Abu Dhabi in the coming years will be the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which aims to promote renewable energy worldwide and to overcome the obstacles they find in their development.

The new emphasis on renewable energy also has to do with the awareness that oil is finite so that these countries try to reduce fossil fuel consumption to increase exports. This is a forecasting exercise because they know that in 20, 50 or 100 years the oil will be exhausted, so they are trying to diversify.

So now they are trying to preserve and extend the duration and validity of hydrocarbons as prices are likely to remain high, allowing them to finance the development of renewable energy sources.

To close the equation, the water that part of the region drink, is produced by desalination, which requires the use of large amounts of fossil fuels. For this reason, the development of renewable energy would allow this process to continue, leaving higher amounts of oil and gas for export.

Currently, many companies (most of them German) are developing projects that look to exploit the vast amount of solar radiation in the regions of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as strong winds off the coast of Morocco and Western Sahara to provide renewable energy with low emissions throughout the European continent in the coming years.

Thus, these countries could capture investment and technology for the development of renewable energy, and they could diversify its energy sources to improve domestic energy security.

About the author

View the Original article

Biryani is a popular dish that is enjoyed in most Middle Eastern countries. This rice dish is especially loved by children. Muslims all around the world try to replicate biryani that is prepared in South Asia and the Middle East. This recipe gives easy step-by-step instructions on how to prepare this delicious dish. You can’t go wrong with it!

Ingredients Needed for Marinating the Chicken:

1. One Kilo Chicken cut into twelve to sixteen pieces.
2. ½ Tablespoon of turmeric powder
3. One Tablespoon of ginger garlic paste
4. Two Tablespoons of red chili powder
5. Two Tablespoons of coriander powder
6. One Tablespoon of Salt

Mix all of these ingredients with the chicken and allow it to marinate for around six to twelve hours. The more time you allow it to marinate the better the taste will be in the end.

The Herbs, spices, and condiments that are used in the Biryani recipe are mentioned below:

1. Eight cloves
2. One Cinnamon stick
3. Two bay leaves
4. Six green Cardimoms
5. ½ Teaspoon of Caraway seeds
6. Some Fresh Coriander leaves
7. 3-4 chopped tomatoes
8. 2-3chopped green chilies
9. 1 Teaspoon red chili powder
10. 1 Teaspoon coriander powder

Other Ingredients

1. 4-5 chopped/fried onions
2. 500g of rice
3. Oil is needed for deep frying and for cooking
4. 1 Tablespoon ginger garlic paste
5. Salt to taste

Steps:

1. While the chicken marinates you should slice the onions very thin, if you want you can use a food processor. Heat the oil and fry the onions at a medium flame so that they do not get burnt. Stir the onions continuously so that they are a uniform brown color.
2. After the onions are brown then add the marinated chicken. After that add 2 cups of water and then add all the herbs and spices that are mentioned above. Mix it well and allow the chicken to cook.

Boiling the Rice

In order to boil the rice take a pot and add 3 cups of water, add some salt, a cardamom stick, a few cloves, and some caraway seeds. Cook the rice 1/4^th of the way.

1. When you feel as if it is one fourth of the way cooked then you should add it with the chicken. After that seal it with a cover and allow it to cook on a slow flame. Cook until you feel as if the rice is fully cooked.
2. In order to check the rice take a clean spoon and break a couple of grains, if they are able to break then the rice is done.
3. After that you can add some coriander leaves and fried onions to it as toppings and enjoy the delicious Biryani!

 

About the author

View the Original article

The last decade can be no doubly said to be the decade of destruction and unrest. The world witnessed many crises that claimed many claims and have made the world insecure. Middle East is facing a very old crisis that was limited to the Israel and Palestine conflict but this conflict has now engulfed whole of Arab a world. The unrest in the Arab world has put the world peace into danger. The crisis in the Middle East will not end but it’s the beginning. The attack on the Libya started the worst ever war in the Middle East. America and its allies played their role to create a situation so that the people f Libya oust their leader themselves but this American policy has also brought dangers to America and its allies. The Middle East countries have peopled that are now not afraid of their leaders who were supporter of status quo and they are raising their voice against them. America claims itself to be a democracy but it is the strongest status quo power in eh world. The American are also under threat that people in the Arab world are not going to like them because of their status quo aspect. Americas ignited the Libya crisis so that they can strengthen themselves in the Arab world but the recent destruction in Tunisia, Syria and Bahrain has warned America that if they enter into these countries they will not be welcomed by the masses. The crisis in Middle East was planted by the west but things went out of their control. The Libyan people never acted in the way Americans were expecting and this distraction is now becoming a reason to worry for America. After Libya incident much awaits. Syrian unrest is also related to the fall of Libyan leader Kaddafi. Syria is also ruled by a status quo person and its people are not willing to accept him anymore. People need freedom of expression and much better conditions for living. Although it looks like everything is fine in the states of Syria, Tunisia and Bahrain but it is not the fact. The leaders of these states are very much powerful and they have taken everything in their hand. The policies are designed in a way to facilitate the premiers. The land, property and life are nothing for the leaders of these states which is a major reason of up rise in such countries. Muslims leaders gave the western powers a chance and these powers have played a great role in supporting the anti state activities. Because of the support of the west the civil war is going on in the Syria and Egypt. Muslims are killing Muslims and no one knows the reason. The reason of west intervention in the matters of these countries is that they need instability so that they can capture the resource rich Middle East. The United Nations and other major powers in the world should play their part to end this turmoil. The Middle East unrest is just the tip of ice berg and if not solved it will only bring destruction to the world.

About the author

View the Original article

In this Episode, Chris and Caitlin discuss women’s rights in Egyptian Society from the vantage point of a male.  He discusses his viewpoint of the current status of women’s rights, or lack thereof, and how it’s more a factor of culture than religion.

View the Original article

After covering the misconception wars between the East and the West, I have decided to tackle another problem, I’ll tackle it through mentioning my own experience. I’ll talk about how it is like to be a Christian in the Middle East or in Egypt specifically. I will not be bias to any side, I’ll tell my experience as it is, with its good and bad.

For starters, yes there are Christians in Arab countries, and despite being a minority, but we are not extinct, estimations say (not very accurate) that there is about 9 to 10 million Christians in Egypt, out of the 85 million (the whole population of Egypt). So here is some frequently asked questions regarding the situation of Christians in Egypt that I am going to answer, and if anyone has any more questions, leave a comment and ill respond.

Q: “Do you guys get killed, or are you in fear of your own life because you are a Christian?”

A: Of course not, I’m 22 years old now, and not once have I been threatened or have my life been put in harm’s way because of my religion. Besides that, but there are incidents, but these incidents are carried out by extremists. Like the bombing of the church on the 2011 New Year’s Eve, which was the most grossum one, then there was the year before it when a random drive by shooting took place in “Nag Hamadi”. So yes, there are incidents where Christians get killed because of their religion, but the people who carry out such actions are hated by Muslims before the Christians. They don’t get cheered or supported. All of my friends called me and offered their condolences after such actions.

Q: “Are Christians able to take up important jobs or huge political positions in Egypt?”

A: Sadly, no, which is a sad thing, but I promised that I will be bias and I will tell things as they are. In the appointed positions, the govt. chooses a few Christians to keep the balance, but any elected positions, it will not happen. I’ll break it down to you this way
- Governors: Yes, appointed.
- President: No, no way. But this was the same with the U.S.A a few years back, could anyone imagine an African American would become head of state? So I’m hoping for the best.
- Senators: Yes, very few and most of them are appointed and not elected.

Q: “Do Christians have the ability to open up their own business and succeed?”

A: Yes, for example, one of the biggest if not the absolute biggest businessmen in Egypt, “NaguibSaweras”, is Christian. He is the owner of big companies in many fields, construction, communication, etc…

After saying all of this, I must mention that in the places where the education level is declined, prejudice exists, this is why in places with no schools or a proper level of education, the prosecution against Christians tend to increase, and there are more than a several incidents of that case. Bottom of line, in the civilized areas, the majority of the people are peaceful and don’t have any prejudice against Christians, on the other hand, in other areas, it can be the opposite, as extremists can become the majority.

These 3 questions are the ones at the top of my head, so please, if you have any questions regarding this situation, don’t hesitate to leave it in a comment and I’ll get back at you and respond in no time.

View the Original article

As discussed in the previous post, I talked about the reasons of the misconceptions that the west has regarding the culture and the state of the country. Although I talked about Egypt alone, but the misconceptions are pretty similar to most of the Arab countries of the Middle East. So in this post, as promised; I am going to focus on a very popular subject that is always linked to the Middle East and Arabs, “TERRORISM” and religious misconceptions. First of all, the religious misconceptions, if I am Arab, it doesn’t mean I am a Muslim. Yes, a high percentage and a majority of Arabs are Muslims, but believe it or not, there are Christians, Catholics and even Jews who are Arabs.

And now onto another major misconception, which is probably the reason you are all reading this, Terrorism. Contrary to public and the worldwide belief, as mentioned before, the Middle East is not a big training camp for terrorists, despite what the media is conveying. Some people have this image, which of course is not true, about the Middle East, it goes something like this.

“We Egyptians or Arabs walk in the street, wielding Ak-47’s and rocket launchers, we are all masked and we wear I Hate America T-shirts while screaming Allah-Akbar in the streets, and of course, we are constantly planning how to destroy the west and talking about the latest terrorist bombings that is going to take place.”

This image can’t be further from the truth. The idea that Arab countries support terrorism and fund it is ridiculous. As a matter of fact, here in Egypt; we suffer from terrorism as much as the West does. Come to think of it, we suffer form it even more. Terrorism didn’t get invented in 9/11; it was present years and years before that. Here in Egypt we have been fighting internal terrorism since the 70’s. If we compare the statistics and the damage terrorism have done in Egypt over the years and compare it to 9/11, you will not stand a chance. I’m not trying to underestimate what happened, but I am just saying that we have been suffering from it from years. For example, the president “Gamal Abd El Naser” was killed and assassinated by extreme religious terrorist groups. So do you think a country whose head of state was killed by terrorists will support terrorism?

What I am trying to say is that Terrorism has no religion or country, it uses violence to achieve its own goals that is driven by greed and personal interests. It only uses the cover of religion to pursue its own devious goals. So if you are from the West and you met an Arab online, there is a 99.99% chance that he is “NOT” a terrorist, and he hates terrorism as much as you do. As for the reasons behind these misconceptions that are terrorism-related, they are many, so tune in on the next post where the reasons for such misconceptions will be discussed in details.

View the Original article