FWD: Terror on the toilet
KXX4493553 at aol.com
KXX4493553 at aol.com
Sun Jul 18 16:50:21 CDT 2004
What does the word "Al-Qaeda" mean ? In Arabic, "Al-Qaeda" has a different
meanings, among them “Base", "Ground", "Norm", "Rule", "Fundament", "Grammar".
The exact meaning is dependent on the context in which it is used. It depends
on the word which follows “Al-Qaeda” in the sentence. "Qawa'ad Askaria" is an
Army Base, "Qawa'ad Lugha" stands for Grammar Rules (the Bases of Grammar).
"Qa'ada" is the infinitive of the verb "to sit". "Ma-Qa'ad" is a chair.
"Al-Qaeda" is the base or fundament of something. "Ana raicha Al Qaeda" is
colloquial for "I'm going to the toilet". A very common and widespread use of the word
“Al-Qaeda” in different Arab countries in the public language is for the
toilet bowl. This name comes from the Arabic verb “Qa'ada” which mean “to sit”,
pertinently, on the “Toilet Bowl”. In most Arabs homes there are two kinds
of toilets: “Al-Qaeda” also called the "Hamam Franji" or foreign toilet, and
"Hamam Arabi" or “Arab toilet” which is a hole in the ground. Lest we forget
it, the potty used by small children is called "Ma Qa'adia" or "Little Qaeda".
Those who founded the glorious "International of Islamic Terror, Al-Qaeda,
probably knew too little about common use of Arabic language to know that by
using this name for their organization, they risked becoming the laughing stock
of everybody who speaks the Arabic "public" language.
http://s023.dyndns.org/kawther/K20040622A.html
kwp
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://waste.org/pipermail/pynchon-l/attachments/20040718/6c0790fb/attachment.html>
More information about the Pynchon-l
mailing list