In my lifetime to date, I don't remember meeting anyone named Mona, but synchronicity being what it is, four instances of the name converged in the past week, perhaps one playing off the other in conciousness. There's Mona Lisa, of course, Mona here meaning My Lady. Two people named Mona (writers) have been speaking about Egypt this past week -- Mona Eltahawy on Real Time with Bill Maher, for instance, and Mona El-Naggar on Charlie Rose.* Finally, a trigger memory of The Rolling Stones excellent 1964 cover of Bo Diddley's 1957 song "Mona (I Need You Baby)." Apparently the name peaked in the USA in 1950. In Arabic, Mona/Muna means Wishes. Other meanings include Noble One and Moon.
Among many other cogent observations, Mona Eltahawy has developed the idea of Israel being used as an excuse by various regimes -- including Egypt's -- to stifle internal dissent ("The Opium of the Arabs"). Here's a link to her excellent and powerful website: http://www.monaeltahawy.com/
Mona El-Naggar, New York Times.*(Also listed as Mona El-Nagger on the Charlie Rose website). She is a member of the NYT Cairo Bureau team, and contributes to The Lede: Blogging the News With Robert Mackey. Judging from her observations and magnetic presence on Charlie Rose, she ought to be a rising star.
Ever met anyone named Mona?
Today's Rune: Fertility.
6 comments:
I think you may be able to scratch one Mona...the Lisa. current thinking is that she was a he. A male student/apprentice of two decades and possible lover of the artist. I think his name was Bob.
Chuckles. More will be revealed, no doubt. I remember a Ray Bradbury story, "The Smile" from 9th grade, people are sacking the Louvre and one kid tears off the Mona Lisa smile and keeps it . . .sort of like the looters who tore the heads off a couple of mummies in Egypt, I guess -- it's all tied together somehow!
Erik, I grew up with a lovely girl named Mona. She died young and tragically. None since then except for the lovely Mona of the Two Bits blog!
Miss Eltahawy's idea about Egypt was one of the central parts of my master's dissertation. In Samuel Huntington's classic "Political Order in Changing Societies," he identifies "creating an outside enemy" as a strategy for maintaining rule. The 1967 war was a disaster for Egypt, but not for the regime; it stayed in power. Israel was not a tactical or strategic enemy of Egypt-- something Sadat recognized, and acted on. The regimes in the region have whipped up artificial hatred of Israel in order to avoid democracy and ultimately development.
Hey, thanks for the add'l comments! I need to check out Two Bits; sorry to hear about the earlier loss.
Johnny, most excellent! I wonder if the Israelis will also start feeling more pressure to stop settlements in swap areas? All interesting, the implications across the grand strategy board.
Mona El-Naggar is a rising star. Georgetown educated, bright and an effective communicator for young people in Egypt.
And very easy on the eyes, too!
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