How Do You Say "Sumo" In Arabic?

Al-Jazeera's English-language mirror is a wealth of information at times, and today's site is no exception. Wedged within the articles (many of them taken from wire services such as the AP and Reuters) is an engaging article about Egyptian sumo wrestlers.

Excuse me? EGYPTIAN sumo wrestlers?

Yep. Sumo is a growing sport in Egypt (although I doubt it'll beat out America-bashing in popularity), with numerous clubs catering to the huge and overweight who want to put on diapers and ram into each other like drunken Texans. They even sent a team to the Junior Sumo matches in Japan. They didn't do too well, apparently, but one Japanese pundit said that they showed a great deal of spirit.

Actually, it might not be a bad idea to use sports like sumo, with its stylized violence, to help some of the world's more intransigent assholes to work out their differences. Of course, the mental image of George Bush and Kim Jong Il putting on the diapers and grappling in the ring is enough to make me want to gouge out my eyes with plastic picnic forks.

But it's a thought.