BAGHDAD — A soldier in the Iraqi Army has invented a new tool to help Westerners better understand the Arab concept of time. Sgt. Samir Husain created the “Inshallah Watch” after noticing American military advisors becoming frustrated while relying on western standards of punctuality.
“Inshallah,” which means “God willing,” is a term used by Arabic speakers to express that no future event will happen without God's will. Colloquially, however, it is generally used to evade responsibilities while also giving the listener at least some hope that divine intervention will allow the task at hand to be completed.
Husain says its meanings generally range somewhere between, “I will be at the meeting, but will be about thirty minutes late,” and, “Fuck yourself, I'm not doing that.”
