Blog archive all
30th January 2013
Saudi journalist Faheem al-Hamid seems to be having an interesting time in Yemen. Following his hilarious interview the other day with ex-president Salih, Hamid has now had a close encounter with the ex-president's ex-trousers.
The remains of the trousers – which Saleh was wearing at the time of… Read more
30th January 2013
Whenever I write about the Lebanese rumpus over civil marriage, I have to keep reminding myself that it really is aboutcivil marriage and not gay marriage. The opponents of civil marriage in Lebanon are exactly the types you would expect to find in other countries… Read more
29th January 2013
In an extraordinary fatwa yesterday, the Grand Mufti of Lebanon threatened to excommunicate any member of parliament or government minister who supports the legalisation of civil marriage.
"Every Muslim official, whether a deputy or a minister, who supports the legalisation of civil marriage, even… Read more
28th January 2013
Gaddafi is dead, Mubarak is in jail, Ben Ali is in exile but Yemen's former dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh, is living comfortably at home – thanks to a vote in parliament which gave him immunity from prosecution – and he has been talking about his new life as "a normal Yemeni citizen".
In an… Read more
28th January 2013
It wasn't a high-society occasion and the bride and groom were not celebrities but it has become Lebanon's most talked-about wedding in years. Even the president and government ministers have expressed opinions on it.
Khouloud Sukkariyeh and Nidal Darwish tied the knot last November in what is… Read more
24th January 2013
What would happen if a Saudi newspaper published an article advocating democracy, freedom of speech, the rule of law and the resignation of incompetent officials? You might expect that the writer would be arrested, as has happened to several online activists in the kingdom recently. But not… Read more
23rd January 2013
A Saudi court has dismissed an apostasy case against Raif Badawi, an online activist whose views have upset the kingdom's religious conservatives.
The court's decision appears to have removed the threat of execution – since apostasy is a capital offence in Saudi Arabia – but Badawi, who was… Read more
21st January 2013
Two British MPs have raised concerns in parliament about taxpayer subsidies for charities that support settlement activity in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Charities registered in Britain are entitled to various tax benefits regardless of where they operate, provided their activities are entirely… Read more
20th January 2013
Mouna is a lesbian from a Lebanese family and she has a problem:
"I love my mum, but I can never tell her I'm gay. She'd kill me. Or she would make herself sick and die – and then I'd have killed her. I don't want to break her heart but I'm 35. The only way out of the house is in a wedding… Read more
17th January 2013
Yesterday, one week ahead of Jordan's controversial parliamentary election, King Abdullah issued the second of his "discussion papers" intended "to share his vision on the kingdom's comprehensive reform process" (full text here).
In his first paper, at the end of December, the king lectured… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
