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Eman Al Nafjan, who blogs as Saudiwoman, has written about yesterday's non-protest in the kingdom. While making some familiar points about the authorities' efforts to quash any demonstrations before they could happen, she argues that uncertainty about who exactly was behind… Read more
With protests called for today in Saudi Arabia, the authorities have been eager to play down any fears. A headline in this morning's Arab News – "No threat seen to stability of kingdom" – sets the tone. While this may be true in relation to today's demonstrations, in the longer… Read more
Amid continuing popular discontent in the Arab countries, King Mohammed of Morocco promised constitutional reforms in a speech yesterday (full text here).
Among other things, he talked of consolidating the rule of law, enhancing the independence of the judiciary and making the prime minister "fully… Read more
Amid all the political turmoil in Bahrain, there hasn't been much coverage of a court case last week in which 49 men were given jail sentences ranging from one to six months, in connection with a gay party.
About 200 people were initially arrested "due to immoral activities" on February 3… Read more
Thousands of people demonstrated in Beirut on Sunday, calling for an end to sectarianism in Lebanon. The size of the protest (around 8,000, according to Reuters) was considerably larger than a week earlier, when just a few hundred braved bad weather for a similar demonstration.… Read more
With a stream of petitions, letters to the king and other calls for reform emanating from the public in Saudi Arabia, I thought it might be useful to record as many of them as possible, so I have set up a special page here.
The latest addition, dated March 5, is "Demands of Saudi… Read more
A human rights activist who was arrested in Qatar last week is being held incommunicado and is "at risk of torture or other ill-treatment," according to Amnesty International.
Sultan Khalifa al-Khulaifi was taken away after a two-hour search of his home and car by plainclothes officers… Read more
The protest in Riyadh on Friday
The Saudi interior ministry yesterday announced a total ban "on all kinds of demonstrations, marches and sit-in protests as well as calling for them". Its statement claimed that such protests "go against the principles of Shariah [!!]… Read more
Back in January I wrote about a demonstration at Sana'a University. It was a fairly small affair involving some 2,500 people (pictures here) but it was also, as far as I am aware, the first demonstration in the Yemeni capital aimed primarily at persuading President… Read more
He may be a Britain-friendly, music-loving 'renaissance man', but Oman's Sultan Qaboos still tolerates no dissent ... Read the full article at Comment Is Free.
Posted by Brian Whitaker, 4 March 2011.
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
