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23rd February 2010
“I do not think we have a real civil society independent from the state ... If you are not somehow connected to the regime, they will not establish you.” These are the words of Abdullah al-Faqih, Professor of Political Science at Sana’a University, quoted in yesterday's Financial Times.
Developing… Read more
22nd February 2010
Discussion of censorship mostly focuses on the spoken or written word, while censorship of art and music tends to be sidelined. In the field of music, probably the most controversial genre – and the one most censored worldwide – is heavy metal.
Heavy metal has some enthusiastic followers in the… Read more
21st February 2010
The collapse of a minaret which killed at least 41 worshippers during Friday prayers in Morocco is raising similar questions to thetragic floods that hit Jeddah in Saudi Arabia last November: were the deaths preventable and, if so, who failed to prevent them?
The Moroccan interior ministry has been… Read more
21st February 2010
For the first time, Saudi Arabia is planning to let female lawyers argue certain types of cases in court. Justice minister Mohammed al-Issa said yesterday that a draft law to this effect will be issued shortly as part of King Abdullah’s “plan to develop the justice system”.
At present, women with… Read more
20th February 2010
Despite warnings that they were breaking the law, hundreds of Egyptians – perhaps more than 1,000 – turned up yesterday to greet Mohamed ElBaradei on his arrival at Cairo airport. Reports from al-Masry al-Youm and DPA describe the scenes, while the Egyptian Chronicles blog links to several video… Read more
19th February 2010
Following its review of human rights in Egypt on Wednesday, the UN Human Rights Council will be issuing recommendations this afternoon.
By an ironic coincidence, this comes as Mohamed ElBaradei, former head of the IAEA, winner of the Nobel peace prize and – of more immediate significance – a … Read more
19th February 2010
As the US prepares to send an ambassador to Syria for the first time in five years, elements on the American right are fighting a limp rearguard action against engagement with the Damascus regime.
Syria expert Joshua Landis discusses this on his blog and argues that sanctions have failed miserably… Read more
18th February 2010
In a survey among doctors in Lebanon, 60% viewed homosexuality as a disease that needs medical assistance and 73% said it needs psychological counselling.The findings are in one of two reports presented at a meetingorganised by Helem, the Lebanese LGBT organisation, last week. The other report is… Read more
18th February 2010
A member of the Saudi religious police who was found to have six wives (two more than the legal maximum) has beensentenced to 120 lashes – which, as Arab News notes, works out at 20 lashes per wife.
Considering that the man was employed by the mutawa to enforce Islamic law (as interpreted by the… Read more
17th February 2010
Egypt's human rights record is facing scrutiny at the UN in Geneva today. Though the meeting is scheduled to last only three hours, this is the first time Egypt has been in the spotlight at the Human Rights Council under a process that reviews the performance of each member state in turn.
Human… 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
