Blog archive all
13th April 2016
There's a story told in the hadith that the Prophet Muhammad once saw a boy with a partly-shaved head – and disapproved. "Shave all of it or leave all of it," he is reported to have said.
Fourteen centuries later, this little incident is causing ructions on Saudi Arabia's soccer pitches. Last… Read more
11th April 2016
The behaviour of Egypt's Sisi regime is increasingly shambolic. Last week relations with Italy took an unnecessary turn for the worse over the regime's obstructive attitude to investigating the torture and death of Julio Regeni, the Italian PhD student whose horribly mutilated body was found on the… Read more
6th April 2016
A British MP has accused the UAE's government-run news agency of making up quotes in support of the Gulf state's oppressive human rights policies.
Last weekend the Emirati website, Gulf News, published a story headed "British House of Commons praises human rights in UAE". In fact, the House of… Read more
6th April 2016
There's another twist in the tale of the UAE and a visiting delegation of British MPs.
For the benefit of new readers, the story so far is that the Emirati government's news agency, WAM, issued two reports last weekend claiming the MPs had praised the UAE's awful human rights record. Both reports… Read more
4th April 2016
The headline on the story Gulf News published and then removed
A headline on the Emirati website, Gulf News, caught my eye yesterday. It said: "British House of Commons praises human rights in UAE".
Reading the story below the headline it became clear that the "praise" – if that's what it really… Read more
1st April 2016
As efforts continue to establish a single national government in Libya, a report by a UN panel of experts which was circulated last month provides some illuminating background:
Throughout most of 2015, conflicting regional interests further polarised the political scene. Support and statements by… Read more
29th March 2016
This year's Riyadh Book Fair, held in the Saudi capital earlier this month, acknowledged the war in Yemen with a military theme. Hala Aldosari writes:
Guests browsing publishers’ stalls passed through “barracks row” honouring the Saudi troops camped on the border with Yemen. At the opening… Read more
26th March 2016
The Sisi regime's attempt to blame a "criminal gang" for the death of Italian postgraduate student Giulio Regeni has been greeted with derision and disbelief in Italy.
Regeni disappeared in Cairo on January 25 and his body – half-naked and horribly mutilated – was discovered at a roadside nine… Read more
25th March 2016
The Egyptian interior ministry claimed yesterday that police had found – and killed – the murderers of Italian PhD student Giulio Regeni.
Regeni, 28, who had been researching trade union activism in Egypt, disappeared on January 25. His mutilated body, showing classic signs of torture, was found… Read more
24th March 2016
The picture above advertises a popular Turkish soap opera – Harim Soltan (the Sultan's harem).
But there is also a satirical version (below) in which the Sultan's face has been replaced with that of Algeria's president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Besides "Sultan" Bouteflika himself, it shows a few… 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
