Blog archive all
1st September 2015
"Arabs Without God", my book about atheism and freedom of belief in the Middle East – which was published in English last year – is now available in Arabic.
To make it easily accessible for Arabic-speaking readers it is published as a Word file and a PDF document (which can be downloaded… Read more
26th August 2015
Women have been excluded from previous municipal elections
With municipal elections scheduled for December, Saudi women have begun registering to vote for the first time in the kingdom's history.
Although the elections themselves are not particularly significant, the inclusion of women as both… Read more
25th August 2015
Legal moves in money-laundering case
GNRD seeks access to documents
GNRD, the Emirati-funded human rights organisation suspected of money-laundering, and Loai Deeb, its founder/president, went to court in Norway yesterday seeking information about the evidence against them.
They… Read more
24th August 2015
There were echoes of the 2011 Arab uprisings at the weekend when thousands of Lebanese protesters swarmed into downtown Beirut. They were protesting – ostensibly – against piles of uncollected rubbish causing a stench in the streets, though chants of "Thawra! Thawra!" (Revolution! Revolution!)… Read more
21st August 2015
"Consultant" Loai Deeb consulted other consultants' websites
UAE's cut-and-paste consulting firm
Plagiarism raises questions about Deeb's company
Deeb Consulting FZF is a company based in the tax-free zone of Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates. Its sole proprietor is… Read more
20th August 2015
The story in Stavanger Aftenbladet
UAE payment to suspect rights group confirmed
But what was the money for?
A Norwegian newspaper has independently confirmed the authenticity of a document published by al-bab on Tuesday showing an Emirati payment of 100,000 euros to GNRD, the… Read more
19th August 2015
Move to expel Norwegian TV from Egypt
GNRD's ally seeks reprisal over accusations
An Egyptian human rights organisation has filed a lawsuit which seeks to have the Norwegian state broadcaster, NRK, banned from reporting in Egypt.
The legal move was initiated by Maat for Peace,… Read more
18th August 2015
Salem Humaid, founder of al-Mezmaah Studies and Research Center in Dubai which donated money to GNRD
The Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) is a strange human rights organisation based in Norway and founded by a man who once ran a fake university. I have been investigating its… Read more
17th August 2015
DIDN'T Arianna Huffington realise what she was getting into when she decided to launch HuffPost Arabi? In the first three weeks it has certainly been attracting attention, but mostly of the wrong sort.
The new Arabic-language website was born amid a show of bravado from Ms Huffington. Avoiding "… Read more
13th August 2015
Entrance to the University of Jordan in Amman
A session of Jordan's parliament was suspended amid uproar on Tuesday as dozens of MPs demanded the sacking of Labib Khadra, the higher education minister. The MPs were accusing the government of trying to abolish an "exception" system which allows… 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
