Blog archive all
25th September 2014
By Anna Jacobs and George Bajalia
This article is re-posted from the Muftah website
The militarisation of border crossings throughout North Africa and the Sahel has intensified recently, as a result of security concerns over weapons smuggling, terrorist networks, and armed violence in Libya.… Read more
24th September 2014
Egypt's growing moral panic
Campaigners in Egypt have called for two days of action through social media to protest at the latest wave of repression directed against LGBT people there.
Readers can support it by signing up to the Facebook event, Stop Homophobia and Transphobia in Egypt. There is… Read more
24th September 2014
Campaigners in Egypt have called for two days of action through social media to protest at the latest wave of repression directed against LGBT people there.
Readers can support it by signing up to the Facebook event, Stop Homophobia and Transphobia in Egypt. There is also more information on… Read more
22nd September 2014
Dennis Ross speaking at Emory University. Photo: Nrbelex.
Earlier this month the New York Times published a wildly misleading article by Dennis Ross, currently a "Distinguished Fellow" at the Washington Institute thinktank. Ross previously worked on Middle East issues at a senior level under four… Read more
18th September 2014
Today in Scotland, voters are choosing between independence and remaining as part of the United Kingdom. I have been watching this process with half an eye on the Middle East where there are also a number of separatist movements – in southern Yemen and Western Sahara for example, plus the of course… Read more
17th September 2014
Following their summit in Qatar last week, Arab Gulf states have been congratulating themselves on producing a document known as the “GCC Human Rights Declaration”. Headlines, at least in the Gulf media, have hailed it as a “forward leap for rights” and a sign of the GCC’s commitment to equality… Read more
17th September 2014
When Saudi newspapers first appeared online they were scarcely worth reading. What passed for news in those days was generally bland and uninformative – statements from the authorities assuring people that all was well and they had everything under control. The few really interesting news items… Read more
16th September 2014
If there's one thing more scary than ISIS, it's the muddle-headed plans for dealing with it. In the debates about what to do, ISIS has been almost entirely viewed as a military and security problem while the ideological aspects have been almost entirely ignored. President Obama, in his statement… Read more
13th September 2014
One of my reasons for publishing Arabs Without God as an e-book was to get around the problems of distribution and censorship in the Middle East. But now, just a day after it was released published, some would-be readers in the region are finding that it's not so simple. They are getting a message… Read more
12th September 2014
Inside the extremist-occupied city of Mosul, teachers have been told to report to work and teach an extremist-formulated curriculum – or face the consequences. Meanwhile the Ministry of Education in Baghdad, which still pays their salaries, says if they show up to work, they may be fired.… 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
