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28th June 2014
There was a time, back in the 1960s, when Habib Bourguiba – the first president of Tunisia – could appear on TV sipping tea during the fasting hours of Ramadan.
When the Marxists ruled in southern Yemen, state TV would pointedly broadcast cookery programmes at times when Muslims were supposed to be… Read more
21st June 2014
"Individuals and organisations in London with connections to the Muslim Brotherhood are behind a series of media attacks on the UAE," the Emirati newspaper, The National, reported on Wednesday.
The paper certainly went to town on the story, with a news report, a 3,000-word investigative piece and a… Read more
19th June 2014
Following Saudi Arabia's absurd decision to outlaw "calling for atheist thought" on the grounds that it is a form of terrorism, Egypt is trying a different approach.
Labelling Egyptian atheists as terrorists might be just a bit too confusing because the Sisi regime has already allocated the Muslim… Read more
18th June 2014
Earlier this year, Yemen embarked on plans to create a federal state comprising six regions. For some, a "United States of Yemen" offers the best hope of preserving national unity in the face of separatist activism. Others fear it will exacerbate separatist tendencies, possibly leading to… Read more
16th June 2014
Scene of confrontation: the Saleh mosque in Sana'a
Close to the presidential palace in Sana'a is the Saleh mosque. Build at a cost of $60m and opened in 2008 by President Ali Abdullah Saleh (after whom the mosque is named), it is one of the most extravagant buildings in Yemen, with five domes and… Read more
14th June 2014
Egypt's much-abused law against "insults" to religion has claimed another victim with the jailing of a 23-year-old schoolteacher in Luxor governorate.
Demiana Emad, a Coptic Christian, was arrested more than a year ago following a complaint from the head of the parents' association at her school.… Read more
30th May 2014
King Hamad: insulted at home, welcomed in Britain
It doesn't take much to upset King Hamad of Bahrain who is rapidly emerging as the most thin-skinned monarch in the Gulf. So many people have hurt the king's feelings recently that the maximum penalty for "insulting" him was increased earlier this… Read more
5th April 2014
Yemen is one of the least known Arab countries and one of the most misunderstood. For outsiders, it can be a baffling place – a wayward republic among the Arabian monarchies, a society that is still largely tribal (and heavily armed to boot), a place where millions while away their afternoons… Read more
28th March 2014
President Obama is due in Riyadh today in what is being portrayed as an effort to patch up US-Saudi relations. Hopefully, one item not on the agenda will be further cooperation in combating terrorism.
Last month a new anti-terrorism law came into force which basically defines… Read more
7th March 2014
"Do you know who I am?" That's a question that officials everywhere in the Arab countries dread hearing. If they don't know the answer they had better find out pronto – otherwise they will be in trouble.
Privilege, nepotism, corruption ... whatever you call it, it's bad news. It's also one of the… 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
