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Saudi Arabia's new interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, is "perceived as progressive, efficient and result-orientated"according to columnist Hussein Shobokshi. One test of that will be whether his ministry continues to pursue several Saudi rights activists who are currently… Read more
Bahrain's decision to revoke the citizenship of 31 men – all of them reported to be Shia Muslims – is just one side of a discriminatory policy operated by the kingdom's Sunni rulers. The other side is that they readily grant citizenship to Sunni Muslims from a… Read more
The authorities in Bahrain have issued a list of 31 people who are to be stripped of their citizenship in an apparent punishment for opposing the regime.
The announcement, posted on the interior ministry's website earlier today, gave no specific reasons but the ministry said it was taking… Read more
The Islamic Action Front – the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan – has called on the government to prosecute "worshippers of demons".
The IAF's call for a crackdown came after protesters attacked a café in Amman which was holding a Halloween party last Thursday… Read more
Despite a government ban on public gatherings of more than 20 people, thousands of Kuwaiti protesters succeeded in blocking the capital's outer ring road briefly before riot police confronted them with stun grenades and teargas yesterday.
AFP reports:
After elite… Read more
In the first of the "Arab Spring" countries – Tunisia and Egypt – political debate now centres on the drafting of a new constitution. In both cases there is much discussion about the role of Islam in relation to the state and the rights of women (here and here, for example). But there is… Read more
In a report from Yemen, Leila al-Fuhaidi of AFP highlights an unusual practice that can lead to happily married couples being forced to divorce.
The practice – found mainly in rural areas – involves an "exchange" marriage known as sheghar, where two men from different families each marry… Read more
Mussallam al-Barrak, a prominent opposition figure in Kuwait, has been released on bail of 10,000 dinars ($35,500) after thousands of protesters marched on the prison where he was being held and police responded with teargas and smoke bombs.
Barrack was arrested last Monday on… Read more
The United States has now joined in the criticism of Bahrain's decision to ban all public gatherings. State Department spokesman Mark Toner began yesterday's daily media briefing with the following statement (which broadly echoes the British statement quoted here in a blog post … Read more
Seven men have been arrested in Cairo on charges of belonging to a “debauchery” network.
The men, aged between 20 and 31, are said to have been in possession of “underwear, cosmetics, wigs and a number of bottles of liquor”, and a judge has ordered them to be sent to Heliopolis Hospital to be… 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
