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Writing for the Jadaliyya blog, Lara Deeb offers some interesting thoughts on mut'a marriage among the Shia community in Lebanon.
In Muslim societies there's a general principle that sexual relations should take place within some kind of legal framework that legitimises them. But conventional… Read more
With attention in Egypt focused mainly on the rigged election, the jailing of a 30-year-old man for posting "defence secrets" on Facebook has passed without much notice.
Ahmed Hassan Bassyouni, whose case I highlighted here last week, was sentenced to six months' imprisonment… Read more
The owners of Saudi Arabia's only cinema, which opened in Dammam last month, appear to be getting a bit nervous about the publicity surrounding it.
In a move worthy of the surrealist painter, René Magritte, and despite appearances to the contrary (see picture above), they are… Read more
Yesterday I received a second email from MEMRI asking for money – just a week after the first one. OK, so they've gone into the red to the tune of $1.2 million over the last couple of years but that's not my problem. The answer is no.
As I said before, I haven't a clue why they think I might… Read more
What to say about the fraudulent Egyptian elections? When I wrote about the rigging process last Sunday and said "There are indications this time that the government may have been too restrictive for its own good" in its efforts to suppress the opposition, I didn't expect it to be quite… Read more
Amid all the excitement about the king of Saudi Arabia urging the Americans to bomb Iran, the Wikileaks documents show Sultan Qaboos of Oman taking a much cooler view.
In a two-hour meeting with Admiral William Fallon of Centcom last February, the Sultan remarked that the Iranians are "not fools,"… Read more
In 1979 Egypt became the first Arab country to make peace with Israel – and it has been handsomely rewarded ever since. After Israel, Egypt was the second-largest recipient of American aid until both were overtaken by Iraq following the removal of Saddam Hussein.
American aid – totalling more than… Read more
One of the new Wikileaks documents records a 90-minute meetingon January 4 this year between David Petraeus, commander of Centcom, and the Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Salih.
Some interesting points:
1. Salih repeatedly asked for 12 armed helicopters ("a topic… Read more
This is an extraordinary moment for the Arab media. Gleeful anticipation that the latest revelations from Wikileaks would prove deeply embarrassing to the United States has suddenly turned into a realisation that the leaked documents (the first batch at least) portray various Arab leaders in a bad… Read more
A minority of Egyptians – probably no more than a third of the 41 million who are registered to vote – will be going to the polls today in a parliamentary election where the ruling party has already made sure of winning by large majority.
Talk of rigged elections usually conjures up images of… 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
