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A group called Lawyers Without Restrictions is trying to launch an obscenity case against cultural officials in Egypt for publishing the centuries-old collection of folk tales, A Thousand and One Nights.
Read my article about it at Comment is free.
Posted by Brian Whitaker, 29 April 2010.
When the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) opened in Saudi Arabia last year, it was supposed to be a model of modernity, with no gender segregation. Arab News also
described it as “a bridge between world cultures”.
But not so fast. It may not have gender… Read more
Heron bin Salem, a 22-year-old member of Yemen's tiny Jewish community, was approached by a police officer and four "security members" in Sana'a on Sunday.
According to the Yemen Observer, the officer informed him: "I do not like your look", referring to the ringlets worn by Yemeni Jews… Read more
It's not just in Egypt that Mohamed ElBaradei's calls for constitutional reform are making the authorities twitchy.
Earlier this month, the Kuwaiti authorities arrested more than 30 of his supporters and summarily deported most of them.
A couple of weeks ago, the UAE was reported to… Read more
Yesterday's explosion in Yemen, which resulted in a British mannot being injured, is the subject of at least 124 news reportstoday.
Yes, I know the man in question was an ambassador and his attacker probably from al-Qaeda, but the scale of the coverage reminds me of that famous (and… Read more
In Baalbek earlier this month, the Lebanese army got into a battle with the members of the 20,000-strong Jaafar clan, noted for its involvement in the hashish trade. At least 10 people were wounded – six of them soldiers.
Now, Mitchell Prothero of The National has been there to take… Read more
Sami Zubaida, Anthony Barnett and David Hayes pay tribute to Fred Halliday, the Middle East and international relations specialist, who died yesterday.
My favourite memory of Fred is a story he used to tell about meeting a Yemeni somewhere out in the wilds who asked which tribe he belonged to. Fred… Read more
Last month the Yemeni government's cultural magazine, al-Thaqafiya, published an article about an Egyptian film, Heena Maysara. Directed by Khaled Youssef, a protégé of the lateYoussef Chahine, it's a gritty critique of Egyptian society, set in the Cairo slums.
The film… Read more
Several thousand people joined the march for secularism in Beirut yesterday. Reuters notes a banner saying "Civil marriage, not civil war" and adds that many of the demonstrators "wore white T-shirts with 'What's your sect?' written on the front and 'None of your business' on… Read more
Writing on the Syria Comment blog, Joshua Landis asks: "Why are US analysts surprised that Syria arms Hizbullah?" It's a good question, reflecting a lack of balance in US policy when it comes to Syria and Israel.
Referring to current debate about sending a US ambassador to Syria, Landis… 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
