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Today, I'm making the final selections in our list of 10 books that explain the Middle East for people unfamiliar with the region. Aided by suggestions from readers of this blog, we have so far covered history, literature, Islam and Arab society and politics.
When choosing Philip Hitti's … Read more
Twelve-year-old Sally al-Sahabi was granted a divorce from her 26-year-old husband by a Yemeni court yesterday. The decision is seen as a boost for campaigners against child marriage – an issue on which the Yemeni parliament is expected to vote shortly.
There is currently no law… Read more
At the beginning of this month, the Hamas authorities in Gazaannounced a ban on male hairdressers attending to women's hair. Three weeks later, though, they show no sign of trying to enforce it.
Five hairdressers are thought to be affected and have been seeking legal advice. A report in The… Read more
Our list of 10 books that explain the Middle East for people unfamiliar with the region is taking shape. So far, aided by suggestions from readers of this blog, we have covered history,literature and Islam. Today I want to add two more titles – about Arab politics and… Read more
Mohammed al-Maqaleh (Maqalih), editor-in-chief of Aleshteraki, the Yemen Socialist Party's website was released from arbitrary detention yesterday on "health and humanitarian" grounds.
Maqalih was abducted by armed and masked men last September and it was several months… Read more
Continuing our effort to compile a list of 10 books that introduce new readers to the Middle East, I think there's room for two about Islam. Obviously there are a lot to choose from and Islam stretches far wider than the Middle East – though, as I said earlier, it plays such a central role in the… Read more
Human Rights Watch had a spot of bother earlier this week over a press conference in Tunisia to introduce its latest report on the regime's harassment of critics:
"On March 22, the Minister for Communications, Oussama Romdhani, told Human Rights Watch that the government did not… Read more
Demonstrations continue in Yemen over the hotly contestedissue of child marriage. Yesterday, it was the turn of campaigners for a minimum age to gather outside the parliament building.
Roughly half of all girls in Yemen are married before the age of 18 – many of them before… Read more
Continuing our search for 10 books that provide a well-rounded introduction to the Middle East, let's turn to fiction. The choice here is partly determined by what's available in translation, and the British Council helpfully provides a list of current titles (including a small amount of poetry).
I… Read more
The authorities in Dubai have been getting themselves into a bit of a muddle over chefs who like to add a dash of alcohol to their recipes.
The Falafel Mafia blog notes that cooking with alcohol wasdeclared illegal in 2003. But there was little or no effort to enforce the ban until… 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
