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Al-Azhar's bold but brief confrontation with the niqab (face veil) seems to have fizzled out, leaving Mohammed Tantawi, the government-appointed Sheikh of al-Azhar, with egg all over his face.
It began early last month when Tantawi asked a female student toremove her niqab, reportedly… Read more
Last week, in an article for Comment Is Free, I pointed out that the "Arab problem" is mostly perceived in terms of undemocratic or dictatorial regimes. I suggested it’s a mistake to approach it in this way and that in order to really understand the problem we have to look beyond the… Read more
The Iranian embassy in Yemen has now given its own versionof the "arms ship" affair (see previous post).
It says the vessel (there is still no disclosure of its size, type or name) normally operates in the Caspian Sea and had gone to Sharjah in the UAE for maintenance. It was… Read more
The sorry state of education in Arab countries is of one of the major barriers to economic development and social change, so the publication of the first Arab Knowledge Report – a joint project by the UNDP and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation – is potentially an important… Read more
In an important ruling yesterday, Kuwait’s constitutional court
decided that female members of parliament are not required to wear the hijab. Although only female two MPs and a government minister are directly affected, the case has much wider implications.
An electoral law… Read more
While the lot of Kuwaiti women seems to be improving, the same cannot be said of foreign domestic workers in the country. Ill-treatment of housemaids – and the apparent lack of public concern about it – is an issue that The Angry Arab follows regularly. It is a problem in all Arab… Read more
The leading Spanish daily, el Pais, is the latest paper to be censored by the Moroccan authorities. Distribution of its Saturday edition was blocked in Morocco for "attacking the monarchy".
El Pais had reprinted a cartoon which first appeared in Le Monde (also banned) as… Read more
There are numerous reports today about the "Iranian arms ship" seized on Sunday off the Red Sea coast of Yemen but facts are still scarce. It could be a very significant find or the government – not for the first time – may be making a mountain out of a molehill. Until more is known, it is unwise… Read more
The Daily Star (Beirut) notes that the latest report on religious freedom from the US State Department says Lebanon's political system – which distributes power according to religious affiliation – "may be viewed as inherently discriminatory". In fact, there's no "may" about it… Read more
So. In "an atmosphere of repression" (© Human Rights Watch) president Ben Ali won the Tunisian election with 89.62% of the votes. That's a drop of almost five per cent on the 1994 result and 10 per cent less than in 1999 when he got a truly incredible 99.66%. If his support continues… 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
