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After waging war in Yemen for almost a year, Saudi Arabia is gradually beginning to realise what many said at the outset: that military victory is impossible.
A few days ago the Saudis took the previously unthinkable step of engaging in direct talks with the Houthis, their principal foe… Read more
As Saudi Arabia's economic problems worsen, thousands of construction workers are complaining about unpaid wages.
Among those affected are 38,000 employees of Saudi Oger – the kingdom's second-largest construction firm – who have not been paid for four months. Saudi Oger is chaired by Saad… Read more
In Saudi Arabia last week, it was reported that a 28-year-old man had been sentenced to 10 years in jail, 2,000 lashes and a fine of 20,000 riyals ($5,330) for expressing his atheism on Twitter.
The kingdom's religious police said he had posted more than 600 tweets "denying the existence of God,… Read more
There are smart dictators and foolish dictators. The smart ones stay out of the limelight and don't make waves internationally. The rest of the world then lets them get on with their dictating and doesn't usually interfere. The foolish ones, not content with having a country to run more or less as… Read more
Youssef Rakha: genius in a land of madness
Egypt's ground-breaking novelist
The Book of the Sultan's Seal, in its English translation, measures 203mm x 134mm, weighs approximately 410 grammes and has a brownish cover. It consists of 374 pages divided… Read more
The Facebook jihadists
They may not be violent but they are still dangerous
Doing jihad is easier than you think. You can become a soldier in the "Army of Muhammad" in the comfort of your own home, and at no personal risk. All you need is a laptop and a Facebook account.
The… Read more
Yesterday I wrote about Facebook's mass closure of groups used by Arab atheists and secularists following attacks by Muslim activists. Facebook now seems to have had second thoughts about its decision and over the last 24 hours almost all the affected groups have been restored.
This morning,… Read more
Since the beginning of this month, Muslim activists have succeeded in getting Facebook to close down at least nine Arab atheist or secularist groups with a combined membership of more than 128,000.
[See update for further developments]
The cyber-jihadists have attacked these groups by bombarding… Read more
Perhaps it's a sense of their own insecurity that makes Bahrain's royals so eager to "win" obscure and meaningless awards which can then be trumpeted in the Gulf kingdom's media.
There was a notorious occasion in 2013 when King Hamad, in the midst of ongoing repression, was named "Humanitarian… Read more
Novelist Ahmed Naji yesterday began a two-year jail sentence – the maximum allowed under Egyptian law – for "violating public decency" by writing about "transient lust and fleeting pleasure". His trial was the latest in a long line of morality-related cases instigated by individuals and supported… 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
