Blog archive all
12th December 2014
An advisor to Egypt's Grand Mufti caused a good deal of amusement this week by announcing, apparently in all seriousness, that there are 866 atheists in Egypt (out of a population of around 90 million).
This extremely precise information is said to have come from international research by an "… Read more
11th December 2014
For several weeks now, a Twitter account known as Le Makhzen or @chris_coleman24 has been posting what appear to be leaks from the Moroccan foreign ministry’s email traffic.
This has mostly gone unnoticed outside Morocco, perhaps because the leaks have so far revealed little that was not already… Read more
10th December 2014
Twelve British MPs have signed a parliamentary motion criticising the government's decision to establish a "permanent" naval base in Bahrain. The motion says:
"This House is appalled that Britain has signed an agreement with the government of Bahrain to establish a permanent military base at Port… Read more
9th December 2014
The Queen Boat in Cairo – scene of the 2001 police raid
The massive police raid on a hammam in Cairo – instigated by a pro-regime TV channel – is the latest and most dramatic development in a crackdown against gay men that has been going on for months, even though homosexuality is not actually… Read more
7th December 2014
Mina Salman in Bahrain, which is to become a "permanent" British naval base. Photograph: Royal Navy
In Britain, the phrase "east of Suez" is replete with imperial echoes, including the once-popular poetry of Rudyard Kipling:
Ship me somewheres east of Suez,
where the best is like the worst,… Read more
6th December 2014
King Hamad of Bahrain. Tearing up his photograph can land you in jail.
Britain announced yesterday that it is to build a new naval base in Bahrain, in what Sky News describes as "a landmark deal". The BBC notes that this will be Britain's first permanent military base in the Middle East since it… Read more
5th December 2014
Last week ISIS announced the shutdown of almost all mobile phone services in the Iraqi city of Mosul. The move is certainly not winning friends for the Islamist militants who control the city: it's causing enormous disruption for businesses and individuals as well as depriving countless… Read more
4th December 2014
In a blog post yesterday I quoted from a study of school textbooks in an Arab country and invited readers to guess which country it was talking about. The textbook in question was aimed at 14-15 year-olds and it informed them:
"Islam accepts only two choices for pagans: that they convert to Islam… Read more
3rd December 2014
With two weeks to go, the "Arabs Without God" book translation project on Kickstarter is now 32% funded. Many thanks to those who have pledged contributions.
The purpose of the fundraising is to cover the cost of translating the book into Arabic. The Arabic version will then be posted on the… Read more
3rd December 2014
Here's a little puzzle for readers. Can you work out which Arab country the the writer is talking about in the passage below? Its school textbooks for 14-15 year-olds say that pagans should be killed if they don't convert to Islam:
"It is tucked away in the ninth grade [textbook] under the… 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
