· May, 2011

Below are posts about citizen media in Arabic. Don't miss Global Voices الأصوات العالمية, where Global Voices posts are translated into Arabic! Read about our Lingua project to learn more about how Global Voices content is being translated into other languages.

Stories about Arabic from May, 2011

Lebanon: Mapping sexual harassment

An interactive map of incidences of harassment in Lebanon has been launched. Featured testimonies can in no way be considered official, verified or comprehensive; the map shows only personal reports published on Qaweme Harassment -Fighting Harrassment on Lebanon Streets [en, ar] by women who decided to break the wall of...

Egypt: Letter from Military Prison Cell No. 10

During their arrest period in a military prison activist Mosa'ab Elshamy and his cell mates wrote notes and messages, which he later on (after his release) published on tumblr [en and ar]. Ahmad el Azhary says in one of them: “Cell no 10. Guys 10/10. Companionship for a Cause rather...

Syria: Light a Candle for Syria

Musician Devin Rhode shared a video entitled Light a Candle for Syria, where we can see touching footage of some major events of the uprising continuing in the country for more than two months. Writing about the objective behind the clip, Rhode says: “I hope this becomes a good tool...

Syria: Personal Letter to President Assad

In a letter addressed on May 8th, 2011, to Syrian president Bashar Al Assad, blogger, Syria to Freedom, expresses his disappointment with the president's behavior in the current crisis and implores him in the end to:“Do fulfill your people's demands of freedom and dignity and you will see those people...

Palestine: The Insanity of Poetry

Damascus Remains, Throbbing Wounds, Insanity of Poetry, Tears in her Hands, Sword's Caravan and many other poems and reflections on women, human beings, war, heroism and the world by Ibrahim Shakarneh from Nahalin village, in Palestine, can be found on his blog.

Egypt: Mubarak Fined for Internet Blackout during Revolution

An Egyptian court has fined ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and other officials 540 million Egyptian pounds ($90m) for disconnecting the Internet and mobile phone services during the revolution. Mubarak's regime first shut down access to Twitter when protests started, then Facebook, before turning off the Internet on January 28.

Egypt: Opening of Rafah Crossing with Gaza

Egypt opened its Rafah order crossing with the Gaza Strip today, allowing people to cross freely into Egypt for the first time in four years. The border, which is Gaza's main gateway to the outside world, was opened sporadically during the reign of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Following are some reactions from Twitter on this latest development.

Jordan: Debating Economic Policies and the Road to Reform

The state of Jordan's economy, specifically discussing economic policies since 1989 and the national debt, were the highlight of the 7iber #HashtagDebates. The conversation hosted prominent Jordanian economists Ibrahim Saif and Yusuf Mansur, and was streamed with aramram.com for an online audience. The 7iber #HashtagDebates are part of a vital and ongoing conversation on reforms in Jordan.

Arab World: Ibn Khaldun Gets Doodled and Tweeted

Considered the greatest Arab historiographer and historian, the philosopher Ibn Khaldun was born in present-day Tunisia in 1332. He is also known as the father of cultural history and modern social science. Google's Doodle sparked the Twitter hashtag #ibn5ldoon, reminding us of this great scholar and his work.

Egypt: Gearing Up for a Second Revolutionary Round

Egypt will not sleep tonight in preparation for its Second Day of Anger. Following Mubarak's ousting, many feel that the demands raised since the start of the January 25 revolution have mostly not been fulfilled. The calls for the second day of anger at Tahrir Square this Friday aim to reignite the revolution.

Saudi Arabia: Will women take the wheels on June 17?

  25 May 2011

Women2Drive group launched a campaign in Saudi Arabia, via a Facebook page and a hasthag on Twitter [en and ar], to encourage and prod women to follow the example of Najla Hariri and [en] and Manal Al Charif [en] and defy the laws by driving on June 17th. Manal, one...

Saudi Arabia: Woman Arrested for Driving

A week ago, a Saudi mother drove her car in Jeddah to take her kids to their school. On May 21, 2011, another Saudi woman, Manal Al-Sharif, posted a video of herself driving on YouTube. Al-Sharif was arrested, then released on bail, but later on the police arrested her once again.

Egypt: I Unfollowed Ghonim Because …

Egyptian cyber activist Wael Ghonim, who shot to international fame after being arrested at the beginning of the Egyptian revolution, is facing criticism from the very same Egyptians who earlier championed for his release. In a series of tweets today, Ghonim urged the protesters to put their country's economic prosperity ahead of their revolutionary agenda, sparking a flurry of reactions on Twitter.

Tunisia: Internet Censorship Makes a Comeback

Tunisian netizens have enjoyed an unprecedented access to the Internet, following the fall of the Ben Ali regime in mid-January and the end of the country's previous web censorship. This short honeymoon seems to be coming to an end however, with a military court's recent order to block four Facebook pages. Netizens react to the new development in this post.

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