Stories about Arabic from July, 2011
United Arab Emirates: Adjournment of Blogger Ahmed Mansour's Tria
”Poor Arab and Emirati intellectuals and thinkers!” bewails Ahmed Al Mouhareb [ar] while reporting on his Twitter account the deferment the trial of the blogger and activist Ahmed Mansour and...
Kuwait: Bidun fly “Freedom Balloons”
A month ago, the stateless community of Kuwait started a 3 day-long campaign of “flipping your twitter avatar” to catch the media's attention and highlight their cause for the world. This Friday, they've made another campaign to set balloons in the air, calling them “freedom balloons". Mona Kareem shares the story.
Tunisia: Time to Register for Elections
Registration for electoral lists in Tunisia started on July 11 and will be closed on August 2, but statistics have shown that Tunisians are reluctant to register on the lists. A group of Tunisian bloggers have launched an online campaign to urge people to register for the October elections.
Saudi Arabia: New Anti-Terror Law Crushes Protests
Amnesty International's leaked draft of the new Saudi anti-terror law has prompted a strong reaction to the proposed legislation. Twitter users are using the hashtag #SaudiTerrorLaw to voice their opinions.
Egypt: Clashes in Abbasseya
On July 23, Egyptian demonstrators marched from Tahrir Square to the Ministry of Defense demanding the stoppage of military trials for civilians, the trial of Mubarak and his former regime, and asking their military rulers to speed up reforms. The initially peaceful protest ended with violence.
Saudi Arabia: The Marriage of #Tabukgirl
Mona Kareem brings us the tale of #Tabukgirl and how this controversial story about a young girl being forcibly wed to a 60-year old man has sparked a strong response on Saudi Arabian social networks.
Kuwait: Bloggers Fight Internet Companies
In the past two months, Kuwaiti bloggers have campaigned against Internet companies in Kuwait which are enforcing a policy of limited bandwidth, steeply raising prices in the past year by agreeing between each other on the same prices, and killing the competition in the Internet market. Mona Kareem expands on this protest.
Morocco: A Personal Tale of Protest
The Moroccan pro-democracy movement known as February 20, struggles to communicate with the public amid a government-led campaign to discredit it. The movement primarily uses the Internet to explain its position and ideas. But it is the personal account of its own militants that impacts the wider public more starkly. Here is the moving story of one activist, Younes Loukili.
Tunisia: Registration for Elections Start, Technical Snags Reported
Tunisians started registering on electoral lists yesterday (July 11, 2011) to cast their votes on October 23 to elect a constituent assembly, which will write their country's new constitution. However, technical snags are already being reported.
Syria: Bloggers Rally for Anas Maarawi
Anas Maarawi is the latest Syrian blogger to have been imprisoned. He was detained on Friday July 1, 2011, in his neighborhood of Kafarsouseh in Damascus, and nothing has been heard of him since. Bloggers are rallying for his release.
Egypt: Why July 8?
Egyptians are back in full force in Tahrir Square, the epicenter of their revolution, once again today. But why are they still demonstrating now that their revolution is over, Mubarak is not in power any more, and many pillars of his regime are behind bars?
Bahrain: Regime and Opposition Begin National Dialogue
Since the Bahrain protests of February 14, 2011, the idea of opening a dialogue between the opposition and regime has been discussed on and off. On Saturday July 2, the long-awaited dialogue finally started with the Waad secular group and the Wefaq Shia group participating.
Syria: Did Man Film Himself Getting Shot by Sniper?
The citizen video posted by user syria7ra on YouTube has both press and netizens wondering about the authenticity of the images, where it seems that a citizen journalist who was recording disturbances in Syria caught the moment of his death on film.
Morocco: Reform With the Taste of an Unfinished Business
Throughout the referendum process, the Moroccan blogosphere was divided over the issue of reform. The heated debate shaking the Moroccan society was reflected in social networks. Some are willing to accept the reform proposed by the King. Others question the legitimacy of a process, they say, was marred with irregularities.
Morocco: A New Constitution Without Much Reform
Moroccans went to the polls today to vote on reforms on a new constitution offered by King Mohammed VI. Although praised by many analysts and royalists, the reforms on the table did not live up to the expectations of activists, who were looking for a democracy. Here are some reactions from social media on how the day went.
