Stories about Middle East & North Africa from September, 2007
Oman: Rent Law and Life in Muscat
Oman's bloggers are ranting about increasing rent and driving in Ramadan in this round up of Omani blogs. Also, how was life before the opening of mega malls and are you interested in attending Oman's first bloggers meeting on October 3?
Morocco: Berbers can be blonde
Major media outlets and bloggers went into a frenzy a few days ago when a blurry photograph taken by a Spanish tourist in Morocco's Rif mountain region showed a small blonde girl bearing a strong resemblance to missing British child Madeleine McCann perched on the back of a Moroccan woman. As it turns out, the photo was not of Maddie but of a 2-year-old Moroccan girl. What do Moroccans think of this matter? Jillian York has the story.
Iran:3000 Hungry Workers
According[Fa] to Kaargar (means worker), 3000 workers in Haft Tapeh sugar cane factory in Khuzestan province,started a strike on Saturday.The blogger says that workers protested against their poor conditions and chanted slogans such as “Haft Tapeh workers are hungry.”
Bahrain: Halfway There!
From Bahrain this week: a mid-Ramadan celebration, great happiness to be at university, a description of some dating practices, and a packet of rice that just doesn't make sense!
Iran:A video about Transsexuality
IranianTruth informs us about a short video on “transsexuality in Iran” authored by Yasmin Vossoughian & Kouross Esmaeli.
Iran: Ahmadinejad's Speech at Columbia University
Iranian President,Mahmoud Ahmadineajd’s speech at Columbia University in New York and university president Lee C. Bollinger’s criticism and tough words during his introduction remarks on Monday 24 September have become a hot topic in media throughout the world. Several Iranian and American bloggers have reacted to the incident. NikAhang Kosar,a...
Arabeyes: Meet Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
Egypt-based blogger Maryanne Stroud Gabbani started blogging in 2003 at the age of 54, after becoming frustrated with trying to answer people individually regarding how it was that she was so happy living in a place that the news said was so opposed to "western women". She figured that hopefully a blog would reach more people and give Egypt a human face and has never looked back since.
Egypt: Ramadan Musings
It's fair to say the month of Ramadan provides a unique experience for all parties involved, the fasting followed by excessive eating, the excessive eating followed by excessive partying and the scathing eye of everyone around you, writes D B Shobrawy, who brings us the latest from Egyptian blogs this week.
Kuwait: 1,000 Women in Swimsuits
A 1,000 women in swimsuits? Fonzy, a Lebanese blogger living in Kuwait, wishes the record would be broken over and over again.
Jordan: Help the Needy
Jordanian Naseem Tarawnah urges his readers to join a group which aims to help the needy during the holy month of Ramadan.
Palestine: Digital Resistance
Palestinian Haitham Sabbah writes about digital resistance in this post.
Iran Invites Bush to Speak
Desert Peace from Israel links to a news article in which Iran invites President Bush to speak at an Iranian university.
Egypt: Muslim World Journal of Human Rights
Readers may be interested to know that Berkeley Press has just launched the Muslim World Journal of Human Rights, notes The Arabist from Egypt.
Palestine: Bathroom Application?
Palestinian Sugar Cubes urges friends to add the Bathroom application to their Facebook in this post.
Bahrain: Corruption Index
Bahrain's ranking in the Corruption Index slips again, writes blogger Mahmood Al Yousif. Countries with a significant worsening in perceived levels of corruption in 2007 include Austria, Bahrain, Belize, Bhutan, Jordan, Laos, Macao, Malta, Mauritius, Oman, Papua New Guinea and Thailand.
Morocco: Bread Protests
The Arabist discusses protests trigger by mounting bread prices in Morocco.
Saudi Arabia: Bullied to become a Good Muslim
Sarah from Saudi Arabia writes about her experiences in being ‘bullied’ to become a good Muslim.
Bahrain: Interview with DJ FawazO
Bahraini blogger Esra'a interviews Bahraini DJ FawazO.
Bahrain: A President Visits
Bahrain-based blogger Bint Battuta shares with us a new blog, set up to cover President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Columbia University earlier this week, created by its Graduate School of Journalism students.
Egypt: Newspaper Strike on October 7
“Chief in editors of the independent and party newspapers decided to not to publish their newspapers on Sunday the 7th of October 2007 , the daily newspapers will not be published on that day and the weekly newspapers will not be published in their days as an objection move against...
Egypt: Beware of US Tapping
“Now that the U.S. is tapping domestic phone calls people need to watch what they say, not because they have anything to hide but because in the course of an innocent conversation you can draw a lot of unwanted attention,” cautions D B Shobrawy, from Egypt.
About our Middle East & North Africa coverage
Mariam Abuadas is the editor for the Middle East & North Africa. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
