Stories about Middle East & North Africa from January, 2010
Iran: Two Bloggers in Danger of Death
Two Iranian bloggers, who are also human rights defendants, are behind bars under serious charges. Mehrdad Rahimi and Kouhyar Goudarzi have been accused of wanting to wage “a war against God,” and charged as being “Mohareb” (enemies of God). Their charges are similar to those against the two men who were executed this week in Tehran.
Iran: Iranian Cyber Army hacked Radio Zamaneh
Iranian Cyber Army hacked Netherlands based Radio Zamaneh. The message on the hacked site says in Persian: “you who betray your country are not safe even when you are with your masters.” Iranian Cyber army recently hacked Twitter and Chinese Baidu but does not claim any direct link with Iranian...
Iran: A cleric blogger was arrested
According to some Iranian sites and blogs Ali Ashraf Fathi, a Qom based religious student and blogger was arrested [fa] on Friday. He used to write [fa] in his blog Tourjan.
Tunisia: Language Choices
In this post entitled Arabic, French or English: for “whom” the bell tolls? the Third Ijtihad talks about the use of languages in speaking with others.
Iran: Green Tune to Support Protest Movement
A ring tone for a song which motivated young Iranians to go to the front and fight during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s is making the rounds again in solidarity with the opposition. Hamid Tehrani reviews the reactions of bloggers to the 'Ey Iran' song.
Syria: A Short Story
Medad blog published a sarcastic short story [ar] depicting a Muslim cleric and a Christian cleric passionately discussing virtue and interfaith understanding as each of them tries to claim a spot that allows them to peep through a crack in the wall of a women's bathhouse.
China: Threatened by American Internet censorship
Reactions from Chinese programmers to SourceForge.net's decision to follow American law and block users from several countries include suggestions for how to work around American censorship of the global Internet.
Morocco: A Charter for the Environment
The Moroccan government launched an ambitious project on environment involving a series of regional meetings, workshops and conferences that sparked a national debate that aims at establishing a Charter for the environment. Bloggers have been commenting on the development.
MENA: Breaking the veils
AltMuslimah reviews the exhibition Breaking the veils: Women artists from the Islamic World, which contains art and literature from women in over 20 countries, including Palestine, Yemen and Morocco. The exhibition, which stated in Jordan, is now touring the US. The review can be read here.
Egypt: The Right to Speak Up
Egyptian bloggers and activists held a conference on January 22 in defense of their right to speak up after more than 20 Egyptian bloggers were arrested when their train arrived in the village of Naga Hammady where the Coptic massacre took place. Marwa Rakha sums up their reactions to their detention in this post.
Korea: Translating The Tweets Of Novelist Lee Oisoo
Lee Oisoo is a Korean novelist and artist who has been described as "an eccentric, a genius and a lunatic". When he set up a Twitter account last year he quickly amassed thousands of followers. Now his tweets are being translated into English in order to reach a wider audience. But how did a Bahraini blogger get involved?
Palestine: The Commodification Of Gaza
Exiled is a blogger who recently left Gaza - and he is in no hurry to return. In this translation of a recent post of his, we hear his opinions about political propaganda and self-interest, the tunnels to Egypt and the planned steel fence, and the nature of the outside world's concern for the Gaza Strip.
Jordan: Tweeps Celebrate their Country
In an initiative that was adopted by tweeps from other Arab countries, Jordanian users of micro-blogging site Twitter created and maintained a hashtag that celebrates the top 50 things they love about their country. Ebtihal Mahadeen takes a closer look at #Top50Jo.
Ethiopia: Bloggers defend Ethiopian Airlines after crash
Ethiopia-based bloggers rushed to defend the safety record of the country's national airline on Monday after one of its planes crashed near Beirut, with all 90 people on board feared dead.
Syria: Netizens Discuss SourceForge Ban
A day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for a free and open Internet, Syrian users noticed they could no longer access open-source software community SourceForge. Bloggers react to the block.
Lebanon: 90 Presumed Dead After Ethiopian Airlines Jet Plunges into Sea
Condolences poured in on Twitter after an Ethiopian Airlines jet plunged into the Mediterranean minutes after its take off from Beirut, Lebanon. All 90 people on board are presumed dead after the plane caught fire during a lightning storm and crashed into the sea.
Iran: Iranians commemorate Neda's birthday
Iranians inside and outside the country remembered Neda Soltan's birthday. Neda was shot dead by Basij militia on June 20, 2009, during a protest against the presidential election results that declared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad president. Her death was captured on video and uploaded to the Internet. She died with her eyes wide open, and her last moments transcended citizen media to mainstream media, reaching millions of people.
Morocco: “Smile, You're in Fez”
The View from Fez gives us a look at the new mascot of Fez in this post.
Iran:Green Cyber Army vs. Pro State Cyber Army
Green Cyber Army says it is going to support Green Movement in the virtual world where Iranian government has launched its own cyber army. Iranian Cyber army recently hacked Twitter and Chinese Baidu but does not claim any direct link with Iranian government.
Saudi Arabia: AIDS treatment takes step backward
Saudi Arabia has announced its plans to shut down a volunteer clinic in Jeddah’s King Saud Hospital that is known for providing medical services, counseling and privacy to AIDS victims. Bloggers lash out against the move saying it is a step backward.
Egypt: Engulfed by Floods!
Over the past few days, several Egyptian governorates and cities have been engulfed by a severe wave of flash floods and heavy rains. Bloggers react to the calamity.
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