Stories about Middle East & North Africa from April, 2010
Iran: Hard-line blogs got filtered
The hard-line, pro-Ahmadinejad “Rajanews” website has protested against the filtering of hard-line blogs.
Iran: Cloudy sky and Tehran
Kosoof, a leading Iranian photo blogger, has published an eye-catching photo: cloduy sky in Tehran. The blogger writes: my house is cloudy.
Iran: Opposition leader issues message for workers
Mir-Hussein Mousavi, an opposition leader, issued a message via You Tube for Iranian workers on occaison of International Worker's Day. He said Iran is suffering from a widespread political, economic and social crisis.
Iran: A ‘Green’ Labor Day (At Least Online)
The Iranian Green Movement is planning to make International Workers Day on May 1 a “green” day. The post-election opposition movement has not held any important demonstration since their last attempts were thwarted in February.
Egypt: Gearing up for May 2 Protests
Egyptian blogger Zeinobia is urging her readers to mark May 2 on their calendars. A massive sit-in is being planned to call for a higher minimum wage in front of the Egyptian Cabinet. The official minimum wage has been LE35 ($6) for the last 26 years.
Egypt: Saudi Arabia Blocks ElBaradei's Site
Bikya Masr quotes the Arabic Network of Human Rights information saying that Saudi Arabia has “blocked the Internet website promoting Egypt’s leading opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei’s National Coalition for Change.”
Tunisia: Killing the Web
Tunisian Rafik describes censorship in Tunisia as “webcide.” He tweets: “what is happening in Tunisia with massive censorship these last days is webcide : kill the web.”
Bahrain: Mideast Tunes Launched
Mideast Youth has launched a new project Mideast Tunes – which is dedicated to providing a platform for emerging musicians in the Middle East. “Our aim is to encourage, inspire and expose talented young artists across the region,” they write.
Jordan: The Nursing Profession
Emi, an American in Amman, reflects on the nursing profession in Jordan in this post.
Bahrain: Salman and Threatened Voices
From Bahrain, the Free Hasan Salman blog noted the inclusion of Salman in Global Voices Online's Threatened Voices. Salman was arrested on May 14, 2009, for allegedly leaking the names of security personnel to websites.
Bahrain: Going Commando
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif jots down his experiences – which include going commando – in the first few hours of the morning in this post.
Bahrain: Car Parks and Corpse Washers
Bint Battuta in Bahrain narrates one of her adventures in this post on car parks and corpse washers.
Bahrain: Mideast Youth Gallery Launched
Mideast Youth has launched a gallery which explores “images of the Middle East..from around the web.” Click here for a preview.
Algeria: Mauritania's Language Struggle
“A short post on the struggle among Mauritanian students over Arabic and French language will appear here sometime next week. Mauritanians on the front lines are encouraged to send the blogger their thoughts and accounts either in the comments field here or by email,” writes Algerian blogger The Moor Next...
Algeria: Since 1989
“James D. Le Sueur’s Algeria since 1989: Between Terror and Democracy (Zed: 2010) provides for the most up-to-date reading on the Algerian Civil War since Algeria: Anger of the Dispossessed by John Philips and Martin Evans,” writes Algerian blogger The Moor Next Door, who reviews the book.
“Boobquake” to challenge claims of Iranian cleric
A Purdue University student in the United States is asking women around the world to show a little cleavage or a little leg on Monday as a humorous test to disprove an Iranian cleric’s theory that immodest dress has the power to make the earth shake.
Egypt: Economic Vegetarians
Red meat prices have risen dramatically in Egypt in recent weeks. Amidst calls for meat boycotts, many Egyptians are being pushed to vegetarianism due to high prices.
Morocco: First Gay Online Magazine Launched
The blog The View From Fez reports on the launch of the first Moroccan Gay online magazine, Mithly. “It's a brave move. Next month's issue will broach another taboo subject – that of the high level of suicides amongst Moroccan gays,” the blogger notes.
Egypt: Let's Shoot those Protesters!
In a debate on recurrent demonstrations, Egyptian ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) members of Parliament lashed out during a verbal battle with Muslim Brotherhood MPs over protesters in the country and said Egyptian pro-democracy demonstrators “should be shot” by police. Bloggers react in this post by Marwa Rakha.
Egypt: Hashish Crisis adds to Nation's Woes
Alongside bread, fuel and cooking gas, Hashish (cannabis) has been added to the list of things which Egyptians are starting to miss. Bloggers argue why this narcotic is the one which will me missed most as prices and poverty continue to rise.
Kuwait: Vote Buying in Poetry Contest
Brian Whitaker reports on a vote buying scandal surrounding a poetry contest in Kuwait here.
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.
