· August, 2010

Stories about Middle East & North Africa from August, 2010

Bahrain: Freej Al Fadhel before Iftar

  30 August 2010

bint battuta in bahrain takes us to Freej Al Fadhel, Al Fadhel neighbourhood in the capital Manama, for a glimpse into daily life 10 minutes before the call for prayers which signal the end of the fasting day this Ramadan.

Morocco: The Sublime Sufi Revival

  28 August 2010

The rhythms of a Sufi revival are passionately reverberating through the corridors of Morocco, and they are not going unheard, especially by the nation’s youth.

Egypt: Ramadan Television and the Muslim Brotherhood

  28 August 2010

This year in Ramadan the Egyptian TV decided to produce a series about the opposition party Al-Ikhwan (The Muslim Brotherhood). The TV series, which is called El Gamaa, tries to shed light on the history of group and it's founder Hassan El Banna, bringing criticism from many bloggers that it reflects nothing but the regime's point of view.

Iran: Jailed blogger Goudarzi receives NPC award

  27 August 2010

The National Press Club has announced the international recipient of the 2010 John Aubuchon Freedom of the Press Award is Iranian blogger Kouhyar Goudarzi, who is being held in Tehran's Evin Prison–notorious for its torture of detainees.

MENA: Kuwaiti Cartoons Cause Moroccans Offense

  27 August 2010

A popular Kuwaiti television programme has upset some Moroccan viewers, who say it depicts Moroccans in a negative light. The cartoon, called Bu Qutada wa Bu Nabeel, portrays Morocco as corrupt and its women as greedy, as they try to entrap the Kuwaiti male characters into marrying them. Bloggers react to the show.

Russia: “Where's Your Rabbi?”

RuNet Echo  26 August 2010

Oleg Klimov posts two photos from Birobidzhan in Russia's Jewish Autonomous Region – and shares this short conversation (RUS) with a guard at the local synagogue: “‘Where's your rabbi?’ – ‘He left for Israel a long time ago…'”

Technology for Transparency: Five Lessons Learned

  25 August 2010

Rebekah Heacock and Renata Avila outline the learnings from the first round of Global Voices' Technology for Transparency Network collaborative research project, sharing links to several successful online initiatives.

Lebanon: Giving Palestinian Refugees the Right to Work

  24 August 2010

Lebanon is home to over 400,000 Palestinian refugees, who are not allowed to own property, cannot access the health care system, and need a special permit to leave their refugee camps. On August 17, the Lebanese parliament passed a law granting Palestinian refugees the same employment rights as other foreigners. Bloggers and tweeps react to this development.

Lebanon: Souk Saida – Beauty vs. Poverty

  24 August 2010

Lebanese blogger Bahaafe shares his experience (with photos) of his first visit to the heart of the coastal southern city Saida; in his post entitled ‘Souk Saida – Beauty of Stone VS Poverty of Life‘.

Tunisia: Doctored Photographs Symptomatic of the State of The National Press

  24 August 2010

The use of national media as an instrument of propaganda has been fairly well documented in Tunisia. The latest evidence of media manipulation was identified by Tunisian bloggers on August 20 when newspapers le Temps and Assabah illustrated on the sending of food supply by fundation Zitouna to the victims of the floods in Pakistan.

About our Middle East & North Africa coverage

Mariam A.
Mariam A. is the editor for the Middle East & North Africa. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.