· September, 2009

Stories about Morocco from September, 2009

Middle East: Arabisk, Blog Competition and Debate

Newly launched Arabisk is an annual competition to select the best Arabic blogs. First welcomed by bloggers, Egyptian bloggers are now complaining that they have been sidelined from the contest. Here is round up of their reactions.

28 September 2009

Morocco: Rage Against the Sandwich Continues

Eating in public during Ramadan is often seen as a disregardful and disrespectful act and might attract the anger of the public. Moreover it is punishable by law. Moroccan Bloggers and cyber-activists react to the attempt by some non-observants to brave the ban on breaking the fast in public during Ramadan.

19 September 2009

Morocco: Don't Blame the Rain

Recent flooding in Morocco has prompted bloggers to air their discontent with their country's lack of sanitation infrastructure. They went around taking pictures and shooting videos, sharing scenes seldom broadcast by the mainstream media. This is their citizen reporting.

19 September 2009

Morocco: Activists Break Fast in Public, Receive Punishment

During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from eating or drinking from dawn to sunset. A group of Moroccan activists was reprimanded for breaking the fast in public, an action that is punishable under the Moroccan criminal code. A divided blogoma reacts to the incident.

16 September 2009

Morocco: Rage against the Sandwich

Larbi, in Comme une bouteille jetée à la mer, reports [Fr] on a manifestation that took place on Sunday 13 September in the outskirts of Casablanca, by young Moroccans who...

14 September 2009

Arab Diaspora: Shall I Marry a Non-Arab?

Arab women living in diaspora have hard questions to answer. Should they marry non-Arabs, non-Muslims or converts to Islam? Palestinian blogger Mona, who lives in Canada and blogs at Rebellious Arab Girl, opens a can of worms when she asks these questions in a post, which has attracted 162 comments so far.

14 September 2009

Morocco: A Dangerous Flu

At least five Moroccan independent journalists will appear before a judge later this month in Rabat, after having published articles challenging the official announcement about King Mohammed VI's health. It is believed the monarch has contracted "a viral, benign disease." Bloggers have been debating this issue, mostly denouncing the attacks on journalists.

14 September 2009

Arab World: Healing the Rifts of 9/11

As the United States remembers the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001, the rest of the world is remembering too. For many Arabs, that day marked a change in mutual perception. It fundamentally changed how the world perceives Arabs and how Arabs see the world.

12 September 2009

Morocco: Happy Ninepercent!

Larbi, blogging on Comme une bouteille jetée à la mer, writes a post [FR] on Wednesday 9/9/2009 at 9 hours 9 minutes PM, congratulating the “Ninepercenters,” a group of Moroccan...

10 September 2009

Morocco: Child Labor Under the Spotlight

A young girl is suffering in a hospital, bruised and beaten. Sent to work as a domestic servant at the age of 10, Zineb Chtit knew no other life than the one she had, working for affluent employers who beat her and refused her food.

7 September 2009

Morocco: Teaching “Berber” in Schools

A BBC News piece on the teaching of "Berber" languages in Morocco has got the blogoma talking. The article, which outlines the educational options for learning and studying the language, prompted a variety of posts. Jillian C. York has the story.

4 September 2009

Morocco: Four Perspectives on Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is defined by intimidation, bullying, or coercion of a sexual nature and is, by all accounts, something that happens the world over. Of late, bloggers in Morocco have been assessing the situation, where they offer a variety of perspectives on the issue.

1 September 2009