· April, 2010

Stories about Middle East & North Africa from April, 2010

Lebanon: Dissemination of Information in the Arab World

  5 April 2010

“In 1991, the Arabs were terrified of Western supremacy in technology (smart bombs for example that CNN kept showing their devastating effects in collateral damages on civilians)… In 2003, Arab/Moslem masses had Al Jazeera channel to cover the war among 32 other satellite channels…This information victory scared the Western civilization…”...

Arab World: iPad Fever Grips Arabia

  5 April 2010

Quick to purchase the latest gadgets and show them off, some bloggers and Twitter users from the Arab world are doing the iPad justice. Here's what a Saudi student and a Kuwait resident have to say about Apple's new toy.

Saudi Arabia: Religious Police in Trouble?

  5 April 2010

The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice rules Saudi Arabia with an iron fist. Crossroads Arabia reports what could signal trouble to the commission – better known as the religious police.

Bahrain: Defending the Kingdom

  5 April 2010

Around 5,000 people from Bahrain have joined a Facebook group entitled: You don't deserve to live in a country you don't protect (Ar).

Jordan: A Busy Week for Culture Vultures

  5 April 2010

Jordanian blog 7iber sums up events happening in Amman in the week from April 4 to 10. “This is one of those weeks where the culture vultures among us will have some very difficult choices to make, because there are so many interesting events taking place every single day,” says...

Lebanon: First Muslim-Christian Feast

  5 April 2010

“This year, Lebanon finally celebrated its first Muslim-Christian feast: the Annunciation (البشارة) on March 25th… At first, I was quite skeptical about this inter-religious feast…[later] I started to feel that there was something good about that celebration…” writes Worried Lebanese about the newly declared unified Muslim-Christian Holiday commemorating the Virgin...

Lebanon: Chant and Scent

  5 April 2010

While hundreds of well dressed Lebanese were flocking towards the churches of Beirut to the religious chants emanating from loud speakers, a strong scent of the shiploads of cows penetrated every street and house. This took place on the night of Good Friday as reported by Bech.

Morocco: Are Christians at Risk?

  4 April 2010

In early March, observers watched as around 20 long-time Christian orphanage workers were expelled from the country they called home. The incident, and others which followed it, have brought to light the debate surrounding Christianity in the Kingdom.

Lebanon: Special Tribunal Monitor

  3 April 2010

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Monitor is a blog of the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) which publishes daily press reviews, UN documents and similar information related to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that was set up to try those involved in the assassination of former prime minister Rafic...

Lebanon: Who's the Pervert

  3 April 2010

Ibrahim Arab writes about the stunned reaction by the Arab youth to the news that Ricky Martin is a homosexual, using the Arabic word شاذ which means pervert or not normal. He comments “your perversion, Ricky Martin, is more merciful than our perversion,” pointing to issues of injustice and crimes...

Lebanon: Sabotage in the University

  3 April 2010

Lovanlife wrote, in Arabic, about how the commemoration of “Land Day” by the People's Movement, of which he is a member was sabotaged, by rival parties at the University of Lebanon.

Lebanon: Harassment on the Streets of Beirut

  3 April 2010

“One man decided to actually follow me, ten meters behind… I sprinted.. He ran too!! I then pulled the biggest Lebanese drama you can imagine on him,” Ivy Says reports on her personal experience of sexual harassment on the streets of Beirut.

Lebanon: Police Round-Up Israeli Spies

  3 April 2010

Marco Villa writes at InstaBlogs about the not so publicized and recent arrests, by the Lebanese police, of about 25 Israeli spy rings that were operating within Lebanon.

Lebanon: ArabNet discussed the future of Arabic web in English

  3 April 2010

Arabnet 2010 is a tech conference that was held in Beirut recently. While many of the participants considered it a success, there was a major criticism that kept people talking and writing about it days after the conference was concluded. The problem was that while the conference supposedly focuses on Arabic web it adopted English as its official language and the website, discussions, and presentations were all in English.

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