Amira Al Hussaini · October, 2012

Latest posts by Amira Al Hussaini from October, 2012

Arab World: Sandy Unleashes Wrath of God on Infidel America

As the world turned its eyes to New York and New Jersey to follow the news of hurricane Sandy, and the destruction it has caused, many across the Arab world debated whether the storm was the embodiment of the wrath of God - unleashed against the infidels and in retaliation to US foreign policy. Seriously.

31 October 2012

Arab World: Salafi Awkward Moments

Recognised by their long beards, and short garbs (thobe), Salafists, who follow a strict interpretation of Islam, were the butt of jokes on Twitter under a new hash tag #SalafiAwkwardMoments. While the West ponders on how to deal with them, let's tune into Twitter to see how funny netizens think they are.

24 October 2012

Egypt: Advice to Protesting Kuwaitis

As Kuwaitis embarked on their largest ever protest to denounce changes to the electoral law, passed by the country's hereditary ruler while the Parliament was dissolved, Egyptians kept themselves busy on Twitter, dishing advice to them on what to do and not to do.

23 October 2012

Arab World: Obama and Romney are on the Same Page on Syria

Arab netizens had some harsh words to share after waiting to the wee hours of the early morning to tune in to the last US Presidential Debate 2012 between President Obama and Republican hopeful Mitt Romney before the November elections. On Twitter, netizens rammed the US policy on Syria, saying both Obama and Romney were two faces of the same coin.

23 October 2012

Libya: Blackberry Services Back

Journalist Jenan Moussa tweets from Libya: @jenanmoussa: Wut a great surprise! Blackberry services have been resumed in #Libya. I am tweeting for first time since rvltn from my phone.

9 October 2012

Egypt: Remembering Maspero; Waiting for Justice to be Served

Egyptians recalled the tragic events of the Maspero massacre today, vowing to avenge the blood of martyrs and keep the revolution going. On October 9 last year, 28 Christian Copts were killed and another 200 injured when the army attacked protesters outside the Egyptian state media headquarters Maspero.

9 October 2012

Arab World: Romney's Middle East Agenda Rapped

Mitt Romney's foreign policy speech was rapped by netizens across the Arab World today. If elected, Romney pledged to take a more “engaged” foreign policy, as opposed to Obama's wait-and-see approach as “profound upheaval” shook the region. He also said he would arm Syrian rebels.

8 October 2012

Tunisia: General Strike in Thala

On Twitter, Tounsia Hourra (Free Tunisian) says [ar] there is a general strike in Thala, in the province of Kasserine, today [October 8, 2012]. The protest is against rising unemployment...

8 October 2012

Egypt: Abusing the October 6 War

Egyptian Nervana shares her thoughts on the 39th anniversary of the 6th of October (Yom Kippur) War. She writes: Egyptians need hope, and October ’73 is the event that is...

7 October 2012

Mauritania: Destructive Gold Mining

From Mauritania, Ahmed Jedou writes [ar] about the the abuse of multinationals of gold mining in his country. Despite having the world's second largest gold mine, he says government corruption...

3 October 2012

Egypt: Two Children Detained for Blasphemy

Two Coptic children, aged nine and 10 years, are being detained in Egypt, for allegedly tearing up pages from the Holy Quran and urinating on them. The incident happened in a village in Beni Suef, in Upper Egypt, and the complaint against the children was filed by a Salafi clergyman. According to the Egyptian Penal Code, insulting Islam is considered as a crime in Egypt and the children are being held on blasphemy charges. On Twitter, netizens react to the development today.

3 October 2012