Mohamed is a South African working in Qatar. He blogs about Media, Technology and Culture at mohamedn.com.
Latest posts by Mohamed Nanabhay
Sympathy and Support for Qatari student killed in the UK
A 16-year-old Qatari student visiting Britain died as a result of head injuries sustained when he was attacked by local youth. Mohamed Al-Majed was in Hastings, East Sussex, attending an English language course. The circumstances of the death are still under investigation but the police “are treating his death as a murder inquiry, and are investigating it as racially motivated at this time.” Reactions out of Qatar have been strong.
“Qatar's greatest football moment…”
Football fans in Qatar were ecstatic over the Qatari national teams 1-0 win over Iraq in a World Cup qualifier. Greeker described it as “Qatar's greatest football moment…” writing: 75th minute, Said Bachir heads in a goal. A moment frozen in time. QATAR lives its greatest moment in international football....
Qatar: Online Community Comes to the Aid of Workers
Qatar Living members are rallying to help an offline community of 600 workers who have lost all their belongings after a devastating fire broke out in their labour camp, writes Mohamed Nanabhay, from Doha, Qatar.
Editorial Transparency in Qatar
A misunderstanding around the safety of bottle water in Qatar (it's fine!) has led to an interesting conversation about the quality of the English language press in Qatar. Comments were passed back and forth between between a commenter on Qatar Living (tallg) and the Managing Editor of a local English newspaper in Qatar, writes Mohamed Nanabhay.
Qatar: Divorce via SMS
PeacefulMuslimah, who lives in Qatar, was just divorced via an SMS text message from her husband. She has: “lots of questions rattling around in my head but not a lot of answers…”
Qatar: Sunbathing in Ramadan
Gypsy was shocked to find someone sunbathing in a bikini in the parking lot of a popular shopping centre in Doha. She writes that “laying out in your bikini in a busy parking lot with labourers and women in hijab and abaya walking by you DURING RAMADAN is the most...
Beyond Borders: Bloggers Face off over Jordanian Treatment of Iraqi Travellers
The treatment of Iraqis at the Jordan's Queen Alia Airport has triggered a storm in the Middle Eastern blogosphere. What at first seemed to be a straight forward story of refugees being ill-treated by their neighbour's security guards has spawned into a Pan-Arab spat (the type of which is normally reserved for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict), writes Mohamed Nanabhay, who sifts through blogs to bring us what the uproar is all about.
Child killed in Egypt
Abdulrahman Mansour was horrified to report that Egyptian police brutally tortured and killed 12 year old Muhammad Mamdooh Abdulrahman who they “arrested” for petty theft.
Documentary on Workers Rights in the Gulf
Jane in Doha points us to a documentary (in Arabic) produced by AlJazeera on the condition of workers in the Gulf States. She is happy that the regional media is paying attention to this problem since there are “17 million foreign workers in the Gulf. Most are from Asia and...
Morad and the Crashing ATM machines
Morad keeps on crashing ATM machines in Qatar every time he puts in his debit card. To his surprise, the ATM machines are running on Windows XP Professional.
Traffic Points System for Qatar
Paul R writes that a new traffic law has been introduced in Qatar. Every time you disobey a traffic law, you lose a few points which could lead to your license being suspended or revoked. He speculates that if the system is implemented “the roads of Qatar will be traffic...
Nepali Student Tells of ‘Nightmare Experience in the Gulf”
Tulsi Bhandari, a Nepali student returning from the US relates his “Nightmare Experience in the Gulf” where he was verbally abused, detained and fined in Bahrain after asking airline staff to treat Nepali workers returing home from Qatar with some respect. He says “The experience that I have gone through...
Qatar: It's getting hot in here
The arrival of summer in Qatar usually means an exodus of both locals and expatriates who can afford a vacation somewhere with a more welcoming climate. As temperatures rise above 45 degrees Celsius (over 110 Fahrenheit) bloggers in Qatar are discussing how to deal with the heat (and humidity). While come bloggers are learning the hard way how to cope with the heat, others have sent their families to cooler climes until the heat alert is over.
Turkey Makes The Right Choice
Abdurahman believes that Turkey made the right choice by electing the AK Party. He writes that the “election was widely followed in the Middle East” and that “in the last few years, in every fair election, an Islamic-leaning party won or were denied a clear victory. Hamas in Palestine, Muslim...
Israeli Security at a South African airport?
Walton Pantland is outraged that Israeli security police are operating in South Africa where they detained, interrogated and strip searched Xolile Nxu, the Vice-President of the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) at O R Tambo Airport (formally Johannesburg International).
Qatar : It's Educational
The academic year has come to an end in Qatar so it's a good time to look at what bloggers have been saying about education in the country. Qatar is trying to build a "knowledge economy" in order to diversify its economy away from oil and gas. It has placed a strong focus on education and learning through Qatar Foundation. Mohamed Nanabhay reports what bloggers in Qatar have to say about education there.
Cannibalism in Qatar
After a week of rumours about a case of cannibalism amongst a group of foreign workers in Doha, the story has finally been confirmed. Qatari points to an article in the local press where doctors found a finger in the stomach of a worker who had come in with a...
AlJazeeraTalk Blocked in Saudi Arabia
Muhammad Basheer and Amaar are both reporting that AlJazeeraTalk, a popular Arabic youth blog and discussion board, has been blocked to users in Saudi Arabia. AlJazeera Talk has responded by saying “Thank You Saudi Arabia!” They are asking if the block (which ironically occurred on World Press Freedom Day) was...
Labouring in Qatar
Like many of the Gulf States, Qatar is heavily dependent of foreign expatriate workforce to help fuels its growth. Demographically, Qataris make up less than 25% of the 800,000 people living in the country, with the remaining 600,000 or so people being expats or children. With a reported per capita...
Qatar: The 3rd AlJazeera International Documentary Film Festival
AlJazeera Talk are live blogging the the 3rd AlJazeera International Documentary Film Festival that is being held at the Doha Sheraton. The four-day film fesival (which is free and open to the public) is showcasing nearly 100 films from across the world. According to qatari you'll find films in Arabic,...
Qatari PM jokes about throwing a party when AlJazeera is closed
jane01 is uneasy about the Qatari Prime Minister's recent “joke” about throwing a party when AlJazeera is closed down because of the headache it has caused him as Foreign Minister. She says that “…the closing down (or even reining in) of AlJazeera would be a travesty for freedom of the...
