Recent articles
Foreign
dictates?
Comment Is Free, January 28, 2008
Faced with complaints about its human rights abuses, Egypt is sheltering
behind specious arguments about religion and national sovereignty
Boys
will be boys - or else
Comment Is Free, January 23, 2008
Kuwaitis who defy very narrowly defined
gender stereotypes now face prison or a hefty fine
The
long drip of change
Comment Is Free, January 14, 2008
Human Rights Watch published practical recommendations for dealing with 'honour' killings in 2004. What has happened since?
Is the end in sight?
Comment Is Free, January 11, 2008
It's easy to understand the scepticism over Bush's current intervention in the Middle East, but we shouldn't write off the initiative just yet
Rights
in practice
Comment Is Free, January 7, 2008
Considering how to deal with 'honour' killings may provide
a model for human rights activism in other situations
Rights
and wrongs
Comment Is Free, January 5, 2008
The view that support for human rights
around the world is tantamount to imperialism is based on a series of
misconceptions
A
king's kindness?
Comment Is Free, December 17, 2007
A rape victim sentenced to 200 lashes has
been pardoned, but the case highlights the need for wholesale reform of the
Saudi justice system
Party
time
Comment Is Free, December 14, 2007
Revellers at a get-together in Morocco
have ended up in jail after a wave of moral panic and accusations of staging a
gay wedding
A
question of receipts
December 13, 2007
How far has the Policy Exchange report on
extremist literature in British mosques been undermined by the discrepancies
found by Newsnight?
The
globalisation of ideas
December 3, 2007
Ideologies and values are no longer
limited by cultural and geographical boundaries. With time, this should prove
to be a good thing
Gratuitous
violence
Comment Is Free, November 22, 2007
YouTube has a policy against violent
postings. Fine, but what happens when you need to highlight state brutality?
Found
in translation
Comment Is Free, November 21, 2007
A new initiative to translate important
books into Arabic has announced the first 100 titles - and its a pretty good
start
War
on witches
Comment Is Free, November 5, 2007
How a candle, a Qur'an and some 'foul-smelling herbs' led to Mustapha
Ibrahim losing his head.
Rubbish
from Riyadh
Comment Is Free, October 30, 2007
A new report says inflammatory texts from
Saudi Arabia can be found in British mosques. If so, they need to be
challenged, not banned.
Satellite
evidence
Comment Is Free, October 25, 2007
Pictures of what could be a nuclear
reactor cast new light on Israel's mysterious bombing of a site in Syria.
A
spoof too far?
Comment Is Free, October 11, 2007
A satirical US attack on a questionable
conference has been taken seriously, a sad reflection on that country's
ability to debate Islam.
Food
for thought
Comment Is Free, October 3, 2007
As preparations are made for Benazir
Bhutto's farewell dinner, there are ample grounds for asking whether she is
fit to hold office in Pakistan.
'No homosexuality here'
Comment Is Free, September 25, 2007
The Iranian president's claims are difficult to sustain, faced with a
centuries-old tradition of homoerotic themes in Persian and Arabic literature.
Required
reading
Comment Is Free, September 6, 2007
A new initiative in the Middle East aims to translate 100 books into Arabic in its first year. Which titles do you think should be included?
US
hate department
Comment Is Free, September 3, 2007
An experienced American diplomat
is facing trial on two charges of racial intimidation
and sending threatening messages.
Another
militant bites the dust
Comment Is Free, August 29, 2007
The burgeoning literary genre of
political/religious recantations has a new, internet-based addition: welcome
to the world of The Islamicist.
What
a balls-up
Comment Is Free, August 28, 2007
The American effort to win hearts and
minds in Afghanistan has scored another own goal, after the Saudi flag was
included on a batch of free footballs.
Dressed
to kill
Comment Is Free, August 23, 2007
The Taliban government in Afghanistan
banned images of the human form, but a collection of photos show a less
familiar side of the regime.
Birth
of a myth
Comment Is Free, August 21, 2007
Rumours of the demise of Holocaust
education have been greatly exaggerated, but that
doesn't stop the chain emails flying.
Cheney:
prophet of doom
Comment Is Free, August 16, 2007
A
13-year-old video shows Dubya's right-hand man
opposing - yes, opposing - war in Iraq.
Distorting
desire
August 15, 2007
Review of Joseph Massad's
book, 'Desiring Arabs'
(University of Chicago Press).
The
wrong kind of surge
Comment Is Free, August 2, 2007
Despite escalating evidence to the contrary, the Bush administration continues
to support the military surge in Iraq.
A
green light to oppression
Comment Is Free, July 31, 2007
In the name of 'fighting extremism', the
US is arming two of the Arab world's leading human rights abusers: Saudi
Arabia and Egypt.
Hamas
is a fact of life
Comment Is Free, July 23, 2007
Tony Blair begins his job as the Quartet's
Middle East envoy today. But if he can't talk to Hamas, what's the point?
Pink
Planet
New Statesman, July 19, 2007
Brian Whitaker reports on the new
global upsurge in pink politics, from China and Iraq
to South America.
Wish
you were here?
Comment Is Free, July 11, 2007
The main goal of Hizb ut-Tahrir is
to set up a theocracy based on discrimination against
non-Muslims and women.
Family
values
Comment Is Free, June 13, 2007
An 'honour' killing caused shockwaves in Britain but it is part of a wider
social tyranny that has blighted the Middle East.
The
battle for control
Comment Is Free, June 7, 2007
An event last night discussed why some
people dislike the internet. Yet it is not the web itself that they fear, but
what others can do with it.
The
evolution of daft ideas
Comment Is Free, May 29, 2007
Islamic creationism is growing and the
movement is now repackaging ideas from reactionary American Christian groups.
Would
you Adam and Eve it?
Comment Is Free, May 25, 2007
As a new creationism 'museum' opens in
Kentucky I'm still puzzled as to why Darwin is such a problem for Christians
but not Muslims.
The
value of trash TV
Comment Is Free, May 22, 2007
Reality television may be thought of as
lightweight in this country but elsewhere it can be a platform for subversion.
Arabic
under fire
Comment Is Free, May 15, 2007
A child on Hamas TV talked of annihilating
the Jews ... or did she?
Blog and be damned
Comment Is Free, April 11, 2007
Today's argument over the tone of online debate would be familiar to the pamphleteers of 18th-century Britain.
One angry poet
Comment Is Free, April 10, 2007
Naguib Surur was a rebel with a cause. It's time someone translated his greatest work into English.
Found
in translation
Comment Is Free, April 4, 2007
Online language tools are a wonderful
development, making Arabic newspapers and other writing on the internet far
more accessible.
Peace
in our time?
Comment Is Free, April 2, 2007
While there are grounds to be sceptical
about Ehud Olmert's offer to meet with all Arab heads of state, there are also
a few reasons to be hopeful.
Mobile
madness
Comment Is Free, March 14, 2007
Aren't you sick of being forced to listen
to other people's phone conversations?
Land
of the 72 Virgins?
Comment Is Free, March 8, 2007
A certain chain of music stores is
planning to expand across the Middle East. Is this a sign that restrictions
are gradually breaking down in the region?
Wiki
ways
Comment Is Free, February 21, 2007
It contains information on a wide range of useful subjects - but is Wikipedia
just a refuge for the lazy?
The
end of history - or hysteria?
Comment Is Free, January 31, 2007
I am not convinced that Francis Fukuyama
was ever a real neocon - at least, not the wild-eyed variety.
Laughing
down the line
Comment Is Free, January 24, 2007
Now and again, Radio 4 does something
quirky, funny and totally amazing, as one of its current comedy shows attests.
Bring
on Mahatma Brown
Comment Is Free, January 19, 2007
It comes as a relief to learn that our
amply-proportioned chancellor finds inspiration in the work of Mahatma Gandhi.
Victim
of the bloggers
Comment Is Free, January 5 2007
Online conspiracy theorists have
once again caused a stir by attempting to expose Iraqi
police captain, Jamil Hussein, as a fictional AP
source.
Soothsayer
of the Year
Comment Is Free, December 29, 2006
It used to be a fair bet that whatever a columnist predicted on January 1
would be long forgotten come December 31. Not any more.
Hundreds
burned alive in Lagos pipeline fire
Guardian, Wednesday December 27 2006
More than 260 people were killed yesterday - burned alive when a ruptured oil
pipeline burst into flames in Lagos.
Anger as
Libyan retrial hands death sentence to medics
Guardian, Wednesday December 20 2006
Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of deliberately
infecting hundreds of children with HIV were sentenced to death for a second
time by a court in Libya yesterday, drawing widespread international
condemnation.
A
microcosm of Arab malaise
Comment Is Free, December 6, 2006
An article in a Lebanese newspaper
provides an antidote to the simplistic picture of the
Middle East found in some sections of the media.
World's
youth believe 'war on terror' counterproductive
Guardian Unlimited, Monday December 4 2006
Young people overwhelmingly believe the US-led "war on terror" is
not making the world safer, according to a poll conducted in major cities across
the globe.
Resisting
the clash of civilisations
November 22 2006
“Clash of civilisations” is a catchy phrase but also a dangerous myth.
European
states offer Middle East peace plan without UK
Guardian, November 17 2006
In a sign of growing frustration at diplomatic inaction as
Israeli-Palestinian violence escalates, Spain, France and Italy yesterday
unveiled a five-point peace initiative, taking Britain by surprise.
UN
says politics lies behind rift between west and Muslims
Guardian, November 14 2006
Politics - not religion - lies at the root of a growing divide between
Muslim and western societies, according to a report presented to the UN
secretary general, Kofi Annan, yesterday.
Rush
for deal as tests point to genuine nuclear test
Guardian, October 14 2006
The US last night refused to
confirm that North Korea had joined the nuclear club,
despite the discovery of a gas consistent with a
nuclear blast in the atmosphere close to where
Pyongyang claimed it had detonated a device on
Monday.
All
Libyan pupils to get laptop and web access
Guardian, Thursday October 12 2006
Libya could become the first
country to provide every school-age child with a
laptop computer and internet connection under a scheme
supported by the UN Development Programme.
Not
so polls apart
Comment Is Free, October 11, 2006
Surveys
of Arab opinions show that the clash of civilisation
theory, promoted by Islamists and neoconservatives
alike, is basically hot air.
Condi's top priority
October 6, 2006
The purpose of Condoleezza Rice's visit to the Middle East is becoming clear - to encourage Arab states to form an alliance against Iran.
The cost of improper payments
Comment Is Free, October 4, 2006
Companies often try to shrug off bribes as a way of fitting in with local customs, but the consequences can be serious.
Palaces and prisons
Comment Is Free, October 3, 2006
Condoleezza Rice wants to meet with Middle Eastern moderates - but she's looking in all the wrong places.
Mr
Bush's mirage
Comment Is Free, September 20, 2006
The US president's speech yesterday
highlighted his desire to see only what he wants to see in the Middle East.
Saddam
no dictator, says judge
Guardian, September 15 2006
Saddam Hussein was not a dictator, the chief judge at his genocide trial
said yesterday.
The
race taboo
Comment Is Free, September 8, 2006
The
existence of racist attitudes within some Arab
countries is often denied, resulting in scandalous
displays of prejudice against certain ethnic groups.
The
thinking person's Oscars
Comment Is Free, September 4, 2006
White,
European, male, you could be in line for a Nobel
Prize. So how does its selection process work?
Peace
in our time?
Comment Is Free, August 31, 2006
We
are enjoying the longest period of peace between
nations in more than half a century, apparently.
Peril
British troops face in Afghanistan 'was underplayed'
Guardian, August 31 2006
Britons were probably not aware of
the daunting problems ahead when the government sent
additional troops to Afghanistan this year, the
Ministry of Defence conceded yesterday.
Growing
pains
Comment Is Free, August 29, 2006
Is
the rise of euro-cannabis necessarily a bad thing?
Tongue-tied
Comment Is Free, August 24, 2006
Learning a foreign language helps you to understand other
societies and cultures, and what makes people tick.
Apocalypse
postponed
Comment Is Free, August 22, 2006
So far, so good. Despite predictions that
Iran would launch nuclear war today, the world has not ended quite yet.
Iran's
cyber-president
Comment Is Free, August 14, 2006
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad does not really get
the point of blogging.
World
to end on August 22
Comment Is Free, August 9, 2006
While the Middle East smoulders,
commentators of an apocalyptic bent are lining up for a date with Armageddon.
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