Interview: Arabs’ Got Talent’s Amr Qattamesh
RACHEL MCARTHUR: Being part Egyptian, I’m happy to say I was the first UAE-based writer to interview the performer. Here’s what Amr Qattamesh had to say.
No Big Sleep for the MidEast’s Remaining Thugs
MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: Now that the Arab revolt is slamming hard into Bashar al-Assad’s Baath Party in Syria, no dictator will be able to sleep without consuming copious amounts of pills.
Arab World Democratists, Meet Thomas Jefferson
JUAN COLE: I am hopeful that the book will find an eager reception in Egypt, Tunisia and other countries yearning for democracy in the Arab world.
Secular Movement Gains Momentum in Lebanon
RITA CHEMALY: There have been a series of demonstrations in Beirut against the country’s so-called ‘confessional system’, in favour of a secular society.
Returning to ‘the New Bahrain’: It’s a Sadder Place
STEVE ROYSTON: The past two weeks have witnessed enormous upheaval in the tiny island of Bahrain. On my return from holiday the changes are immediately evident.
Syria: Carrots on the End of a Very Long Stick
OMAR AL-ISSAWI: It’s a ‘plot’, ‘foreign elements’ are at work, the word ‘conspiracy’ is never far from the lips of Syria’s official spokespeople. We’ve heard it all before – from Ben Ali, Mubarak, Gaddafi and Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Ambition, Inspiration a Heady Scent at ArabNet
ALEXANDER MCNABB: I went to the event with high expectations and they were, in the main, met, matched and knocked out of the field. This is now a crucial regional event.
Of the People, By the People, For the People
JUAN COLE: Were he alive today Rousseau would have been impressed with how his idea on ‘popular sovereignty’ has been embraced in the Middle East
When the Lebanese Woman Shed the Veil
MICH CAFE, F. NAJIA: The Lebanese woman’s journey from “the age of the veil” to the relative freedom of “the age of the bikini” was a fairly quick one, but the path to ‘freedom’ was paved not by “circumstances” alone.
Comment on Politics, Meddling and Al Jazeera’s Independence by David
Was it not the Al Jazeera station chief in Beirut who is openly and virulently anti-Israel? As well as blatantly pro Hezzbollah? I recall the infamous birthday party hosted live on TV for a recently released terrorist.
Although I do not watch AJ, I do…
An Inflection Point for Arab Entrepreneurialism
ALEXANDER MCNABB: Seeing this level of digital entrepreneurialism in the region is a delight and, rightly or wrongly, I see ArabNet as an inflection point.
Libya: People are People, Even When World’s Apart
MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: Two years ago I spent time in Libya. It seems like a good time to revisit my experience of a kind people but an overarching, clamping presence.
Bader Young Entrepreneurs: Good Initiative, But Why the ‘Young’?
MICH CAFE: Despite initial skepticism, Mich Cafe finds much to like in a program that promotes entrepreneurship through education, finance and networking.
South Africa Provides Inspiration for Lebanon
DAVID BEATTY: There’s an aspect of South African society called ‘ubuntu’ – it means ‘interconnectedness’. It could point the way for Lebanon.
Social Media: The Glue That Binds Us
HANI NAIM: The conclusion is no one is immune to social media. Activists, Governments, journalists are all now trying to harness its power in the Arab world.
The Booming Voice of Pent-Up Middle East Anger
JAMES M. DORSEY: As dark as that moment was for Casablancan rockers, the trial was a turning point setting Morocco on a path to becoming one of the Arab world’s more liberal societies when it comes to alternative lifestyles.
Lebanese bloggers: pioneers in the Arab world
A recent survey of readers of the more than 400 blogs in Lebanon shows that their numbers are close to the online readership of Lebanese newspapers, but do their readership rates mean that blogs can be a tool for change?
