Common Ground News Service

Tunisian Youth ‘Turned Off’ By Politics To Effect Change

Tunisian Youth ‘Turned Off’ By Politics To Effect Change

GHADA DALY, CGNEWS: The apathy that Tunisian young people feel for politics is being re-directed in a positive direction into varied civil projects

 Common Ground News Service

‘Talk or Shoot?’: Tunisian Society on a Knife-Edge

‘Talk or Shoot?’: Tunisian Society on a Knife-Edge

LAMIA HATIRA, NURA SULEIMAN, CGNEWS: We don’t have a culture of armed conflict but it’s possible that we’re moving in that direction.

 Juan Cole

2012: Top 10 Developments in the Middle East

2012: Top 10 Developments in the Middle East

JUAN COLE: It’s been another extraordinary year across the Middle East. Here is my take on the most significant changes this year

 mai abdul rahman

UN Palestinian Vote Heralds ‘Birth of New World Order’

UN Palestinian Vote Heralds ‘Birth of New World Order’

MAI ABDUL RAHMAN: It’s not just the scale of the victory but it’s what it tells us about a new, emerging world order that is important.

 Juan Cole

The Top Ten ‘Hotspots’ in the Arab World Today

The Top Ten ‘Hotspots’ in the Arab World Today

JUAN COLE: From Jordan to Tunisia, from civil war to pilfered Palestinian land the Arab world is in a febrile state.

 Common Ground News Service

El Kef: The Thriving Centre of Tunisian Theatre

El Kef: The Thriving Centre of Tunisian Theatre

AMINA BENKHLIFA, CGNEWS: Often associated with harsh weather and difficult economic conditions El Kef, my hometown, has a deep theatrical heritage

 Common Ground News Service

The Muted Voice: Where Are Tunisia’s Young People?

The Muted Voice: Where Are Tunisia’s Young People?

NOUR AWAISS, CGNEWS: So prominent in the protests that swept over the country last year Tunisia’s young people seem to be absent from public discourse now

 James M. Dorsey

Egypt ‘Tests the Waters’ With Lift on ‘Soccer Fan Ban’

Egypt ‘Tests the Waters’ With Lift on ‘Soccer Fan Ban’

JAMES M. DORSEY: The Egyptian authorities are moving tentatively to check how radicalised football fans will react to the lifting of a ban on their attendance at matches.

 James M. Dorsey

Egyptian Football: A Litmus Test of Morsi’s Control

Egyptian Football: A Litmus Test of Morsi’s Control

JAMES M. DORSEY: The debate about soccer is as much about politics as it is about sports. It is a debate that is likely to be fought out politically rather than on the pitch.

 James M. Dorsey

Arab Springs Eternal: Evolution of a Revolution

Arab Springs Eternal: Evolution of a Revolution

JAMES M. DORSEY: The civil war in Syria dominates the news the wave of protests in the smaller cities of Arab states foretells a groundswell of mass demonstration.

 Common Ground News Service

No ‘Sharia’ in Tunisia: Is It a ‘Game Changer’?

No ‘Sharia’ in Tunisia: Is It a ‘Game Changer’?

SONIA BAHI, CGNEWS: It was a bold move which has divided opinion in the country. But has it set the example for other ‘Arab Spring’ countries?

 Common Ground News Service

The Tunisian Niqab Question: Dialogue is Required

The Tunisian Niqab Question: Dialogue is Required

LOTFI RADHOUANE CHEBIL, CGNEWS: It’s generating heated debate on Tunisian university campuses. What’s to be done?

 Mich Cafe

“No Women Allowed”: Saudi’s Unsporting Message

“No Women Allowed”: Saudi’s Unsporting Message

MICH CAFE: Human Rights Watch have just published a report that highlights the deep discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia.

 James M. Dorsey

It’s Official: A Revolution Improves A Country’s Football Performance

It’s Official: A Revolution Improves A Country’s Football Performance

JAMES M. DORSEY: A study has revealed that 5 North African nations experiencing upheaval in 2011 have seen football teams improve markedly.

 thehedonista

Eid is Just Around the Corner: So Where to Go?

Eid is Just Around the Corner: So Where to Go?

THE HEDONISTA: Eid al Adha has been my favourite – the last few years it has fallen far enough out of summer it occurs with the change of season.

 The Moor Next Door

Game On in Tunisian Election Campaign

Game On in Tunisian Election Campaign

THE MOOR NEXT DOOR: With a week to go before Tunisia’s national election anticipation is mounting. With more than 100 parties contesting which of them is set to emerge victorious?

 The Moor Next Door

From the Front: An Encounter with Libyan Rebels

From the Front: An Encounter with Libyan Rebels

EILEEN BYRNE, TMND: Now that Qaddafi’s regime has been unseated thoughts of the men who did the fighting are turning to the nation’s immediate priorities.

 Mich Cafe

Dubai Gets its Blue Mosque

Dubai Gets its Blue Mosque

I heard ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan saying, when people argued too much about his intention to reconstruct the mosque of Allah’s Apostle, “You have talked too much. I heard the Prophet saying, ‘Whoever built a mosque, Allah would build for him a similar place in Paradise’.”

MICH CAFE: The closer you get, the more splendid the mosque looks. The size is breathtaking and I had difficulty getting the four 60-meter-high minarets in one frame.

 Lucy Emmerson

Promise of Arab Spring Failing to Deliver for Middle-Eastern Women

Promise of Arab Spring Failing to Deliver for Middle-Eastern Women

LUCY EMMERSON: Now is not the time to let “women’s issues” fall to the back of the agenda; they must not be deprived of the dignity that they have fought for.

 The Moor Next Door

Obama’s Speech: The Key Points Made

Obama’s Speech: The Key Points Made

THE MOOR NEXT DOOR: There was little new in Obama’s ‘Arab Spring’ speech. Nervous light criticism of Bahrain, no reference to Gulf allies and a minor poke of Israel.