Middle East Blogs – Ten Sites CNN Missed
STEVE ROYSTON: My only quibble about CNN’s list is that it picks up exclusively on Arab writers and – with the honourable exception of Mahmood the Bahraini Blogfather – most of the writers seem relatively young.
How do you Accurately Define a Muslim?
AMERICAN BEDU: It’s a topic that seems, more often than not, to generate more heat than light but here’s my attempt to define a Muslim.
Goodbye Bin Laden. Now It’s Time to Exit Iraq
JUAN COLE: Post Osama, President Obama should do us all a favour and now remove U.S. troops from Iraq.
Nigella Lawson: Being Brave to Wear a Burqini
SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: Lawson’s fear of sunburn may have inadvertently prompted the realisation that there is liberation in covering.
Humiliation and Degradation: Easter at Qalandiya
LAUREN: “Tourists will see, firsthand, what Israel does not want internationals to see: the humiliation and degradation that takes place at checkpoints. They will be treated as animals as well…”
Is it the Right Time For a New Bahraini Flag?
STEVE ROYSTON: It may not seem a high priority item at this particularly sensitive point in Bahrain’s history but flags play a pivotal role in defining a nation’s sense of identity.
The Fairy Tale Wedding, Here’s to a Happy Ending…
SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: At this wedding, one bride will – literally – become a princess. For their lives together, I wish them every happiness.
The Top 100 – and Five – Arabic Novels
M. LYNX-QUALEY: The Arab Writers Union has listed the Top 100 Arabic novels. Puzzling, annoying, lists such as this are nevertheless fun.
Reasons For, and Against, Working in the MidEast
STEVE ROYSTON: One year ago I wrote the 10 good reasons to work in the Middle East. I would not change one of them. I have, however, added 10 reasons you may not want to.
KSA, UK Immigration: Different Directions
STEVE ROYSTON: Add to the mix pressure on borders from poorer neighbouring countries, and you can predict immigration will be on the agenda for years.
Should Translators Be Native Speakers of Arabic, Or English?
M.LYNX QUALEY: There have been native Arabic speakers who’ve made a mess of translation. Just as surely, there have been English speakers who have not understood the Arabic.
Internships, Influence, And What Matters
STEVE ROYSTON: It’s fine to enjoy the discomfiture of a prominent politician. But let’s not get into a froth about issues well down the strategic scale, and concentrate on what matters: education.
Anti-Islam Sentiment Fuelled by European Leaders
SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: With France’s anti-burqa law and less than encouraging words from European leaders, Muslims are feeling under pressure.
Iran: Problems on the Horizon for Gulf States
DAVID ROBERTS: These events take place in the context of growing Shia power, encapsulated by the notion of a Shia crescent ‘enveloping’ the region…
Dismal Education System Threatens GCC Future
MISHAAL AL GERGAWI: We seem to be in a constant state of ‘re-assessment’ or ‘re-evaluation’ of education in the region. Bottom line: We’re still not delivering.
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.
Should the British Be Sorry For Past Mistakes?
STEVE ROYSTON: If by expressing disapproval of past wrong-doings we are saying we will not condone such acts now, is that apology not worth making?
Stakes Getting Higher by the Day in Bahrain
GENIEVE ABDO, JASIM HUSAIN, TABSIR: While the mainstream opposition in Bahrain distances itself from Iran, the noises from Tehran are becoming more strident and belligerent
My name is Shelina and I Want an IPad 2 (and bag, and…)
SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: So now I have to decide: gadget or face goo? Both are about good looks and sleek finishes. The marketing hype for each tells me that I can’t live without either.
Comment on The Real Damage of Vanity Fair’s Attack on Dubai by Sam
By: AmyAus82 ..
I’m so sick and tired of this junk.
It’s the same story ‘locals are rich, lazy and stupid’, ‘westerners (whites) are ‘drunks here for the money living lives they couldn’t in their own country’, and the ‘poor unfortunate workers struggle through every day more humble than the last’…
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Let’s call it as it really is, shall we?
Locals: living a country that developed around them so have known nothing other than living the way they have and are trying to enjoy it, They value education and love their family but enjoy active social lives, whether it be with friends or just their family.
Whites: offered better deals so came here to get forward because 1) they would have the chance to move up a level, and 2) they would return to their country with cross cultural experience, extra bonus for future jobs. Don’t love everyday, but work hard to get to the next because they are living in a mixed bag of cultures and it IS tough so YES they do enjoy those nice five star events because, while away from their families and friends, they do tend to substitute the sadness with ‘things’- but still hard working and do it every day because that’s life
Drones: Not always as ‘woe as me’ as the papers make them. They came here for the same reason the whites did, the money is better than in their country. Many of them suffer, but let’s face it, they suffer in their own countries regardless and it’s not an issue of ‘UAE treating them bad’ it’s an issue of the world declaring some countries are third world and have poor passports so don’t have education/quality to first world standards. Don’t be fooled into thinking they are all in need of help, many will stab you in the back if they get the chance – because they’re born evil? No. Because they were born and taught from birth that survival is battle of the strongest. Not everyone with a sad face is a victim.
That’s a better stereotype. One our ‘learned’ friend didn’t bother to find out about. He flew in, stayed for a day or two and flew out. He wrote a high school newsletter article and left.
The same insulting article could have been written by me about holidays in the US, UK, Asia, Africa… many countries… if I chose to look at the things he chooses to look it.
‘Deafening journey to loud mouthed, narrow minded America’
‘Who will England whinge to next?’
‘Australia: Are you sure it’s not Asia or the Middle East?’
You can angle anything you want from anything you want.
It’s a case of whether your journalists really wants to write or just wants to make a word count.
We can see from his opening paragraph that rattled off possibly four or five metaphors, wasting even more of our time, that he had a word count that needed to be filled and to have filled it with ‘real’ information would have required references, the time for which he did not want to spend.
Boo to you AA Gill.
I will never read an article by you again.
I am stupider for having read it and would like those 10 minutes of my life back.
Boo.
