Qaddafi Threatens West With Al Qaeda Alliance
JUAN COLE: As the unfolding disaster in Japan distracts the world’s attention Qaddafi’s re-conquest of Libya rolls on. There will be scores to settle…
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.
Global Unpopularity Wearing Down Israel
JONATHAN COOK: Benjamin Netanyahu’s advisers conceded last week that the Israeli prime minister is more downcast than they have ever seen him.
The Rise of the Arabs, the Fall of Colonialism
RAMZY BAROUD: Arabs are ripping up the humiliating caricatures of the region imposed by the West, as they tear down authoritarian regimes, and begin to build truly civilized, and free societies.
Comment on Is Turkey the Role Model for the Arab World? by dario
Turkish leaders from far right to far left are fascists during the 1937-1938 Dersim Rebellion. In explaining the reason for the Kurdish rebellion to the British foreign secretary Anthony Eden said the following:
The government has tried to assimilate t…
Sharp Divides Emerge over Saudi Reforms
STEVE ROYSTON: It’s not easy for a nation to move from a state where all things flow from the King to one where a country’s wealth belongs to its citizens.
Libya: The West Must Make Its Decision Now
OSAMA AL SHARIF: The Libyan revolution could easily slip into a prolonged civil war – the worst outcome for all. Lawlessness, Humanitarian crisis…
Why What Worked in Egypt, Will Not Trip Up Iran
KUSHA SEFAT, INFORMED COMMENT: The international conditions for revolution were ripe in Tunisia and Egypt. This is simply not the case in Iran.
Comment on Politics, Meddling and Al Jazeera’s Independence by Steve Royston
Thanks David
One of the reasons I asked for feedback is that it’s hard to comment definitively on Aljazeera without speaking both English and Arabic. I’m not sure I would agree that the bias of the English channel is crass.
For sure, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz are no more likely to appear regularly on Aljazeera than Tariq Ali on Fox News. Equally, you wouldn’t expect the Daily Mirror in the UK to be rooting for the far-right British National Party.
International viewers like me tend to flip from one channel to another to get their balance. We have a wide choice. But Arabic-speaking friends tell me that over the past month they have tended to look at only two Arabic channels for their coverage of Egypt, Tunisia et al – Aljazeera and Arabiya. That gives those channels much power – and responsibility.
Comment on Saudi Student’s Arrest Will Have Unplanned Repercussions in the U.S. by Simone
A really good point… Living in the UK when the IRA used to plan terrorist campaigns across the country, everyone was very aware not to allow those campaigns to affect our thinking, how we lived our lives, or how our relations with others.
I remember very clearly for example, we never saw the problems as anything to do with Irish people. We always saw them as something to do with a small, misguided group of extremists. Of course, it helped we have always had huge populations of Irish people in the UK. Most of us have Irish blood somewhere!
Still it was always something that was clearly understood – don’t inflate what the IRA were doing with normal Irish people. That is something that the U.S. – and the rest of the world – should take on board with extremists from the likes of Saudi…
Saudi Student’s Arrest Will Have Unplanned Repercussions in the U.S.
ROB L. WAGNER: The U.S.’s reaction to Khalid Aldawsari’s terrorism-related charges could play into the hands of conservatives in the Kingdom.
‘Women’s Rights’ Must Be Secured in ‘New Bahrain’
SANA’ MOHAMMAD BIN HAMOUD: Women’s rights campaigners have made impressive advances in Bahrain. However protesters should push further.
Why Bahrain Trumps Dubai – Demographics
STEVE ROYSTON: This is not intended as a fluffy message of support. Bahrain has simply travelled further than any of its neighbours down the path of open-mindedness. And it’s a ‘real’ country.
Politics, Meddling and Al Jazeera’s Independence
STEVE ROYSTON: At one time or another, Al Jazeera has made enemies of Bahrain, Kuwait, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and Iraq, but is that just the price of reporting ‘the truth’?
What’s Needed for Democracy in the GCC
STEVE ROYSTON: This post is more than a five-minute read. I apologise, but I don’t apologise: Sometimes you need more than a few hundred words.
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.
Tahrir and The ‘Liberation’ of Arabic Literature
M.LYNX QUALEY: “We had a psychological barrier – what I call ‘the policeman inside us’. That policeman was killed” on Tahrir Square.”
Bahrain: Retaining Reason in a Battle of Emotions
STEVE ROYSTON: It’s 4am. Outside my window there’s a full moon , the harbinger of madness. Cocks are crowing and the thak-thak-thak of nearby helicopters has woken me.
Comment on Saudi Takes Action Against ‘Preachers of Hate’ by Ghalib
Sucking up to Abdullah, Sabria? Fact is it is your beloved USA and Britain who conspired to make war against Islam (yes, Islam, not Iraq and Afghanistan). So, in one sense I agree: Christianity is not the real enemy in this context, it is Washington and London. But the result of all those Saudi students attending those Christian institutions you mentioned is a newly-acquired compromise on their identities as Arabs and Muslims. It is time your government wakes up to the fact that they have sold Islam’s holy land to their masters in Washington.
For me and millions of Muslims, we say: Hasbunallahu wa ni’amal wakeel.
Al Ahly Opposes Matches in Support of Protesters
JAMES DORSEY: Al Ahly SC has publicly rejected plans by the Egyptian Football Association, to restart suspended league matches behind closed doors.
