Blog Articles

Family peace of mind

Wed, 11 11 Jun 2008 15:18:26 GMT

Defending Freedom of Expression

Sat, 17 17 Nov 2007 14:04:56 GMT




The talk of Amman is Ammon
Posted on 11/14/2007 - 15:07
It has become as essential to Jordanians as their morning coffee. Menassat.com talks with the two men behind Ammon, the website that became an overnight success as a platform for freedom of expression.


Lebanese media reveal their colors over Nasrallah's speech
Posted on 11/13/2007 - 18:30
The speech of Hezbollah’s secretary general on November 11, 2007 opened the door for fresh comments, political one-upmanship and media mud-slinging.


'Until you change your mind'
Posted on 11/13/2007 - 13:19
On the first anniversary of his imprisonment, when fellow bloggers all over the world held demonstrations for his release, Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer was allegedly tortured for having exposed corruption inside the prison.


Morocco's 'video sniper' sparks a new trend
Posted on 11/12/2007 - 09:23
Do you have a video camera and access to the Internet? Then you have a powerful weapon at your disposal. If you use it as the 'Targuist sniper' did in Morocco, you might even bring about social change.


Wael Abbas: the Arab Internet's unlikely superhero
Posted on 11/09/2007 - 11:31
He is the first blogger ever to be given the Knight International Journalism Award, next Thursday in Washington. Menassat.com tracked down Egypt's Wael Abbas in Beirut and sat him down for an exclusive interview.

Launching of "menassat.com"

Mon, 12 12 Nov 2007 09:36:44 GMT

From Beirut with love

Posted on 11/05/2007 - 07:57

Please allow us to introduce ourselves. We're a brand-new website with a network of correspondents throughout the Arab world. Our modest mission: to defend press freedom and freedom of expression wherever we can find it.

By Menassat.com's Editorial Team

The view from our offices in Beirut. © S.M. / arabimages.com

A cry in the wilderness

Our editor in chief, Nidal Ayoub, reflects on freedom and why it seems
to bother the region's leaders so much.

True to form, Ramadan soaps stir controversy
Posted on 11/02/2007 - 10:35
During Ramadan, Arab families fast during the day and... watch TV at night. This year's crop of Ramadan soap operas, or Musalsals, has stirred the usual controversy and kept the censors busy.
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To cover or not to cover Nahr Al-Bared
Posted on 10/31/2007 - 12:15
The cliché that truth is the first casualty of war made a successful comeback at Nahr Al-Bared this year. But don't shoot the messengers.
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Blogging all the way to jail
Posted on 10/29/2007 - 09:45
In Egypt, bloggers are talking about issues that the traditional media fail to report on. And they are going to jail for it.
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R.I.P. the Anonymous Arab
Posted on 10/29/2007 - 09:00
Arab governments are catching up with technology. Their latest target: anonymous comments and the forum administrators who let them slip past.

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Exhausted (Nahr al Bared camp)

Wed, 05 5 Sep 2007 12:50:00 GMT

After spending the greater part of Monday touring around “Nahr al Bared” camp, I feel kind of exhausted. Of course nothing comparing to the soldiers, whose faces reflected total happiness or utter exhaustion.

Nearly all soldiers looked extremely relieved it was very clear the camp has been liberated. I saw Long columns of Lebanese army tanks & trucks leaving the area.

A sudden fire fight erupted in the afternoon.

About seven militants suddenly appeared, around half the main highway (the one leading right next to the camp), and attacked soldiers.

Five militants were killed when two escaped.

At the moment of the fight my translator and I were around three kilometers away from the place where it all took place. We couldn't see it, but we clearly heard - for about half an hour - sporadic machine gunfire and just about five loud explosions.
"Oh, don't tell me that it’s not over yet" my interpreter said.
"Oh please" I replied.
In a while it all went quiet again.

But the main road was closed for not less then two hours.

That clearly shows how volatile the situation is still here.

That was a very tiring day.

We met happy soldiers, though many of them had hearing problems.

They would tell us: “Oh Man, during these past weeks all these explosions fucked my ears up."
A lot of walking as we tried to get closer to the Fighting area & had to crossover mud and “Nahr al Bared River”; my shoes and pants got screwed.
In addition got stuck in an insane traffic jam. As if every motorized Lebanese wants to be around the camp.

”Nahr al Bared” is still off limits for everybody but the Lebanese army.

I have no clue when they are going to allow us in. Need some sleep now.

Big congratulations though to all the Lebanese soldiers who bravely fought Al Qaeda - the Army of Mordor!

Harald Doornbos (harryzzz.blogspot.com)

Iraqi Reporter Latest Victim of Violence Against Women Journalists

Tue, 24 24 Jul 2007 06:53:24 GMT

Sahar Hussein al-Haideri, 45, a top Iraqi reporter working in the perilous Mosul region, who fearlessly wrote about efforts by extremist forces to take control of the city and foment sectarian conflict, was murdered outside her home on June 7.
Haideri reported for a Mosul newspaper, the Voices of Iraq news agency, and the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, IWPR, where she had participated in numerous training and exchange programs over the past three years.

Her most recent story was a moving feature on the stoning to death of a young Yezidi girl who had converted to Islam after falling in love with a Muslim boy. See "Honor Killing” Sparks Fears of New Iraqi Conflict.

Haideri had long been concerned about her security, and for the past year had contributed reports to IWPR under a pseudonym. Six months ago, her husband and four children moved to Damascus, and she had recently relocated to Syria herself.

She was on a brief visit back to her home in Mosul. Several individuals confronted her as she left her house on June 7 and shot her dead.

Earlier this week, Zakia Zaki, 35, a prominent Afghan woman journalist, and Sanga Amach, a 22-year-old television news presenter, were murdered in separate incidents in Kabul.

“Women journalists have demonstrated particular tenacity and bravery in Afghanistan, Iraq, Uzbekistan and other Islamic countries, reporting on the human costs of conflict and the efforts of mostly male-dominated power structures to undermine democracy,” said Anthony Borden, executive director of IWPR, an international not-for-profit organization which supports local journalists in conflict areas and maintains extensive programming in Iraq.

“Women are vital agents of democratic change in these societies, and the recent tragic killings demonstrate the depth and violence of opposition to their efforts,” he said.

“Our psychological state is unbalanced because we live and think in fear and worry, and always think about our destiny and that of our family members, relatives and friends,” Haideri told the UK Press Gazette earlier this year. “But I have never thought about quitting, as journalism is my life and I really love it.”

What happened during my one week stay in Lebanon.

Mon, 18 18 Jun 2007 11:29:32 GMT

The first day I arrived, a bomb exploded at Zouk where the NDU campus is situated!

5 days ago I went to Aley to see the aftermath of the last blast. A number of boutiques have already made the reparations and are operational. 3 others are still working to rebuild their destroyed source of living. On my way back to Beirut I heard about a current blast at the Raoucheh area. Later on I learned the precise location. I went there, parked my car facing the military bath and start walking to the site where the explosion took place.

The day before I was accompanied by European visitors and was having a drink on the coastal terrace of Al Rawda, only a dozen meters away from the bombing that took the life of one more deputy, his son and 7 others…

The army had established a security zone and only a bunch of reporters and photographers were able to stand on the top of the civil defense vehicle inside the perimeter, with a view of the horror scene. Others were posted higher on the hill trying to get a shoot or a hint about the victims and their identity. I always had a problem with the view on how the media professional behave at the source of the events. They all, without any exception get on site and you can meet all the actors of the media family present on location, ready to diffuse the hot spot.

In Aley in the morning, after 11 days of the hotspot, there was nobody from the media covering the effort done by the local population, working to forget and rebuild their losses. I am amazed where they find the source of energy to reconstruct what they have lost not for the first time.

On Saturday I visited for the first time the highest Holy place for the Uniates – Druze population in the world. Situated in the south east of Lebanon in the municipality of Hassbaya, just at the border with Israel. During the occupation period of 1982-2000 the local population didn’t suffer from insecurity or any economical weakness.

Since the liberation things have changed and the basic aspect for a living became more problematic. Last summer’s war eased the social pressures a bit. With the presence of the Lebanese army powered by the UN peacekeeping forces, the population of Hassbaya feels more secure regarding a better future. On my way back to Beirut, I crossed the region where, the day after, Lebanese militants fired rockets at Israel.

Samer Mohdad

Nahr El-Bared and the 'Heat' in Lebanon!

Tue, 05 5 Jun 2007 11:25:37 GMT

Is Lebanon destined for wars or is it the other way round? Is Lebanon a lover of wars or is it that wars are in love with Lebanon? Has Lebanon lost a precious chance, or is it that the chance has lost Lebanon? Is Lebanon wounded, or is it that the Lebanese are the ones who are bleeding? Is Lebanon "rebellious" against all agreements, or is it that the Lebanese are rebellious against them? Each day, the spirit of Lebanon and its complexion change from joy to sadness and bleed, as always, that blood which is capable of penetrating gunpowder. Confrontations, fighting, narcissism and asphyxiation of the national spirit due to external causes, political and sectarian disagreements between those who call themselves Lebanese leaders - all this is the order of the day there.

Last summer, Lebanon went to a battlefield against the will of its people and its government. A war that's been chosen by Hezbollah. It was a vicious war that wreaked havoc over suburbs, the infrastructures, and had its toll on the people. Lebanon lived a "hot" summer abounding in corpses and the stench of blood shed by the Israeli military machines. Today, Lebanon witnesses "sad" days as refugees escape their homes, and the scared inhabitants look for safer places, and more remote ones, away from the threat of explosions and demolition.

Shortly before this summer, straying elements known as "Fatah al-Islam" were seeking to turn Lebanon and Nahr el-Bared into torrents of blood rather than water with an eye on revenge and creating a "heated" summer smelling of blood. This was in response to the warm welcome of Lebanon which opened its arms to them unconditionally and without inquiring about the where, why and what. The question remains unanswered: Did the Lebanese military really know about these straying elements? How many they are? What are their nationalities? And how did they enter Lebanon to end up in the Palestinian camps?

Surely, the Lebanese military can't lay a hold on the streets of Beirut, and arrest those who break the traffic lights, how can it then get wind of the new comers?

The elements of "Fatah al-Islam" don't mean well for Lebanon, the Lebanese, or the Palestinians, but rather death, demolition, disorder and instability in a country which is already "unstable" and that never witnessed a time of stability to begin with. Otherwise, why are those elements reluctant to surrender if they don't mean any harm to the country, or the people, so we can spare the blood and create a "clean" environment in the Palestinian camps which are filled with refugees fleeing the Israeli machine guns? And why don't the Palestinian leaders in Lebanon take concrete steps to convince the Lebanese and the others?

In a previous interview with the London daily 'al-Hayat', the military commander of the Fatah al-Islam organization, Shihab al-Qaddour, also known as Abu Hurieira, said, "We are ready to blow up every place in Beirut and/or any place else in Lebanon." He pointed out that Fatah al-Islam has sleeper cells on alert in all Palestinian refuge camps and in more than one area in Lebanon "and they are on the alert [to launch] a harsh response - they await only a sign from us." He also said that threatening the organization would only open the fire of hell against Lebanon, as they have suicide bombers ready to carry out suicide operations.

Lebanon is a country torn by wars and disagreements thanks to the political mentalities, and the Lebanese leaders. Lebanon didn't need to see his territory occupied by a terrorist organization which has been allowed entrance, deployment and breeding into a camp that doesn't put up with this new burden over the Lebanese streets, and the Palestinian refugees.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora proves that he is a "Statesman" capable of standing up to difficult challenges, and creating a policy expressive of a "popular" will through the decisions he takes at the times of crises. These decisions don't belittle the crises, which is how some members of the opposition, who don't calculate the repercussions of these continuing disorders and strikes, deal with these crises.

Lebanon is an "open" field; those who play abroad are "almost" known, as well as those who threaten it from the inside. At this "decisive" historic phase the Lebanese should defy all the attempts of those who try to manipulate the destiny of their country before it turns into a huge battlefield, and a haven for warmongers. The victim at the end of the "tragic" play is Lebanon and its people.

Source: Al-Hayat, by Jamil Ziabi

What a coincidence!

Sat, 26 26 May 2007 11:27:36 GMT

Western powers put their plan for a court to prosecute the murder of a former Lebanese prime minister before the U.N. Security Council on Friday, but Russia raised objections to its compulsory nature.

Sponsors the United States, Britain and France played down the Russian concerns and said they still expected their resolution setting up the special court, a highly divisive issue in Lebanon, to pass by next week.

The resolution responds to a Lebanese government request but the country's parliament has not approved the plan because its speaker, an opposition figure who disputes the legitimacy of the government, has refused to convene the chamber.

Despite warnings by Lebanon's pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, and others that setting up the court could trigger a fresh wave of violence there, Western leaders say it is essential as a matter of principle to try Hariri's murderers.

And they shrugged off suggestions that bombings and fighting in Lebanon this week aim to derail the court.

A bomb in a suitcase has ripped through a building in the town of Aley, in the mountains east of the Lebanese capital.

Aley is a predominantly Druze town, popular with Arab holidaymakers as a summer resort.

The blast was the third in Beirut and the surrounding area since fighting broke out between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon on Sunday.

The first explosion struck Beirut's Christian district of Ashrafiyeh on Sunday night, killing one woman, and the second occurred in Verdun, a predominately Sunni Muslim quarter of the capital, on Monday wounding 10 people.

A faxed statement purportedly from Fatah al-Islam claimed the group had carried out the first two bombings, but a spokesman later denied any involvement.

The United States and Arab allies rushed military aid to Lebanon yesterday, boosting its strength before a possible army assault to crush Islamic extremists barricaded in a Palestinian refugee camp.

Palestinian factions were scrambling to find a negotiated solution to end the siege and avert what many fear would be a bloody battle over the Nahr el-Bared camp, where thousands of civilians remain in the line of fire.

The military was gearing up for a fight, rolling more troops into place around the camp in northern Lebanon, already ringed by hundreds of soldiers backed by artillery and tanks. Fatah al Islam has claimed to have more than 500 fighters, with automatic weapons, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

At least a dozen more armored carriers and a battle tank were seen headed for the area yesterday.

Sporadic gunfire at Nahr el-Bared camp kept tensions high, but a truce that has halted three days of heavy artillery and rocket bombardment since Tuesday held.

An all-out assault on the camp would risk sparking unrest and violence elsewhere in the country, where about 400,000 Palestinian refugees live, most in camps that are rife with armed groups.

A deputy Fatah al Islam leader, Abu Hureira, told the pan-Arab Al Hayat daily by telephone from Nahr el-Bared that "sleeper cells" in other Palestinian camps and elsewhere in Lebanon were awaiting word for a "violent response" if the army struck.

The U.S. military aid could also attract other fighters into what they see as a battle against the West and its allies. Extremist groups were already using the battle at the camp as propaganda.

A group billing itself as al-Qaeda's branch in Syria and Lebanon vowed "seas of blood" if the Lebanese army resumed its attack. In a video on the Web yesterday, a spokesman threatened bomb attacks on Lebanon's tourist industry.

Samer Mohdad

The Arabs

Thu, 17 17 May 2007 11:00:04 GMT

How is it possible to define the Arab identity in our society when it is increasingly so narrowly identified with Islam? Unfortunately, Westerners believe that being Arab necessarily means being Muslim. What a mistake they make! Overloaded by the news media, our minds do not stop accumulating such falsities. Amongst 1.6 billion Muslims throughout the world, Arabs represent only a minority today.

Misinterpretations of Islam and injustices committed in its name have led to many misunderstandings regarding the actual realities of the Arab world. I have made a great effort to accept realities without making any judgments. This has allowed me to adopt a better approach to understanding the problem that continues to feed the flame of hatred in the hearts of humans. If only we look at things simply, Islam is nothing other than the third monotheist religion born in this region.

I traveled widely for many years in the Middle East, North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, studying the differences and similarities of these regions. I portrayed the difficult everyday life of the people of these countries moving between war and faith, in unadorned and very personal shots and says, 'Seen from outside, the Arab world looks like a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment, and Islam seems to be the dominating power. Seen from inside, everything is different.

On my trips to Iran, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Gaza, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco and Saudi Arabia I am searching for traces of past civilizations and the vestiges of old traditions in contemporary everyday life, marked as it is by centuries of clashes between and a mingling of different religions and cultures, of destruction and reconstruction, preservation and adaptation.

It is undeniable that it is a region plagued by more important problems: war, lack of food for displaced persons, the construction of new infrastructure and so on... For me, it is absolutely necessary to memorize such moments and learn to read them. This will give us a better understanding of our situation and help guide us towards a constructive future.

Samer Mohdad

visit the online exhibition

Solidarity with the Egyptian novelist and writer Nawal El Saadawi

Thu, 03 3 May 2007 16:09:48 GMT

The Egyptian writer and novelist Nawal El Saadawi well known both in the Arab world and internationally, is facing a political and religious campaign mounted against her by the authorities of Al-Azhar. Basing themselves on a play written by her entitled "God resigns at the Summit Meeting" published during the month of January 2007 in Cairo, they are accusing her of apostasy and disrespect for the principles of Islam.

The theater play is a work of fiction and should be judged by the men and women who read works destined for the theater and not by religious dignitaries whose areas of concern are totally different. To bring a writer to trial before a court relying on dangerous accusations of this kind can be a license for her assassination.

Accusations such as this which should hold sway in the Twenty First Century are being leveled against a woman of letters, a woman from the medical profession who has given to the Arab world forty five works ranging from novels, plays, short stories, autobiography to scientific and intellectual studies which have served the cause of women's liberation and that of men, and have been translated into thirty languages covering different regions of our globe.
This is not the first time that Nawal El Saadawi has had to face campaigns of this kind. The accusation here also was that of apostasy.

We the signatories of this petition demand that this repressive campaign come to an end immediately. We call upon all the men and women of conscience all over the world, in the Arab countries and in Egypt to take the action they see fit in order to defend freedom of thought and creativity. We call upon all the associations and organizations of civil society, the unions of workers, on journalists, on all free women and men in the different countries, on the associations and organizations of women and on democratic progressive political parties to join us in our efforts to defend freedom.

Arab Women's Solidarity Association – Belgium