SYRIA: An anarchist among jihadists

December 2012

A view from the grassroots of the Syrian revolution.

EGYPT: علياء المهدي: حريّة الجسد في مواجهة الذكوريّة

2011/11/24 من تأليف Hanibaael

علياء المهدي. هذا الإسم لن يغيب، على الأقل للفترة القادمة، عن التداول في الأوساط المصرية (والعربية).

علياء

Article by Hanibaael, about Alia Mahdi, the Egyptian blogger who defied social norms by posting nude pictures of herself on her blog.

(Tahrir-ICN summary in English follows the Arabic original)

على طريقتها،  تحدّت علياء كل السلطات الذكوريّة التي تتحكّم بمجتمعها، معلنة رفضها لها، عبر نشر، صورها عارية على مدونتها،  خلال الشهر الماضي. طبعاً، هذا الحدث شكّل صدمة للمجتمع المصري الذي تصرّ الحركات الدينيّة على “تديينه”، وفَتَحَ نقاشاً واسعاً حول الحريّات الجنسيّة، على صعيد عالم ما بين الأزرقين.

TUNISIA: The upcoming general strike in Tunisia: a historical perspective

Mohamed-Salah Omri 12 December 2012

The first general strike in Tunisia since 1978 takes place in a much-changed country and against old friends but for rather similar reasons.

Brothers in the Hood: Egypt’s Soft Powers and the Arab World

10 Dec 2012  by Amro Ali

A Jordanian Islamist recently expressed his disappointment: “Egyptians are not giving President Mohammed Morsi a chance!” I responded, “Would you be this forgiving had Hamdeen Sabahi, a secular Nasserist, issued a decree that gave himself exceptional powers?” Silence. Irrespective of Morsi “rescinding” those powers, the continuing theatrics matters to a larger, if at times unacknowledged, constituency.

EGYPT: Things are getting weird in Egypt

An odd alliance between pro-democracy activists and Mubarak loyalists is raising eyebrows. Who is playing who?

JORDAN: Cash Crisis, Arab Ferment Threaten Jordan’s Stability

Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a demonstration following an announcement that Jordan would raise fuel prices, including a hike on cooking gas, in Amman on November 13, 2012. The placard read ‘Empty bellies do not know of belonging and loyalty.’ Violent protests that shocked Jordan this month have mostly subsided, but unprecedented chants for the ‘fall of the regime’ suggested a deeper malaise in a kingdom so far spared the revolts reshaping the Arab world. (Reuters Photo/Muhammad Hamed)

Syria: The Revolution Becomes More Islamist

November 2, 2012 § 4 Comments      Author: Robin Yassin-Kassab

Like ‘armed gangs’, armed Islamists are one of the Syrian regime’s self-fulfilling prophecies. Most grassroots organisers and fighters are secularists or moderate Islamists, but the numbers, organisational power and ideological fervor of more extreme and sectarian Islamists are steadily rising. So why is the revolution taking on an increasingly Islamist hue? Here are some points in order of importance.

Iraq’s unveiled women face rising crackdown

By Dina al-Shibeeb, 22 Nov 2012

Hanaa Edwar, General Secretary of the non-government organization, Iraqi Al-Amal Association, says Iraqi women who choose not to war the headscarf are facing increasing discrimination. (Photo courtesy local Iraqi media)

 

Iraqi women who do not wear the Islamic headscarf, commonly known as the hijab, are increasingly coming under crackdown as conservative Islam gradually permeates the Iraqi political scene.

Secular Rebels in Syria Fear Growing Clout of Islamists

Tarek al-Abed for As-Safir (Lebanon) August 13, 2012

Since the early days of the protests in Syria, differences have intensified between secular and Islamist groups. Day after day these differences have intensified and diverted attention away from the main goal of the movement: freedom.

La Tunisie sera-t-elle un second Iran ?

Il y a de troublantes analogies entre les révolutions iranienne et tunisienne : révoltes de la liberté et de la dignité, fuite des dictateurs, retour d’exil d’un guide religieux et dérive vers une nouvelle dictature théocratique.

Par Moez Ben Salem