Middle East & North Africa Archives - Page 242 of 635

Muslim Voices

by John Feffer, Ethan Pack | Jul 27, 2009

A chaikhana is a Central Asian teahouse where poets and performers — men and (unveiled) women — sing verses and recite prose in a conversational atmosphere with fellow patrons. In New York, last month’s Muslim Voices festival recreated a chaikhana to showcase Urdu writers from Pakistan, performances of Lebanese zajal (dueling poetry with audience response and affirmation), and West African jaliya, an hereditary bardic tradition from Mali that has produced many world music stars.

Iraq: Nightmare or New Democracy?

by Bonnie Bricker, Jennifer Doak, Adil E. Shamoo | Jul 24, 2009

Parliament members are afraid to attend meetings. Iraq’s nascent economy is deteriorating. Hundreds of armed militias are ready to fight for their own interests. This is Iraq today.

Would MLK Back Iran’s Protesters?

by John Feffer, Rostam Pourzal | Jul 16, 2009

Combine Iran’s post-election turmoil with the controversy over the nation’s nuclear advances, and few Americans are likely to be unsympathetic toward the opposition movement there. Some bloggers have even suggested that the reformist-led protests are inspired by the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. Several commentators have referred to the wave of anti-theocracy rallies as Iran’s "civil rights movement, perhaps implying that the social conservatives who rule the country resemble Mississippi fundamentalists.

Democratic Shocks

by John Feffer | Jun 30, 2009

Democracy is taking a beating. The Honduran military has sent its leftist president into exile. The Iranian government is suppressing the Green Revolution. China arrested prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo. And Governor Mark Sanford decided that he could best serve the interests of his South Carolinian constituents by hightailing it after his Argentinean mistress.

Iran’s Do-It-Yourself Revolution

by John Feffer, Stephen Zunes | Jun 29, 2009

Facing an unprecedented popular uprising against his autocratic rule and his apparently fraudulent re-election, Iran’s right-wing president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has attempted to blame the United States. A surprising number of bloggers on the left have rushed to the defense of the right-wing fundamentalist leader. Citing presidential directives under the Bush administration, they argue that the uprising isn’t as much about a stolen election, the oppression of women, censorship, severe restrictions on political liberties, growing economic inequality, and other grievances, as it is about the result of U.S. interference.

Maintaining Distance from Iran

by Max Burns, John Feffer | Jun 29, 2009

As the Islamic Republic of Iran veers closer to outright insurrection and the competing factions of Mir Hossain Mousavi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei engage in a game of high-stakes political brinksmanship, should the United States play a more active role in Iranian affairs? Those in power must chart a careful course, for the same thorny question toppled the legacy of another Democratic president 30 years ago.

60-Second Expert: Democracy in the Middle East

by Noor Iqbal, Stephen Zunes | Jun 22, 2009

In Cairo last week, President Barack Obama addressed the Muslim world, calling for a "new beginning" in the search for peace and prosperity in the Middle East. What he failed to address in this widely anticipated speech, however, were the repressive and corrupt regimes in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. While eloquently promoting democracy, religious freedom, and women’s rights, Obama ignored the human rights abuses that have become routine under the 28-year dictatorship of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak. Similarly, on his visit to Saudi Arabia, the president refrained from publicly criticizing King Abdullah’s brutal theocracy.

60-Second Expert: The Key to U.S.-Muslim Relations

by Noor Iqbal, R.S. Zaharna | Jun 22, 2009

Over the past week, President Barack Obama’s speech in Cairo elicited a variety of reactions from its intended Arab and Muslim audience. The success of his outreach efforts, however, will be decided by a more unlikely group: the American public.

Global Land Grab

by John Feffer, Alexandra Spieldoch | Jun 18, 2009

Close to a billion people in the world are hungry, and there is growing poverty, unemployment, and displacement in the rural sector. The world community is in widespread agreement about the urgency of more investment in agriculture. The food crisis, partly characterized by unstable markets and low reserves, has led governments to seek measures to meet their food security needs more directly than through global trade. Even though this year’s harvest was good and there was some replenishment of global stocks, there’s no certainty of what markets will look like next year.

Iran’s Twitter Revolution

by John Feffer, Patrick W. Quirk | Jun 17, 2009

“Everybody try to film as much as poss[ible] today on mobiles…these are eyes of world,” declared a posting on user Persiankiwi’s Twitter page. The poster urged Iranians to take to the streets on Monday, June 15, and document the government-sponsored crackdown against rallies in support of demands by Mir Hossein Mousavi, the primary reformist challenger. Mousavi allegedly lost in an apparent landslide of nearly two-to-one against incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran’s recent presidential election.