Middle East

'Word Raiders' hunt down plagiarisers on the Arabic Net

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:00:43 +0100

Copyright violations are something of an art form in the Arab world. In response to this multitude of plagiarisms, a Web user has taken it upon himself to launch a crusade against the intellectual property thieves, outing dozens of writers, journalists, painters and cartoonists who lift ideas directly from media across the world.

Thanks to careful observation and the website Copyscape - which allows users to track work that has been copied online - the founder of the site "Word Raiders" has already brought down hacks from some of the Middle East's biggest newspapers. The Kuwaiti daily Ar-Ra'iy (The Opinion) fired two journalists after they were named and shamed on the site. And it's not only journalists. Among others on the Word Raiders blacklist are six academics, a member of the Saudi royal family, a Kuwaiti Islamic MP and various researchers.

Chavez, hero of the Arab world

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:24:56 +0100

Go to a pro-Palestine demonstration in North Africa or the Middle East, and chances are you'll see a Hugo Chavez poster bobbing above the crowds. In Lebanon, the authorities have even named a street after him.

Chavez's anti-American ramblings have always found a ready audience in the Arab world. But since the Venezuelan leader referred to Israel's operation in Gaza as "genocide" and expelled the Jewish state's ambassador from Caracas, his popularity has soared even higher.

Noor, the soap that breaks up couples

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:00:35 +0200

Everyone's talking about Noor this summer. The Turkish series has caused such a storm in the Middle East, it's even been blamed for breaking up marriages and causing suicides.

The popularity of the show - which has been dubbed into Syrian Arabic for the Middle East - might have something to do with the incredible anecdotes that surround it. Tales of women blaming their husbands for not being as romantic as those in the show; someone selling a herd of goats just to be able to watch the programme in peace; people refusing to go to weddings if it's on; Saudi Arabia even launching a fatwa against the show's broadcasters - the stories were as exaggerated as the soap itself. So why so much success? Maybe because of the blend of east and west, featuring both "free love" and Islam at the same time.

YouTubers will be let down by the Queen of Jordan

Julien — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:05:29 +0200

The latest member of the YouTube community is none other than Queen Rania of Jordan. In an effort to challenge western stereotypes about the Arab world, the net-surfing monarch decided to launch an online debate. Yet, after attracting almost 5000 responses, she seems to have lost interest in the scheme.

Ashura around the world

Julien — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:59:02 +0100

Throughout the Middle East last week, Shia Muslims were dancing in the streets chanting ‘ô Hussein' in commemoration of the martyr Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who died in 680 AD. During the ceremony, many participants had blood seeping from their backs and chests as they cut themselves with knives, whips and chains in order to share the pain of their martyr, killed in the battle of Karbala together with 72 of his family members. During the battle, said to be one of the most important in Muslim history, Hussein was defeated by the military force of Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph.

A predominantly Shia event, but also celebrated by Sunni Muslims, the festival aggravated tensions between the two sides and caused violent outbreaks in Iraq. However, the celebration of mourning went ahead as usual elsewhere- even in Washington and London- although not with quite the same flamboyance as in Middle Eastern countries. See the videos and commentary below.

Bush sword-dances in the Middle East

Julien — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:42:58 +0100

Our Observer in Bahrain has provoked hilarious comments from his readers by publishing this video on his blog ‘Mahmood's Den'. Bush danced the Ardha sword-dance alongside the king of Bahrain on his visit to the kingdom at the weekend. Every head of state is expected to partake in this ritual- even Putin... (see the video).

Video: AP, 12 January 2008

Taking on al Qaeda’s American 'media star'

Julien — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:01:40 +0100

Californian Adam Yahiye Gadahn, aka "Azzan the American" has really riled Americans on the Web with his latest al Qaeda video calling on followers to arrange an ‘explosive reception' for George Bush's arrival in the Middle-East. The dramatic tearing up of his US passport, followed by a "I don't need it to travel anyway" quip has especially enraged many Americans.

Bloggers have been clogging cyberspace with their own, sometimes rather witty, often rather bitchy, online messages. One of the responses, by an American woman who ironically calls herself a ‘dumb-blonde' has been making the rounds on YouTube.