Sunday, February 19, 2012 – 23:17
High on what they seem to think is a victory in the Hamza Kashgari affair, religious conservatives opened another front by sending some of their young followers to protest against music, dancing and the mixing of men and women in the National Heritage and Culture Festival aka Janadriyah. It all began when Sheikh Saleh al-Lihedan, [...]
Sunday, February 19, 2012 – 2:25
Just a quick update on the Hamza Kashgari case since many people have been asking: The young man is now in detention, his family visited him and he is reportedly in high spirits and being treated respectfully. Several sites and petitions have been set up to support him and call for his release. Prominent human [...]
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 – 1:45
UPDATE 2/12/12 03:09ET: Hamza Kashgari has been deported to Saudi Arabia by Malaysian authorities, several news agencies reported. Malaysian human rights lawyers say they had a judge order to stop the deportation, but by the time they reached the airport the plane already took off. Hamza Kashgari, a young Saudi writer, caused a firestorm when [...]
Friday, January 6, 2012 – 1:11
For some reason, the government here finds itself compelled to get involved in organizing cultural events even when they suck at it. Why? Maybe because they don’t allow non-governmental organizations that usually play such roles in other countries. Or maybe because they want to keep the matters of arts and culture under control. Anyway, they [...]
By Ahmed
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Also posted in Arts, Human Rights, Libs and Cons, Media, News, Politics, Saudi Arabia, Women's Rights
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Tagged abdo khal, abdul aziz khoja, al-watan, hair, intellectual forum, marriott lobby, saleh al-shehi, saudi intellectual forum
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Sunday, November 13, 2011 – 23:58
The latest player on the Saudi media scene was born this week, and its creators decided to deliver it on a very special date: November 11, 2011, at exactly 11:11 KSA time. Al-Sharq will also be the 11th general interest national daily newspaper in the country. I say ‘will’ because although the website was launched [...]
Tuesday, October 18, 2011 – 12:13
Two Saudi men were detained Sunday in relation to a YouTube video they produced about poverty in Riyadh, colleagues said. Feras Bughnah and Hosam al-Deraiwish were called by the police for questioning Sunday afternoon, and they are still in authorities custody in the police station in Sahafa district in northern Riyadh. “We asked the guard [...]
Monday, September 26, 2011 – 21:56
Yes, you read that headline right. Saudi women will be allowed to vote and run in the next municipal elections. They will also be appointed to the Shoura Council in its next term. As I said on Twitter yesterday, this is big news for women in Saudi Arabia any way you look at it. You [...]
Thursday, September 1, 2011 – 22:13
The Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) is at it again. There is a new directive signed by Ahmad al-Hout, (get this) the acting assistant undersecretary for domestic media affairs, that bans journalists from pretty much doing anything without getting permission from the ministry first. Al-Hayat daily reports that, based on the new directive, Saudi [...]
Thursday, August 4, 2011 – 14:48
Adhwan al-Ahmari seems to think that there is some kind of war raging between Saudi journalists and activists. He said the revolution in Egypt has produced a divide between the two groups. This war is taking place in Twitter and in newspaper columns. First, let’s get some facts straight. There is a lot of broad-brush [...]
By Ahmed
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Also posted in Human Rights, Libs and Cons, Media, News, Politics, Saudi Arabia, Technology
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Tagged adhwan, facebook, hashtag, social media, twitter
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Tuesday, August 2, 2011 – 13:55
It is rather sad that at a time when peoples are toppling dictators and changing regimes, we are still stuck talking about women driving, underage marriage and the right of prisoners to get a speedy, fair trial. I’m not saying these issues are unimportant, but let’s face it: their importance pales quickly when compared to [...]
By Ahmed
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Also posted in Human Rights, Libs and Cons, Media, News, Politics, Saudi Arabia, Women's Rights
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Tagged #alrayes, hani aldhaheri, hashtag, new activism, saud alrayes, twitter
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