Stories from Quick Reads and United Arab Emirates
UAE Honours Naama Al Qassimi as Country's “First Teacher”
Blogger and commentator Sultan Al Qassemi today received an award from the state on behalf of his mother, Naama Bint Majid Al Qassimi, for being “first teacher” in the United Arab Emirates. The avid Twitter user, who has 309k followers, shares those old and rare photographs featuring his mother as...
UAE's First Teacher Naama Al Qassimi Honoured
Commentator and blogger Sultan Al Qassemi today received an award from the state on behalf of his mother, Naama Bint Majid Al Qassimi, for being “first teacher” in the United Arab Emirates. The avid Twitter user, who has 309k followers, shares those old and rare photographs featuring his mother as...
Salam, Brazil: Muslim Football Fans and FIFA World Cup
Colombian United Arab Emirates-based Marcelino Torrecilla describes [es] the particulars of Muslim football fans in the 2014 FIFA World Cup: se espera para el mundial la llegada de 50 mil musulmanes provenientes de países tan diversos como Irán, Nigeria, Argelia, Estados Unidos, el Reino Unido, Malasia y muchos otros de la región del Golfo...
Dubai and Arab Culture From a Latin American Perspective
He is a college professor of Colombian origins who is fascinated by Arab culture. Marcelino Torrecilla's purpose is to “describe sociocultural experiences in United Arab Emirates and their relevance with Colombia”. Narrating his own stories in Dubai, he explains why this capital is an open door city [es]: En el...
UAE Police Reward Drivers for Good Driving
Saudi Amani Al Awami's tweet on a Lebanese female driver getting a reward from UAE police for good driving is making the rounds online. She tweets: أوقفت الشرطة الإماراتية زميلتي اللبنانية اليوم، وأعطتها 1000 درهم مكافأة لها لالتزامها بقواعد المرور! #الإمارات pic.twitter.com/5xjeMIy8F5 — أماني العوّامي (@Al_Awami) October 30, 2013 The UAE...
Gulf Cities: Cultural Capitals of the Arab World?
UAE commentator Sultan Al Qassemi argues that “some of the cities of the Gulf were transforming into cultural capitals of the Arab world as the traditional capitals of Baghdad, Cairo, Beirut and Damascus continue to suffer from civil strife.” He posts arguments in support and against this notion on his...
Qatari Doctor Detained in UAE for Muslim Brotherhood Ties
On Doha News, Shabina Khatri shares the story of a Qatari doctor Dr Mahmood Al Jaidah, detained in the neighbouring UAE under suspicion of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Doha News reports: According to his lawyer Abdullah Tahir, who has been tweeting about the case, Al Jaidah has also...
Blogging for UAE Detainees
“UAE Detainees” [ar] sheds light on the plight of more 68 Emirati political detainees who demanded reforms in their country. By doing so, the blog tries to attract solidarity with the arrested activists, to lobby and advocate for their release, in addition to gathering and recollecting everything that has been...
MENA: Acclaimed Authors’ Favorites of 2012
M. Lynx Qualey, blogger, who is interested in Arab and Arabic literature, wrote a series of posts introducing acclaimed Arab poets, novelists, and short-story writers’ favorite Arab reads of 2012. She started with a list of nonfiction books, then followed by a list for poetry [En] and fiction [En].
Why is the GCC Quiet about Gaza?
“Gulf countries awfully quiet about Gaza,” tweets Foreign Policy editor Blake Hounshell. Lebanese journalist Antoun Issa adds: @antissa: Amazing how eager GCC are to arm Arabs to fight each other, while disappearing completely when it comes to Palestine. #Gaza The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is made up of Bahrain, Qatar,...
UAE: Human Rights Lawyer Abdulhamed AlKumaiti Arrested
Khalid Ibrahim reports: “#UAE:Prominent HR lawyer Abdulhamed AlKumaiti is targeted because he is as always ready to defend the civil &human rights of the detainees.” And Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth adds: “UAE strategy to keep 49 activists in prison: arrest their would-be lawyers too. Threat to national...
UAE: Some Savoury Questions
Krista, from the collective blog Muslimah Media Watch, shares her family's passion for “ridiculous and tacky” salt and pepper shakers. Their latest acquisition, a gift bought in Dubai, has raised a lot of questions in Krista's mind.
UAE: Use of VPN to Fight Censorship
On Twitter, UAE commentator Sultan Al Qassemi writes: ‘The UAE is in the top ten VPN users of @golden_frog, company president says to me “You guys like the Internet but you don't like censorship”‘
UAE: Several Islamists’ Citizenships Revoked
The UAE has revoked the citizenship of several Islamists. Sultan Al Qassemi has more in this blog post.
UAE: Telecom Regulator in Talks on Banning iPhone Messaging Features
From the UAE, Tom Gara tweets: “Interesting to see UAE telco[m] regulator in talks on banning messaging features on new iPhone. To protect consumers, of course.”
United Arab Emirates: Adjournment of Blogger Ahmed Mansour's Tria
”Poor Arab and Emirati intellectuals and thinkers!” bewails Ahmed Al Mouhareb [ar] while reporting on his Twitter account the deferment the trial of the blogger and activist Ahmed Mansour and of four of his companions until September 26 [en]. Arrested in the beginning of April 2011, after having signed a...
UAE: Sensational Fountains
Do not miss the sensational fountains of Dubai which bristolg shared with us in the following video.
MENA: The Social Media Scene in the Middle East
The Huffington Post‘s Arianna Huffington shares her views on the social media scene in the Middle East here.
Saudi Arabia: Is Saudi Jeans blocked in the UAE?
Saudi blogger Ahmed Al Omran, of Saudi Jeans, is concerned his blog might be blocked in the United Arab Emirates. Is it really blocked?
Dubai: Stats on drink-driving offenders
Dubai Metblogs shares statistics on drink-driving offenders in Dubai.
Yemen: Host to Gulf Cup 2010
Gulf Cup 2010 kicks off in Aden, Yemen, on November 22. Yemeni blogger Omar Barsawad reflects on the significance of having Aden host this football championship which brings together teams from Iraq, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.