Stories from and

UAE Honours Naama Al Qassimi as Country's “First Teacher”

  1 December 2014

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

  1 December 2014

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

  12 June 2014

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

  8 June 2014

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

  1 November 2013

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?

  23 October 2013

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

  29 July 2013

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

  25 January 2013

“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

  29 December 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?

  17 November 2012

“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

  14 August 2012

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

  28 May 2012

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

  11 March 2012

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”‘

United Arab Emirates: Adjournment of Blogger Ahmed Mansour's Tria

  31 July 2011

”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...

Yemen: Host to Gulf Cup 2010

  21 November 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.