A frequent subject of blogging is censorship: from Tunisia to Malaysia bloggers are being victimised and sentenced for expressing political and religious views contrary to that of their country’s regime. Indubitably, their cause is a noble one and admirably undertaken in spite of state adversary, but what if the cause was not political or religious per se, but rather one of sexual orientation? Vocalising one’s stance on homosexuality in the Middle East is fraught - as it can be also the... Read Full Story

At last, positive news after weeks in the doldrums: Madaba, Jordan - A mosque named after the central figure of Christianity is the latest milestone of interfaith coexistence in Jordan. Both Muslim and Christian leaders expressed delight when the Jesus Christ Mosque opened a few months ago in the tranquil town of Madaba, 30 kilometres south of the capital, Amman. “This is a message to the world that Muslims consider Jesus Christ their own messenger because he informed humanity beforehand... Read Full Story

The PhotoHunt theme of the day is quite fitting: as summer melts into a bleak and bitter chill that brings the gloomy tentacles of winter, Sad epitomises the general ennui that replaces the joy of summer days. Nevertheless, winter brings memories of Jordan, the home of this week’s image, taken in the Schneller Palestinian refugee camp, where this adorable little boy was in the midst of a stern ticking-off from his father:        Read Full Story

One of the multitudinous reasons why I love research is the unexpectedly joyous subjects that appear from nowhere, light up your studies, and then fade into a corner of your files, beaming with satisfaction. Research can be like a labyrinth: days, weeks even, can be passed in blind frustration as each path leads to another wall, while the minotaur of deadlines is forever stalking your heels. Then, when you least expect it, a veritable blossoming of writings emerges that makes all the... Read Full Story

Is there anything more irksome than an exiting leader offering the world, when their entire time in office has been an utter debacle? While the subject of this post is Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, such a question could easily apply to his British counterpart, Gordon Brown, his predecessor Tony Blair, and even President George Bush. As the economy spirals out of control, Gordon appears on our screens daily with his jaw hanging slackly every five words, as brief expostulations on how... Read Full Story

Archaeology has always seemed an innocuous and worthy cause, a means by which humankind can reach into the past and learn, touch, and view the lives of those separated from us by centuries. Until now, that is, as the Palestinian residents of Silwan, located just outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls, have discovered. According to the writer and journalist Jonathan Cook, in his latest piece for the Electronic Intifada, “at least 50 Jewish families, comprising 250 people, have taken over... Read Full Story

This weekend I commenced the thankless task of reviewing the latest anthology by an Israeli academic. Naturally, his ramblings do not constitute my usual reading list; nevertheless, I am ploughing ahead like a good little reviewer. The following news is particularly pertinent as the author reiterates that the Israelis never resort to unnecessary violence. I would love to read his interpretation of this, then: A teenage Palestinian shepherd has been shot dead by Israeli settlers in the... Read Full Story

This week’s PhotoHunt theme is View, and while I initially yipeed with joy at another seemingly easy subject, I soon realised that perhaps there were too many that fitted, and it became an irksome round of elimination. Which is why I ultimately chose to turn the concept of View on its head, and shirk the panorama in favour of a concentrated view. The following image was captured in London, and is one of the reasons I have grown to love the capital so much. Aside from the boggling array of... Read Full Story

It seems I missed this one, although it nevertheless just choked me on my muesli: Books@Cafe and many other establishments have been closed this week. Here is what I witnessed and what happened to us at Books@Cafe: The night before Ramadan, the police violently stormed into the café and asked us to close down. “This is the holy month of Ramadan!” they barked. Since we are officially licensed and they could provide no official papers, we refused to close. [...] They then walked into the... Read Full Story

I am about to do something that is considered blasphemous, sacrilegious, and traitorous on British soil - I am going to quibble over Sir Paul McCartney. During the height of the McCartney-Mills debacle, the equally unsavoury Heather Mills was lampooned like a medieval witch, with the British tabloids coming within an inch of dunking her in the village pond every Sunday to check if she floated. So it is with some trepidation that I revolt against the cultural grooming that has touched my life... Read Full Story