Media in the Arab World

Topic: Media in the Arab World

Scene from the comic strip about Abu A and Abu B by Karl Sharro (source: karlremarks.com 2014)

Fighting Islamic State with satire and black humour

Terribly funny

Reports and videos of Islamic State's horrendous deeds have left many people around the world speechless with shock. But for many Arabs – both in the countries affected by IS and elsewhere around the globe – the only way to fight IS is to satirise and ridicule it. Elisabeth Lehmann has the detailsMore

Humour in the West Bank: "I laugh, therefore I am"Humour in the Islamic world: Digging at the despots Bassem Youssef: Satire in the Service of Democracy The Lebanese satirical magazine "Ad-Dabbour": Hornets' nest in Beirut Creative Protest against Syria's Regime: The Puppet Rebellion

The Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

After the release of Egyptian blogger Alaa Abdel-Fattah

Freedom of expression at an all-time low

The well-known Egyptian blogger Alaa Abdel-Fattah has been released on bail. Is it a sign that the powers that be in Cairo are ready to allow increased freedom of expression? Egyptian filmmaker and activist Omar Hamilton says it's not. Interview by Sella OnekoMore

Morsi's Islamist regime: Attacks on Egypt's opposition on the rise Interview with the Egyptian human rights activist Gamal Eid: A warning shot for civil society TV Satirist Bassem Youssef: "People should be able to listen to different opinions"

Interview with the Egyptian human rights activist Gamal Eid

A warning shot for civil society

Egyptian security forces have seized the current edition the magazine "Wasla", which is published by the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). In conversation with Abbas Al-Khashali, ANHRI Chairman Gamal Eid explains the potential political fallout of curtailing freedom of expression in EgyptMore

Al Jazeera journalists face terrorism charges: Egypt settles scores with Al Jazeera Presidential election in Egypt: The déja vu state Interview with Lina Attalah: "The Media Are PR Machines of the Military"

Pro-Assad election posters in Damascus (photo: Reuters)

Presidential election in Syria

No Holds Barred

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad intends to have himself confirmed in office for a further seven years in early June. The regime's propaganda machinery is running flat out in advance of the election. Since the beginning of the revolution, the Syrian powers-that-be have been working hard to turn both domestic and international public opinion in their favour. By Martina SabraMore

International policy on Syria: The rehabilitation of Assad Syrian opposition groups: Time to join forces Human Rights Activist Razan Zeitouneh Kidnapped: Syria's Fearless Dissident

Memorial service for Mayada Ashraf, who was killed recently in Cairo (photo: picture-alliance/AA)

Attacks on journalists in Egypt

Caught in the crossfire

Once again, a young woman journalist has been killed in Cairo, and once again, no one is being held responsible or brought to justice. Karim El-Gawhary reports from Cairo on the case of the murdered journalist Mayada AshrafMore

Al Jazeera journalists face terrorism charges: Egypt settles scores with Al Jazeera Media in Egypt: Fall into Line or Switch Off Investigations against a cloth puppet in Egypt: Theatre of the absurd

A poster with an image of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in front of the Syrian flag (photo: Reuters)

Book review: "The Wisdom of Syria's Waiting Game"

How to stay in power against the odds

In her book "The Wisdom of Syria's Waiting Game", Bente Scheller analyses Syrian foreign policy since the Assad dynasty came to power in 1970. She believes that the special relationship between domestic and foreign policy is key to understanding Syria's power apparatus. By Martina SabraMore

Civil war in Syria: No peace with Assad and al-Qaida Syria after the Geneva II peace talks: In a political vacuum Syrian Conflict: Political Breakthrough or Tactical Manoeuvre?

Ibrahim Nehme, editor-in-chief of "The Outpost" (photo: Ieva Saudargaite)gaite

The Lebanese magazine "The Outpost"

Road map to an uncensored world

The pan-Arab magazine "The Outpost" is produced on a quarterly basis in Beirut. Only one year after its establishment, it is already attracting international attention. Astrid Kaminski took a closer look at the magazine and spoke to its editor-in-chief, Ibrahim Nehme, about its successMore

The Lebanese satirical magazine "Ad-Dabbour": Hornets' nest in Beirut Egypt in Turmoil: Against the Tide of Hatred The Art Magazine "Bidoun": Publishing Art from Three Corners of the World

The Saudi blogger Raif Badawi

600 lashes for expressing opinions

On 9 January 2014, a group of protesters organised a sit-in in front of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Rome, calling for the immediate release of blogger Raif Badawi. According to Elham Manea, he was imprisoned in 2012 on trumped up charges rooted in the ruling dynasty's fear of dissent and rebellion. He now faces the death penaltyMore

Women in Saudi Arabia: Caught in a System of Gender Apartheid The Arrest of Saudi Intellectual Turki al-Hamad: One Step Forward and Two Steps Back?Facebook page of the "Free Raif Badawi" campaign

Protest against the imprisonment of the Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste (photo: Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images)

Al Jazeera journalists face terrorism charges

Egypt settles scores with Al Jazeera

Employees of the Al Jazeera news channel are currently on trial in Egypt. The prosecution has accused them of being members of a terrorist organisation. Markus Symank reports from CairoMore

Interview with Hani Shukrallah: "Egypt's Media Are Propaganda Machines"Muslim Brothers as Victims: ''25 TV Stations Are Working against Us''Arab States in Transition and the Role of the Media: Why We Should Pay More Attention to Arab Media

Civil society initiatives in Lebanon

"I am not a martyr"

Bomb attacks and other acts of violence have almost become part of everyday life in Lebanon. After recent bomb blasts, two media campaigns were launched to raise awareness among Lebanese people of the everyday violence in their crisis-torn country. A background report by Juliane MetzkerMore

The Lebanese Graphic Designer Maya Zankoul: Illustrations against Ignorance and Oblivion Hezbollah after the Beirut Attacks: A Battle on Many Fronts Photography Project "Missing": Lebanon's Shadows of the Past

Caricatures of Lebanese politicians (including Saad Hariri, Samir Geagea, Walid Jumblatt, President Michel Sulaiman) celebrating New Year and looking ahead to an explosive 2014 (photo: Facebook Ad-Dabbour Magazine/Eliot)

The Lebanese satirical magazine "Ad-Dabbour"

Hornets' nest in Beirut

The satirical magazine ''Ad-Dabbour'' (the hornet) is one of the oldest magazines in Beirut. Björn Zimprich spoke to Joseph Moukarzel, editor-in-chief of the magazine, about the purpose of satire, freedom of expression in the Arab world and the caricatures of the prophet Mohammed in western magazines in recent yearsMore

Creative Protest against Syria's Regime: The Puppet Rebellion Portrait of the Egyptian TV Satirist Bassem Youssef: Fighting over the ''Pantie Revolution''Mohammed Caricatures in "Charlie Hebdo": Provocation as a Marketing Strategy

A woman wearing a headscarf standing in front of a camera (photo: DW)

Journalism from the Middle East

Tall Tales from the Desert

A blogging Syrian lesbian, Libyan soldiers in a Viagra-fuelled frenzy, Tunisian women on a sexual Jihad: The blend of sex, Islam and war is failsafe bait for western media, which often fall for propaganda from the Middle East. Not all of the stories are hoaxes, but many of them are. By Sonja Zekri in CairoMore

Why We Should Pay More Attention to Arab Media The Arab Spring and the Media: Distorted Images Qantara.de Dossier: Media in the Arab World

Hani Shukrallah (photo: Andrea Backhaus)

Interview with Hani Shukrallah

"Egypt's Media Are Propaganda Machines"

In this interview with Andrea Backhaus, the renowned Egyptian journalist and political scientist Hani Shukrallah criticises the way the Egyptian military is using the media to its own political ends and the blatant opportunism of many of the country's journalistsMore

Media in Egypt: Fall into Line or Switch Off the Egyptian TV Satirist Bassem Youssef: Fighting over the ''Pantie Revolution''Egypt in Turmoil: Against the Tide of Hatred

Protests by Egyptian journalists against police harassment (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Interview with Lina Attalah

"The Media Are PR Machines of the Military"

After being dismissed from the newspaper Egypt Independent, editor-in-chief Lina Attalah founded the alternative news website Mada Masr. Egyptian media are in "a very precarious condition", she says – and calls for a new kind of critical journalism. Interview by Jannis HagmannMore

Media in Egypt: Fall into Line or Switch Off Muslim Brothers as Victims: ''25 TV Stations Are Working against Us''After the Military Coup in Egypt: State-tolerated Xenophobia

Egyptian riot police look up as they watch Alaa, the son of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, seen on a large TV screen erected outside the Cairo criminal court, as he reaches out to cover the lens of a TV camera during his arrival for his trial along side his father and brother accused of corruption and murder on August 15, 2011 (photo: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images)

Media in Egypt

Fall into Line or Switch Off

Just two years ago, the Arab Spring prompted many observers to talk about supposed Facebook revolutions. Looking at the state of the media today, and especially in Egypt, we can see a return to the old mechanisms of safeguarding authoritarian rule. By Carola RichterMore

Arab States in Transition: Why We Should Pay More Attention to Arab Media Naguib Sawiris and Cairo's Shanty District of Ramlet Bulak: Slumdogs vs. Billionaire Muslim Brothers as Victims: ''25 TV Stations Are Working against Us''Dossier: Media in the Arab World

Facebook graffito in Tunisia (photo: Imago)

New Media and Democratization in the Arab World

No Pedestal for Facebook and Twitter

Were the revolutions in the Arabic world started by social networks? Tunisian publicist Amel Grami is sceptical, and warns against the extremist potential of the new mediaMore

Essay by Amel Grami: A Turning Point in Tunisia's Transition Interview with Amel Grami: Political Stagnation in the Cradle of the Arab Spring Interview with Amel Grami: ''The Arab Revolutions Have Triggered A Male Identity Crisis''

Topic: Media in the Arab World

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