TV Interviews with Arab LGBT individuals افلام وبرامج عن المثليين والمثليات العرب
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لقد أصبح موقع فيس بوك هو المجتمع الإليكتروني الأكثر شهرة بين الطلاب، نظرا لما يتميز به من تخصيص صفحات مستقلة لكل شخص ووسائل مبتكرة للتواصل فيما بين الأعضاء، و بهذا يجد فيه الأصدقاء و زلاء الدراسة مساحة طيبة للتواصل، و يعمل الموقع بشكل مستمر على التعريف بالحياة الطلابية في أمريكا و خارجها، و يمنح المشاركين فرصة جيدة للاجتماع و التنظيم و تشكيل مجموعات ذات اهتمامات مشتركة. 
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1 week ago
مدونة ألوان
هذه المدونة خاصة ب ألوان. نحن شبكة من المثليين والمثليات العرب نعيش في بلاد مختلفة في البلاد العربية والمهجر .
Arab Lesbian Women & Allies Network (ALWAAN) 's Blog
This is Alwaan 's Blog
Alwaan is an online network for Arab lesbians, gay men, bisexual men and women, transgender persons and those who are interested in building bridges with the LGBT Arab community.
Check out our Arab gay and lesbian videos website - also Arabic videos
تفضلوا وزوروا موقعنا الجديد
الكثير من الافلام الخاصة بالمثليين والمثليات
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Ruby-Sachs: Catholic Church Threatens to Abandon the Homeless Over Gay Rights Issue
, 365gay blogger 11.12.2009 2:04pm EST
Whenever I get up in arms about religious organizations, my friends remind me of all the good work they do. Homeless shelters, feed the hungry, social outreach, community building, these are all part of the church/shule/mosque environment. So I nod and feel a little guilty for being so judgmental.
But then the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington goes and does something so silly and weird, I get all incensed all over again.
Today, they announced that they would be pulling their social services in Washington D.C. if the gay rights measure is approved. Their argument: they might be forced to extend employment benefits to same-sex spouses if they choose to keep working with the city.
First, Catholic charities gets huge amounts of money from D.C. in order to perform their good works. As in, they are being paid to help people, they are not necessarily doing it out of the goodness of their heart. If they don’t want to provide these services, the city can hire some other group to perform their functions.
Second, extending employment benefits to the few individuals who work for you who don’t already get those benefits is really so costly that you have to stop serving the 68,000 people in need in D.C.? Really? Ok then, why is it that we want you involved in social services again?’
Third, if we do make politics secular – as in no religious involvement at all – wouldn’t we be making things easier for gay, Jewish, Muslim and athiest homeless people in D.C.?
I know it’s a knee jerk reaction, but my response to the Catholic threat is “good riddance!”
Source : Ruby-Sachs: Catholic Church Threatens to Abandon the Homeless Over Gay Rights Issue
Yes to gay marriage means no social services, Catholic Church warns
The bill requires religious organizations to obey city laws forbidding discrimination against gay men and lesbians, though they would not have to perform or make space available to gay weddings.
Fearful that they could be forced, among other things, to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples, church officials said they would have no choice but to abandon their contracts with the city.Catholic Charities serves 68,000 people in Washington DC, including one-third of the city’s homeless.
“If the city requires this, we can’t do it,” Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said Wednesday. “The city is saying in order to provide social services, you need to be secular. For us, that’s really a problem.”
Several D.C. Council members said the Catholic Church is trying to erode the city’s long-standing laws protecting gay men and lesbians from discrimination.
Source : Yes to gay marriage means no social services, Catholic Church warns
Sweden’s Lutheran church names first lesbian bishop
11.12.2009 4:00pm EST
Eva Brunne became bishop of Stockholm’s diocese in a ceremony Sunday. She lives in a “registered partnership” with another woman, a civil union between gays used in Sweden before same-sex marriages were legalized this year. The couple also has a child.
“It is very positive that our church is setting an example here and is choosing me as bishop based on my qualifications, when they also know that they can meet resistance elsewhere,” the 55-year-old Brunne told The Associated Press by phone.
Brunne’s spokeswoman Annika Sjoqvist Platzer said she didn’t know of any openly gay women who had reached the position of bishop in other countries.
In 2003, the Episcopal Church, the Anglican body in the U.S., caused an uproar in the global Anglican fellowship by consecrating the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. The 77 million-member Anglican Communion is now on the brink of schism.
Brunne was elected as bishop of Stockholm in May, then ordained Sunday in Uppsala Cathedral. She said hadn’t encountered much resistance within the church over her sexual orientation.
The Church of Sweden has become more open toward sexual minorities in recent years, though there still is resistance from individual clergy. Former Archbishop Gunnar Weman protested Brunne’s elevation in a statement to the Christian newspaper Dagen, saying it “is not compatible” with Holy Scripture.
The Church of Sweden counts about 6.7 million members though few of them regularly attend services in the largely secular Scandinavian country.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Other Voice: Women in the Cyberspace Discourse in the Middle East and Islamic World
The Other Voice: Women in the Cyberspace Discourse in the Middle East and Islamic World
Posted by Dr. Tal Pavel On August - 31 - 2009
Tel Aviv Notes, Dayan Center – Tel Aviv University
http://www.dayan.org/
In recent years, the Internet has become a swift and accessible means of communication in the Middle East, thanks in part to the proliferation of personal blogs and, even more recently, micro-blogs (through “Twitter”). Users are now able to transmit short announcements and updates via mobile phones connected to the Internet. Groups and individuals formerly marginalized or ignored by mainstream media, and in what are generally conservative and tradition-heavy societies, now possess unprecedented means by which to disseminate their views.
This is especially true with regard to women. All over the Middle East, women are active on the Internet, writing in Arabic, Persian, Turkish and English, telling their personal stories and discussing societal matters, taking advantage of the relative anonymity that the Internet offers. Some women have no problem with enabling all interested parties to read their Twitter blogs and feeds.[1] Others, especially concerned with protecting their anonymity, e.g. in Saudi Arabia, insure that only people with their prior permission may do so.[2]
Their Internet usage covers both public and private matters, often using frank and even sharp language which can otherwise not be voiced in their societies. A number of Saudi women have already made their mark in promoting women’s status via the Internet.
The Saudi journalist Rim al-Salih, for example, champions the improvement of the status of women in the kingdom as part of a larger campaign to improve the life of ordinary citizens. She slams the ease by which men are able to divorce their wives, even by sending them a fax, and sometimes without their knowledge. What will be next, she wonders, the sending of a divorce notification via an SMS or e-mail?[3]
The writings of Saudi journalist Hayfa’a Khalid are also noteworthy in this regard. Seeking to promote fair divorces for women, she created an Arabic-language website entitled ”The Saudi Divorce”, which details her organization’s activities and includes a variety of information materials, including articles and interviews.[4]
A third person worth mentioning is Eman al-Nafjan, a mother of three and lecturer at a health sciences university in Riyadh, who maintains an Englishlanguage blog addressing women’s issues in the kingdom and has published a variety of articles.[5]
A fourth is Zaynab Ghasib, who has written about the mindset of Arab, and particularly Saudi female terrorists, which she says stems primarily from their ignorance.[6] Addressing the particularly sensitive religious sphere, Hatun Ajwad al-Fasi, one of Saudi Arabia’s leading female intellectuals, has publicly complained of the lack of equality for women during prayers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.[7] More bold still in her critique (although writing from abroad), has been the liberal Saudi writer Wajiyha al-Hawaydar, who views the adoption of secularism as the solution for most of Saudi society’s problems. [8]
Around the region, female commentators treat a variety of subjects. The Palestinian journalist Maryam al-Dahir has attacked the forgiving approach towards Islamist terrorism adopted by Arab satellite television news programs and called on the Arab public to forthrightly condemn terrorism.[9]
The exiled Syrian intellectual Marah al-Baqa`i has condemned the ignorance and closedmindedness which characterizes so much of Arab society, in contrast to the intellectual openness of Western societies.[10]
Similarly, in an interview on al-Jazira TV during the controversy over the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, the Syrian-American psychiatrist Wafa’a Sultan railed against the
absence of freedom of expression in the Arab world.[11]
In Kuwait, the writer Ibtihal Abd al-Aziz al-Khatib condemned the absence of an Arab equivalent to Israel’s Winograd Commission, which investigated the government’s and army’s conduct in the 2006 Lebanon War, emphasizing the lack of accountability of Arab leaders. [12]
Egyptian women have also made considerable use of the Internet in their battle for equality. For example, the “We Are All Layla” site has carried the flag against daily injustices against women for the last three years (the organization’s Twitter account contains numerous links to material dealing
with women’s issues across the region).[13]
The venerable doctor and prominent feminist Nawal al-Sa`dawi has long campaigned against female circumcision, and now employs the Internet to spread her message, as do other activists on this issue.[14] The poet and activist Fatima Na`ut attacks the absence of religious tolerance towards Egypt’s Coptic minority,[15] as does the human rights campaigner and blogger Dalia Zaida.[16]
One of the key Iranian blogs treating status-of-women issues is “Change for Equality”,[17] which was awarded a prize for its activities by “Reporters Without Borders” Its centerpiece activity was an initiative to gather a million signatures on behalf of a petition to change existing laws which discriminate against women. Scores of Iranian female activists have paid a considerable price for their struggle on behalf of women’s rights, including arrests and imprisonment.[18]
Similarly, the “Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organization”, the “Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan” (RAWA)[19] and scores of additional organizations employ the Internet to campaign for minority and women’s rights and greater social justice.
Local initiatives by women on a variety of subjects also take on greater weight thanks to the Internet. Some would not even be possible without it. Such initiative have included: a boycott by Saudi women of stores selling underwear and lingerie which employ only men; criticism of a call by Saudi religious
figures to keep women out of the Saudi media;[20] the establishment and operation of a radio station in Egypt which caters exclusively to women’s needs and interests;[21] and the creation of a Pakistani internet site by a fashion house which contains articles about the status of women in Pakistan.[22] Of course, the Internet has also become an important arena for men and women to meet one another[23] and to share details from women’s daily life “under headscarf”.[24] This is perhaps even more the case with regard to gay-lesbian communities around the region, for whom the Internet provides a vital means of moral support as well as points of personal contact. [25]
Of course, the Internet serves as a platform for a variety of women’s voices and worldviews. One cannot say definitively that they are substantively different from men’s, simply by virtue of their femininity. Moreover, not all women, and not all classes in society even have access to the Internet. Nonetheless, the proliferation of “women’s space” and “women’s voices” on the Internet has clearly expanded the discourse regarding the need for social change in the region, with an eye to shattering the glass ceiling that hovers over women[26] in order to insure them their fundamental rights.
The author wishes to thank the Internet site http://zavita.co.il (“A Different Angle
on the Arab World”) for material cited in this study.
Dr. Tal Pavel specializes in Internet and technology subjects in the Middle East and Islamic world. He can be contacted at info@TalPavel.com
[1] http://twitter.com/thefah; http://twitter.com/walaa; http://twitter.com/Lastoadri; http://twitter.com/frozentears; http://twitter.com/amrkhaled; http://twitter.com/sarahtotya
[2] http://twitter.com/ghaidaa; http://twitter.com/nawal_saad; http://twitter.com/Sa4a; http://twitter.com/YasmeenAbuamer; http://twitter.com/rose1990; http://twitter.com/amany86; http://twitter.com/emanabdelmonem; http://twitter.com/sara_dds.
http://www.elaph.com/Web/AsdaElaph/2008/9/365790.htm
http://saudidivorce.org/DIV
[5] Eman Al Nafjan, “Saudiwoman’s Weblog,”
http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com
http://zavita.co.il/archives/301
http://www.alriyadh.com/2008/04/06/article332214.html
http://www.ahewar.org/debat/show.art.asp?aid=125832
http://zavita.co.il/archives/92
http://www.elaph.com/ElaphWeb/AsdaElaph/2007/10/273736.htm
[11] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAXoDHy3_Ek
http://www.awan.com/pages/oped/31332
[13] http://kolenalaila.com
[14] http://www.almasry-alyoum.com/article2.aspx?ArticleID=66523
http://www.ahewar.org/debat/show.art.asp?t=0&userID=191&aid=120706
[16] http://daliaziada.blogspot.com
[17] http://www.forequality.info/english
[18] Reportes Without Bborders, “Iran,”, 7 February 2008.
http://www.rsf.org/Iran,25431.html
[19] “RAWA is the oldest political/social organization of Afghan women struggling for peace, freedom,
democracy and women’s rights in fundamentalism-blighted Afghanistan since 1977.”
[20] Middle East Online, “Saudi clerics call for women ban from media, TV,” 24 March 2009.
[21] Ahmad Ghashmary, ““Girls only”: Arab women live and on-air,” Mideast Youth, 31 March 2009.
http://www.mideastyouth.com/2009/03/31/%E2%80%9Cgirls-only%E2%80%9D-arab-women-live-and-on-air
[22] http://www.fashno.com
[23] http://arablounge.com
[24] http://www.loveinaheadscarf.com
[25] http://alwaandykes.blogspot.com
[26] Diane Tucker, “Arab Women Beginning To Crack The Glass Ceiling,” Huffington Post, 18 March
2009.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-tucker/arab-women-beginning-to-c_b_176137.html
TEL AVIV NOTES is published with the support of the V. Sorell Foundation
إفعل و لا تفعل داخل الجامعة: حياة الطلاب في الجامعات السورية
داخل الحرم الجامعي في جامعة دمشق التابعة للحكومة السورية، تم تعليق لافتة ضخمة عليها صورة الرئيس بشار الأسد و بجواره شعار "إنني أؤمن بسوريا" و هي بمثابة رسالة واضحة إلى الطلاب حول ما يجب عليهم الإيمان به – رسالة مطروحة قسرا بفعل القيود المفروضة على الأنشطة التي يمارسها العالم كله بمنتهى الحرية.
هل ترغب في كتابة عمود سياسي في نشرة الجامعة؟ هل ترغب في حمل مكبرات صوت إلى داخل الحرم الجامعي؟ هل ترغب في بدء تنظيم طلابي جديد؟ الإجابة السريعة هي: يجب عليك الحصول على موافقة الحكومة أولا.
يراقب حزب البعث الحاكم في سوريا كافة الأنشطة الطلابية داخل الحرم الجامعي، حيث ينص القانون على أن جميع الأنشطة الطلابية لا يمكن أن تتم إلا بموافقة إتحاد الطلاب، الذي يهيمن عليه أعضاء حزب البعث، بل إن مدير الاتحاد ينعم بإحدى مقاعد البرلمان. و بهذا نجحت الحكومة عبر تطبيق البيروقراطية المركزية و الشبكات الاستخباراتية من التحكم في الأنشطة الطلابية داخل الحرم الجامعي.
كما علم تقرير همسة من العديد من الطلاب السوريين السابقين أنه ما من أحد يقدر على إنتقاد الرئيس، أو أجهزة المخابرات، أو حتى مناقشة فكرة الوحدة العربية. و يؤكد الطلاب على أن نفس اللوحة التي تحمل صورة الرئيس موجودة داخل غرف المحاضرات أيضا و على بعض الكتب الجامعية.
يقول أحد الطلاب "ما من أحد يجرؤ على الإحتجاج لأنهم يخشون التبعات" و أضاف "المظاهرات الوحيدة التي يسمح بها هي تلك المؤيدة للقيادة الحالية." قام طالب أخر بوصف حادث وقع عندما قام طالبين بتوزيع نشرات إسلامية داخل الحرم الجامعي. حيث يقول الطالب "كان هذا أكثر المواقف الجريئة التي رأيتها في حياتي" و أضاف "كان الطلاب الأخرون يجرون خائفين، في محاولة لتجنب أي تواصل ممكن مع الطالبين. و بعدها ببضعة أيام، أختفى الطالبان من الجامعة و لم يراهما أحد مرة أخرى."
هل ترغب في كتابة عمود سياسي في نشرة الجامعة؟ هل ترغب في حمل مكبرات صوت إلى داخل الحرم الجامعي؟ هل ترغب في بدء تنظيم طلابي جديد؟ الإجابة السريعة هي: يجب عليك الحصول على موافقة الحكومة أولا.
يراقب حزب البعث الحاكم في سوريا كافة الأنشطة الطلابية داخل الحرم الجامعي، حيث ينص القانون على أن جميع الأنشطة الطلابية لا يمكن أن تتم إلا بموافقة إتحاد الطلاب، الذي يهيمن عليه أعضاء حزب البعث، بل إن مدير الاتحاد ينعم بإحدى مقاعد البرلمان. و بهذا نجحت الحكومة عبر تطبيق البيروقراطية المركزية و الشبكات الاستخباراتية من التحكم في الأنشطة الطلابية داخل الحرم الجامعي.
كما علم تقرير همسة من العديد من الطلاب السوريين السابقين أنه ما من أحد يقدر على إنتقاد الرئيس، أو أجهزة المخابرات، أو حتى مناقشة فكرة الوحدة العربية. و يؤكد الطلاب على أن نفس اللوحة التي تحمل صورة الرئيس موجودة داخل غرف المحاضرات أيضا و على بعض الكتب الجامعية.
يقول أحد الطلاب "ما من أحد يجرؤ على الإحتجاج لأنهم يخشون التبعات" و أضاف "المظاهرات الوحيدة التي يسمح بها هي تلك المؤيدة للقيادة الحالية." قام طالب أخر بوصف حادث وقع عندما قام طالبين بتوزيع نشرات إسلامية داخل الحرم الجامعي. حيث يقول الطالب "كان هذا أكثر المواقف الجريئة التي رأيتها في حياتي" و أضاف "كان الطلاب الأخرون يجرون خائفين، في محاولة لتجنب أي تواصل ممكن مع الطالبين. و بعدها ببضعة أيام، أختفى الطالبان من الجامعة و لم يراهما أحد مرة أخرى."
from http://www.hamsaweb.org/crime/4Arabic.html
هنا.. حتى الثقافة تهضم المرأة
مليحة الشهاب
هنا.. حتى الثقافة تهضم المرأة
دائما ينظر إلى الثقافة على أنها أداة تغيير والبوصلة القادرة على توجيه المجتمع إلى فضاءات التحضر، وربما من هذا المنطلق تم إنشاء وزارة الثقافة والإعلام في السعودية..
لكن كيف تم التعامل مع المرأة في ظل هذه الوزارة..؟
في الشهر الفائت ألمح وكيل وزارة الثقافة والإعلام للشؤون الثقافية عبدالعزيز السبيل إلى إمكانية تعيين "عضوات" ضمن مجالس الأندية الأدبية في المملكة، ثم استدرك قائلا إن هذه المسألة توكل للنادي الأدبي نفسه !!!
فحينما نسمع مثل هذا التصريح نتساءل ما هي منطلقات وزارة الثقافة، أهي اجتماعية تقوم على العرف والسائد، أم ثقافية تتشكل من الوعي الإنساني الحر الذي يحتكم في المفاضلة على الأفضلية وليس الجنس؟
لا يخفى على أحد حضور المرأة الفعال في الحراك الثقافي، ورغم التعتيم الإعلامي والحصار المفروض عليها، إلا أنها استطاعت أن تؤسس حضورا ناضجا ومتفوقا، فلماذا لم يظهر اسمها ضمن المرشحين لعضوية الأندية الأدبية في التحديثات الأخيرة للوزارة وهي تعلن عن تدشين آفاق مغايرة عن التي كانت تقوم عليه الأندية بأنماطها السابقة..؟ وكيف يتم فعل التحديث ونحن نتحرك في نفس الفضاءات ونستخدم الآليات السابقة التي تفرق بين أفراد العلاقة الواحدة على أساس الجنس وليس الكفاءة..؟
كان المؤمل من وزارة الثقافة أن تكرم هذه الطاقات النسوية بأن تمنحها حقها في التواجد الفعلي بجوار الرجل في تأسيس وبناء المرحلة الجديدة، لا أن تخضع لاشتراطات العرف الاجتماعي البعيد عن متطلبات واقع العصر الجديد.
وإن ظهر تصريح الدكتور عبد العزيز السبيل خطوة جيدة إلا أنه لم يشكل جديدا ؛ يجذر ويفعل الحضور النسوي في الأندية، فلقد كان المنتظر من المؤسسة الثقافية أن تقدم النموذج الحضاري المشرف بوجود المرأة بجانب الرجل في البناء كصيغة متحضرة دون وجود هاجس الاسترابة..وذلك انطلاقا من الرهان على وعي تلك المؤسسة بأن أي حراك ثقافي لا يمكن إنجازه بقدم واحدة أو قدم وعكاز.
ونحن على ثقة بأن الوزارة لديها النية لاجتراح مكامن ثقافية سليمة بحيث تخلق وعيا مغايرا قائما على نظرة إنسانية تلغي الجنس وتحتفي بالإبداع.. لكن ليس هناك متسع من الوقت لسياسة الخطوة خطوة، ففترة السكون التي عاشتها المنطقة تحتاج إلى قفزات لتعويض خساراتنا نتيجة تهميش دور المرأة في نشاط ثقافي ملموس على أرض الواقع
from
http://www.alwatan.com.sa/news/writerdetail.asp?issueno=2520&id=1898&Rname=135#commit
.
Tunisian Blogger Challenges School Ban مدون تونسي ممنوع من مواصلة دراسته
"
خطاب اعتراض:
مدون تونسي ممنوع من مواصلة دراسته
قام المسئولون بجامعة آريانه في تونس بمنع الطالب سفيان الشواربي من التسجيل في السنة النهائية بالجامعة لأتمام دراسته. شواربي البالغ من العمر 25 سنة هو مدون شاب له العديد من الإسهامات في جرائد المعارضة و منتديات الإنترنت، و عقابا له على آرائه و توجهاته، رفضت جامعة آريانه الخاضعة لسيطرة الدولة تسجيله لديها، إلا أن الشواربي قرر الرد عليهم بطريقة احتجاجية جديدة: إذ أطلق التماس فيديو على الإنترنت موجه إلى المسئولين بالجامعة، كا أطلق التماس أخر للمطالبة بالسماح له بإعادة تقديم أوراقه في الجامعة. و قد وقع المدونون من جميع انحاء الشرق الأوسط على الإلتماس، يمكنكم متابعة الاحتجاج الإليكتروني (باللغة العربية) على مدونة الشواربي blog
REJECTION LETTER:
Tunisian Blogger Challenges School Ban
Officials at Ariana University in Tunisia have prevented student Soufiane Chourabi from registering for his final semester of classes. Chourabi, 25, is a blogger and contributor to opposition newspapers and Internet forums. As punishment for his opinions and affiliations, the state-run Ariana University has rejected his registration. But Chourabi is responding with a novel protest: issuing an online video appeal to university officials and launching a petition for re-admittance. Fellow blogger-activists from the region are signing on. Follow the cyber-protest (in Arabic) via Chourabi's blog.
Source: HAMSA
خطاب اعتراض:مدون تونسي ممنوع من مواصلة دراسته
قام المسئولون بجامعة آريانه في تونس بمنع الطالب سفيان الشواربي من التسجيل في السنة النهائية بالجامعة لأتمام دراسته. شواربي البالغ من العمر 25 سنة هو مدون شاب له العديد من الإسهامات في جرائد المعارضة و منتديات الإنترنت، و عقابا له على آرائه و توجهاته، رفضت جامعة آريانه الخاضعة لسيطرة الدولة تسجيله لديها، إلا أن الشواربي قرر الرد عليهم بطريقة احتجاجية جديدة: إذ أطلق التماس فيديو على الإنترنت موجه إلى المسئولين بالجامعة، كا أطلق التماس أخر للمطالبة بالسماح له بإعادة تقديم أوراقه في الجامعة. و قد وقع المدونون من جميع انحاء الشرق الأوسط على الإلتماس، يمكنكم متابعة الاحتجاج الإليكتروني (باللغة العربية) على مدونة الشواربي blog
REJECTION LETTER:
Tunisian Blogger Challenges School Ban
Officials at Ariana University in Tunisia have prevented student Soufiane Chourabi from registering for his final semester of classes. Chourabi, 25, is a blogger and contributor to opposition newspapers and Internet forums. As punishment for his opinions and affiliations, the state-run Ariana University has rejected his registration. But Chourabi is responding with a novel protest: issuing an online video appeal to university officials and launching a petition for re-admittance. Fellow blogger-activists from the region are signing on. Follow the cyber-protest (in Arabic) via Chourabi's blog.Source: HAMSA
Kareem Amer : Congressmen called on Mubarak to release imprisoned blogger; protect freedom of expression
Congressmen call on Mubarak to release imprisoned blogger; protect freedom of expression
By Alexandra Sandels
First Published 8/15/2007
WASHINGTON: In a bid to pressure the Egyptian government to enhance freedom of expression and religion, US Congressmen Trent Franks and Emanuel Cleaver issued an open letter to President Hosni Mubarak urging him to release imprisoned Alexandrian student blogger Kareem Amer.
“I am very concerned about Kareem and the example Egypt is setting in the region by suppressing peaceful discussion of human rights concerns. It is time for President Mubarak to back up his stated support for democracy with action by making the laws consistent with Egypt’s international human rights commitments, pardoning those who have been unjustly convicted, and ensuring that government officials and society respect these commitments,” Franks stated in a recent press release.
A former student at Al-Azhar University, 22-year-old Amer was sentenced in January of this year to four years in prison for insulting Islam and President Mubarak on his internet blog. The case marks the first time Egypt sentences a blogger for ‘tarnishing’ online writings.
“The ability to discuss and even criticize one’s religious beliefs is an important aspect of freedom of religion and expression. If Egypt is to be a model of democracy in the Middle East, it must first be a country where these rights, which are fundamental in any democracy, are flourishing,” Franks and Cleaver said in the letter.
"Sentencing a young student to four years in jail simply for expressing his thoughts on a weblog was a miscarriage of justice. Letters from prominent leaders to President Mubarak ensure that he is aware of the mistake. These letters also encourage him to correct the mistake and pardon Kareem,” Jesse Sage of Hamsa, an international civil rights initiative of the American Islamic Congress, told Daily News Egypt.
As co-chairs of the Congressional Task Force on International Religious Freedom (TIRF), Franks and Cleaver also stressed the need for the Egyptian authorities to investigate the alleged rise of Islamic extremism at Al-Azhar University and attacks on Coptic Christian communities in Egypt; topics Amer addressed on his blog.
Furthermore, following several security crackdowns on outspoken Egyptian bloggers in the past year, Franks and Cleaver urged Mubarak to protect freedom of expression for all Egyptian bloggers and "ensure Egypt’s vibrant blogging community continues to thrive without persecution."
The alleged deteriorating press environment in Egypt has caught the attention of rights groups around the world.
In early May, New York-based press freedom watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), listed Egypt one of the “10 worst backsliders of press freedom in the world,” emphasizing repeated assaults on reporters by government agents during demonstrations, the imprisonment of Kareem Amer, and numerous abductions and assaults on journalists.
In December 2006, another press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) added Egypt to its list of “the world’s 13 worst internet enemies” citing growing government censorship of internet sites and repeated intimidation and arrests of internet bloggers.
Franks and Cleaver’s letter to Mubarak is not the US Congress' first attempt to take action in the case.
Earlier this year, Franks spoke to the Egyptian Ambassador in Washington Nabil Fahmy, and urged him to "look into the case of Amer."
Members of the US Congress also submitted a bipartisan letter to the ambassador in January, demanding the release of Amer.
On March 12, Amer lost his court appeal and began his prison term.
But his supporters still pin hopes on foreign governments and rights groups to take continued action in the case.
from
http://www.dailystaregypt.com/printerfriendly.aspx?ArticleID=8802
By Alexandra Sandels
First Published 8/15/2007
WASHINGTON: In a bid to pressure the Egyptian government to enhance freedom of expression and religion, US Congressmen Trent Franks and Emanuel Cleaver issued an open letter to President Hosni Mubarak urging him to release imprisoned Alexandrian student blogger Kareem Amer.
“I am very concerned about Kareem and the example Egypt is setting in the region by suppressing peaceful discussion of human rights concerns. It is time for President Mubarak to back up his stated support for democracy with action by making the laws consistent with Egypt’s international human rights commitments, pardoning those who have been unjustly convicted, and ensuring that government officials and society respect these commitments,” Franks stated in a recent press release.
A former student at Al-Azhar University, 22-year-old Amer was sentenced in January of this year to four years in prison for insulting Islam and President Mubarak on his internet blog. The case marks the first time Egypt sentences a blogger for ‘tarnishing’ online writings.
“The ability to discuss and even criticize one’s religious beliefs is an important aspect of freedom of religion and expression. If Egypt is to be a model of democracy in the Middle East, it must first be a country where these rights, which are fundamental in any democracy, are flourishing,” Franks and Cleaver said in the letter.
"Sentencing a young student to four years in jail simply for expressing his thoughts on a weblog was a miscarriage of justice. Letters from prominent leaders to President Mubarak ensure that he is aware of the mistake. These letters also encourage him to correct the mistake and pardon Kareem,” Jesse Sage of Hamsa, an international civil rights initiative of the American Islamic Congress, told Daily News Egypt.
As co-chairs of the Congressional Task Force on International Religious Freedom (TIRF), Franks and Cleaver also stressed the need for the Egyptian authorities to investigate the alleged rise of Islamic extremism at Al-Azhar University and attacks on Coptic Christian communities in Egypt; topics Amer addressed on his blog.
Furthermore, following several security crackdowns on outspoken Egyptian bloggers in the past year, Franks and Cleaver urged Mubarak to protect freedom of expression for all Egyptian bloggers and "ensure Egypt’s vibrant blogging community continues to thrive without persecution."
The alleged deteriorating press environment in Egypt has caught the attention of rights groups around the world.
In early May, New York-based press freedom watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), listed Egypt one of the “10 worst backsliders of press freedom in the world,” emphasizing repeated assaults on reporters by government agents during demonstrations, the imprisonment of Kareem Amer, and numerous abductions and assaults on journalists.
In December 2006, another press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) added Egypt to its list of “the world’s 13 worst internet enemies” citing growing government censorship of internet sites and repeated intimidation and arrests of internet bloggers.
Franks and Cleaver’s letter to Mubarak is not the US Congress' first attempt to take action in the case.
Earlier this year, Franks spoke to the Egyptian Ambassador in Washington Nabil Fahmy, and urged him to "look into the case of Amer."
Members of the US Congress also submitted a bipartisan letter to the ambassador in January, demanding the release of Amer.
On March 12, Amer lost his court appeal and began his prison term.
But his supporters still pin hopes on foreign governments and rights groups to take continued action in the case.
from
http://www.dailystaregypt.com/printerfriendly.aspx?ArticleID=8802
Steps in the Right Direction for Kuwaiti Women
From Her Blog : (link below)
"Steps in the Right Direction for Kuwaiti Women by" By Egyptian Journalist Mona Eltahawy
"Steps in the Right Direction for Kuwaiti Women by" By Egyptian Journalist Mona Eltahawy
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
By Mona Eltahawy
Nov. 5, 2009
Metro
Within a week in October, Kuwaiti women won two small victories that were baby steps for womankind, but a nightmare come true for Muslim fundamentalists, who for decades blocked political rights for women.
First, Kuwait’s constitutional court ruled married women could obtain passports and travel without their husbands’ permission. The court said the previous requirement was in violation of guarantees of freedom and gender equality in the constitution.
The second victory came when the constitutional court dismissed a case raised by an Islamist voter who claimed that two of four women elected to parliament in May — Rola Dashti and Aseel al-Awadhi — cannot be members of the legislature because they don’t wear headscarves.
The other two female parliamentarians wear headscarves.
Headscarves have nothing to do with being a competent parliamentarian but everything to do with Muslim fundamentalist fear of women’s rights.
For years, those fundamentalists stood in the way of women’s political rights, making sure Kuwait’s parliament remained a boy’s only club.
Islamists forget they don’t hold the copyright to Islam or its interpretations and they forgot that for many of us Muslims, the essence of Islam is equality and justice, not a hatred of women or laws to curtail their rights.
All four women parliamentarians in Kuwait are Muslim. Two wear headscarves. Two don’t. That is the way it should be — an exercise of free will based on individual conscience and not the misogyny of fundamentalists.
from Steps in the Right Direction for Kuwaiti Women
Nov. 5, 2009
Metro
Within a week in October, Kuwaiti women won two small victories that were baby steps for womankind, but a nightmare come true for Muslim fundamentalists, who for decades blocked political rights for women.
First, Kuwait’s constitutional court ruled married women could obtain passports and travel without their husbands’ permission. The court said the previous requirement was in violation of guarantees of freedom and gender equality in the constitution.
The second victory came when the constitutional court dismissed a case raised by an Islamist voter who claimed that two of four women elected to parliament in May — Rola Dashti and Aseel al-Awadhi — cannot be members of the legislature because they don’t wear headscarves.
The other two female parliamentarians wear headscarves.
Headscarves have nothing to do with being a competent parliamentarian but everything to do with Muslim fundamentalist fear of women’s rights.
For years, those fundamentalists stood in the way of women’s political rights, making sure Kuwait’s parliament remained a boy’s only club.
Islamists forget they don’t hold the copyright to Islam or its interpretations and they forgot that for many of us Muslims, the essence of Islam is equality and justice, not a hatred of women or laws to curtail their rights.
All four women parliamentarians in Kuwait are Muslim. Two wear headscarves. Two don’t. That is the way it should be — an exercise of free will based on individual conscience and not the misogyny of fundamentalists.
from Steps in the Right Direction for Kuwaiti Women
Monday, November 9, 2009
ألوان هي شبكة الإنترنت العربية للمثليات والمثليين والمتحولين جنسيا وكل من يميل الى اشخاص من نفس الجنس والأشخاص المهتمين ببناء جسور مع المجتمع العربي المثليين
جديد! ما هو السر؟؟
Alwaan is an online network for Arab lesbians, gay men, bisexual men and women, trans persons and those who are interested in building bridges with the LGBT Arab community.
Friday, November 6, 2009
جديد على موقع الوان New on Alwaandykes.com
ألوان هي شبكة من المثليين والمثليات العرب نعيش في بلاد مختلفة في البلاد العربية والمهجر
Alwaan is an online network for Arab lesbians, gay men, bisexual men and women, trans persons and those who are interested in building bridges with the LGBT Arab community. Join us or go to the Chat rooms page غرف دردشة/ تشات
Instant messaging & chat for site members!! share and communicate with friends via the Meebo Bar at the bottoms of the page ! you can keep in touch with all your old and new friends while browsing AlwaanDykes site
جديد! التراسل الفوري والدردشة لأعضاء الموقع جديد! ٬
للتواصل مع الأصدقاء عن طريق شريط ميبو في اسفل من الصفحة! يمكنك البقاء على اتصال مع كل الاصدقاء القدامى والجدد أثناء تصفح الموقع مع دعم لكل من٬
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
ALWAAN - Arab Lesbian Women & Allies Network - شبكة المثليات العربيات
A Place for Arab Lesbians and their friends to meet
| Arab LGBT Websites | علشان ما تتضربش على قفاك | الإسلام لا يحرم المثلية الجنسية | مواقع خاصة بالمثليين والمثليات العرب |
ألوان هي شبكة من المثليين والمثليات العرب نعيش في بلاد مختلفة في البلاد العربية والمهجر دردشة/ تشات
Also check Alwaandykes blog for news & articles about women & LGBT rights. We discuss Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Issues in the Arab countries & the world.
كذلك تفضلوا بزيارة مدونة الوان للمثليين والمثليات
© ALWAAN 2009 © الوان
Facebook LGBT Friends للتواصل مع مثليين ومثليات
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هذه المدونة خاصة ب ألوان. نحن شبكة من المثليين والمثليات العرب نعيش في بلاد مختلفة في البلاد العربية والمهجر .
