Tag Archives: Middle East

As the media questions the true identity of the filmmaker whose work is now inflaming much of the Middle East, Right Wing Watch reports on the man whose Arabic blog post first brought the film to attention among Islamic radicals. Morris Sadek, an Egyptian-American anti-Muslim activist, managed in one week’s time to take an overlooked YouTube video featuring a lame …

Two men have been sentenced to six months in prison after a witness claimed he saw them kissing on the streets of Abu Dhabi. The two unnamed defendants again told court they were hugging each other while the European said he kissed his friend on the head as he was leaving the UAE. Their defence lawyer asked court to acquit …

A Syrian newspaper claims that gay men are “infesting” the cities now that the police have their hands full dealing with the rebel uprising. Pink News reports: The article states the uprising ‘gave homosexuals a freedom they would’ve never dreamt of’ and that since March 2011, the number of Syrian members in a popular online dating site has increased from …

As civil unrest intensifies, the United States has closed its Syrian embassy and ordered diplomats to leave the country. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said President Bashar al-Assad has chosen a “dangerous path” in dealing with the 11-month-old uprising, adding that the United States remains “gravely concerned over the escalation of violence.” On Saturday, Russia and China vetoed a …

So claims Russia Today. UPDATE: Forbes has more. Of course, any intervention into Syria will prompt an Iranian response. War with Syria and Iran would make the Iraq War look like a leisurely stroll along the Tigris. Are we going to war with Syria? It’s much too early to say, but the ominous warnings to leave the country, the sudden …

Good news: Funding has been approved for a Star Trek theme park. Bad news: It’s gonna be in built in Jordan.

The U.S. State Department has issued a warning which urges all Americans to evacuate Syria immediately. Those who must remain in Syria should limit all non- essential travel within the country, the department said. The warning also advised U.S. citizens to defer all travel plans to Syria. The State Department said several Syrian cities, including the capital, Damascus, have been …

“I never expected this level of attention. While the narrative voıce may have been fictional, the facts on thıs blog are true and not mısleading as to the situation on the ground. I do not believe that I have harmed anyone — I feel that I have created an important voice for issues that I feel strongly about. I only …

The New York Times warns that not one person can report having actually met or spoken to the lesbian blogger allegedly kidnapped yesterday in Syria. In fact, some recent entries on her blog may have first been posted in 2007. Although it remains possible that the blog’s author was indeed detained, and has been writing a factual, not fictional account …

Details are sketchy, but here’s what’s being reported: As the anti-government uprising in Syria has unfolded, Syrian-American blogger Amina Abdallah has attracted readers and been noticed by The Washington Post, CNN, Time,and The Guardian for her musings on the protest movement and what it’s like to be gay in Syria. But her blog–A Gay Girl in Damascus–broached a very different …

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As Bahrain continues to be roiled by widespread civil unrest, the trial has begun for some of the 127 men arrested earlier this month at a purported “gay party.” Gay Middle East reports: Al Wasat News reported today that court proceedings commenced against 52 men who were arrested on the third of February. 49 of the 52 defendants attended the …

Libyan dictator Muammar Gadaffi just appeared on state television to declare that he will not step down and that he plans to “die here as a martyr.’ He described protesters who have carried out days of anti-government demonstrations as “rats”, adding: “This is my country and the country of our ancestors”. Speaking in a loud voice, Col Gadaffi has claimed …

Andrew Sullivan links to a story about a Pew report on attitudes towards Islamist punishments. Should adulterers be stoned? Should robbers be whipped, or their hands amputated? Should apostates from Islam be subject to the death penalty? On the x-axis you see the proportion who accept that adulterers should be stoned. On the y-axis you see the responses to amputation …

As pro-Democracy protests arise once again in Iran, yesterday members of the Iranian Parliament erupted into chants calling for the executions of the leaders of the protests.

Celebratory, yet appropriately cautious.