Featured Articles
Special Feature: The Arab League Satellite Broadcasting Charter
Is the document a long overdue regulatory framework or an attempt to stifle debate? Three experts weigh in.
Taking Stock: Arab media in 2007
Why was 2007 one of the deadliest years for Middle East reporters since World War II? Publisher and Co-Editor Lawrence Pintak looks back at a year of troubling trends for journalism in the region.
Sampling Folklore: The "re-popularization" of Sufi inshad in Egyptian dance music
Jennifer Peterson tracks how traditional Sufi poetry is mixed and remixed into contemporary dance music heard widely on the streets of Cairo. Features video and audio examples. Click for a mix of Egyptian dance music
London's rise and decline as an Arab media hub
Why is London losing its appeal as an Arab media hub? Not much has changed about Britain as a host, but industry structural shifts and changing political landscapes reduce the need for an offshore base, writes Najm Jarrah.
Egypt’s Press: More free, still fettered
Temporary crackdown or reverting to the repressive norm? Jeffrey Black examines the politics and legal basis of recent actions against Egyptian journalists.
Saints to Sinners: Identity and celebrity in an Iranian television serial
The Iranian television drama Narges was a smash hit in 2006, but the action wasn’t just on screen. Josie Delap examines the relationships between the stars’ on-air characters and their private personas, including a sex tape scandal that roiled the Iranian authorities. Featuring Video
IslamOnline.net: Fatwas a click away
Bettina Gräf gets behind the scenes at Islamonline.net, one of the world’s most popular Islamic websites, giving an in-depth look at how the site creates and issues fatwas.
The Islamist opposition online in Egypt and Jordan
Can a heavy web presence boost opposition electoral fortunes? Do individualistic bloggers make delivering a coherent message impossible? Pete Ajemian looks at the Internet strategies of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic Action Front in Jordan.
Baghdad Burning: The blogosphere, literature and the art of war
In an age of homogenized reporting, bloggers on both sides of the Iraq war are filling the void of personal coverage and challenging the narratives of war planners and mainstream media alike. Wayne Hunt traces this phenomenon with two case studies.
Changing the world?
Josh Rushing’s Mission Al Jazeera is a cookie-cutter "celebrity bio" whose analysis of Al Jazeera and other Arab media developments relies heavily on other scholars, says Tom Scudder.
