Abstract The Egyptian Arabic song, “Boshret Kheir” or ‘good omen’, represents an example of the role of popular music in promoting populism, patriotism, and the ideology of Egyptian nationalism. Given the song’s popularity, this article poses the question: what transforms an ordinary pop song into a national phenomenon? The song …
Read More »Infantilizing Arab politics: A quick reading of the viral Ramadan 2018 Zain telecom ad
Since 2011, the Kuwaiti telecom company Zain Group, one of the largest in the Middle East, has produced a series of popular ads broadcast annually during Ramadan. The ads are songs, usually featuring celebrities singing and dancing with children. Since 2015, the ads have become noticeably more political. In 2016, …
Read More »Trends of Egyptian Youth Towards Freedom of Expression on the Internet: A Cultural Analysis (Arabic)
Scroll down for the Arabic abstract. According to statistics released in December 2017, the number of web users in Egypt are about 49.23 million. This represents about 49.5% of the population estimated at 99.4 million. The number of users subscribed on the Facebook network is about 35 million. Youth represent …
Read More »Attitudes Towards Occupational Safety Among Young Photojournalists: A Survey of Journalists Operating in Gaza (Arabic)
Scroll down for the Arabic abstract. Because of the areas many journalists work that have been identified as dangerous physically, professionally, and personally, the subject of journalists' safety has been of great interest in recent years. Within this context, some institutions have established professional safety rules for journalists, but most …
Read More »Social Networks, Crisis, and Volunteerism Among Saudi University Students: Social Capital Theory (Arabic)
Scroll down for the Arabic abstract. Despite the importance of volunteerism for sustainable development objectives and youth investment of time in such useful volunteer work, the practice of voluntary social work differs from one context to another, as does its efficiency and effectiveness. This study examines the role of social …
Read More »Youth in Morocco: Rebels without a Cause? Youth Violence, Social Media, and the Discontents of Moroccan Consumer Society
Abstract Recently the Moroccan public had to grapple with what was perceived to be a worrying upsurge in youth crime related to Tsharmil or (cyber) bullying in the Moroccan vernacular. Mainstream media coverage of this issue ushered in an overwhelming sense of panic towards “deviant” youth that pose a serious …
Read More »New Media, New Audiences: Charting the Rise of Spiritual and Religious Music in Egypt
Abstract Music is the language that everyone understands. As an element of culture, music evolved with the development of civilizations. Some of the religious subgroups produced a unique type of music that echoed in the Arabian Peninsula as well as nearby civilizations, such as Andalusia and Persia. This type of …
Read More »Al Hayat Daily Adrift in a Sea of Media Sharks
It was the go-to pan-Arab newspaper that noted journalists, analysts, and anyone worth their salt wrote for, and that readers seeking professional reporting and deconstructing of events picked up for balanced coverage, diverse views, and hard-hitting editorials—all relatively speaking, of course. Quite a tall order for a daily in a …
Read More »“Football Isn’t For Arabs”: A World Cup Defeat That Resonated across the Arab World
Sitting in a Cairo cafe in a crowded mall surrounded by crowds of people I watch Egyptian fans cheering for their favourite team to win the World Cup final match as if cheering for their own nation. The majority were rooting for the Croatian team—a fact that was very obvious from where I …
Read More »Filling in the Blanks: New book dives into the tragedy and complexity of post-Gadhafi Libya
Since the uprisings that spread across the Arab region took hold in Libya in 2011 and forced the removal of longtime ruler Muammar al-Gadhafi, the country’s fortunes have spiraled downwards. Despite an unsustainable system of governance, Gadhafi’s harsh rule had maintained relative stability in a country with a history of …
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