Abstract This study investigates how three young Arab influencers negotiate their identities in cyberspace. Abdallah Al Maghlouth, Abdulrahman Mohammed, and Laila Hzaineh were selected for this study because they were listed among the top MENA influencers by the Arab Social Media Summit (2015) or by Stepfeed.[1] The article draws on …
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Undoing Stereotypical Representations in Arab and Muslim Cinemas: Challenges, Interruptions, and Possibilities
Abstract Troubled by a history of misconceptions on Western silver screens, Arab and Muslim filmmakers have kept their cinematic productions thematically close to the reality of their postcolonial cultural and social conditions, while trying to represent their communities in complex ways. In many efforts of artistic excellence, the films they …
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 »Mohammed Assaf’s victory five years on: Arab Idol and the Zionist colonization of Palestine
Abstract This essay, based on the author’s fieldwork on Palestinian music and oral history, examines the position of singer and Arab Idol winner Mohammed Assaf in relation to the contemporary Palestinian struggle and the wider play of power in the Arab world. The issues discussed gravitate towards three main themes: …
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 »Picturing Law and Order: A Visual Framing Analysis of ISIS’s Dabiq Magazine
Abstract The rise of ideologically-driven lone actor terrorist attacks, coupled with the use of Internet-circulated media products as sources of inspiration, raises the need to understand the message strategies embedded in media campaigns of groups like ISIS. To better understand “enforcers” of ISIS’ interpretation of Shari’a law on the global …
Read More »REPORT | Media and Politics: An Arab Media & Society Symposium
The Kamal Adham Center for Television and Digital Journalism in the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the American University in Cairo (AUC) hosted a symposium on “Media and Politics” on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. The symposium, which brought together professors specialized in multiple scholarly disciplines, senior journalists, …
Read More »BOOK REVIEW | The News Media at War: The Clash of Western and Arab Networks in the Middle East
News organizations are tested in many ways during war. Journalists covering combat must be knowledgeable and possess courage and resilience. Executives must commit the necessary resources, financial and other, to ensure comprehensive coverage. Editors and producers must familiarize themselves with the political and cultural background of the conflict to ensure …
Read More »BOOK EXCERPT | Online Activism in the Middle East: Political Power and Authoritarian Governments from Egypt to Kuwait
25 January—Tahrir Square Freedom—Facebook Does the Internet facilitate social and political change, or even democratization, in the Middle East? The subject of this inquiry is the use of online platforms among activists in the Middle East, and the importance of such platforms in effecting change. The topic has received wide …
Read More »Morocco’s Return to African Union Widely Reported by International Media
February 1, 2017 —The 28th Summit of the African Union (AU) ended with a decision to welcome Morocco back to the pan-African body, a return that has been widely reported by international news outlets. The decision comes after Morocco submitted an official request to “accede to the African Union (AUC) Constitutive Act” in September 2016 to pave the way for gaining the AU membership.
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