Blogging the democratic revolution
I am not talking about Guantanamo Bay, where prisoners are fed and allowed to read the Koran. This is the real deal. This is what they did and in many places still do to you if you are a political dissident in the backward societies of the Middle East. The blog “… Or Does it Explode?” posts a link to an article in the groundbreaking Moroccan publication Tel Quel. The article is an impassioned interview with a former torturer, who confesses to the things that he and others did on orders from higher-ups, and how those actions haunt him to…
‘Lo everybody. I am back after a long, long hiatus from this fine blog (incidentally, I was present at the birth) and wanted to point to a subject that is near to my heart. My daughter spent this past Summer in Morocco, studying Arabic and sociology. I have to admit that I was unprepared for her return and the impressions that she brought back. In the general scheme of MENA countries, Morocco, although economically hobbled in many ways, is moving forward in the areas of political freedom, human rights (including women’s rights) and engaging in the world. I linked to…
In the email: One of the most positive recent developments in Morocco has been the rise of TelQuel Magazine, a French-language weekly publication that regularly push the envelope in shocking ways. Most prominent was a massive cover story a few months ago detailing King Muhammad VI’s salary. Other taboo-breaking cover stories have included pieces on re-interpreting the Quran, homosexuality in Morocco, and the country’s drug sub-culture. For a while, TelQuel’s groundbreaking and thrilling journalism seemed to be a sign of progress toward genuine freedom of expression in Morocco – albeit with an unquestioning respect for the king’s right to rule.…
Al-Hayat has reported that the Moroccan government has prohibited the daughter of the head of a banned Islamist organization from travelling to Spain because of critical comments about the government (“Morocco Restricts Nadia Yassin from Travelling Due to Her Statements Against the Regime“). The article notes that Nadia Yassin, the daughter of Shaikh Abd al-Islam Yassin, the head of the Islamist organization Justice and Charity, was planning to travel to Barcelona, Spain to participate in a conference on “Democracy and Islamist Movements.” It states that a court in Rabat will hold a hearing on June 28 to rule further on…