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From Gun to Pen: The Palestinian Revolution Lives
[Note: This Is My Picture When I Was Dead is the opening film at the DC Palestinian Film & Arts Festival, Monday, 26 September 2011 at Landmark E Street Cinema, 7pm. The festival runs Monday-Friday 26-30 September. For more information please visit http://dcpff.tumblr.com. This review of the film was originally posted on 11 May 2011.] This Is My Picture When I Was Dead. Directed by Mahmoud Al-Massad. Netherlands/Jordan, 2010. "If you don’t know Ma’moun Mreish, you don’t know the history of the Palestinian Revolution." This line is key to the mixture of personal and national history presented by director Mahmoud Al-Massad in This Is My Picture When I ...
Keep Reading »The Politics of Royal Pluralism in Jordan
![[Image from bbc.com]](/content_images/3/sm__50906288_50906287.jpg "[Image from bbc.com]")
While the people have demanded the fall of their regimes in streets and squares across the Arab world this year, those regimes have offered a persistent, if predictable, reply: “the people just aren’t ready for us to go yet.” This accusation of unpreparedness has taken a few different forms in different contexts: “The people are too sectarian” (Bahrain and Syria); “too tribal” (Libya and Yemen); “too Islamist” (Egypt, Libya, Syria); “too underdeveloped,” “too radical” “too violent,” “too weak and defenseless,” et cetera. In every case, the people are portrayed as inept and a threat to themselves. Meanwhile, regimes clinging to power in the face of mass protests ...
Keep Reading »The Reemergence of the Jihadist Salafis in Jordan
![[Protest of Jihadist Salafis in Jordan. Image from dailylife.com]](/content_images/3/sm_JordanJihadists.jpg "[Protest of Jihadist Salafis in Jordan. Image from dailylife.com]")
Observers of Islamist politics during the Arab uprisings noticed that the Muslim Brotherhood has been late to the game but few have taken notice of a group of Jordanian Islamists who have taken to streets with knives, clubs, and a very provocative message. The Jihadist Salafi Movement in Jordan capitalized on the growing tensions throughout the region by engaging in open protest. One of their largest demonstrations on April 15th resulted in a major clash with police forces, leaving eighty-three policemen wounded, with four in critical condition, and numerous civilian causalities. This protest was the sixth public appearance of the banned Jihadist Salafis since their ...
Keep Reading »Que ha pasado con las protestas en Jordania
[This article was written in English by Ziad Abu-Rish and translated/published in Spanish by www.rebelion.org] ¿Qué ha pasado con las protestas en Jordania? [Traducción para Rebelión de Loles Oliván] A raíz de “la primavera árabe”, en Jordania se celebraron durante los viernes de nueve semanas consecutivas numerosas protestas y sentadas en las que se reclamaban reformas políticas y económicas. Pero mientras que la intervención de la OTAN en Libia se ha intensificado, la sociedad civil de Bahréin ha sido tratada brutalmente, las protestas en Siria se han ido extendiendo, y el combate por los límites del cambio de ...
Keep Reading »What Happened to Protests in Jordan
In the wake of the “Arab Spring,” Jordan witnessed nine consecutive weeks of Friday protests as well as numerous sit-ins calling for political and economic reforms. But as NATO’s intervention in Libya deepened, civil society in Bahrain was brutalized, protests in Syria expanded, and struggles over the limits of regime change in Egypt and Tunisia continued, a tense calm eventually prevailed in Jordan. There are no more Friday protests. In fact, there are almost no more manifestations of contentious politics of any sort. Protests in Jordan were different than those that took place in Bahrain, Egypt, and Tunisia or those that are currently taking place in Syria and Yemen. ...
Keep Reading »Sultana: A Chapter from a Novel by Ghalib Halasa
![[Cover of Halasa's Sultana. Image from Unknown Archive]](/content_images/3/sm_Sultanacover.jpg "[Cover of Halasa's Sultana. Image from Unknown Archive]")
Ghalib Halasa was an author of seven novels, two short story collections, and several works of journalism, literary criticism, translation and political analysis. He was born in a Jordanian village near Madaba in 1932 and died in Damascus in 1989. He lived in Baghdad, Cairo, Beirut and Damascus and his work is a powerful example of border-crossing engagement and brilliance. His work has only very rarely been translated. Sultana was first published in 1987 and was Halasa's second to last novel. It follows the rise and tragic fall of Sultana, an independent woman, and the layers of stories and networks that surround her. In ...
Keep Reading »Jordan's March 24 Youth Sit-in Violently Dispersed (Videos)
Though unclear as to the exact date of their formation, a group of young Jordanian men and women came together some time ago calling for a sit-in at Amman's Dakhilliyyeh Circle (also known as Gamal Abdul-Nasser Circle) to be held on Thursday March 24, 2011. Dubbed "The March 24 Youth," organizers and participants advocated a reformist agenda (see below) while affirming their loyalty to both the Jordanian nation-state and the Hashemites as its royal family. Initially organized through various social network media as well as the Jordanian blogosphere, the sit-in was planned to be open-ended until their demands were met. In the days leading to the sit-in, a ...
Keep Reading »Five Questions on Jordan
![[Protesters outside the Egyptian Embassy in Amman. Image from Assoicated Press]](/content_images/3/sm_Mideast_Jordan_Egypt_t4002.jpg "[Protesters outside the Egyptian Embassy in Amman. Image from Assoicated Press]")
In the shadow of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions, social mobilizations and political developments in Jordan have prompted a significant amount of attention on the Kingdom. Below are the five most common questions I’ve received from both friends and reporters as well as composites of my responses. (1) Will we see in Jordan the type of upheaval we are witnessing in Tunisia or Egypt? To date, what has happened in Jordan does not compare to what is happening in other parts of the Arab world neither in terms of degree (i.e., the number of people out in the streets) nor in terms of nature (i.e., the types of demands being made). Jordan shares many of the structural ...
Keep Reading »Protests and Economic Development in Jordan
![[Image from csmonitor.com]](/content_images/3/sm_0121-Jordan-Protest_full_380.jpg "[Image from csmonitor.com]")
For the second week in a row, a diverse array of Jordanians mobilized in the streets of Amman and other cities to protest economic conditions in Jordan. Similar to last week’s Jordanian Day of Anger, the recent protests were organized and followed through with despite government attempts to appease popular discontent in the days preceding the planned protests. Contrary to last week’s mobilizations which focused on rising prices, protesters this week were much more direct in decrying “policies that impoverish and starve” the citizens of Jordan. Furthermore, unlike last week, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) participated in the protests. As mentioned in a previous post, the ...
Keep Reading »Football and Violence in Jordan
![[From left to right: logos of the al-Faysali and al-Wihdat teams. Image from www.livevip.blogspot.com]](/content_images/3/sm_Football.jpg "[From left to right: logos of the al-Faysali and al-Wihdat teams. Image from www.livevip.blogspot.com]")
On Friday December 10, 2010, Jordanian and international media reported on “clashes” after a football match between two teams that make up the biggest rivalry in the Jordanian Football Association (JFA): al-Faysali and al-Wihdat, both of which serve as the main recruiting pools for Jordan’s national team. Popular support for each of the teams is at least as indicative of political allegiances as it is of football appreciation. The al-Faysali team has popularly come to represent Jordanians of East Bank origin while the al-Wihdat team has similarly come to represent Jordanians of Palestinian origin (also known as Jordanians of West Bank). While the incident itself speaks ...
Keep Reading »Jordan, Liberalism, and the Question of Boycott
![[Riot police on election day. Image from 7iber.com]](/content_images/3/sm_7iber.jpg "[Riot police on election day. Image from 7iber.com]")
In the build-up to the 2010 Jordanian parliamentary elections (see slogans and posters here), a lively debate has taken place in Jordan about the efficacy of elections as a form of political practice. This article will discuss some of the major issues animating such debates, with a particular interest in critiquing the discourse emanating from the liberal elite circles in Amman (most represented by a diverse array of English-language magazines and blogs). The Jordanian liberal discourse posits the elections as an opportunity for change and development in Jordan, as it is framed within a teleology of progress anchored in neo-liberal reform and the expansion of the ...
Keep Reading »On Being Addicts in Amman
![[Amman. Image from Expatify.com]](/content_images/3/sm_am1.jpg "[Amman. Image from Expatify.com]")
We don’t recall how our day started, but we do remember being out of the house with none of our usual spots in sight. Everything was different that day: the number of people in the street, the look in their eyes, and the closed-up stores. Amman isn’t the place to take big risks. The consequences, especially for those of us without wasta, would have been severe should we have been caught. Even without wasta, there was sure to be family drama as well. They always suspected, but never knew for sure. That day, we were in withdrawal and badly in need of a fix. There was nothing to do but get in the car and go get one. She was driving and the place was close. ...
Keep Reading »Kamal Salibi (1929-2011)
Scholars of Lebanon collectively grieved at the news of the passing of Kamal Salibi, eminent historian, professor, and prolific author, on Thursday, 1 September, 2011. Salibi spent most of his academic career as a faculty member of the Department of History and Archeology at the American University of Beirut (AUB), from 1953 until 1998, at which point he was appointed Professor Emeritus. Not only did he help shape the world view of undergraduates for over four successive decades, one would be hard ...
Keep Reading »Jordan's Assault on Journalism
Free speech beaten by book and by bludgeon Character assassination is a hot topic in Jordan these days as thousands of demonstrators, riding the winds of the "Arab Spring," call for reform and accuse government officials and business leaders of abuse of power and corruption. Asking judges to put critical journalists behind bars is also popular among a ruling class that feels threatened by the sudden surge in revelations pouring out on the street and from the media. The government of Prime ...
Keep Reading »Report on Foreign Workers in One of Jordan's Export Production Factories
[Below is the latest from the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights on Jordan.] Sexual Predators and Serial Rapists Run Wild at Wal-Mart Supplier in Jordan: Young women workers raped, tortured and beaten at the Classic Factory Executive Summary According to witnesses who work at Classic Fashion, scores of young Sri Lankan women sewing clothing for Wal-Mart and Hanes have suffered routine sexual abuse and repeated rapes, and in some cases even torture. One young rape victim at the Classic ...
Keep Reading »From Gun to Pen: The Palestinian Revolution Lives
This Is My Picture When I Was Dead. Directed by Mahmoud Al-Massad. Netherlands/Jordan, 2010. ‘If you don’t know Ma’moun Mreish, you don’t know the history of the Palestinian Revolution.’ This line is key to the mixture of personal and national history presented by director Mahmoud Al-Massad in This Is My Picture When I Was Dead. It begins with the shooting of father and son, Ma’moun and Bashir Mreish, in Athens in 1983, one of many Mossad assassinations of senior PLO cadres. The film then hints, and ...
Keep Reading »Jordan's New Opposition and the Traps of Identity and Ambiguity
There are two major tribulations in Jordan from which all other issues stem. The first is the autocratic authority that dominates the role of all “state institutions” (i.e., the Cabinet, the Parliament, and the Judiciary). This autocratic domination is legally sanctioned by the Jordanian constitution: · Article 26 states that “The Executive Power shall be vested in the King, who shall exercise his powers through his Ministers.” · ...
Keep Reading »Essential Reading: State Building and Regime Security in Jordan
[Editors’ Note: This is the first in a series of “Essential Readings,” in which we ask contributors to choose a list of must-read books, articles, and new media resources on a variety of topics. These are not meant to be comprehensive lists, but rather starting points for readers who want to read more about particular topics. Ziad Abu-Rish, a Co-Editor of Jadaliyya, provides a list of readings focusing on state building and regime security in Jordan. Some of Abu-Rish’s own writing on Jordan can be found ...
Keep Reading »The Alternative Opposition in Jordan and the Failure to Understand Lessons of Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions
In Jordan, no one seems to have learned from the lessons of Tunisia and Egypt. Especially not the “opposition,” which can be divided into the “official” opposition and the “alternative” opposition. The "official" opposition—comprised of the legalized opposition parties and professional associations—still seeks weak reformist goals that constitute a continuation of its collapsing course that began in 1989 (the year marking the end of martial law in Jordan and the onset of the so-called ...
Keep Reading »Jordan: The Limits of Comparison
On Tuesday, February 1, 2011, Prime Minister Samir al-Rifa’i submitted his resignation and that of his cabinet. Such developments come in the wake of three consecutive Fridays, wherein protesters throughout Jordan decried the existing economic conditions and called for the resignation of Samir al-Rifa'i’s government. The persistence of protesters week after week and the subsequent resignation (i.e., dismissal) of al-Rifa’i’s entire cabinet – despite various government attempts to appease the public – ...
Keep Reading »Jordan's "Day of Anger"
On Friday, January 14th 2011, protests of varying sizes were held across Jordan as part of a call for a “Jordanian Day of Anger.” While undoubtedly a response to the failed promise of economic reforms enacted in Jordan over the past twenty years, the call specified the series of government increases in the price of gasoline, diesel, and gas. Government control of these commodity prices are some of the last vestiges of the social safety guarantees offered by the Jordanian state in the face of ...
Keep Reading »Liberal Elite Discourse and the "Realities" of Jordan
For over a decade now, a diverse array of English-language publications have emerged in Jordan, which in turn have reflected and facilitated discussions amongst the country’s liberal elite circles. Despite a diversity of specializations as well as differences in readership, these publications, which include magazines and blogs, have coalesced around a dominant narrative about contemporary dynamics in Jordan. This narrative, which I refer to as the liberal elite discourse, positions Jordan (its government ...
Keep Reading »Slogans and Posters of the 2010 Jordanian Parliamentary Elections
In November 2009, King Abdullah II of Jordan dissolved the Jordanian Parliament (elected in 2007) and called for early elections to be held on November 9th, 2010. These new elections feature various amendments to the previous set of laws governing elections. However, several opposition groups, including the Islamic Action Front (IAF), have boycotted the 2010 elections citing the lack of an independent monitoring mechanism and bias in the redistricting of the electorate that continues to provide rural ...
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