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Protests-Revolts
Essential Viewing: Five Tunisian Films from a Postrevolutionary Perspective
It is impossible to watch a Tunisian film today from an exclusively prerevolutionary perspective. The present historical juncture will stealthily thrust itself to center stage. Besides, the value of film does not reside solely in its appropriateness to its own historical moment of production, but equally in its relevance to other, yet to come, historical moments. It becomes highly productive, not to say inevitable, that we rethink postcolonial Tunisian film through the lenses of the revolutionary and now postrevolutionary moment. When we do, it will have become clear that several Tunisian filmmakers had creatively evaded censorship and charted a counterintuitive ...
Keep Reading »List of Demands by Youth of March 15 in Dar'a, Syria
![[Map of Dir'a. Image from unknown archive.]](/content_images/3/sm_Daraa_Map.jpg "[Map of Dir'a. Image from unknown archive.]")
[This statement was originally issued in Arabic by Dir'a's Youth of March 15. The English translation was made available by The Angry Arab News Service.] Leadership of the Glorious Revolution of the Youth of 15 March, Diraa – Syria To the Syrian people; to the descendants of Salih al-Ali, Sultan Pasha al-Atrash, Ibrahim Hananou; to all the free people of Syria in all the provinces of Syria; to all the sons of the proud Arab tribes; to the Kurdish brothers; and to all the sects and nationalities with whom we share life on the land of this nation. We promise you to continue our revolution until this criminal regime which kills its sons in cold blood is ...
Keep Reading »Interview with Sheila Carapico on the Uprising in Yemen (Conducted by Sharam Aghamir)
![[Image from unknown archive]](/content_images/3/sm_An-anti-government-protes-007.jpg "[Image from unknown archive]")
AUDIO PLAYER BELOW Since the protests began in February, more than 120 people have been killed in Yemen, including 46 children and more than 5000 wounded. Shahram Aghamir of Pacifica Radio's Voices of the Middle East and North Africa spoke with Yemen specialist, Sheila Carapico about the protest movement, President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime and the changing political configuration in Yemen. Sheila Carapico is professor of political science and international studies at the University of Richmond, and is a contributing editor of MERIP (Middle East Report). She has written extensively on Yemen, including Civil Society in Yemen: The Political Economy of Activism in ...
Keep Reading »Essential Readings: Reading Pakistan
![[Protest in Karachi against drone strikes. Image from EPA/The Express Tribune]](/content_images/3/sm_drone-protest640x480.jpg "[Protest in Karachi against drone strikes. Image from EPA/The Express Tribune]")
Here are the stripped down facts: Pakistan is roughly 165 million people. Most of us are young: 69 percent of the population is under age 30. And we’re poor. Almost a quarter of the people here live below the poverty line. As I write, the quarter-finals for the cricket world cup are underway. Pakistan’s unpredictable and occasionally magnificent team is playing the West Indies. The sport, which was a kind of civilizing project to teach Victorian mores, has become a national obsession. Beyond that, you could go through this or this or this or this, but at the end of it, frankly, you’d know very little, or more accurately, you’d know just enough to be ...
Keep Reading »Two Mundasseen Bidoun Banadoura
![[Image from Jadaliyya archive]](/content_images/3/sm_infiltrator.png "[Image from Jadaliyya archive]")
After several botched attempts at jumpstarting a revolt against their respective regimes, would-be protesters in Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Oman put out a call to hire mundasseen (مندسّين infiltrators) to help saw strife and ignite protests. Currently, there are 173 such calls/ads roaming the web and social media. After witnessing the success of the mundasseen in wreaking havoc in Libya and Syria, protesters started forming a special task force in their respective country to import, enlist, and hire hoards of mundaseen. According to Hatem who wishes that his identity and location remain anonymous, “it has been difficult to mobilize people against the ...
Keep Reading »Orientalising the Egyptian Uprising
![[Image from unknown archive]](/content_images/3/sm_6a962b179d56a92a0e57e7ba4da8c80e.jpg "[Image from unknown archive]")
Since the beginning of the Egyptian uprising in January 25th a new grand-narrative about this so-called “revolution” and more broadly the Arab world is being constructed by the media (international and local), academics, politicians, and the local elite.[1] This narrative appears to be replacing the long held “Arab Exceptionalism” narrative, which held sway for decades and argued that Arabs because of sociological and cultural reasons are ‘immune’ to democracy and democratization. While many have criticized this earlier discourse as Orientalist and lacking in analytical rigor, its seamless replacement dubbed the “Arab Awakening,” is being constructed on the very ...
Keep Reading »Saudi Hegemony vs. the Arab Spring
![[Image from al Jazeera]](/content_images/3/sm_201132711325731738_20.jpg "[Image from al Jazeera]")
The day the Bahraini authorities demolished the Pearl monument at the center of Bahrain’s ‘Tahrir Square’ on March 18th, the state-run Bahrain News Agency announced to a puzzled public that the “GCC monument” had been removed for a “facelift” in order to get rid of "bad memories.” Amidst the rubble, it came to light that the symbol known locally as the ‘Pearl roundabout’ in reference to Bahrain’s pearl diving and trading history was in fact officially known as the “Gulf Cooperative Council roundabout”—with each pillar of the now-destroyed structure representing a member state of the “cooperative” council. Meanwhile in the areas of Sitra and Karranah, 29-year old ...
Keep Reading »The Role of Workers and Labor Unions in the Egyptian Revolution: Video Interview with Hossam Hamalawy (Part 1)
![[Image from Jadaliyya interview]](/content_images/3/sm_Hossampart1.jpg "[Image from Jadaliyya interview]")
Jadaliyya is hereby presenting the first (deliberately belated) installment in a series called "A Portrait of a Revolutionary," featuring interviews with an Egyptian journalist and activist who was at the forefront of the Egyptian protest movement, Hossam Hamalawy. Below is the first part of the interview, recorded in Arabic prior to Part 2 (on the role of the Egyptian army) and Part 3 (on the role of the Egyptial political and economic elite. The first part below deals with the role of the Egyptian Labor Unions in tipping the scale during the last days before Mubrak's resignation. This video was recorded on February 23rd. I opted for ...
Keep Reading »إنتفاضة البحرين حتى التدخل السعودي [The Bahraini Uprising Until the Saudi Intervention]
![[Bahrain Protests. Image from Unknown Archive]](/content_images/3/sm_Mideast_Bahrain_Protests.sff-93a8806c-6e9d-4114-8e37-44f587a06aea.jpg "[Bahrain Protests. Image from Unknown Archive]")
عندما بدأت الإنتفاضة في البحرين في 14 من شباط/فبراير، تدفق الآلاف من المواطنين إلى الشوارع للمطالبة بالإصلاحات، بما في ذلك إصلاح الدستور، التحقيق في سرقة الأراضي العامة والذي يكلف خزينة الدولة مليارات الدولارات، وإنهاء التمييز المنظم. وسارعت الحكومة بإطلاق قواتها للتصدي للإحتجاجات. وفي خلال يومين، قتلت عناصر الأمن إثنين من المتظاهرين. وبعد ذلك، تدفق عشرات الآلاف إلى الشوارع مطالبين بالثورة: إسقاط الحكومة، التى واجهت دعوات التغيير خلال الخمسين سنة الماضية بالعنف، والإعتقال، والتخويف والنفي. وفي مواجهة هذا التهديد غير المسبوق من قبل الشعب، ألقى الملك حمد بن عيسى آل خليفة خطاباً على تلفزيون الدولة ليعبر عن أسفه ووعد بإجراء تحقيق لإلقاء القبض على المسؤولين عن هذه ...
Keep Reading »Syrian Movement Calls for Political Prisoner Awareness Day
![[Image from Facebook page for February 17 Youth Movement for Democratic Change in Syria.]](/content_images/3/sm_feb17syria.jpg "[Image from Facebook page for February 17 Youth Movement for Democratic Change in Syria.]")
[The below report was issued by the February 17 Youth Movement for Democratic Change in Syria on April 3, 2011. The group, which was formed in the aftermath of Husni Mubarak's resignation, is calling for the designation of Friday April 8, 2011, to be a day focused on political prisoners in Syrian jails. The report also discusses the wave of arrests that occurred over the past few weeks as the Syrian regime attempted to prevent any form of dissent. An English translation of the report is forthcoming and it's original publication can be found here. The report is being circulated by Haytham Manna', Spokesperson of the Arab Commission for Human ...
Keep Reading »Waiting for Death: I Will Not Carry Flowers to my Grave
![[Protesters near the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Image from AP]](/content_images/3/sm_UmayyadProtest.jpg "[Protesters near the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Image from AP]")
It’s not true that, when Death comes, it will have your eyes! And it’s not at all true that the desire for love resembles the desire for death. It’s not the same moment - maybe those desires are similar in nothingness because both are swimming in dissipation. In love, we merge with the other. In death, we merge with existence and transform from the tangible, the material into an idea. Humans’ ideas have always been nobler than their existence. Otherwise, what’s the meaning of that sacredness surrounding our dead? One of them could have been among us only moments ago; when he disappeared, he became a flash! I won’t say that I am calm now. I am truly silent. I listen to ...
Keep Reading »Roundtable on Syria Today (Part 2): On Portrayal
![[Image from Getty Images]](/content_images/3/sm_massacreagainstsyria.jpg "[Image from Getty Images]")
This is Part 2 of our first Jadaliyya Roundtable on Syria, moderated by Bassam Haddad and Joshua Landis, of Syria Comment. It features Steven Heydemann, Fred Lawson, David Lesch, and Patrick Seale. This post will be published on both Jadaliyya and Syria Comment. [See Part 1 here and Part 3 here.] Roundtable Question #2 2. What do you consider to be missing or exaggerated in the discussion/writings/policy on the Syrian uprisings? Heydemann (Q #2). Several elements of the current debate seem to reflect misperceptions or distortions, in my view. Within some policy circles in Washington, protests in Syria have ...
Keep Reading »Indictment
The following poem is by Muhammad Farhat al-Shaltami (1945-2010), one of the leading figures of Libyan dissident literature. Born in Benghazi in the wake of Italy’s bloody colonial rule, al-Shaltami was a teacher by occupation. He was first imprisoned in the 1960s under the monarchy – for his poetry as much as for his politics. He was imprisoned again more than once during the 1970s by the Qaddafi regime. Shaltami was the author of numerous diwans, with many poems originally composed in and about prison. ...
Keep Reading »الهيمنة السعودية تسحق الربيع البحريني [Saudi Hegemony Stamps Out the Bahraini Spring]
في اليوم الذي هدمت فيه السلطات البحرينية دوار اللؤلؤة الذي صار بمثابة "ميدان تحرير" البحرين في ١٨ آذار/مارس، أعلنت وكالات الأنباء البحرينية التابعة للدولة للجمهور الحائر بأن "معلم مجلس التعاون الخليجي" قد هدم في مساع تهدف الى "إجراء عملية تجميل لوجه المدينة" وذلك من أجل التخلص من "الذكريات السيئة." ومن بين الأنقاض، صار من الواضح ان الرمز الذي يعرف محلياً "بدوار اللؤلوة" في إشارة الى تأريخ البحرين في الغطس والتجارة باللؤلؤ يدعى رسمياً ...
Keep Reading »On the Re-Mythification of the Arab
Accompanying the ongoing events in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain and Libya has been an emerging narrative of an “Arab awakening” that has been launched by so-called Arab revolutionaries. One can see this slogan, “the Arab Awakening,” promoted through various media, not least by the increasingly popular Al-Jazeera news channel. In a recent article entitled “It’s Arab and it’s Personal” the “awakening” is declared to have the power to “rewrite history” ultimately unifying the “Arabs” in their ...
Keep Reading »Deposed Tyrants Retirement Home
What is to become of already-deposed dictators? And who will follow? Khalil Bendib portrays some of the issues implicated in these questions and more.
Keep Reading »Conference: “Tunisia and Egypt's Revolutions and Transitions to Democracy”
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) will hold its 12th Annual conference, this coming Friday, in Washington DC. The main theme for this year’s conference is “Tunisia's and Egypt's Revolution and Transitions to Democracy”. The last few months have been momentous in the history of the Middle East and North Africa. The whole thing started when Mohamed Bouazizi, immolated himself on Dec. 17th in Sidi Bouzid, a small town in Southern Tunisia. Within days, demonstrations spread ...
Keep Reading »New MERIP Issue on People Power: A Must-Read!
[Below is MERIP's press release introducing the new issue titled "People Power." Jadaliyya Reports presents it as a "Must-Read" issue!] Revolution is a weighty word, one as freighted with past disappointments as with hope for the future. The fate of the midwinter political revolutions in the Arab world is far from determined, as forces of counter-revolution have rallied. But, along with army officers and lords of finance, any balance sheet must also account for another actor—the ...
Keep Reading »Essential Readings: Bahrain: Origins of a Crisis
This Essential Readings post is written by Sandy Russell Jones. [Editors' Note: This is the third in a series of "Essential Readings," in which we ask contributors to choose a list of must-read books, articles, and new media sources 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. Sandy Russell Jones, a Fellow at the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis and a lecturer in ...
Keep Reading »Protests on the Rise Again in Syria: A Report from Jadaliyya Affiliate in Damascus
Today, Friday, April 9th, was a difficult day in Syria, with many more protesters killed and injured during after-prayers demonstrations. It seems the protests are resuming their momentum and expanding beyond remote towns and cities to cover increasing areas of major cities like Damascus (Videos coming tomorrow, Saturday, April 10th, as they become available). The Syrian regime, like its Arab counterparts facing popular internal opposition, has accused foreign elements for orchestrating the ...
Keep Reading »عن سورية: لقاء مع ياسين الحاج صالح [On Syria: Interview with Yassin Al Haj Saleh
ياسين الحاج صالح كاتب ومعارض سوري، قضى ستة عشر عاماً في السجن أثناء حكم حافظ الأسد. من كتبه سوريا في الظل: نظرات داخل الصندوق الأسود (جدار٢٠٠٩). يجيب هنا على بعض الأسئلة التي طرحتها جدلية عليه حول الأوضاع في سوريا. س: ما هو تحليلك للوضع الحالي في سوريا؟ تحديداً تعامل النظام مع المظاهرات ومع تبعاتها؟ - سورية في أزمة وطنية حادة. لدينا نظام سياسي مغلق ومعدوم المرونة يواجه احتجاجات شعبية سلمية غير مسبوقة، وهو ليس معتادا على غير الحلول الأمنية للمشكلات السياسية العام لذلك ...
Keep Reading »Roundtable on Syria Today (Part 3): Is Syria Different?
This is the last installment (Part 3) of the first Jadaliyya Roundtable on Syria, moderated by Bassam Haddad and Joshua Landis, of Syria Comment. It features Steven Heydemann, Fred Lawson, David Lesch, and Patrick Seale. This post will be published on both Jadaliyya and Syria Comment. [See Part 1 here, and Part 2 here.] Per the original announcement in Part 1, we are still awaiting responses from a number of writers from inside Syria who have understandably hesitated to write so far. ...
Keep Reading »The Arab Spring: Two Dictators Down, Twenty To Go
Dictators in Libya, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Jordan, Syria and other Arab countries have resorted to increasingly repressive and brutal tactics to hold on to power. Khalil Bendib's two cartoons succinctly portray the current state of the 'Arab Spring' as well as its future prospects.
Keep Reading »Roundtable on Syria Today (Part 1)
This is Part 1 of the first Jadaliyya Roundtable on Syria, moderated by Bassam Haddad and Joshua Landis, of Syria Comment. It features Steven Heydemann, Fred Lawson, David Lesch, and Patrick Seale. This post will be published on both Jadaliyya and Syria Comment. [See Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here]. After two weeks of protests in Syria, many still wonder where matters are headed. The Syrian regime is firm in its stance, and so are the protesters. A plurality of ...
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