The Musalman: Preservation of a Dream

Because Arabic’s not the only squiggly language out there.

Christiane Amanpour: The Dictator’s Pet

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always hated Christiane Amanpour. For those living under a rock, she served as CNN’s Chief Foreign Correspondent for 27 years before transferring to ABC’s “This Week.” WARNING: Amanpour is the quintessential journalist-celebrity whose skin-deep reporting is almost fraudulent.

Her recent, grossly opportunistic dictator-stroking in the Arab world is a reminder of how far American TV journalism has fallen. read

The Pen is More Reprehensible than the Sword

Helen Thomas, the longest-running White House correspondent, retired today. Taken as a sort of spectacle by many for being one of the only critically-minded reporters in press briefings — who would ask fundamentally challenging questions — she was pushed into resignation over comments she made on video.

Whither, American journalism: CNN vs. Al-Jazeera

Yesterday, WikiLeaks leaked a video exposing a US government cover-up of the killing of 2 Reuters cameramen in Iraq in 2007. Juan Cole writes that an attack, also captured in the video, on people trying to help the wounded may constitute a war crime.

Saberi Makes It Big

The US-Iranian journalist who was imprisoned in a strange country under questionable circumstances has signed a book deal with a major publishing company.

Who said there is no balance in life?

Saberi’s recent exposure means mo’ money…

Saberi’s Release & its Implications for US-Iran Relations

In case you haven’t heard, US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi is free after being locked up in an Iranian jail for a few months under questionable circumstances. Her sentence was reduced to a suspended two-year term and she was ordered released. She was also banned from practicing journalism in Iran for five years and is on [...]

A Suspicious Journalist and the Future of US-Iran Relations

On Saturday, an Iranian court announced that it had convicted Roxana Saberi of spying for the United States; she was sentenced to 8 years in prison. It all started with a bottle of wine… at least that’s what she told her father. There’s no reason to doubt the veracity of such a claim, but the [...]

“Welcome to Egypt!”

It must sound familiar for some of the readers who have visited Egypt and heard this (often misleading) phrase bandied around, but for journalist Laila el-Haddad this time around, it carried a completely different meaning… And seriously, when the Zionists have such great Arab allies to oppress the Palestinians for them, why do they need [...]

Gazamom held in Cairo while traveling with her children

UPDATE: She was denied entry for lack of security clearance. Thanks Egypt! Journalist Laila El-Haddad, author of the blog Raising Yousuf and Noor, has been held for over 24 hours in Cairo while attempting to go home to her parents who have survived the bombing campaigns against Gaza only three months ago. She’s been twittering [...]

The Qur’an: Always Applicable?

Popular Moroccan weekly TelQuel is apparently at it again (and by “it” I mean controversy). The cover story on the issue set for release tomorrow is entitled “Le Coran: Est-il vraiment applicable ‘en tout temps et en tout lieu?’” (or “The Qur’an: is it really applicable ‘at all times and in all places?’”) TelQuel (which [...]