by Natasha Tynes | Feb 21, 2006 | Media watch
For those interested, here is a link to an article I wrote about the Arab blogging explosion that was just published in G21 World magazine. Here is an excerpt:
From commenting on the latest political events to challenging taboos and crossing red lines, citizen journalists, or bloggers, across the Arab world are busy trying to make themselves heard. Analysts agree that Arab bloggers have made sure to get a big share of the blogging pie in a time when citizen journalists across the globe are scrutinizing the mainstream media with their subjective take on the political and social arenas.
"Today there is an active Arab blogosphere, raising its voice loudly. It has benefited from the freedom of expression made available electronically, and made known its opinion on the most important political issues," wrote Lebanese columnist Jihad Al-Khazen in his January column in the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat.
Media analyst and associate professor of Political Science at Williams College, Marc Lynch concurs. "[It is] definitely an explosion though an uneven one," said Lynch, proprietor of the popular blog Abu Aardvark. "I’ve been amazed at how quickly both Arabic and English language blogging has developed. I’ve been particularly intrigued by the various portals and aggregators that have been developed," pointed out Lynch, adding that he currently reads more Arab blogs than American ones. "[This] wouldn’t have been possible not too long ago." [more]
by Natasha Tynes | Feb 21, 2006 | Jordan, my nation
AMMAN — A Jordanian embassy driver kidnapped two months ago by Iraqi militants demanding the release of a failed woman suicide bomber has been freed, officials said on Tuesday.
They did not say how Mahmoud Saedat was released after his kidnap in Baghdad on Dec 20 by a little-known group which had demanded the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman who said on state television in November that she had tried to blow herself up alongside her husband in hotel bombings in Amman. Jordan had said it would not give in to the kidnappers’ demand to free Rishawi, but that it was sparing no effort to secure Saedat’s release.
Source: [Reuters]
Great news! I’m so glad that the Saedat ordeal has come to an end. Let’s hope that it means Jill will be released next.
by Natasha Tynes | Feb 21, 2006 | Jill Carroll
I was pleased to see that students at the University of Massachusetts, where Jill got her journalism degree, held a rally to support her release. Karen List, one of her old journalism professors, told a crowd of some 100 supporters at the rally that Jill had "a passion for telling the story." Here is the link to the full Associated Press story:
"She makes a lot of us feel better about this business we’re getting into," said Eric Athas, managing editor of the Daily Collegian, the campus newspaper which sponsored the rally. "We look at her and what she was trying to do in Iraq, and it makes us feel good about the profession."
And what her stories accomplished, her supporters say, was showing the struggle of ordinary Iraqis in an honest and straightforward way. "Go back and read her stories," said Amy Sidoti, who was Carroll’s roommate for two years. "That’s what the purpose of her being in Iraq is."
Also, the Christian Science Monitor has a link to the public service video calling for Jill’s release that ran on an Iraqi TV station.
UPDATE: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has announced the launch of a week-long international support campaign for Jill’s release, as well as the release of two kidnapped Iraqi journalists: Rim Zeid and Marwan Khazaal.
"Reporters Without Borders activists will be launching the campaign week today, Tuesday, February 21, by taking a special bus tour in Paris to lobby journalists and other staff members of the city’s main media offices about the plight of the three kidnapped victims," the press release stated.
In several cities, including Washington, London and New York, Reporters Without Borders said they will be handing out badges with the slogan "Free Jill Carroll." Source: [CSM]
RSF also released several audio statements from Jill’s family. The first is from Jill’s father, Jim:
[I want to ] thank all of the world media for their efforts to help free my daughter Jill Carroll. She and thousands of other journalists try to bring truth to the world every day, and it is especially important in Iraq right now. My daughter was called to perform a vital service for Iraq and the rest of the world.
Her stories in the past three years have covered political leaders and events, but also many stories of ordinary people and their struggle to survive. Those stories deserve to be told so that all people understand what is happening in Iraq. Please give your support so that Jill Carroll and Reem Zeid and Marwan Khazaal, also held in Iraq, will be free to continue their vital work."
The second is from Jill’s sister, Katie:
Jill is the strongest and most caring person I know. I’m proud of her and I hope that young journalists around the world are inspired by her passion. It is my wish that Jill, Reem Zeid, and Marwan Khazaal will soon be able to resume their work in bringing the stories of Iraq to the world.
by Natasha Tynes | Feb 19, 2006 | Jordan, my nation, Media watch
Well, the first thing that I did this sunny Sunday morning was to read a 12-page feature in the New York Times entitled "Iraq’s Jordanian Jihadis." Trust me, this not a good way to start your weekend. Here is one excerpt:
Now we know that the quiet kingdom was producing the man thought to be spearheading the deadliest aspects of the Iraqi insurgency — and who brought the fight back to Jordan in three hotel bombings last December: Ahmed Fadeel Nazal al-Khalayleh, better known as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi after his hometown of Zarqa, a poor city an hour’s drive north of Amman. How the quiet kingdom of Jordan could produce a man who has become known as the Sheik of the Slaughterers is a question at the heart of contemporary jihad.
Zarqawi is exceptionally cruel, but he is otherwise not such an exception. Jordan is home to many jihadis, young men from much the same milieu that produced Zarqawi, and especially since the United States invaded Iraq nearly three years ago, Jordan has increasingly become a not-so-quiet place, a place where local Islamists cross easily into Iraq and back, a place where a jihadist underground can seem almost a normal part of a nation’s life. And if such an underground can become normal in quiet Jordan, what is to keep it from becoming normal in any Muslim country?
I’m fully aware of the existence of jihadis in Jordan, but this feature makes Jordan look like one big jihad incubator! I’m sure this piece would cause the average American reader to think twice before visiting my country! Ok, here is a quick message to those that have already read the artilce: Yes, Jordan has its issues. But it is still a safe place with extremely friendly, helpful people and stunning scenery.
by Natasha Tynes | Feb 16, 2006 | Jordan, my nation
So after expelling Hamas leaders some years back for "collaborating on Jordanian soil with foreign sides that do not like Jordan or its well-being,"Jordan has changed its position on the organization and is now accepting the status quo following the sweeping victory of the armed group during the recent Palestinian parliamentary elections.
Jordan said Wednesday it would welcome a visit by the leaders of the militant Palestinian Hamas group, a departure from Amman’s position that it would not deal with the exiled chiefs. "We welcome the visit of a delegation of our brothers the leaders of Hamas in their capacity as leaders of a Palestinian faction which we respect and value," Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit told a parliamentary session.
Al-Bakhit’s remarks show a change in the firm position that the government would not deal with the Hamas leaders who live outside the Palestinian territories because of what they refer to as "standing legal obstacles."
Source: [The Jerusalem Post]
Now, what does this mean? Is Jordan between a rock and a hard place? Will accepting the democratically-elected group affect Jordan’s amicable relationship with the US, which, along with Europe, regards the group as a terrorist organization? And how will this change in political dynamics impact the peace process with Israel? Jordanian blogger Khalaf provides some scenarios:
If Hamas opts to continue with the peace process, then Jordan and Egypt will try to work with them to create circumstances to make that happen. On the other hand, if it opts to join the Iran-Syria axis, th[e]n one would expect this axis to develop a joint negotiating strategy. What is the strategy of Syria and Iran? Well, basically to create trouble in Iraq and in Lebanon as a way to project influence and hold leverage.
How would Hamas fit in to this? The scary answer is that its role would be to create trouble in Jordan. This is not a far-fetched scenario and we should be aware that it is a possibility.
Analysts believe that Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, which has longstanding links with Hamas (and here), has been flexing its muscles following the Palestinian elections results. Khalaf is concerned:
The links between the Moslem Brotherhood and Hamas are well known, and some even believe that they are fundamentally the same organization. Given the reach of the MB into Jordanian politics and society, this should be a question of extreme concern.
I will not add much to what Khalaf says here, except to say that we do live in interesting times.
AMMAN — A Jordanian embassy driver kidnapped two months ago by Iraqi militants demanding the release of a failed woman suicide bomber has been freed, officials said on Tuesday.
