by Natasha Tynes | Jun 22, 2006 | Jordan, my nation, Media watch
Jordanian blogger Basem drew attention to an article published in the on-line magazine Elaph (Arabic) where it was revealed that Jordan’s number one mobile operator — Fastlink — was found guilty of spying on Jordan’s second largest GSM provider, Mobilecom.
According to the article, Fastlink created a special unit solely dedicated to spying on Mobilecom. Fastlink hired employees and paid them salaries to perform these "spying" duties — yes, industrial espionage. The article in full is here (Arabic).
I wonder why the mainstream Jordanian media didn’t pick up and report this important piece of news. Why do we have to learn this kind of vital business story from an on-line source? Please correct me if I’m wrong, but so far I haven’t seen this report anywhere in the local media.
Why did Jordanian media shy away from reporting this? Maybe it’s simply because Fastlink is Jordan’s number one advertiser. The Jordanian press probably thinks twice before daring to air Fastlink’s dirty laundry, as they might risk losing a prime source of revenue. They will not bite the hand that feeds them. But then again, perhaps I’m just speculating!
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 19, 2006 | Media watch
Egyptian journalist and columnist Mona Eltahawy, who’s writing was banned from the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat publication, has written an op-ed for the International Herald Tribune explaining her experience with the Arab daily. You can read the whole article here. It’s worth your time. Here is an excerpt:
Writing for an Arab newspaper is like playing hopscotch in a minefield. From January 2004 until early this year I played my game of hopscotch in a weekly column on the opinion pages of Asharq al-Awsat, the London-based, Saudi-owned newspaper that is read across the Arab world. And then I stepped on a mine. Without warning or notice, fewer and fewer of my columns made it into print. Then my articles stopped appearing altogether. I had been banned.
Nobody tells you that you’re banned from an Arab paper — especially a paper that is supposedly the liberal home of writers banned from other papers, which is how Asharq al-Awsat portrays itself. Sadly, my experience is not unique. When I told a veteran Egyptian journalist that I had not been officially notified of my ban, he reminded me that he found out about his removal as editor of a newspaper in Egypt when he read about it in another newspaper.
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 19, 2006 | Jordan, my nation
This is a follow-up to my reply to Iraqi blogger Zeyad, who felt that the majority of Jordanians regard the late Zarqawi a martyr.
The death of al-Qaida’s chief in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is still reverberating in Jordan, where the majority of the population sees him as a terrorist. An opinion poll conducted by the non-governmental organization Epsos Stat Center for daily al-Ghad indicated that 59 percent of Jordanians consider their countryman Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmed Fadel al-Khalayila, a "terrorist." The poll, which surveyed 1,014 people over 18-years-old from various walks of life, also showed that 67 percent refused to see Zarqawi as a "martyr," as he was dubbed by Jordan’s Islamist movement, sparking an uproar among Jordanians.
…The poll, with a margin of error of 3.2 percent, indicated that 70 percent of the sample saw offering condolences for Zarwqawi’s death as a provocation of national sentiments, especially for the families of the Amman bombings in which 60 people died. Only 15 percent, mostly in the 18 to 39 age bracket, described Zarqawi as a "martyr" or an "ordinary citizen." Source: [UPI]
In addition, here is the article on the poll in Alghad (Arabic) and media-analyst and blogger Abu Aardvark’s take on the survey. Who knows, maybe this poll combined with the recent anti-Zarqawi demonstrations will motivate Zeyad to reconsider his position.
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 17, 2006 | Books, Metro Daze, Shutterbug, Weblogs
I had the opportunity to meet Moroccan author Laila Lalami face-to-face the other day in Washington, and I must say that she is extremely admirable and more impressive in the flesh than in cyberspace. She was in Washington, DC this past Thursday to read some excerpts from her debut novel, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits (signed copies link), which I read several months back and liked very much. I enjoyed her reading immensely as I did the discussions that followed. Lalami eloquently managed to answer every question directed at her, the majority of which came from euroarabe.
One question someone asked was who she has in mind as her audience when she writes. Her reply was simply: "I write for myself. I am my ideal audience." I thought the answer was brilliant because as an aspiring fiction writer myself I tend to fall into the trap of thinking a great deal about my audience, something that can sometimes make me feel mentally impotent. I end up failing to jot down anything for fear of retribution from a certain individual or a group. I think I will try her method and think solely of myself when I write.
It was also fascinating for me to see the large amount of her blog readers who showed up at the event. She got a great deal of praise for her blog from the audience with one describing her site as "the best literary blog out there." Following the reading, I had a quick but pleasant chat with Laila in which we exchanged compliments and pleasantries and took a couple of pictures. The husband and I wrapped up the evening with a nice dinner in DuPont Circle with some wonderful friends, including Basboos, Leilouta and her husband, euroarabe, and another non-blogger friend of ours. All in all it was a perfect day in the city.
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 15, 2006 | Jordan, my nation
Iraqi blogger Zeyad who runs the popular blog Healing Iraq, has written a post about his recent trip to Amman. Here is an excerpt:
Amman is the same as I left it last time. An ever expanding bustling city that gives the false impression of modernity and a progressive, enlightened society. Yet, every Jordanian I spoke to thinks that Zarqawi is a martyr. One taxi driver frankly told me that one should not rejoice over Zarqawi’s death, for one simple reason: Americans and Iraqis are happy about it.
Dear Zeyad, I think you are generalizing here. I suggest you broaden your survey. Just take a scan of the various Jordanian blogs out there and see how many — including yours truly — have strongly condemned the sinister acts of Zarqawi and rejoiced at the end of his era. Yes, there are those who think of him as a martyr — including some members of the Islamic Action Front — but these represent a small minority.
Basing your opinion of Jordanian attitudes as a whole on a conversation with a taxi driver — not that I have anything against taxi drivers — is not fair to Jordan or Jordanians. Please don’t fall into this trap. There is always the good and the bad in every society. Don’t embellish the negative. Thank you. Enjoy Amman!
