Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Anjuman Rahman
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The journalist who threw his shoes at George W Bush ‘would do it again’
Iraqi journalist Muntadhar Al-Zaidi made headlines by hurling his shoes at then President George W Bush ...
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Black lives should matter in the Middle East too, so where is the rage?
In response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, people around the world have taken to the streets in huge numbers in solidarity with protesters in America. The Black Lives Matter movement is gaining momentum and the rage has gone global. Except, it must be said, in the Middle...
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As the virus lockdown lifts, will Kuwait’s marine life be able to recover fully?
With a third of the world’s population on lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is growing evidence that oceans, rivers and lakes are cleaner and once more full of life. The virus is basically forcing us all to rethink our economies, supply chains and science. According to Assistant Professor...
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Meet the ‘ex-Israeli’ artist refocusing the Zionists' colonial gaze
Based in the UK, the 50-year-old artist is known for tackling the Israeli occupation and looks at the hostility and racist attitudes between much of Israel’s Jewish majority and Arab minority in his work...
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‘We want to stop hearing about female firsts in Palestine, women should have the same chances as men’
‘There’s no limitation for innovation’ not even the occupation can hold you back, that’s the message Girls in Tech in Palestine want aspiring female entrepreneurs to hear’ The world is living in the age of a technological revolution that has fundamentally changed the way people, organisations and institutions communicate with...
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Israel’s first hijab wearing MK: ‘I want my daughter to have no barriers to success’
Last month, Israel elected its first hijab-wearing Arab member of the Knesset as part of the Joint List, the climax of a year of political instability...
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A simple box from Palestine is going global to counter Israel’s culture war
The Palestinian people have a long and complicated history. With it comes a rich cultural heritage, which is an essential part of their identity. It includes historical sites, cuisine, dance and embroidery, among other things, all of which have suffered tremendously through the waves of destruction ever since the...
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Saudi activists accused of launching hashtag 'Palestine is not my cause'
Offensive anti-Palestinian tweets have been found trending under the Arabic hashtag “Palestine is not my cause”, which many believe was launched in response to a cartoon by a Palestinian artists which apparently insults Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Some believe the Saudi regime has teamed up with Israel to...
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Israel’s jail conditions will kill Palestinian prisoners before coronavirus does
Palestinian prisoners today are trapped fighting two fronts: one against the coronavirus pandemic, and the other against Israel’s horrific jail conditions; they’re dying trying to survive. Four Palestinian prisoners have so far tested positive for the coronavirus with the number expected to increase greatly. Another detainee tested positive for the virus...
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#WeArePalestine
As the number of infections and deaths from COVID-19 multiply by the day, there have been increasing calls across the world for people to show solidarity and care for each other, particularly, for Palestine. The newly-imposed restrictions on travel and large gatherings in Europe, as well as the horrific overcrowding...
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How a Syrian artist is making art from the horrors of war
First-hand experience is a critical factor in the authority of official war art. Syrian artist Nour Zantah has plenty. Born in Homs in 1989, she watched the violation of her country in the opening months of the civil war. The turning point was when protesters in her home city swarmed...
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Rape, torture and capture: The doctor helping Yazidi victims of Daesh rebuild their lives
“Doctor, why is it that people can be so evil? Why did they kill my mother and father? Why did they torture me like that? Doctor, why are humans doing this?” This is a series of questions that German psychologist, Dr Jan Ilhan Kizilhan, has heard since 2015 from children...
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The coronavirus fashion trends
With the global outbreak of the coronavirus, the surgical mask has not only turned into the weapon of choice but is today’s most coveted accessory...
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Arab silence on the Uyghur genocide is no surprise
Arab silence on the looming genocide of the Uyghur Muslims in China is deafening. Supposedly influential and powerful Arab states look on as the persecution continues. There are an increasing number of testimonies from Uyghur refugees and asylum seekers documenting the most unimaginable forms of cruelty, but when the...
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One Palestinian group is running to restore freedom of movement
Reading, research and short trips are simply not enough for visitors to Palestine to understand how difficult it is for those living under occupation with restrictions imposed on their movement as they go about their daily lives. Palestinians are caged in by a forbidding wall, and have to negotiate...
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Sudan’s elite are selling out to the Gulf regimes, and the Palestinian cause is a victim
The anti-government protests in Sudan over the past five decades are part of a vicious circle in a region rife with sectarian and political conflicts. Ever since long-serving ruler Omar Al-Bashir was overthrown last April, the country has been in the midst of a political crisis. A deepening identity...
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Palestine: Memories of 1948
“Oh, you’re Israeli.” “No, I’m not Israeli! I’m Palestinian!” He stared at me for a few seconds in silence and then continued, in the same neutral tone; “Listen, I don’t know of any country called Palestine. Look on the map: there’s Israel, there’s Jordan, there’s Syria… but there isn’t any Palestine.” This...
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How the first Palestinian woman is disrupting the finance industry with her fintech start-up
Fuelled by a supportive ecosystem and a tech-savvy population, the fintech industry in the Middle East has been growing rapidly in the last few years, disrupting the financial landscape and attracting billions in investment globally. In the future, it’s believed that the whole world will move to the digital space...
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Gaza musician: The siege has ‘made us strong through difficult experiences’
SOL Band has also had to fight back after coming under attack for having a female member...
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‘Unveiled’: How an Iraq artist is taking control of the veiled Muslim narrative
Faceless, the silent image hanging at the entrance spoke a thousand words. Words which the artist Husam Al-Deen wanted viewers to comfortably exchange and discuss on the heavy topic of veiled Muslim women who receive much attention from Western politicians, media and academics. Currently displayed at London’s P21 Gallery, a small...
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Remembering Ahed Tamimi’s arrest
During her arrest, Tamimi was sexually harassed by an Israeli interrogator during her detention, her lawyer Gaby Lasky, has alleged....
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Rights group: Our role is to reduce Palestinian suffering
"We are trying to hold the criminals accountable"...
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Why is a right-wing Israeli group coming to London to advocate destroying Palestinian lives?
The representative of a notorious right-wing settler group which campaigns for the demolition of Palestinian villages has been re-invited to London to promote the construction of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. The settlements are intended to block the possibility of a future Palestinian state. Naomi Linder Kahn is...
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An app powered by virtual reality makes borders and checkpoints in Palestine disappear
A high-tech virtual reality app has been developed which includes the production of short videos that try to present the human aspect and reality of Palestine...