Category Archives: Journalism

Hush… Female Palestinian Artists Speak Up

Posted on December 26, 2011 | 1 Comment

Larissa Sansour's Nation Estate photography series depicts Palestine as skyscraper with cities built on various levels- a nation forced to build upwards due to political and geographical constraints


Hugely impressed with Palestinian filmmakers this week. Firstly, Larissa Sansour manages to get enough support to shut down the Lacoste film competition which kicked her off the shortlist for being, and I quote, “too pro-Palestinian”.

Second of all, I stumbled across a stunning short documentary by another talented artist from Bethlehem. Samar Habzoun’s documentary, which is titled ‘Hush’, looks at the issue of gender-based violence and life in a Palestinian women’s shelter. I am currently in the process of getting a full article commissioned so keep your eyes peeled….

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Posted in Art, Jerusalem, Journalism, Middle East, Palestine, Protest, West Bank, Women

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Green Prophet- Updates on Climate Change in the Middle East

Posted on December 16, 2011 | Leave a comment

Firstly, apologies for the lack of posts over the last couple of months. I keep saying I’ll put up some of my work but impending deadlines mean that updating my silly little website slips to the very bottom of my list of priorites. Still, I am busy working away and one important place I write about environmental issues in the Middle East is at GreenProphet.com, which is the leading news site on environmental issues in the Middle East.

So, if you’re interested in that sort of thing (and even if your not) it’s definitely worth checking out. You can see a full profile of my work at GreenProphet here.

Some highlights from the last two months:
- Uncovering greenwash in Jordan which saw an oil shale company owned by Shell fund university degrees on environmental issues
- Q&A with Lebanon-based Greenpeace campaigner Raefah Makki
- Interview with Fazlun Khalid who heads the world’s oldest green Islamic organisation, The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences
- Launch of Green Prophet’s Guide for Barefoot Bloggers which includes a chapter from yours truly
- Speaking to Green Hajj expert Dr. Husna Ahmed about greening the Islamic pilgrimage, water conservation and the role Muslim women can (and should!) play
- Covering repairers in Cairo whose re-use culture is helping the world avert e-waste from landfills

:: Image is of a water mural in Gaza.

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Posted in climate change, Climate Justice, Environment, Islam, Journalism, Middle East

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The (Sexist) Art of Writing

Posted on September 2, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’ve been meaning to work on my writing for while now, so stumbling on this high recommendation of William Zinsser’s guide to writing non-fiction gave me the push to actually find time and – you know – improve my writing. Zinsser’s guide which is titled ‘On Writing Well’ is an absolute pleasure to read and full of great writing anecdotes and practical advice. The only tiny, little problem is that is appears to be full of sexist examples and language.

It may be that I’m not used to reading books published in 1976 but I was quite perplexed at the lack of gender neutrality in his writing. After a while, my eyes and brain seemed to ignore his constant referral to the male species as a sort of typing error or an effort on the author’s behalf to remain consistent. However the following paragraph where he talks of a male dentist and then a female air stewardess stood out for its gender bias (and assumptions about the need to reproduce):

Continue reading →

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Posted in Journalism

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Book Review- Shocked and Awed: How the War on Terror and Jihad have Changed the English Language

Posted on June 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Fred Halliday, who died aged 64 in April 2010, wrote widely on many subjects related to the Middle East as well as the Muslim community in the UK, but Shocked and Awed is quite different to his other books. In fact, it’s not really a book but a political dictionary of words, turns of phrases and made up terminology which the general public were exposed to in the aftermath of 9/11 and the subsequent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Arranged into twelve chapters, the book studies words that have entered our vocabulary, their meaning, their origins but also- and this is the important bit- they way they influence the way we think and subsequently act. As Halliday reminds us “those who seek to control events, people and their minds also seek to control language.”

The one thing that surprised me about this book was that although the chapters were simply a collection of words which were examined in depth, it was still a really engaging read. As the chapters are short you don’t need to read every entry and you are given a lot more freedom as a reader to dip in and out of the book without losing your thread. Even more surprising was although the chapters didn’t have conclusions, after reading a collection of entries you are left with a clear impression of what words must have enabled (usually war and terror) and how words are so skilfully manipulated by politicians.

See full book review at the Friends of Al Aqsa website.

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Posted in Apartheid, Book Review, Friends of Al Aqsa, Gaza, History, Human Rights, Identity, IDF, Islam, Israel, Jerusalem, Jordan, Journalism, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Occupation, Orientalism, Palestine, Protest, Public Sphere, Refugees, Review, Separation Wall, Sexuality, Shoe, West Bank

Green Prophet: The Do’s and Don’ts of Green Blogging for Muslims

Posted on May 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

Need some ideas to help inspire Muslims on environmental issues? Here are my ten top tips…

As much as I’d like to tell you that there is an easy and foolproof way to capture the imagination of every Muslim when talking about the environment, the reality isn’t so simple. Sadly, there’s no magic formula to dazzle every Muslim into going green or at least I haven’t found it yet! Fear not though, intrepid blogger, because there is something you can do to improve your chances of firstly tapping into a Muslim readership and secondly, encouraging them to green their way of life.

1.  Do Your Research- Whilst no one expects you to be an expert in Islamic jurisprudence, a basic understanding of Islam and Muslim culture will help you when you are blogging. Doing your research about the topic you’re discussing and referring to Green Islamic principles will show the reader that you’re serious about green Muslims and consequently they’ll take your work seriously. Continue reading →

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Posted in Architecture, Art, Book Review, Cartoons, Children, climate change, Climate Justice, Economy, Environment, Ethical, Fashion, Food, Green, Green Energy, History, Identity, Islam, Journalism, Middle East, Mosques, Ramadan, Recycling, Water, Women, Youth

A Journalist’s Courage? Bush, Shoes and Objective Reporting

Posted on December 15, 2008 | Leave a comment


In your face!! well,…almost. Whilst the whole shoe-throwing incident was pretty hilarious and will be over-reported in respect to its actual impact, I really hope that Muntadhar Al-Zaidi is gonna be okay. Judging by the treatment that he got in the seconds after the incident (very heavy-handed) its hard to say that he isn’t going to be made an example of…Another major thing that has been slightly annoying is people stating that it isn’t his place as a journalist to be doing such things…One Blog commentator stated “whatever happened to objective reporting???”

Firstly, if you knew anything about anything (sorry, but this annoys me!)you’d know that most journalists have accepted that there is NO such thing as objective reporting… It’s simply not possible as everything a journalist reports (or ignores) is shaped and coloured by the millions of beliefs and perspective which they hold depending on their age, gender, status, race, etc..
And if your really wanted to have objective reporting than all you could report was a random list of confirmed facts (also again I have my doubts about ‘facts’ and when they happen to exist and when they are conveniently forgotten..) which doesn’t exactly make for interesting reading..

Secondly, journalists have every right to express their opinions, after all they are citizens and as Theodre Glasser (1992) remarks: “objective reporting has denied journalists of their citizenship; as disinterested observers, as impartial reporters, journalists are expected to be morally disengaged and politically inactive”. (– @page { size: 21cm 29.7cm; margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } –>From Vincent Campbell, Information Age Journalism: Journalism in an International Context. London, Arnold Publishers. 2004, p166-7.)

It’s time people accepted that journalists in fact need to be activists and not neutral witnesses to history; that they can express their opinions without having to question their legitimacy. If all journalists were as honest about their views and about what they experienced as Muntadhar, then maybe more people would trust the media and also encourage them to act (rather than question their professionalism) on any injustices they see..

..also another fantastic cartoon by Latuff

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Posted in Bush, Journalism, Latuff, Muntadhar Al-Zaidi, Objective Reporting, Shoe