The Independent Voices 2011 survey names Sultan Al Qassemi among the top Twitter accounts of 2011 in the World News category. Read more »
Archives for December 2011
Pioneer Bloggers in the Gulf Arab States
Long before Facebook updates and 140-character tweets, a number of cyber activists defined the landscape of non-government led opinion in the Gulf Arab states. In less than a decade, a group of bloggers—many of whom have never met—has paved the way for the emergence of the “other opinion” that was and continues to be largely missing from the government controlled Gulf Arab media. The shake-up to traditional media that these blogging pioneers caused was no less significant than what Al Jazeera’s arrival did to the moribund government-controlled television channels of the Arab world. Read more »
Ahmed Aboutaleb: On a mission to regenerate
Making my way down the corridor of the magnificent Stadhuis, Rotterdam’s City Hall, a pre-First World War architectural landmark, towards the office of the mayor, I was greeted with the familiar words “As Salam Alaikum”. The Stadhuis, office of the mayor of Rotterdam is, sadly, one of a very few buildings that survived the relentless bombardment by the German Luftwaffe in May 1940 and today stands as a symbol of regeneration and hope in this city of 600,000. During my recent sojourn in the Netherlands, I had the opportunity to meet with Ahmed Aboutaleb, Rotterdam’s mayor and perhaps one of the most accomplished emigrants in Europe. Read more »