Last month an Egyptian appeal court sentenced one of the region’s most promising young novelists, Ahmed Naji, to two years in jail for writing a story. Much has been written about the case but what intrigued me is that it appears that as the ceiling of what is publishable in the Arab Gulf States rises, the ceiling of what is allowed in Egypt keeps declining. Read more »
IBTimes
Syria crisis: Gulf States should open their doors to Syrian refugees
As the situation in Syria deteriorated, tens of thousands of desperate Syrians began to embark on the dangerous journey to Europe by boat. Criticism grew of the Gulf States – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman – who until recently were the ‘elephants in the room’ when it came to their lack of support and resettlement for fleeing Syrian refugees. Read more »