New media in the Muslim world
All topics-
The "India Love Project" on Instagram
Fighting hate with love
Marrying for love is still quite a rare thing in India. Religion often gets in the way, as do caste and parental opinions. After the defamatory term "Love Jihad" started trending on Twitter, three journalists set up the "India Love Project" on Instagram to share stories of love that have transcended boundaries and discrimination of all kinds. By David Pfeifer
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IT in the Occupied Territories
Software developers at coding boot camp in Silicon Wadi
A German IT company has started an academy to train Palestinians in software development. Despite the pandemic's challenges, it has managed to run its first boot camp in Ramallah in the West Bank. Tania Kraemer reports
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Rabbi Elhanan Miller on interfaith dialogue
"People of the Book" brings Jews and Muslims together
Conceived by Israeli journalist and rabbi Elhanan Miller, "People of the Book" is a YouTube project designed to provide information on Judaism in Arabic. Disarming prejudice with humour, Miller's cartoons aim to promote mutual understanding between Jews and Arabs. Interview by Claudia Mende
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COVID-19 and fake news in the Middle East
Arabs find comfort in coronavirus conspiracy theories
In the Arab region, fake news relating to COVID-19 claims that people who have been cured "convert to Islam" or that "Muslims are immune" to the disease. Long-established conspiracy theories have a bearing on the rumours. Another contributing factor is that people have no faith in the authorities. By Mona Naggar
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Women in Egypt
The long and bumpy road to gender equality
Alexandra Kinias was denied a job as a site engineer in an oil company because of her gender. The rejection letter clearly stated that the company would rather offer its jobs to male engineers. Women in Egypt have come a long way since then, she says
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Activists fear increased cyber-surveillance
Will repression in UAE intensify under the Israel deal?
Thanks to the recent rapprochement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi should in future be able to access Israeli espionage software even more easily in order to spy on politically unpopular citizens. By Tom Allinson
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Confronting social taboos in the Gulf
Emirates talk show host Anas Bukhash lays it on the line
Emirati talk show host Anas Bukhash has struck a chord with his programme "ABtalks" which probes social questions that others fight shy of. In the Gulf, "nobody wants to talk about the elephant" in the room, he says. By Diana Hodali
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Oversight board appointee faces online smear campaign
Facebook, Tawakkol Karman and Arab cyber-bullying
Appointed to the Facebook oversight board, Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman has faced hostility from Arab state media and social media users, who accuse her of Islamist ties. By Kersten Knipp & Ismail Azzam
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Digitalisation and the coronavirus in Morocco
From care to control?
With a series of digital measures introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Morocco is creating a trade-off between ways to provide rapid support and the parallel development of digital control. By Anja Hoffmann and Bauke Baumann
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Business in the Middle East
Jordanʹs digital start-ups – innovation in Silicon Wadi
Young people in Jordan are increasingly turning to digital start-ups to improve their prospects, rather than relying on the countryʹs rigid labour market. Claudia Mende reports
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Press freedom under attack
The Arab world's new wave of media repression
Since the 2011 uprisings, authoritarian rulers in the Arab world have worked out how to manipulate and instrumentalise the media to their own ends, nipping any new democratic quake in the bud. By Lydia Khalil
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International Women’s Day
Spotlight on Syria's female White Helmets
The women working for Syria's White Helmets are among the most courageous in the world. It's time they received the credit that is due to them, writes Anna Fleischer