February 27th Protest I’m writing this quick post to support all AUB students demanding the immediate abolition of the plan to increase tuition fees. An estimated 1,000-2,000 students are expected to participate in front of College Hall on Thursday February the 27th. I graduated last year from the American University of Beirut and, despite some […]

“Driving with Rida Rida is a character that only Martin Scorsese or John Updike could have created. But Rida is not a fictional creation; he is a Lebanese driver and he is very real. As he takes me through the messy roads of Beirut, Rida complains. He scorns the other drivers and those who allow […]

When unknown assailants torched his library on January 3, Father Ibrahim Sarrouj responded by forgiving them. The assailants, supposedly Muslim fundamentalists, accused Father Sarrouj of attacking Islam by publishing a pamphlet claiming that Abu Bakr, Islam’s first caliph, once beat Muhammad’s wife Aisha with a newspaper. Also Featured on Global Voices Online The library in […]

As part of the growing scandal surrounding Caretaker Youth and Sports Minister Faisal Karam’s call for an investigation over Lebanese Olympian Jackie Chamoun’s past photoshoot, Lebanese netizens have already come up with a creative way to support Jackie: Stripping. Started on the 12th of February 2014, the #StripForJackie campaign already gained over 15,000 followers and features models, men and […]

“Caretaker” Youth and Sports Minister Faisal Karami thinks it’s more damaging to Lebanon’s reputation that one of our best athletes, Jackie Chamoun, participated in a photoshoot where she showed as much skin – less, actually – as what we find in every lingerie shop and in every night club rather than his own refusal to sign […]

I’m following a Coursera course entitled “Constitutional Struggles in the Muslim World” and just received a rather odd email. All students from Syria, Sudan, Iran and Cuba will no longer be able to access Coursera. As some of you may know, Coursera is an online website that offers free courses from many of the world’s […]

Human Rights Watch’s 2014 Global Report was just released. As usual, I’m re-copying the Lebanon section below.

Rima Najdi, aka Madame Bomba, recently gained attention by walking around Beirut with a mock TNT strapped around her. Based in Berlin, she got tired of Lebanon’s volatile situation and decided to take things into her own hands. She walked around Manara, Down Town, Gemayzeh, Spinneys, Ashrafieh, Ras el Nabe3 and Hamra. I ‘sat down’ […]

We’re starting off 2014 with sad news. We’re going through a period that is confusing, terrifying and shocking. Much can be said about Lebanon’s obstacles, and I’ll surely dedicate a few posts to discuss them. But for now, I’ll just share this. Our beloved George Khabbaz wrote a poem called “Rfi’i El Chahid” (My friend […]