A couple of weeks ago, we were all surprised to see that Lebanon was among the locations used by Braden Summers in his “All Love is Equal” photoshoot showcasing 15 LGBT couples from around the world. The Lebanese one features two beautiful women modeling as a Lesbian couple in a traditional Lebanese house. I was […]

Sawa for Syria is teaming up with Mashroo’ Leila and C U NXT Sat‘s DJs to raise funds for Syrian refugees.

The “Save Achrafieh” protest against the Fouad Boutros Highway project took place on Saturday the 1st of March at 3pm in front of EDL Mar Mikhael. The second one will take place on Sunday the 2nd of March at 11 am near the Maronite Archbishopric of Rmeil, Achrafieh. Based on various studies done by NGOs and […]

“Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion. Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press. Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering […]

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 […]

“You have your Lebanon and its dilemma. I have my Lebanon and its beauty. Your Lebanon is an arena for men from the West and men from the East. My Lebanon is a flock of birds fluttering in the early morning as shepherds lead their sheep into the meadow and rising in the evening as farmers […]

I just came back from the movie screening of “I am Breathing” which was presented by the Lebanese Association for Neuromuscular Diseases or “LAND” in partnership with the British Council at Metropolis Empire Sofil. My mind has been occupied with countless imagined scenarios of what it might have felt like to be in Neil Platt’s place. […]

Compassion in World Farming UK has launched a petition aimed directly at the Lebanese Agriculture Minister asking him to shut down the notorious Karantina Slaughterhouse. And who can blame them? Last year, my class and I visited the Karantina Slaughterhouse and what we found was disturbing to say the least: tortured animals being beaten to […]