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Abdullah Al-Hussein, chairman of the Saudi Press Agency (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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A man smokes a water pipe as he watches Jon Stewart on a TV screen at a coffee shop, in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, June 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Debate: Satire has no place in traditional media
The number of satirical television shows is on the rise in the Arab world. These programs assume the responsibility of discussing issues of public concern, granting them a wide following among people who want to release the frustration and despair caused by the...Caption:
A worker lifts curtains in a theater to reveal a picture of Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef for his comic show “Al-Bernameg” (The Program), in Giza, Cairo, Jan. 15, 2013. (Reuters/Asmaa Waguih)
Debate: Satire has a place in traditional media
I once wrote: “Traditional Arab media is the best defense lawyer for our enemies. . . . Whenever Arab media supports an issue, we always end up losers. If any Arab country’s TV or newspapers were to advocate the duty to love [our] mothers, for example, we would...Caption:
A Lebanese soldier inspects the area outside the Bilal bin Rabah mosque, scene of this week’s deadly clashes between the Lebanese army and supporters of radical Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, in the Abra district of the southern city of Sidon on June 28, 2013. AFP PHOTO/MAHMOUD ZAYYAT
Lebanon’s army puts the boot in
Lebanese singer Fairouz has in the past sung about the Lebanese army. The song in question starts with the line “your footsteps on the ground roar.” It’s a line which people repeat every time war or conflict strikes Lebanon. This song was remembered a lot in Lebanon...Caption:
The ‘Facebook’ logo is reflected in a young woman’s sunglasses. (Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images)