DOCSLIB.ORG

ANTI-AMERICANISM in the ARABIC LANGUAGE MEDIA by Adel Darwish*

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
ANTI-AMERICANISM in the ARABIC LANGUAGE MEDIA by Adel Darwish* ANTI-AMERICANISM IN THE ARABIC LANGUAGE MEDIA By Adel Darwish* Anti-Americanism in the Arabic language media has grown rapidly over the past couple of decades. Utilized for its own ends by the totalitarian Arab states and their government controlled media, anti-American news stories and analysis are common from North Africa to the Gulf. While not an indigenous phenomenon, anti-Americanism in the Middle East is a more virulent form of European anti-Americanism where lighthearted ridicule has been given a darker, more sinister tone. The future is not totally bleak, as recently, new media outlets have attempted to combat in some small way the long legacy of anti-Americanism in the Arabic language media. During a dinner in London with the Middle East. From these newspapers, British and Gulf Arab officials in early television and radio, one would hardly 2003, our conversation touched on what believe that a whole generation in Arabia, is commonly known as "the usual the Gulf, the Levant and North Africa blunders in American foreign policy." still feel any gratitude to the Americans But two senior Gulf diplomats stressed for the help they provided. another side of America, how U.S. The shape and forms of Anti- doctors treated patients at American Americanism in the Arabic language mission hospitals in Iraq, Kuwait, media is all-encompassing: Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia long --Selective showing of negative before oil was found and money lured images about America in drama, films, Western professionals to the region. literature, and news items. "We were a de-facto part of the --Selective use of phraseology and British Empire and ruled by London; yet headlines. This tactic has traditionally it was American mission hospitals to been employed to inflate the ego of which we turned when we were sick and constituency readership or to highlight a needed medicine," said one of the Gulf certain cultural or ideological bias while diplomats. A diplomat from another Gulf undermining opposition to that line. For country added that many of his fellow example, the Arabic press whose owners countrymen received their primary school come from various countries call world- education at American mission schools. renowned heart surgeon Sir Magdi That these diplomats raised the issue Yaccob--who is ethnically a non-Arab, in genuine gratitude to the United States-- Egyptian Copt(1) --an "Arabic surgeon," and perhaps to remind their old colonial while a taxi driver caught fiddling the masters how much they valued America's fare or a shoplifter is referred to as an positive contribution to their lives--was Egyptian. In such a context, Arabic striking since not a single American was subeditors deliver a subliminal message present around the dinner table that to influence readers and listeners. Such is evening. Such views greatly contrast with the case when the Arabic press highlights the editorial line taken by the majority of that "an American priest is sentenced to Arabic language media both in and out of 10 years in jail for sexually assaulting 44 Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol. 7, No. 4 (December 2003) Anti-Americanism in the Arabic Language Media children," without mentioning that the McDonald's hamburgers the most popular victims too were Americans and Iraqi dish instead of the Masgouf fish. Christian churchgoers. --Selective edited translation of --Exaggerating or sexing up of analysis, columns and reporting from headlines without facts to back them up. American, British, European and Israeli For instance, on August 29, 2003 the press of negative writings about America. leading headline in al-Quds al-Arabi, a At the same time, other, more positive London Arabic paper, was "Sharon foreign articles about America are Coordinating with America to Attack ignored by Arabic editors. This ploy Gaza," even though there were no direct gives more credibility to anti-American quotes or any information backing up the pieces since they are written by headline. Americans or Europeans. --Selective reporting and highlighting Citing the above list makes one negative news about murder, rape, high wonder, why and when exactly did crime rates in the United States, while Americans become a target for hatred? ignoring or deemphasizing positive news. Ironically, during the past two decades --Use of cartoons carrying powerful that have witnessed the dramatic rise of images and conveying effective anti-Americanism, Americans continued messages. Most cartoons show Uncle missionary traditions throughout the Sam or American marines supporting region. The hostages kidnapped in Beirut Sharon, or Uncle Sam tilting the scales of in the 1980s or shot at in Yemen in 2002 justice, undermining the UN, or were aid and medical workers and preventing it from doing its job. In one teachers. They were all engaged in cartoon, Uncle Sam is a doctor stepping humanitarian work, belonging to on the oxygen tube that helps a organizations that can hardly be Palestinian patient to breath while the described as an instrument of American latter has his wallet stolen by Sharon. In a foreign policy, and most of them, on a similar cartoon, Sharon, blessed by Uncle personal level, are quite fond of Arabs. Sam, is sucking the blood of a It is also noticeable how the rise of Palestinian. anti-Americanism in the past two decades --Editorial writers, columnists and coincided with a massive increase in television commentators who are media outlets, such as satellite television obviously not reporters that could be services like al-Jazira, al-Arabiyya, and challenged to produce evidence or Abu Dhabi television,(2) as well as the mention facts, spin anti-Americanism in internet. In May 2003, Egyptian their columns unchallenged. Some of commentator Nabil Sharf el Dine asked them write long analytical pieces that on the Elaph.com Arabic website: "Who pass as news based entirely on rumors or has brainwashed North African students conspiracy theories, such as America is who wear American jeans, consume occupying Iraq to secure oil wealth, to American products and communicate remove a possible threat to Israel and to with each other via American computers subject Arab nations to its dominance. An and American websites to organize editorial in al-Quds al-Arabi on August demonstrations to burn the stars and 29, 2003 claimed that electric power stripes, or pelt American embassies with lines, water supplies and utilities were eggs day after day, when common sense destroyed in Iraq by fire from American indicates that they should have been invading forces, which came to colonize demonstrating to improve their meager Iraq. A columnist on August 14, 2003 lot in the first place?" claimed that America is plotting to make Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol. 7, No. 4 (December 2003) 45 Adel Darwish Few would dispute that there are some campaigns terrorized liberal intellectuals obvious blunders in American foreign and writers of different views into either policy but there are also other, generally silence or submission. more powerful and long-term reasons for In a series of articles printed in Al- anti-Americanism in the Middle East. Hayat, a London based daily, in August The loathing or fear of democracy by 2003, about development of literature and the region's dictatorships is a major literary criticism trends, Egyptian writer factor. Equally important is European and media historian Husayn Amine influence, both colonial and post- identified Egyptian philosopher, colonial, in fostering anti-Americanism. Mahmoud Abbas al-Aqad as the only Since there is no true free contest for writer/philosopher in the late 1950s and power that tests the popularity of policy 1960s who stood up to the "left-wing in elections, autocratic rulers keep an eye Mafia of Marxists and Nasserites in the on public opinion and public mood, field of media and art who managed which in turn has a great impact on their within a decade to create an foreign policy, leading to a catch-22 unprecedented reign of terror in Egyptian situation. On the one hand, Middle intellectual life." Amine continued: Eastern leaders use anti-American public sentiment as an excuse to both distance They established their own school themselves from American foreign policy of literary criticism and art built activities which would genuinely help on Marxist fundamentalism. Their their peoples, and to manipulate that writing style and expressions were public mood to their own advantage, like harsh in their onslaught on delaying reform or blackmailing liberals not following their Washington into giving more aid. On the Marxist line. They terrorized other hand, those governments do little to artists and writers into confining persuade the media, which they often expression to what they called control, to soften or reduce the strong socialist realism. No one dared to message of anti-Americanism. There are compose a poem or write a short even occasions when those governments story or paint a picture that didn't encourage the trend of anti-Americanism, conform to Colonel Nasser's sometimes to deflect domestic criticism brand of nationalism and of their policy away from them. socialism. Most of the regional media is on automatic pilot, cruising on a course set This literary oligarchy was selective in by the editorial hierarchy during the translating American literature during the heyday of pan-Arab nationalism and so-called "thousand book project" to alliance with the Soviet bloc. Those translate into Arabic that many books editorial teams are part of mini-media every year. The project was dominated by empires where the editorial line is left Russian, Soviet bloc, French and Latin over from the days when they were American books. Those American books aspiring to positions of power in the that were translated were written by left- ruling establishment. Press clippings, wing authors who were victims of diaries of intellectuals, and literature in McCarthyism and who painted American the 1960s show how left-wing Marxist life in a negative light, omitting the fact trends, beginning with the Egyptian that American liberal democracy government-directed media during Gamal tolerated such criticism in the first place.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Aggressive Behaviors Within Politics, 1948-1962: a Cross-National Study," Journal of Conflict Resolution 10, No.3 (September 1966): 249-270
    NOTES 1 INTRODUCTION: CONTENDING VIEWS-MILITARISM, MILITARIZATION AND WAR 1. Ivo Feierabend and Rosalind Feierabend, "Aggressive Behaviors within Politics, 1948-1962: A Cross-National Study," Journal of Conflict Resolution 10, no.3 (September 1966): 249-270. 2. Patrick Morgan, "Disarmament," in Joel Krieger, ed., The Oxford Companion to the Politics of the World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993),246. 3. Stuart Bremer, "Dangerous Dyads: Conditions Mfecting the Likelihood of Interstate War, 1816-1965," Journal of Conflict Resolution 36, no.2 (June 1992): 309-341,318,330; The remainder of Bremer's study has to do with the impact of military spending and not with variations caused by regime type. 4. Thomas Lindemann and Michel Louis Martin, "The Military and the Use of Force," in Giuseppe Caforio, ed., Handbook of the Sociology of the Military (New York: Kluwer, 2003),99-109,104-109. 5. Alfred Vagts, Defense and Diplomacy-The Soldier and the Conduct of Foreign Relations (New York: King Crown's Press, 1958), 3. The concept was subsequently applied by Herbert Spencer, Otto Hintze, and Karl Marx. See Volker Berghahn, Militarism: The History of an International Debate, 1861-1979 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984). 6. Herbert Spencer, Principles of Sociology, Stanislav Andreski, ed. (London: Macmillan, 1969): 499-571. 7. Felix Gilbert, ed., The Historical Essays of Otto Hintze (New York: Oxford University Press, 1975), 199. 8. Karl Liebknecht, Militarism (Toronto: William Briggs, 1917); Berghahn, 18,23,25. 9. James Donovan, Militarism U.S.A. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970),25. 10. Berghahn, 19. 11. Dan Reiter and Allan Starn, "IdentifYing the Culprit: Democracy, Dictatorship, and Dispute Initiation," American Political Science Review 97, no.2 (May 2003): 333-337; see also R.
    [Show full text]
  • A History of American Civil War Literature Edited by Coleman Hutchison Frontmatter More Information
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-10972-8 - A History of American Civil War Literature Edited by Coleman Hutchison Frontmatter More information A HISTORY OF AMERICAN CIVIL WAR LITERATURE Th is book is the fi rst omnibus history of the literature of the American Civil War, the deadliest confl ict in U.S. history. A History of American Civil War Literature examines the way the war has been remembered and rewritten over time. Th is history incorporates new directions in Civil War historiography and cultural studies while giving equal attention to writings from both the northern and the southern states. Written by leading scholars in the fi eld, this book works to redefi ne the boundaries of American Civil War literature while posing a fundamental question: Why does this 150-year-old confl ict continue to capture the American imagination? Coleman Hutchison is an associate professor of English at Th e University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches courses in nineteenth-century U.S. literature and culture, bibliography and tex- tual studies, and poetry and poetics. He is the author of the fi rst literary history of the Civil War South, Apples and Ashes: Literature, Nationalism, and the Confederate States of America (2012) and the coauthor of Writing about American Literature: A Guide for Students (2014). Hutchison’s work has appeared in American Literary History, Common-Place, Comparative American Studies, CR: Th e New Centennial Review, Journal of American Studies, Th e Emily Dickinson Journal, PMLA , and Southern Spaces, among other venues.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel: Growing Pains at 60
    Viewpoints Special Edition Israel: Growing Pains at 60 The Middle East Institute Washington, DC Middle East Institute The mission of the Middle East Institute is to promote knowledge of the Middle East in Amer- ica and strengthen understanding of the United States by the people and governments of the region. For more than 60 years, MEI has dealt with the momentous events in the Middle East — from the birth of the state of Israel to the invasion of Iraq. Today, MEI is a foremost authority on contemporary Middle East issues. It pro- vides a vital forum for honest and open debate that attracts politicians, scholars, government officials, and policy experts from the US, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. MEI enjoys wide access to political and business leaders in countries throughout the region. Along with information exchanges, facilities for research, objective analysis, and thoughtful commentary, MEI’s programs and publications help counter simplistic notions about the Middle East and America. We are at the forefront of private sector public diplomacy. Viewpoints are another MEI service to audiences interested in learning more about the complexities of issues affecting the Middle East and US rela- tions with the region. To learn more about the Middle East Institute, visit our website at http://www.mideasti.org The maps on pages 96-103 are copyright The Foundation for Middle East Peace. Our thanks to the Foundation for graciously allowing the inclusion of the maps in this publication. Cover photo in the top row, middle is © Tom Spender/IRIN, as is the photo in the bottom row, extreme left.
    [Show full text]
  • The Changing Geopolitical Dynamics of the Middle East and Their Impact on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts
    Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Honors Theses Lee Honors College 4-25-2018 The Changing Geopolitical Dynamics of the Middle East and their Impact on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts Daniel Bucksbaum Western Michigan University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses Part of the Comparative Politics Commons, International Relations Commons, and the Other Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Bucksbaum, Daniel, "The Changing Geopolitical Dynamics of the Middle East and their Impact on Israeli- Palestinian Peace Efforts" (2018). Honors Theses. 3009. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses/3009 This Honors Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Lee Honors College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Changing Geopolitical Dynamics of the Middle East and their Impact on Israeli- Palestinian Peace Efforts By Daniel Bucksbaum A thesis submitted to the Lee Honors College Western Michigan University April 2018 Thesis Committee: Jim Butterfield, Ph.D., Chair Yuan-Kang Wang, Ph.D. Mustafa Mughazy, Ph.D. Bucksbaum 1 Table of Contents I. Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3 II. Source Material……………………………………………………………………………………………………….4 III. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….4 IV. Historical Context for the Two-State Solution………………………………………………………...6 a. Deeply Rooted and Ideological Claims to the Land……………………………………………….…..7 b. Legacy of the Oslo Accords……………………………………………………………………………………….9 c. Israeli Narrative: Why the Two-State Solution is Unfeasible……………………………………19 d. Palestinian Narrative: Why the Two-State Solution has become unattainable………..22 e. Drop in Support for the Two-State Solution; Negotiations entirely…………………………27 f.
    [Show full text]
  • Native American Literature: Remembrance, Renewal
    U.S. Society and Values, "Contemporary U.S. Literature: Multicultura...partment of State, International Information Programs, February 2000 NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE: REMEMBRANCE, RENEWAL By Geary Hobson In 1969, the fiction committee for the prestigious Pulitzer Prizes in literature awarded its annual honor to N. Scott Momaday, a young professor of English at Stanford University in California, for a book entitled House Made of Dawn. The fact that Momaday's novel dealt almost entirely with Native Americans did not escape the attention of the news media or of readers and scholars of contemporary literature. Neither did the author's Kiowa Indian background. As news articles pointed out, not since Oliver LaFarge received the same honor for Laughing Boy, exactly 40 years earlier, had a so-called "Indian" novel been so honored. But whereas LaFarge was a white man writing about Indians, Momaday was an Indian -- the first Native American Pulitzer laureate. That same year, 1969, another young writer, a Sioux attorney named Vine Deloria, Jr., published Custer Died For Your Sins, subtitled "an Indian Manifesto." It examined, incisively, U.S. attitudes at the time towards Native American matters, and appeared almost simultaneously with The American Indian Speaks, an anthology of writings by various promising young American Indians -- among them Simon J. Ortiz, James Welch, Phil George, Janet Campbell and Grey Cohoe, all of whom had been only fitfully published at that point. These developments that spurred renewed -- or new -- interest in contemporary Native American writing were accompanied by the appearance around that time of two works of general scholarship on the subject, Peter Farb's Man's Rise to Civilization (1968) and Dee Brown's Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (1970).
    [Show full text]
  • Nicholas Fanizzi Visual Essay
    Nicholas Fanizzi Japanese-American Internment Several times in history a country has turned on its own people. During World War II, Japan was introduced into the war, when they conducted a surprise attack on the United States’ home soil. Japan commenced an air raid on Pearl Harbor claiming the lives of over 2,300 Americans troops. With only one vote against the decision, Congress sent America to war against Japan. The rest of America supported Congress’ decision. The United States was in a full out war with Japan, which included homeland discrimination against the Japanese. Mayor Laguardia of New York took out all of the Japanese from the city and kept them in custody on Ellis Island. This started a nationwide purge of the Japanese race causing Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The proclamation authorized the military to exclude people from certain areas and force relocation (“Roosevelt”). This was for people of all foreign races but specifically targeted the Japanese. Although the immediate effects of the attack on Pearl Harbor were traumatic, the homeland reaction included racial segmentation, unjust relocation with internment camps, and stereotyping the Japanese race in America. Source: Theodore Geisel, “Waiting for the Signal From Home,” PM Magazine, February 13, 1942 Children's author Dr. Seuss was a prominent anti-Japanese political cartoonist during World War II. One of his most prominent and popular cartoons was “Waiting for a Signal From Home” published on February 13th, 1942. The attack on Pearl Harbor left people worrying if the Japanese would strike again and left America feeling vulnerable.
    [Show full text]
  • Anti-Americanism and Popular Culture
    2005 Anti-Americanism and Popular Culture. Budapest: Center for Policy Studies Working Papers. 38 pp. <http://cps.ceu.hu/papers.php>. © Central European University The views in this report are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Policy Studies, Central European University or the Open Society Institute. CENTER FOR POLICY STUDIES CENTRAL EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY Nádor utca 9 H–1051 Budapest, Hungary [email protected] http://www.ceu.hu/cps Toby Miller Tisch School of the Arts New York University 721 Broadway, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10003 [email protected] 2005 Typesetting • Tamás Dombos ANTI-AMERICANISM AND POPULAR CULTURE ^ CONTENTS 1. Introduction 5 2. Key Terms I: Anti-Americanism 7 3. Key Terms II: Popular Culture 8 4. Cultural Dominance 10 5. Role of the State 15 6. Opposition 20 7. Conclusion and Recommendations 25 7.1 Recommendations 26 3 ANTI-AMERICANISM AND POPULAR CULTURE ^ Here’s the rub: America is at war against people it doesn’t know, because they don’t appear much on TV. Arundhati Roy (2001) “I like taxis. I was never good at geography and I learn things by asking the drivers where they come from.” “They come from horror and despair.” “Yes, exactly. One learns about the countries where unrest is occurring by riding the taxis here.” Don DeLillo (2003: 16) The core of globalization is to achieve economic hegemony of a few rich states, the United States of America in particular, as well as the hegemony of Western consumer culture, threatening the peoples’ cultures, methods of living and spiritual values.
    [Show full text]
  • A. Introduction the United Nations Population Fund-UNFPA
    A. Introduction The United Nations Population Fund-UNFPA is an international development agency that works on population and development, sexual and reproductive health, and gender. In the area of ageing populations, UNFPA supports public policy and promotes policy dialogue to respond to the challenges posed by the social, health, and economic consequences of ageing populations – and to meet the needs of older persons, with particular emphasis on the poor, especially women. The Academy1 was created to promote practical approaches to human rights and humanitarian law as well as to strengthen links between human rights organizations, practitioners, and educators worldwide. The Academy’s programs, partnerships, research and scholarly endeavors were designed and implemented to enhance the culture and prominence of human rights and humanitarian law around the world. The initiatives have included, inter alia, empowering training for scholars, practitioners, and students interested in the international human rights systems and laws, in particular via the Program of Advanced Studies on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. The Academy developed a number of research and scholarly projects to address the human rights concerns and challenges of vulnerable groups and the victims of human rights violations. The objective of this joint contribution is to provide input for the report by the UN Secretary General on the implementation of Resolution 65/182 on the situation of the rights of older persons in all regions. The content of the contribution provides for summarized findings on legislation, policies and programmes issued by states to protect, promote and fulfil the rights of older persons at national levels in five regions: Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Arab countries, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
    [Show full text]
  • Egypt and the Middle East
    Monitoring Study: British Media Portrayals of Egypt Author: Guy Gabriel - AMW adviser Contact details: Tel: 07815 747 729 E-mail: [email protected] Newspapers monitored: All British national daily broadsheets and tabloids, as well as the Evening Standard Monitoring period: May 2008 - May 2009 1 Table of contents: Egypt & the Middle East Regional Importance Israel Camp David Accords The Gulf Sudan Horn of Africa Diplomacy towards Palestine Before Gaza Conflict 2009 Gaza 2009 Diplomacy The Palestine Border Tunnel Economy Crossing Closures Domestic Egypt Food Religion in Society State Ideology Economy Miscellaneous Domestic Threats Emergency Rule & Internal Security Terrorism Egypt & the West Egypt as an Ally 'War on Terror' Suez Ancient Egypt Influence of Egyptian Art Other Legacies Tourism 2 Egypt & the Middle East Regional Importance Various other Middle Eastern countries are sometimes mentioned in connection with Egypt's regional influence, though very rarely those from North Africa. In terms of Egypt's standing in the Middle East as viewed by the US, a meeting in Cairo, as well as Saudi Arabia and Israel, are "necessary step[s] in the careful path Mr Obama is laying out," notes Times chief foreign affairs commentator Bronwen Maddox (29 May 2009). A "solid" Arab-Israeli peace deal "must include President Mubarak of Egypt," says Michael Levy in the same newspaper (14 May 2009). Regarding a divided Lebanon, the Arab League is "tainted by the commitment of the Saudis and Egyptians to one side rather than the other," according to an Independent editorial (13 May 2008). Egypt appointing an ambassador to Iraq generates interest "not only because it is the most populous Arab country but also because its chargé d'affaires in Baghdad was kidnapped and killed in 2005," writes Guardian Middle East editor Ian Black (2 July 2008).
    [Show full text]
  • Frank O'hara's Oranges : Poetry, Painters and Painting
    University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 8-2001 Frank O'Hara's oranges : poetry, painters and painting. Karen Ware 1973- University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Recommended Citation Ware, Karen 1973-, "Frank O'Hara's oranges : poetry, painters and painting." (2001). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1531. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/1531 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FRANK O'HARA'S ORANGES: Poetry, Painters and Painting By Karen Ware B.A., Spalding University, 1994 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Louisville In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Department of English University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky August 2001 FRANK O'HARA'S ORANGES: Poetry, Painters and Painting By Karen Ware B.A., Spalding University, 1994 A Thesis Approved on by the following Reading Committee: Thesis MrectO'r 11 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to Clare Pearce, because I promised, and to Kyle, through all things. III ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many amazing individuals have taken a seat in the roller coaster construction of this long-awaited project.
    [Show full text]
  • An Analysis of Selected Online News Portals' Advertising Rates in The
    An Analysis of Selected Online News Portals’ Advertising Rates in the Arab World 2015 Arab Advisors Group Media Strategic Research Service March 2015 Analyst: Hind Qweider This report has been delivered to Client as part of the subscription to the Arab Advisors Group Media Strategic Research Service to be used exclusively by its employees © Arab Advisors Group, licensed to Arab Advisors Group An Analysis of Selected Online Portals’ Advertising Rates in the Arab World 2015 ` Copyright notice: Copyright 2015 by Arab Advisors Group. All rights reserved. No material contained in this report may be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any unauthorized use, disclosure, copying, selling, distribution or in any way transfer of any direct or indirect information from this report which is the property of Arab Advisors Group, removing, erasing or hiding from view any copyright, trademark, confidentiality notice, mark or legend appearing on Arab Advisors Group products or any form of output is strictly prohibited, and will be under legal responsibility. The information contained in this report has been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, but neither its completeness nor accuracy can be guaranteed. Opinions expressed are based on our interpretation of the available information, and are subject to change. Feedback: Our clients’ satisfaction is of our utmost concern. We welcome all feedback regarding our research and products. Please send us your notes on this report, what you found useful in it and future research directions that would help you in your business. Send feedback emails to: [email protected] © 2015 Arab Advisors Group © Arab Advisors Group, licensedReproduction to Arab Prohibited Advisors Group An Analysis of Selected Online Portals’ Advertising Rates in the Arab World 2015 ` Table of Contents Section I: Introduction ......................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Policy Notes March 2021
    THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY MARCH 2021 POLICY NOTES NO. 100 In the Service of Ideology: Iran’s Religious and Socioeconomic Activities in Syria Oula A. Alrifai “Syria is the 35th province and a strategic province for Iran...If the enemy attacks and aims to capture both Syria and Khuzestan our priority would be Syria. Because if we hold on to Syria, we would be able to retake Khuzestan; yet if Syria were lost, we would not be able to keep even Tehran.” — Mehdi Taeb, commander, Basij Resistance Force, 2013* Taeb, 2013 ran’s policy toward Syria is aimed at providing strategic depth for the Pictured are the Sayyeda Tehran regime. Since its inception in 1979, the regime has coopted local Zainab shrine in Damascus, Syrian Shia religious infrastructure while also building its own. Through youth scouts, and a pro-Iran I proxy actors from Lebanon and Iraq based mainly around the shrine of gathering, at which the banner Sayyeda Zainab on the outskirts of Damascus, the Iranian regime has reads, “Sayyed Commander Khamenei: You are the leader of the Arab world.” *Quoted in Ashfon Ostovar, Vanguard of the Imam: Religion, Politics, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (2016). Khuzestan, in southwestern Iran, is the site of a decades-long separatist movement. OULA A. ALRIFAI IRAN’S RELIGIOUS AND SOCIOECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN SYRIA consolidated control over levers in various localities. against fellow Baathists in Damascus on November Beyond religious proselytization, these networks 13, 1970. At the time, Iran’s Shia clerics were in exile have provided education, healthcare, and social as Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was still in control services, among other things.
    [Show full text]