On Monday, the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding of Georgetown University hosted a discussion titled “Women and the Arab Spring.” The discussion featured Nimah Ismail Nawwab, a Saudi poet, editor, writer and photographer. Nawwab's engaging talks in countries across the East and West help build bridges of understanding to an often still mysterious realm - that of the women of Saudi Arabia - their lives as well as their ...

On Tuesday, Freedom House released their annual freedom of the press report entitled “Press Freedom in 2011: Breakthroughs and Pushback in the Middle East.” Dramatic improvements in media freedoms occurred in the region—specifically in Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt—as citizens overthrew their autocratic leaders, ending an era of tightly censored media information. Tunisia and Libya made record-breaking improvements in 2011, transitioning from among the world’s most oppressive countries to partly free. Despite ...

On Tuesday, the Program for Jewish civilization of Georgetown University hosted a discussion entitled “Reflections on Democracy and the Arab Spring.” The panelist discussed the political perspectives about the change in the Middle Region and suggested for U.S. actions. The discussion featured from the senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations Elliot Abrams. Abrams formerly served as the Deputy National Security Advisor for Global Democracy ...

Kuwait's parliament announced that nine lawmakers could face prosecution for storming the assembly last year during protests against the former prime minister. In a series of events that led to the dissolution of parliament, the government's resignation, and at least 45 arrests Kuwait was forced to hold "snap elections" in February. On Tuesday, the parliament granted the request of the prosecution service to lift the immunity that was granted to the members ...

Last Wednesday, Al Akhbar reported that nearly 1,500 Jordanians held a demonstrated demanding the release of 19 imprisoned activist charged with insulting the king, with the larger agenda of calling for political reforms. "The country is being detoryed becauses reformists are jailed while the corrupt are protected," former MP Ahmad Kafawin of the Muslim Brotherhood said speaking to a crowd chanting "The people demand the reform of the regime." On Sunday, 13 additional activists were accused of insulting the king and ...

Egypt’s Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs rejected the applications of eight American nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which means the groups can no longer operate in Egypt legally, according to state –run MENA. The eight organizations include the Carter Center, Coptic Orphans, and Seeds of Peace. Sanne van den Bergh, the field office director for the Carter Center, said the group had not yet been contacted by the government and said ...

On Thursday, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, and the Middle East Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars co-hosted a conference titled Democracy and Human Rights in Iran, in honor of Siamak Pourzand. The third panel, “Politics or Culture? Iran’s Main Obstacles to Democracy,” featured Nazila Fathi, former Iran-based correspondent for the New York Times, Arash ...

    On Thursday, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, and the Middle East Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars co-hosted a conference titled Democracy and Human Rights in Iran, in honor of Siamak Pourzand. The second panel, Information, Communications, and Media in Iran, featured Mehdi Yahyanejad, founder of Balatarin and co-founder of the Iranian Studies Group, Nikahang ...