Mona Eltahawy at PostGlobal

Mona Eltahawy

New York City, NY, USA

Mona Eltahawy is an award-winning syndicated columnist and an international lecturer on Arab and Muslim issues. Before she moved to the U.S. in 2000, she was a news reporter in the Middle East, including in Cairo and Jerusalem as a Reuters correspondent. She also reported from the region for Britain's The Guardian and U.S. News and World Report. She has lived in Egypt, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, and is currently based in New York. Close.

Mona Eltahawy

New York City, NY, USA

Mona Eltahawy is an award-winning syndicated columnist and an international lecturer on Arab and Muslim issues. Before she moved to the U.S. in 2000, she was a news reporter in the Middle East, including in Cairo and Jerusalem as a Reuters correspondent. She also reported from the region for Britain's The Guardian and U.S. News and World Report. She has lived in Egypt, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, and is currently based in New York. more »

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Arab Bloggers Keep Watch Over Government – And Each Other

A thrilling equation in the Arab world: one man/woman + internet = very angry dictator.

» Back to full entry

All Comments (22)

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emilywww:

Hi im new to this forum. im looking for some friends and maybe an internet boyfriend :P jejeje. if anyone wants to email or message me on yahoo heres my Y!ID: emilywww88 oh and if you want pix just ask! IM HOT jaja!!!
Heres a pic of me: http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/4498/13xa9.jpg

muhammad yaqoob:

well this is really good stuff. I appreciate it.

freexxxpron:










kazeem_mohamed@yhoo.com:

Hi,
My name is kazeem mohamed , i am from
a very respected home, presently i live in Egypt. I
would like to apply through this letter for your
co-operation to do joint business with you in your
country. I have some money usd$5 million in a banking
firm ready to claim, i only need you to stand as a
business partner to my late father so that i can be
able to claim the money from the firm. I propose 15%
of the total money to you while 85% is to be held on
trust by you until we can decide on a suitable
business investment with you in your country
subsequent to my free movement to join you. I''ll
write you with more details when you reply me with
your readiness to handle this issue. Pls send your
telephone number along so that i can call you for
discussions in regards to this issue.
Sincerely
thanks kazeem
email kazeem_mohamed@yhoo.com

Mohamed Ali, Morocco:

Quote: "They have each other’s backs, and they’re determined to stay on the back of their respective regimes."

As you can see at my main blog (http://arabicwithlagouader.blogspot.com/), I write about a lot of things (and I have an ever-growing audience, a number of them are bloggers and journalists). But I have no reason why I should be "on the back" of my "regime". From the beginning I decided not to be on the opposition side --not that I'm with the government, either. Governments change, so I have to focus on what's more lasting.

Samuel Cohen:

When I visited Egypt in the Eighties I "Fell in Love"
with Egypt and I am sorry to hear about what is going on there. I hope that Democracy comes to Egypt too.
I hope Mubarak Encourages it and Passes on his Leadership to a new Generation.
As for Facebook and WEB 2.0 Technology also in Israel there are youngsters who think that Politics can be run by Bloggers. Israel is Strong but Israeli Politics is very weak.
Sam in Jaffa Israel.

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Asim, San Antonio:

Mona,
The evil in the Arab East is made of two types:

Fristly,the Decadent Arab dictators and corrupt tyrants-no exceptions here and it's all across;

Secondly,the racist apartheid miliatristic jewsih occupying theocracy"israel" that is the prime source of evil in the region because:

a)The surrounding Arab states feeling the existential threat from the jewsih apartheid state spent all their resources on defence and were not able to effect any real economic development for a lrgely explosive young population and failed misreably to liberate Palestine;AND

b)Instead,the Arab corrupt dicatators have used the Palestine issue to consolidate their dynastic rule all over and told their people they will have democracy after the liberation of Palestine!!! Well Palestine will liberated sooner than later but not by these self-serving tyrants. Democrcay is a prerequisite to the liberation of Palestine:how could enslaved and oppressed Arab masses free and liberate Palestine when they themselves are not free??

More importantly,which is a critical point that you overlooked, is that the US especially and western Europe generally protect,nurture and support these tyrants-while making a lot of false noise about the need for "democracy Bush style" in the Arab world as the case in the ugliest form of secterian gang that rules Iraq nowdays-well hardly rules it anyway.

The Solution should come from two fronts, from within and from without:from within by the Arab people themselves esepcially the yong to insist on real democrcay and from without by the west especially the US -after the cluless guy departs-to insist that democrcay is a must;this starts by the US withdrawing its support and protection of these corrupt dictators...saudi Arabia and Egypt leading the lot among others.

US support for these tyrants is what is keeping them in power and the US even describes them falsely as '"moderates."

POile:

Well, thanks to Bush we are starting democracy in the Mid East. And according to Rice, this will revolutionize the region..... blah blah blah.... Only the Mid East...
The only concern for the Mid East dictators is bowing to the USA. The Saudi's will never be removed by their own people because the USA would never allow it.
The BS about democracy in the Mid East is just to get the population to support W in Iraq and Iran. Ask Iranians what happened in '53. Funny, you never mentioned that.

william kraal:

The prophesy of Jesus - the truth will set us free - is manifested in justice. Infused with the giving spirit of righteously celebrated historical martyrs for truth, the bloggers who risk and endure imprisonment are my heroes.

OH JEZUS MARIA PLEASE GET A LIFE I PROMISE YOU THAT DUDE JESUZ SHE HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. KEEP ALL THAT BS FRAUD/JESUS SCAM AWAY FROM THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE PLEASE!!

Chandra Shekhar Balachandran:

I loved reading this article.

In the initial days (which in IT-time is decades) of the Information Revolution, much was said about the democratizing power of the 'net.

I believed because I could imagine what the future might hold.

Then I doubted because the evidence was not convincing or compelling.

Now, the evidence is increasingly giving me hope that this tool IS indeed capable of fostering more open discourses.

It is vital that these same groups which are now using this tool to foster open-ness, should not, once they gain ascendancy, turn the tool into a more sophisticated form of their own brand of oppression. This is a real and serious danger.

Meanwhile, dictators MUST rightly be worried. This worry will lead to myopic action (which, very sadly, will cause deaths of many people), which in turn will bring them down.

What will replace them, though?

william kraal:

i was recently at an hotel in cairo and the internet charges for 24 hrs were approx. 25 us dollars, this is almost 1 months wages for an egyptian laborer. i noticed lots of old computers at the american university downtown cairo which i believe are free to use for students but they will allow americans into the compound when you show a us passport to the guard and just tell him you want to visit the bookshop or lunchroom with its blaring tv!!
one real fancy hotel downtown cairo next to the nile charged us 50 us dollars to use their pool etc for the day , hey no food or room included in this deal, no wonder all egyptians think we americans are made of gold when they hear this stuff.
sadly egypt and cairo is becoming more conservative and homophobic each time i visit and most likely this probably was my last visit. i had the feeling that it had become an police state just like the soviet union must have been 15 years ago,.some of the fancier hotels dont even allow normal ( the rich ones are ok) egyptians to enter, and soldiers stop you for a smoke even the guards at the egyptian museum when they are not cruising the tourist ask for money or a smoke, one soldier told me he gets one buck a month!!
so lets hope the internet cafes will start the next egyptian revolution with freedom for all sexes , the egyptians deserve much better!!

jhbyer:

This very encouraging, inspiring report fuels my hopes for the the Internet as the latest technological triumph to advance social progress by extending access to truth. The prophesy of Jesus - the truth will set us free - is manifested in justice. Infused with the giving spirit of righteously celebrated historical martyrs for truth, the bloggers who risk and endure imprisonment are my heroes.

Venkat:

I don't understand why censorship is protested partially, how many in the Western and Indian media have protested the subtle 'Net' censorship imposed by the hijda Government of Manmoron Singh in India on the following websites:

1. www.Hinduunity.org
2. www.Swordoftruth.com (original) not the present Christian website

Inspite of knowing the real reason why are Print and Visual media quiet? Because they expose the nefarious activities of the media darling the former aupair and Vatican's Matahari in New Delhi? Hindu unity was banned in India as it carried the rape of poor Sukanya Devi in Amethi on Dec 3rd 2006 by an upstart political novice of Italian descent and the other website had extensive coverage of this aupair's mafia and Vatican connections in varied "industry" like money-laundering, drug-running and other activities severely punishable in the West but actively promoted in India by the West!

Is forked tongue sermons an exclusive privilege of Western Journalists?

Deb:

I am so proud of all of these young people. Tell them to keep it up, not in the name of "democracy" but in the name of justice as defined by them. It is you young people who need to take the power from us old folks who have become addled with age, having forgotten the hope of our youth. It is you who will build the world that we can enjoy in our declining age, proud of what you have done.

I am a part of the "civil rights" generation. Remember, we were YOUNG when we stepped out certain that we could make a change.

Don't give up. Let the adversity make you more resolute in your mission.

Confused:

I don't know what to say. I don't want the Ikhwan to win any power because my family is Coptic. We're already up shi* creek as it is!

But then again, the same pattern of cracking down on dissidents gets us in trouble when we protest against hate crimes.

Everyone deserves better in Egypt. We need a secular party that will bring all of our different traditions together. Hopefully, everyone can blog, but the secular party's posts will be more attractive.

Jess:

It's fascinating, your article has the most examples and substantive analysis, yet no one has commented.

The other writers for this series - two of whom are naysayers about the power of the internet for expanding freedom of speech and civic action - have loads of comments.

You are the only women in this article series...hmmm is there a connection?

Well, I'm writing a book on advocacy tactics and strategies; guess who I will be quoting?;)

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