Yesterday Iran confirmed that its revolutionary guards corps (IRGC) forces are present in Syria helping Bashar al-Assad's government fight rebel forces. General Mohammad Ali Jafari, Commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, issued a further warning...
CATEGORY: Middle East and North Africa
A new argument for censorship?
Anti-Islam film: Padraig Reidy asks if this time is different from previous blasphemy rows
Islam blasphemy riots now self-fulfilling prophecy
The protests against controversial film “Innocence of the Muslims” follow a pattern familiar since the days of the Satanic Verses fatwa, says James Kirchick. And so do the reactions of many western liberals
Response: Myriam Francois-Cerrah | Film protests about much more than religion
Film protests about much more than religion
Reducing the reaction to “The Innocence of Muslims” to merely an issue of hysterical reaction to blasphemy ignores deep unease at the US’s role in the Arab world, says Myriam Francois-Cerrah
Bahraini activist acquitted of Twitter charges but remains in prison
Prominent Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab was today acquitted of insulting the Sunni citizens of the island of Muharraq on Twitter. Rajab was sentenced to three months in prison on 9 July for his remarks on the site. However, the...
Five bizarre blasphemy cases
An 11-year-old girl with Down’s Syndrome was last week arrested in Pakistan, after an angry mob demanded that the girl be punished for allegedly desecrating the Qur’an --- the Islamic holy book. The young girl is a resident of a Christian...
Senior cleric’s fatwa against protesters sparks outrage
A controversial fatwa issued by a prominent Muslim cleric sanctioning violence against anti-Muslim Brotherhood activists planning demonstrations in Cairo on 24 August, has sent shockwaves throughout Egyptian society, triggering public outcry and...
Bahrain activist Nabeel Rajab sentenced to three years in prison
Index on Censorship condemns the sentencing of human rights defender and Index award winner Nabeel Rajab to three years in prison
New-era privacy law drafted to protect Tunisians from the surveillance state
Tunisia's data protection authority is in the process of amending the country's 2004 privacy law, which will regulate the use of personal data. Hacking into activists’ emails, tapping into dissidents’ phone calls, or installing surveillance...
