MER Article Constructing an International Criminal Court From June 15 until July 17, 1998, diplomats from around the world are assembling an International Criminal Court (ICC). Complementing the International Court of Justice in the Hague, which hears disputes between governments, the ICC would investigate and try individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. An Joe Stork • 6 min read
MER Article From the Editor (Summer 1998) This issue of Middle East Report is intended as a counterpoint to the celebrations of Israel’s fiftieth anniversary and Zionism’s one hundredth. In representing perspectives that have not been addressed during these celebrations, we emphasize those people who have been victimized, marginalized and excluded by the creation of Geoff Hartman • 2 min read
MER Article Editor's Picks (Spring 1998) Abul-Husn, Latif. The Lebanese Conflict: Looking Inward (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1998). Afkhami, Mahnaz and Erika Friedl. Muslim Women and the Politics of Participation: Implementing the Beijing Platform (Syracuse, NY: syracuse University Press, 1997). Bagader, Abubaker, Ava M. Heinrichsdorff (Author not identified) • 1 min read
MER Article Press Freedom in Jordan Throughout 1997, mounting restrictions on the press in Jordan reflected the government’s broader agenda of masking the widening divide between the state and its domestic political critics. In May, 1997, six months before the parliamentary elections, the cabinet of Prime Minister ‘Abd al-Salam al-Maj Joel Campagna • 14 min read
MER Article Under Western Eyes Hugh Roberts is a senior research fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a specialist on Algerian political history. Middle East Report recently asked him to give his view on the continuing violence in Algeria and what, if anything, western governments can do about the si Hugh Roberts • 12 min read
MER Article Unlocking the Arab Celluloid Closet Images of same-sex love and sexual dissidence from the heterosexual norm have long been portrayed in literature, theater and cinema in the Arab world. While the explicit depiction of homosexual acts in film has been the subject of strict censorship, cinematic references to gays and lesbians abound, Garay Menicucci • 17 min read
MER Article Transgressing Patriarchy There is a general perception in Egypt today, shared by fans and many critics, that “old” Egyptian films depicted sex more tastefully than recent films. The following passage by critic Hisham Lashin is typical: Until approximately the middle of the 1960s, the Egyptian cinema treated the subject of Walter Armbrust • 10 min read
MER Article Zionist Lesbianism and Transsexual Transgression The music of Dana International, a transsexual singer committed to queer issues, often parodies mainstream Israeli culture. Her latest song, “Diva,” was recently selected by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority to represent Israel at this May’s prestigious European song competition, Eurovision. [1] As Yael Ben-zvi • 12 min read
MER Article Transsexuals and the Urban Landscape in Istanbul Few social groups can boast the visibility and media attention that male-to-female transsexuals have received in Turkey in recent years. At one point, hardly a month went by without some feature in a popular magazine or a television interview. The cartoonist Latif Demirci captured this frenzied inte Deniz Kandiyoti • 5 min read
MER Article AIDS Hotline in Cairo “AIDS is God’s punishment for all those who pollute the country with their sins,” writes the Egyptian weekly newspaper al-Liwa$rsquo; al-Islami (The Islamic Banner) under the headline: “To Follow the Path of Islam Is the Best Way Not to Get Infected.” In the Egyptian media, attacks on people with H Karim El-Gawhary • 6 min read
MER Article Moroccan Youth, Sex and Islam According to official statistics from Morocco’s Ministry of Public Health, from the beginning of the AlDS pandemic to 1997, 450 cases of HIV infection had been recorded in the country. At the same time, a minimum of 100,000 new cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as syphilis, gonorrhe Abdessamad Dialmy • 7 min read
MER Article Commodifying Honor in Female Sexuality Every year, hundreds of women and girls are murdered in the Middle East by male family members. The honor killing -- the execution of a female family member for perceived misuse of her sexuality -- is a thorny social and political issue. Palestinian activists campaigning for equality find it difficu Suzanne Ruggi • 9 min read
