MEYcast - Broadcasting ahead

Interview with the editor of Voices Without Votes

admin — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:15:01 +0000

For this podcast I interviewed Amira Al Hussaini, the Middle East and North Africa editor for Global Voices Online and also the editor of Voices Without Votes, which this podcast revolves around. You can read about the project here.

You might remember her from our previous podcast here.

Interview with an American Jew in Iran

admin — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:32:56 +0000

Today’s podcast features blogger, writer, and photographer Tori Egherman who lived in Iran for 4 years and will be talking to us about her experiences there.

Tori and her husband Kamran published a photobook a year ago (discussed in podcast) which you can purchase here.

EXCLUSIVE: Tariq Ramadan - Integration of Islamic youth into Western society

admin — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:50:02 +0000

This is the latest speech given my Tariq Ramadan at my college today. I immediately began recording it because of the relevance to the recent discussions here.

This podcast answers the questions for many Islamophobes out there, and also brings up the issues of certain people who hide their anti-immigration agendas behind “religious disputes,” such as Geert Wilders. It’s quite thorough and humorous.

Tariq Ramadan is a senior research fellow at Oxford. He is a philosopher who has been defined as “the matchmaker between Islamic and European thought,” and he believes that a profound change has been taking place among younger generations of Muslims in Europe.

Through his writings and lectures he has contributed substantially to the debate on issues of Muslims in the West and the Islamic revival in the Muslim world.

“Swiss by nationality, Muslim by religion, European by culture and Egyptian by memory,” Tariq Ramadan discusses the dynamics and challenges of Islamic youth and their integration into Western society.

Listen to the podcast. Learn from it. Pass it along.

Teleconference with American students, Part II

admin — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:54:34 +0000

Hey everyone, after a slight delay our second teleconference with American students is ready for your listening enjoyment. Participating in the conference are Esra’a, Liz and myself. Our first conference was very successful and we’ve followed it up with what I believe to be an even better discussion than the first.

Kareem on ‘The World’ podcast: Flood the jail with mail campaign

admin — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 07:57:27 +0000

First, if you are not familiar with Kareem, the young imprisoned Egyptian blogger, or our new Flood the Jail with Mail campaign, read these two links:

Kareem Amer FAQ
Flood the Jail with Mail! (background info on why we’re doing this and also contains Kareem’s new prison address)

Here’s a section from the new podcast published on BBC’s “The World” where Curt from the Committee to Protect Bloggers, myself, and Elijah Zarwan, a Cairo-based human rights researcher, discuss the new campaign for Kareem.

Interview with another Kurdish student

admin — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:23:03 +0000

Following up on this previous interview, I conducted another interview with a Kurdish student to represent more perspectives on the Kurdish issue.

Kurdish activists have a lot to say and are outspoken, but unfortunately not many people care to listen, or are generally aware of the severity of the many human rights abuses against Kurdish minorities across the Middle East. I suggest this podcast to anyone interested in what many Kurds go through in the region and the difficulty of the whole situation in general.

[Since this podcast has moved to this new site, the podcast’s comments were previously listed here.]

Interview with Kurdish student about Kurdish human rights in the Middle East

admin — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:17:13 +0000

A few weeks ago, I spoke with two Kurdish students about their human rights in the region as well as the recent conflict that took place between PKK guerillas in Iraqi (Northern) Kurdistan and Turkey.

Unfortunately the sound quality wasn’t the best (though it gets better a few minutes into the podcast.)

Some highlights include:

A brief background about the conflict and why it took place, as well as the recent developments of it

Why many Kurds want their own state

How they are being treated throughout the region

“They [Kurds] want to be able to say they are Kurdish without feeling threatened.”

I did not include the interview with the second student because I felt that they both deserved their own separate podcasts.

If you like this podcast and felt strongly about the cause, please read this post and help however you can.

[Since this podcast has moved to this new site, the podcast’s comments were previously listed here.]

Teleconference with American high school students

admin — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:07:41 +0000

A while ago I announced that we were going to have a Skype conference with a few students from Pennsylvania. D.B shortly wrote a follow-up to that after the conference call, and this is the third follow-up with the actual podcast!

Here are some great photos to go along with it:

Gulf’s Foreign Workers - A Tragedy Unfolding?

admin — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 08:59:26 +0000

I was interviewed recently for the Media Line and was asked questions concerning migrant workers in the Middle East and how/why we’re trying to help them through our website.

You can listen to it below.

This is an excerpt of the associated article:

A-Shafe’i’s words are echoed by Khawla Mattar, a senior specialist on employment principles and rights with the International Labor Organization (ILO). It is obvious that the treatment of these workers is not up to standard; there is no protection of their rights at all, says Mattar.

Mattar and A-Shafe’i agree that better legislation is required. There is little legal protection for foreign workers in the Gulf, which makes abuse more likely, says Mattar. However, while Mattar maintains that some governments are beginning to take the matter seriously, A-Shafe’i thinks the problem is mainly ignored.

Some countries, such as Bahrain, are growing increasingly aware of foreign workers’ needs, says Arindam Basu of The National Human Rights Committee in Doha, Qatar. Since Bahrain began running short of oil revenues it has been forced to pursue a more progressive labor policy, he argues. But, at the other end of the scale, are countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which still enjoy huge oil revenues and are less pressured to accommodate foreign workers, he points out.

Basu agrees that the situation regarding legal representation in Qatar is as A-Shafe’i describes. Most disputes over working conditions are ruled in the lower courts and the only participants are the plaintiff with or without a translator, the defendant, and a judge. Here too, lawyers are only involved if a serious crime is committed.

Read the full article here.

[Since this podcast has moved to this new site, the podcast’s comments were previously listed here.]

Saudi DJ and I discuss MTV Arabia

admin — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 08:55:58 +0000

Not long ago, Tasnim from Libya wrote a post about MTV Arabia here and it triggered the interest for this podcast. I talk to Mohammed (DJ Momo), a Saudi DJ currently based in Bahrain, about what he feels the potential for MTV Arabia is. He is in favor of the project while I am a bit skeptical about the whole thing.

Make sure you listen towards the end for some fun stuff and funny bloopers (it’s after the short trance song in the end.) His DJ partner (an Arab Christian) was also present but was too shy to be recorded. Maybe next time!

[Since this podcast has moved to this new site, the podcast’s comments were previously listed here.]