ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES- A corruption scandal is still brewing in international soccer, but it’s business as usual for Qatar, and the country’s top priority is making sure their chance to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup goes off without a hitch. Even if it means bumping into a few hitches…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES – Usually it’s censors who block a controversial film from domestic distribution. Not so in Quatar, at least in the case of The Danish Girl. Following online outrage at the transgender tale, the country’s Ministry of Culture tweeted out this month: “We would like to inform you…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES – Social media sites give users a platform to voice their opinions. They provide a means to communicate with others and express whatever they wish. Some people post disrespectful material, and that’s when censorship and social media ethics enter into the equation. This is a problem Qatar is mulling…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES – The Al Jazeera journalists who were jailed in Egypt are now free and out of the country. Australian Peter Greste was deported in February 2015 and in September his colleagues Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy were finally pardoned by the Egyptian government and released from prison.…
JAMES ROYCE WRITES – Australian Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste may have been freed from Egyptian prison last February, but his name was not present on a list of 100 pardons released by Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi earlier this week. The decision made by President Sisi came a day…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES – FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the governing body for international soccer, continues to face hard times; Qatar is still dealing with controversy over the World Cup, and it continues to do what it can to defend its bid. The problem is that Qatar cannot control…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES – Qatar reinforced their cybercrime law when the government approved an amendment that criminalizes photographing those who are injured or killed in accidents and posting them on social media. The amendment was added to the 2004 penal law code, and according to the state-run organization Qatar News agency, it…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES – One could say that Al Qaeda is the grumpy old man to the Islamic State’s (ISIS) younger, vibrant, and more energetic twenty-something year old. Their success in recruiting is due to members being greatly familiar with modern technology and excelling at the use of social media.…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES- Qatar is going on the offensive in the media game. The country wants the world to know that it is keeping the World Cup and is looking to start a rebranding effort. A Washington Post blog item published in May reported that 1,200 migrant workers had died…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES- World soccer is wrapped up in a whirlwind of scandal. Not only have American authorities indicted FIFA executives, they are now working with the Swiss to investigate soccer’s governing body for corruption and bribery. Once again under scrutiny are Russia’s (2018) and Qatar’s (2022) upcoming World Cup matches. Qatar…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES- Good PR is hard to obtain for Qatar, and last week it became even more difficult when Qatari security officers arrested a BBC crew reporting on migrant workers. The Prime Minister’s office had invited several media outlets, including the BBC, on an official tour of the new…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES – Qatar’s proposal to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup was overly ambitious from the outset. They needed massive funds to build new cities just to house new stadiums. In the beginning, Qatar appeared to have money to burn due to a lucrative oil market. Nevertheless, the country…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES- This year, two pan-Arab television channels were launched with the aspirations of providing an independent media platform. Al-Arab launched in Bahrain on February 1. Its owner, Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, promised that he could run the channel without any political interference and set up the…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES- The last month has brought a flood of news about the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. It’s been a controversial topic ever since FIFA awarded the tournament to Qatar, in part because of the country’s kafala system that critics say lets employers abuse migrant workers. When FIFA announced…
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES – Qatar provides the headquarters for the international media powerhouse Al Jazeera. While the network claims to be independent, one of their journalists who is currently incarcerated in Egypt, Mohamed Fahmy, claims that they have failed to support him in court because of political differences between Qatar…
AHMAD ALKHUZAM WRITES – Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yousef al-Qardawi recently finagled his way onto Qatar state television to blast the United Arab Emirates for opposing Islamic influence in the region. (Yes, it’s complicated. Something like a Canadian getting on Mexican TV to blast the U.S.) What’s not complicated is…
