Written by Ramsey Tesdell

On the eve of the World Cup final I witnessed an incident that struck me - a Christian and non-Jordanian Jordanian (my mother can’t pass on her citizenship to me) living in a decidedly Muslim country - as particularly odd and humbling.

I went with a group of friends to a local pub in Amman to watch the game. I received an odd call, asking if a friend could join. “Of course” I said yes, no problem. He then said, but she’s covered, will they let her in? I responded, I’ve never heard of a covered woman being NOT being allowed in.

But that night, an argument ensued. The woman arrived and was promptly told she could not come in. Luckily, a strong-willed friend and a firecracker all the same, fought with them...

بقلم لينا شنك

بحسب ما جاء في مقدمة كتاب "عمان: مدينة الحجر والسلام"، فإن السائح الذي زارها في الأربيعينيات من القرن الماضي اعتقد أنها في كرنفال مستمر لكثرة اللهجات والعادات المتعايشة فيها بسلام "فالتعدد الموجود في المدينة يفوق مثيله في أي مكان آخر"، ويشهد على هذا التعدد كل من عاصر نموّ المدينة.

في أحاديثنا اليومية، كثيرا ما توصف عمّان بأنها "المدينة التي كبرت بفضل نكبات ومصائب الآخرين، فقد كبرت وهي تستقبل اللاجئين من كل صوب"، ولطالما كان هذا التعدد مبعث فخر للمتحدثين الذين يسردون حكاياتهم وحكايا المناطق التي كانت خاوية وأصبحت اليوم من أكثر أحياء عمان اكتظاظا بالسكان والأنشطة الاقتصادية.

بيد أن تعدد عمّان لا يحمل دائما تلك الصورة الزاهية عن تسامح الأعراق والأديان وتآلفها في "واحة السلام" وكثيرا ما يطرح الأسئلة حول "هويتها المتأزمة". في مقابل الصورة التي ينقلها د. جواد العناني بقوله أن عمّان...

Just after 1PM today PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) activists stationed at the first circle and a large crowd that had gathered around were broken up by police for apparently not obtaining the proper security permits for the demonstration. The crowd of mostly men had gathered in the center of the circle where a woman was slowly covering herself in lettuce leaves, carrying a sign that read “Let Vegetarianism Grow on You.” As apparent from the line of sight of many of the men in the first photo above, what was underneath the lettuce was of much more interest.

Police officers at the scene refused to comment, but according to at least two journalists present the demonstration was forcibly ended because PETA had not obtained the...

By Daoud Kuttab [caption id="attachment_6321" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Cartoon by Emad Hajjaj - 2007"][/caption] With little fanfare in Washington, and with few countries in the world noticing, President Barack Obama signed into law an act that will hold governments all around the world accountable for violations of human rights. The Daniel Pearl Act of 2009, signed into law on May 27, 2010 is an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. The 1961 law requires the US state department to issue annually a country report on human rights practices. The Daniel Pearl Act  requires that these annual reports also include information about the status of the press in foreign countries, violations to press freedoms and actions taken by local governments to remedy those situation. The US Congress looks at the state of human rights of foreign countries when it considers foreign aid to such...

This week is packed with an exciting variety of cultural events; the Amman Summer Festival brings you daily performances by local artists in the beautiful outdoor theater of the Hussein Park. The Jordan Festival features the Palestine Youth Orchestra on Wednesday, and battle of the Bands continues at the Crown Plaza with some new faces and young local bands. UNESCO along with the Jordanian Caucasian Cultural Society are organizing a "Night of Cultural Diversity in Jordan", featuring   Jordanian folkloric dance, Circassian dance and music, Bukhari poetry from Uzbekistan, Kazakh music, Turkish music and dance,  Chechen music, Armenian folkloric dance and music, and poetry from Daghestan. Be sure to check it out on Friday at the Roman theater downtown. Tonight and tomorrow, hop to Mohtaraf Remal in Luweibdeh for "Jayeen min Falasteen" (Coming from Palestine) where a...

بقلم ريم المصري، تصوير منار حمارنة

الفيديو من محمد القاق/خبيزة

أماكن معينة أحب أن أذهب اليها كلما تضيق بي مدينة عمان و أضيق بها وأرغب بالتصالح معها. مساحات تضفي علي سكينة القلب بعيدة عن كل مظاهرالترف والإستهلاك و أجواء الصخب الخانقة. من هذه الأماكن حدائق الملك حسين المطلة من بعيد على هذا المشهد ذاته الذي أحب الهرب منه أحيانا. لم أكن مهتمة بالبحث عن سبب الراحة التي أشعرها هناك و لكني أدركته يوم الخميس.

"سنزرع 1500 شجرة من ريع هذا الحفل"، بلَغتنا مقدمة حفل الفنانة اللبنانية الملتزمة مي نصر، الذي اتجهنا لحضوره في الحدائق ليلة الخميس. في البداية عرض فيلم قصير لخص ما يرتكبه الإحتلال الإسرائيلي في حقول الأراضي الفلسطينية. "لما تخلع شجرة عم تخلع إنسان من أرضه" ، وقتها أدركت سر سكينة الحدائق وحاجتنا الإنسانية للاتصال بكل وجود حقيقي، بسيط و...

Photo Courtesy of ForeignMinistry In what was perhaps a first in the Middle East, Jordan's Foreign Minister, Nasser Judeh, took live questions on Twitter last night, using the hashtag #QFMJO (Questions for Foreign Minister of Jordan). Considered one of the first Jordanian officials to join the popular microblogging site, Judeh has frequently engaged fellow Jordanian tweeps online, responding to reports, comments, and criticisms all in the span of 140 characters. But on Twitter, Judeh is not the only Jordanian official. Energy Minister, Khaled Irani, the Mayor of Amman, Omar Maani, Minister of ICT, Marwan Juma and, of course, Her Majesty Queen Rania have been active tweeps and have a large following. Recently, Prime Minister Samir Al-Rifai joined Twitter as has Minister of Higher Education, Walid Maani, Minister of State for Mega Projects, Imad...

Get ready for lots of local talent this week. The Amman Summer Festival kicks off today in the outdoor theater of Al Hussein Park, bringing you diverse performances by local artists every day, free of charge. A group called the Young Pen League is organizing an open poetry slam on Saturday at Mohtaraf Remal, so if you write poetry and would like to share it, or if you would just like to listen, don't miss it! [caption id="attachment_6268" align="alignright" width="291" caption="Refuge Urbanism"][/caption] An interesting new exhibition titled "Open City: Refuge Urbanism" is opening at the National Gallery of Fine Arts on Sunday, and new Jordanian feature film "Cherkess - Al Sharakissah" will be screening at the Royal Cultural Center on Monday. Jordanian Pianist Yasmine Alami is performing with the Amman Symphony Orchestra this wednesday Al-Hussein Cultural Center, and Jordanian...