Globally Urban

via Reuters
A fire burns at the Shoura Council near the Egyptian Parliament in Cairo August 19, 2008. A massive fire broke out at Egypt’s upper house of parliament on Tuesday, injuring six people, police and fire department officials said. State-run television said in a brief statement that the cause was probably a short circuit.
REUTERS/Amr Dalsh

Beirut: [Yet another] blackout has descended upon Bourj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp this night. It makes your efforts to find the Palestinian Arab Center that much more atmospheric and inspires vague hopes that perhaps you won’t miss the first minutes of Jackie Salloum’s “Slingshot Hip Hop” after all.
You find the hall’s exterior bathed in generator-driven [...]

There is much talk about political Islam and its future these days. The ascendancy of political movements with clear Islamic agendas is being watched closely from Egypt and Lebanon to North Africa.
While many see Islamic political parties as a threat to democracy and human rights, some are saying it’s time to talk to them. [...]

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On 14 June 2008, a wide coalition of grassroots organizations — including NOLAPS (New Orleans, Louisiana Palestine Solidarity); INCITE Women of Color Against Violence; New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival; and the Third World Coalition of the American Friends Service Committee — held a historic event called “Liberation Hip-Hop,” which commemorated the 60th year [...]

Islamabad, July1: Much to the chagrin of conservatives who say music is ‘haraam’ (forbidden) in Islam, hip Pakistani youngsters are listening to a new kind of music that spreads the “message of Islam”.

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Palestinian Rap Group DAM Use Hip-Hop to Convey the Frustrations, Hopes of a Dispossessed People

We turn now to three young Palestinians who use hip-hop to tell their story of the Nakba and what it means to be a Palestinian growing up inside Israel. DAM, or Da Arabian MCs, is the first group [...]

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