In the tumultuous years since the US-led coalition’s invasion of Iraq and the fall of Saddam Hussein, the country’s media landscape has changed dramatically for everyone–including political cartoonists. In a recent interview from the online magazine Sampsonia Way, cartoonist Saad…
Tag: middle east/north africa
Anime News Network Highlights Banned Manga
A recent feature from Anime News Network about 7 Manga Banned Around the Globe brought to our attention a few instances of manga censorship that we haven’t covered because they predate our news blog by a few years. We did…
Mosul Book Burning Recalls Cultural Genocides of Centuries Past
In light of the devastating news last week that Islamic State extremists apparently burned part or all of the public library collection in the Iraqi city of Mosul, CBLDF general counsel Robert Corn-Revere contributed a comprehensive overview of book burnings…
Iranian Cartoonist’s Memoir Recounts Detention and Exile
In 2006, Iranian cartoonist Mana Neyestani was arrested and imprisoned for three months for drawing a children’s cartoon. In his memoir An Iranian Metamorphosis, he tells the surreal tale of his detention and eventual exile from his native country —…
Palestinian Cartoonist Questioned About Possible Mohammed Cartoon
Palestinian cartoonist Mohammed Sabaaneh is under investigation for drawing a cartoon that was widely interpreted as depicting the Prophet Mohammed, although the artist himself insists the figure was only a symbolic representation of the Muslim faith. Only a short time…
Cartoonists Often Forced into Exile
Another stark reminder of the dangers faced by political cartoonists around the world, particularly in the Middle East, was brought up in a recent article by the New Statesman’s Anoosh Chakelian. Cartoonists who refuse to self-censor are often forced to…
Zunar Calls for World Cartoonists Day on Anniversary of Charlie Hebdo Attack
In the wake of this week’s attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo which killed 12 people including five cartoonists, their Malaysian colleague Zunar is calling for a “World Cartoonists Day” to be observed annually on January 7th. Zunar,…
Middle Eastern Comics Battle Terrorist Ideologies
In light of increasingly successful terrorist recruitment tactics which are now drawing disaffected young people from around the world to join ISIL in the Middle East, one Jordanian man firmly believes that the solution may lie in comic books. For…
Militants Call for Death of The 99 Creator
Last week the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the militant group better known as ISIS, took a brief timeout from overtaking cities in Iraq to call for the death of Kuwaiti-American comic creator Naif Al-Mutawa. They claimed on Twitter…
Middle Eastern Online Bookseller Puts Spotlight on Banned Books
Hoping to overwhelm censors, the founder of Middle Eastern online bookstore Jamalon announced last week that the site will launch a section devoted to books that have been banned in any of the 22 countries it serves. This is not…