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This year's Amman Jazz Festival is forgoing international performers and showcasing local talent in a variety of genres, with festivities taking place on the streets and online.
Social media users mourned the passing of Egyptian LGBTQ+ activist Sarah Hegazi, who was arrested and tortured by authorities for flying a rainbow flag at a concert.
Jordan's independent music scene turns crisis into opportunity
Independent artists in Jordan are finding ways to overcome the challenges of lockdown as coronavirus wreaks havoc on the global music industry.
TootArd: Trailblazing fusion music from the occupied Golan Heights
The New Arab Meets: Musical sensation TootArd, an inventive ensemble from the occupied Golan Heights whose sound fuses desert blues, ska and ...
Coronavirus: Lebanon's LGBT+ community is locked down and unprotected
LGBT+ people in Lebanon, whose mere existence is already criminalised, often depend on community centres, tight social networks and dedicated ...
Qatar-based US university cancels Mashrou' Leila event after backlash
An American university's Qatar campus was forced to cancel an event featuring Lebanese indie band Mashrou' Leila after hostile objections on social media.
Lebanon organises protest concert after Mashrou' Leila 'blasphemy' ban
In response to the cancellation of Mashrou' Leila's Byblos concert, independent activist groups organised a free gig entitled 'The Sound of ...
Dutch band pulls out of Lebanon festival in protest
Within Temptation joined other activists in protest after festival organisers last week pulled Lebanese indie group Mashrou' Leila from ...
Mashrou' Leila affair highlights Lebanon's battle for free speech
Although its gig was cancelled under pressure from Christian groups, Mashrou' Leila have become a symbol in a country where activists say ...
Lebanon cancels Mashrou' Leila concert 'to prevent bloodshed'
Lebanon's Byblos festival has canceled a concert by Lebanese band Mashrou' Leila which was set for next week after calls from church leaders who ...
Lebanon's inquisitors invoke 'blasphemy' against gay-fronted band Mashrou' Leila
Analysis: The crackdown on Lebanese indie band Mashrou' Leila over their pro LGBT+ rights stance and lyrics deemed 'offensive' to ...
Lebanon's Mashrou' Leila faces threats ahead of Byblos gig
The four-member indie band were targeted by a Facebook group named 'God's soldiers', which has threatened the band along with ...
Lebanese band Mashrou Leila release anti-occupation music video
Mashrou Leila released the music video for their song Cavalry - the first single to be released from their upcoming fifth album entitled The ...
'Like Apartheid': Spoof Madonna video urges Israel Eurovision boycott
London Palestine Action have released 'Like Apartheid', their third and final spoof music video calling for a boycott of the Eurovision, this ...
This year's line-up was more inclusive with representation from countries as far west as Canada, to as far east as South Korea.
'Music to feed the soul': The land of N3rdistan
The New Arab Meets: Moroccan band N3rdistan whose fusion of electronic, rap and Arabic poetry are making waves from North Africa to Europe.
Israel music festival rocked by BDS campaign
The BDS movement had called on musicians to shun Israel as a way to press the government to change its treatment of the Palestinians.
Rockers Of Montreal boycott Israel music festival, denounce 'apartheid'
The indie rock band follows the pop singer Lana Del Rey in leaving the three-day Meteor festival, which opens on Thursday in northern ...
Bury me, my love: Syrian refugee game wins big
A video game that tells the story of a Syrian refugee attempting to migrate to Europe during the ongoing bloody civil war has won a Google ...
The anti-gay agenda of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church
Comment: As the Coptic Orthodox Church pushes Sisi's homophobic policies, young Copts in Egypt are orienting themselves towards Europe and North ...
Rights groups urge Egypt to halt crackdown on homosexuals
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch urged Egypt to halt their crackdown on people suspected of homosexuality following the waving of ...
Egypt's Coptic church organises conference to 'treat' homosexuality
Egypt's Coptic church has organised a "Volcano of Homosexuality" conference in which a "healing specialist" will teach a workshop on how to ...
Egypt parliamentarian calls for toughening laws targeting homosexuals
An Egyptian lawmaker has called on parliament to make legislation targeting homosexuals more severe, after several concertgoers were arrested ...
Walking with Mashrou' Leila through the streets of Beirut
The New Arab walked with Mashrou' Leila through the streets of Beirut: a city of conflict and contradictions that made them who they are today.
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