Tracking Sami Yusuf's move into the mainstream is key not only for understanding Sami Yusuf as an Islamic artist but also as a useful index for how Muslims see themselves as participants in Western modernity. Christian Pond asks, will they, as encouraged by Sami Yusuf, choose the path of Islamizing modernity? Or will they choose the more complicated path of modernizing Islam?

In the wake of controversy triggered by Super Star and Star Academy, some observers have hailed reality television as a harbinger of democracy in the Arab world. Marwan Kraidy looks at the political implications of a new and popular genre hitting Arab satellite television.

In this article, Nicholas Cull reviews the performance of the United States Information Agency (USIA) during the Gulf Crisis and War of 1990-91. He concludes by contrasting the effective US use of public diplomacy during this period with the problems encountered following 9/11.

In contemporary Syria, the TV industry’s centrality renders it a particularly revealing site of ethnographic endeavor. It provides a valuable point of access to a complex and rapidly changing society, argues Christa Salamandra.

The MediaWire is Arab Media & Society’s current events hub for all things media-related in the region. In addition to cross-publishing articles from other media outlets, we are seeking original contributions on a rolling basis. Articles for publication must adhere to the following guidelines: Content should reflect unbiased and objective reporting …

Leah Caldwell looks at the symbolism of attacks on statues and posters of the Asad family during the recent protests in Syria – attacks which would have been unthinkable before the unrest began.

Cairo, Dec. 29 (Aswat Masriya) – On Tuesday Mohamed Fahmy, who was recently released from jail in Egypt after his involvement in the Al Jazeera case, sent an official request to Egypt’s foreign ministry asking that he be given back his Egyptian nationality. Fahmy renounced the Egyptian citizenship in February and kept …

Cairo, Jan 6 (Aswat Masriya) - Four journalists were referred to the Cairo Criminal Court on Wednesday on charges of "defaming and publishing false information on the minister of justice Ahmed al-Zind." The defendants include the editor-in-chief of the Al Ahram Gate website, Hisham Younis, the editor-in-chief of Al Mesryoon …

CAIRO, Nov. 1 (Aswat Masriya) - Journalist Ahmed Naje who is on trial for publishing an article containing "obscene sexual content" told Aswat Masriya on Sunday that the decision does not surprise him given the permanent "hostility" that prosecutors display towards the press.  Naje and the editor-in-chief of weekly literary magazine Akhbar …

Cairo, Jan. 15 (Aswat Masriya) – A Cairo-based news website said that its managing editor was released Friday. Security forces raided the headquarters of privately owned Masr al-Arabia and arrested its managing editor Ahmed Abdel Gawad on Thursday. Police personnel from the Office of Artistic Production inspected some of the …