Author Archives: Roqayah Chamseddine

Innocent until proven Muslim

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Roqayah Chamseddine
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The blood has not yet dried on the streets of Boston after a horrific attack which left three dead and dozens injured, yet the question for many now is not the identity of the perpetrator but how long his beard is. The local authorities have not identified any suspects yet a plethora of minds have clearly been made up as to who committed this abhorrent act; the hashtag #Muslims went on to trend for hours alongside #MuslimsDidIt.

Posted in Media, US Politics | Tagged | 40 Comments

‘FEMEN’ and the suppression of native voices

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Roqayah Chamseddine

I loathe the premise that people of colour should be ‘grateful’ that others are taking notice of their subjugation, or that they should bite their tongues and clench their fists and instead show gratitude because their varied plights are being in some way ‘acknowledged‘ by others.

Posted in Arab Spring, Middle East, US Politics, War on Terror | 36 Comments

Why I used to detest feminism and why I am a feminist

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Roqayah Chamseddine

I did not identify as a feminist long ago, in fact I would squirm, roll my eyes, groan and shoo away any mention of feminism with a simple wave of my hand. Feminism was a word I detested, that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Activism, US Politics | 24 Comments

Hey Girl, You’ve Made My Kill List: Five Valentines Day drones for that special someone

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Roqayah Chamseddine

Five drone-themed Valentine’s Day cards.

Posted in US Politics, War on Terror | 3 Comments

Rocks For Palestine

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Roqayah Chamseddine

‘Rocks For Palestine’, is a poem creatively drawn out in Arabic calligraphy by Everitte Barbee.

Posted in Arab Spring, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Nakba, Occupation | 4 Comments

When discrimination hits home (IHOP fired my dad for being Arab and Muslim)

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Roqayah Chamseddine

After 9/11 IHOP told a model manager, Hussein ‘Joseph’ Chamseddine, to ‘lay low’ on the job because he is Muslim. Then in 2010 it fired him and three others

Posted in Activism, On the ground reports, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics, War on Terror | 6 Comments

‘In your eyes, I’m a terrorist’ but you killed and maimed 100s of 1000s of Muslims — Mehanna, on sentencing

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Roqayah Chamseddine

Tarek Mehanna is sentenced to 17-1/2 years in Massachusetts as an alleged terrorist, targeted because he had questioned American policy in the Middle East

Posted in Activism, Iraq, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 19 Comments

Survivors of Kandahar villages massacre speak to western journalist

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Roqayah Chamseddine

Survivors of the massacre in Kandahar say that more than one American was involved

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Middle East, On the ground reports, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics, War on Terror | 6 Comments

The Palestinian refugees of Lebanon

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Roqayah Chamseddine

In my native Lebanon, where I volunteered last winter in a number of Palestinian refugees camps such as Burj el Barajne, I saw first hand the immense level of deprivation Palestinians face as refugees in Lebanon, where they are prevented from the right to work, from joining any Lebanese trade unions, from owning property and even denied social security.

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Middle East, Nakba, Occupation, US Policy in the Middle East | Comments Off

Why we should be furious the Haditha massacre Marines got no jail time

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Roqayah Chamseddine

Orwellian-style agitprop from James Joyner in The Atlantic on the Haditha massacre where 24 unarmed Iraqi men, women and children were killed by a group of United States Marines in 2005.

Posted in Iraq, Middle East, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics, War on Terror | 48 Comments

Surviving Guantánamo

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Roqayah Chamseddine

On the 10th anniversary of the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay, in commemoration of all the prisoners who have suffered, we invite you to listen to  former detainee Qari Mohemmed Saad Iqbal Madani. Without having being charged nor having … Continue reading →

Posted in Arab Spring, Middle East, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 8 Comments

Expendables of a waning empire

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Roqayah Chamseddine

Notes on Obama’s expanding drone war

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Middle East, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics, War on Terror | Tagged | 29 Comments

Merry Christmas from the little ghetto of Bethlehem

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Roqayah

45-year-long military occupation has made normal life impossible for Palestinians who depend on Christmas travel to Jerusalem and Bethlehem

Posted in Israel/Palestine | 2 Comments

Let us forget Iraq

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Roqayah

For Iraqis, the suffering is endless and the consequences of occupation have only just begun. America left a ruined country.

Posted in Iraq, Middle East, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics, War on Terror | 13 Comments

The Lebanon war at 5– ‘We refuse to perish’

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Roqayah Chamseddine

I am the product of a southern melody; a composite sketch drawn on sheets of both destruction and resurrection, of rage and recovery. The bloody fragments of Sabra and Shatila played out a bold symphony throughout my life, with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine | 9 Comments

Egypt has become our ballad – a testimony before the world, crying out that we live

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Roqayah Chamseddine

As of late, watching US-based media awkwardly follow the uprising in Egypt has become nothing more than a maddening task; I have learned more in respect to the apathy of Washington than the alleged “chaos” in Egypt. I have watched … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine | 9 Comments

On Al-Quds Day

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Roqayah Chamseddine

[Editor's note: Today is Al-Quds Day, an international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people that is held annually on the last Friday of Ramadan.] Al Quds – Jerusalem: The city of martyrs; the occupied city. A city painted a … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine | 10 Comments

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon do not only have Israel to blame for their plight

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Roqayah Chamseddine

The Lebanese Parliament on Tuesday approved a law permitting Palestinians residing in Lebanon the same work opportunities as foreigners; the proposal amending the Lebanese Labor Law will grant Palestinian refugees in Lebanon the right to free-of-charge work permits and severance … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine | 47 Comments