But most of the players in this Middle Eastern upheaval don’t have anything to celebrate, not yet. And it remains more important than ever to keep track of the voices that are calling for change within the countries themselves.

Syria’s uprising is still raging, with thousands filling the streets of Homs, Daraa and other cities despite at least 30 deaths a day by the growing brutality of the Syrian regime. Over eight months into the struggle, the Syrian situation continues to change by the day, with bumbling international politics trying to stop an end to the tragic violence that has killed an estimated 5,000 protesters thus far. In spite of this, protests continue to be mainly non-violent, although the Free Syrian Army is playing a growing role, and the revolutionaries have never been more convinced of the regime’s eventual fall.

In Bahrain, protesters continue to struggle against the government despite little media coverage, and practically no nuanced, well represented coverage. The Bahraini regime is expected to come out with its report to assess the “incidents” that have happened between anti-government protesters and the government itself, although few have faith in the commission backed by a government that has tortured doctors and imprisoned political activists for life.

Meanwhile protests in Yemen enter their 11 month, having maintained considerable protests against all odds all year. An estimated 2,000 protesters have lost their lives calling for the downfall of the regime, and thousands more have been injured in attacks by pro-government forces. As Saleh continues to promise an eventual transition of power backed by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council, protesters continue to refuse dialogues with Saleh’s regime and to demand his ouster before embarking on a more democratic path.

Moroccan protesters are still out demanding significant changes, despite the regime co-opting some of the protesters’ demands so as to stave off a full blown revolution.

The road to a freedom in these three countries, and freedom from tyranny and oppression throughout the Middle East, will be a long one, one that will claim more lives and more time. But already, not even a year into the uprisings, people are growing tired, overwhelmed, or otherwise losing interest in tracking these efforts towards freedom. Losing interest or patience is a luxury that people on the ground in Syria, Bahrain, Morocco and Yemen can’t afford themselves. We all must take part in our responsibility to amplify these voices of change across the Middle East, and to support them however we can. We must continue to keep track of what is happening on the ground, and not letting these people’s struggles be forgotten.

Follow this page at CrowdVoice as it gathers the latest videos, blogs, and articles coming out of Morocco. Lack of worldwide attention doesn’t mean that the revolutionary struggle in Morocco has ended. Keep track of the voices for change.

Angry, unemployed, and oppressed youth finally broke the long silence and fear and burst into the streets calling for Mubarak to step down. As more and more people poured into the streets calling for “Mubarak, leave, leave, leave,” Mubarak finally decided to agree to “not run for presidency in the next election” and pledged political reform. The protesters took no heed to it and continued to protests. Day by day, the Tahrir Square of Cairo was being filled with determined and ambitious people calling for Mubarak to leave. Mubarak, on the 17th day of protest, transferred some of his power to a newly appointed vice-president, Omar Sulaiman, but that did nothing to encourage the protesters, now in millions, to go back to their homes. During an interview with ABC’s Christiane Amanpour, Mubarak said that “he’s fed up with being president and would like to leave office now, but cannot; for fear that the country would sink into chaos”.

Dictators and autocrats like to think of themselves as the sole protector of the nation. They like the population to think that without them, there will be chaos and violence and that the country will shatter. Thus, they began to make such comments. This is in fact their illusions speaking, thinking that the mass would listen to them and stop with protesting and go back to their lives. The lives that were ruled with an iron fist, with violence and suppression by the government; the life that there exists no equal opportunities in employment, education, social services. If these leaders are so sincere in reformation, why do they speak of reform after the people take the streets? Why do they not speak of them and take actions sooner? Why after 20, 30, 40 years?

This is precisely what the Yemeni President Ali Saleh said on March 22nd: “Those who want to climb up to power through coups should know that this is out of the question. The homeland will not be stable, there will be a civil war, a bloody war. They should carefully consider this”. And this he said 30 days after the Yemenis started to protest and after mass defections by top generals, soldiers, government ministers, his son-in-law Yehia Mohammed Ahmed Ismail, as well as his own tribe taking stance against him. In other words, he said this while he is weakest and trying to use the card to defuse the protests, but he failed. On March 25th, the soon-to-be-ousted President Saleh announced that he does not want power but wants to put the power into safe hands. And it is very clear how the protesters responded to that.

Seif al Islam Qaddafi, the son of Muammar Qaddafi, did not wanted to be left out of this trend so he warned on February 20th that because of the demographic of Libya, civil war will peril. The warning however fell on deaf ears and the rebels and the people continued with their demands for Muammar Qaddafi to leave. Muammar Qaddafi also blamed the problem on Al-Qaeda telling Christiane Amanpour “my people love me, they would die for me.”

The Bahraini government on February 26th dismissed several of its ministers. The government also announced to cancel 25% housing loans that have already been given. But these concessions failed to appease the protesters and they defiantly continued to protest. The protesters are mainly Shia sect of Islam, a majority in Bahrain, being ruled by the Sunni minority. The Shias have long complained about poor treatment in employment, housings, education, infrastructure, while the Sunnis benefit higher status. The Shias are also prohibited from important political and military posts. The Bahraini government security forces have very brutally cracked down on the protesters killing at least 21 and injuring over 600. The government has gone as far as keeping the access to the hospitals blocked.

The brutalities seen by these governments against their own people, these oppressed people, is mind boggling; and it only shows that these governments and leaders are not sincere to their leadership and to the vanguard of their nation and its citizens, it is only to accumulate more wealth and to maintain the control of power.

The world was waiting for Syria to join in the mass Middle East protests, and it finally did. The story of the Syrian government in treating its people is like the rest of these governments: oppressive, abusive, unequal, dictatorial; and the faith of the Syrians are like the same faith of other nations. So then on March 24th, the Syrian city of Daraa finally erupted drawing thousands of people calling “Freedom, freedom.” And, as expected, Bashar al Assad, Syrian president, vowed to increase public worker’s salaries, greater freedom of press, and may lift the 48-years old Emergency Law. The opposition groups and protesters, as imagined, have refused the concessions and are continuing with the protests. Syrian forces have responded as abusively as did their counterparts in other countries with more than 61 killed so far with Syrian army opening fire on the protesters.

Kurdistan region of North Iraq is also not immune to these protests. Although the situation in the Kurdistan region is much different and better than most of the Middle East, the region has also been plagued with corruption, nepotism, high unemployment, and rotten social services. There have also been increased attacks, assaults, and murder on journalists and members of the opposition groups. Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) must take great notice of these mass protests in the Middle East and do what these governments have not done by creating better institutions that is based on justice, equality, liberty; and to stop doing what these governments are doing, in repressing their citizens and curtailing basic freedoms. Kurdistan Regional Government, too, used the same excuse; excuse of pointing their fingers for their problems on somewhere else: Iran.

Many government-controlled media outlets blame Iran and its influence behind the protests. Do they mean Iran is behind the corruption, nepotism, high unemployment, attacks on those who criticize, and all the other problems in Kurdistan? Do they mean that those tens of thousands of people in the street are being influenced by Iran and not protesting because of frustration and they no longer will tolerate the injustice by the government? While it does not take rocket science to know that Turkey, whose prime minister Reccep Erdogan, is scheduled to be in Kurdistan region in a day or two, and Iran, whom just received Nechirvan Barzani, the former prime minister of Kurdistan region, would love to see Kurdistan region destabilized and would even help in its destabilization, neither does it take rocket science to know that those people in the streets are sick and tired of government taking them as fools by making empty promises of tackling corruption and providing better services such as clean water and electricity and yet nothing ever gets done. The Kurdish people endured much in the hands of Saddam Hussein and continually are being suppressed today in Syria, Iran, and Turkey; the people do not need to suffer any more under the rule of their own government.

The people must not stop until their legitimate rights are respected and responded; this is an opportunity that was long missing and must not be passed on easily. The liberty and equality of the people must in all ways be attained, and this battle must be won by the determined and revolutionary people of the Middle East. The world must condemn these nations and governments who suppress their citizens; and those who are responsible for assaulting peaceful protesters and journalists must be put behind bars. They must be brought to the Hague and face their crimes.

Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, we are waiting for your bravery and courageous steps to be taken in this fight of liberation, of dignity, of honor.

(1) R. Clemente Holder (1994-08). “Egyptian Lawyer’s Death Triggers Cairo Protests”. Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

“Safi, shoukran,” I thanked her and quickly removed my hands, not wanting to take up anymore of her time and wanting to be rid of my uneasy feeling of being catered to by a woman not much older than I. She came back a few minutes later carrying a straw tray of piping hot bread that she’d carried back from the neighborhood oven and set it down on the table next to the steaming herbed chicken and pickled lemon tagine. Behind her trailed her small daughter, Naima, carrying a bottle of Fanta—more like clutching it to her small body, so as not to drop it and be reprimanded by her mother.

Amongst my photographs of crowded souks and souvenirs of hand-woven, colorful baskets lugged back on the plane home, my memories of vacations spent in Morocco are littered with images of maids. In Bouznika, a beachside haven where the elite of the country spend les vacances, we spent several days relaxing with some family friends who had arrived with four maids in tow. Each time I’d visit my grandparents’ house, there’d be a different maid than the last time I’d come—all had either left voluntarily or been dismissed. I’d sit around during the hottest hours of the afternoon—Moroccan summers yield temperatures of around 110 degrees—trying to keep cool and catching trails of the adults’ conversations. The latest gossip would be recounted, tales of whose diabetes was worse and whose blood pressure was higher would be recounted as if the person with the more tragic medical history would be offered a prize later, and of course, woeful stories about “how hard it is to find a good maid nowadays”.

With their conversation drawing to a lulled buzz in the back of my mind, I spent hours contemplating the situation. These women and children are born into an unfortunate (to say the least) position in a country whose rich are separated from the realities of their country’s economy and developing status by elaborate walls and a language they insist on speaking—one that was left over from their history as subjects of imperialism. In addition to expensive villas and numerous trips overseas, the upper class of Morocco like to flaunt their wealth through their accumulation of maids.

These poverty-stricken, uneducated women come from villages on the outskirts of Moroccan cities and have no choice but to provide for their families and children by taking jobs as maids for the country’s most ostentatious citizens. The stigma of poverty they are branded with at birth is further emphasized by this symbolic occupation—maids are to be seen and not heard. They work behind-the-scenes—similar to the house elves in J.K. Rowling’s famous wizarding series.

There are many families in Morocco who attempt to provide a home and not just a workplace for their maids. My grandmother has always made sure her maids’ children received an education alongside her own children and grandchildren—during the time her mother worked in my grandmother’s house, Naima went to the same school as my cousin. Unfortunately, it is safe to say that most people in the country do not provide the same earnest care to their maids.

Eleven-year-old Zainab Shtet is currently experiencing the aftermath of possibly one of the worst ordeals any human can have to endure—bruised, burned, starved all under the hand of her “masters”. The daughter of a desperately impoverished father, Zainab had no other hopes for bettering her future but to offer herself as a maid. The sad irony here, is that her boss was none other than a judge and his family. She had to cater to the needs of the richest and most powerful citizens of Moroccan society including a so-called representative of the law. How can justice ever be brought to this little girl when her perpetrator and arbiter are one—especially in a country where the barriers of law topple down with the hands of money.

As an aficionado of African-American history, Zainab’s story not only shocked me, but it also provided me with a mirror of our own past. We cannot change the current economic structure of Morocco—we cannot widen the gap between the rich and the poor overnight. We can, however, promote the importance of education and make sure each and every child is provided with an education and not forced with the burden of work—especially not one where he or she has to serve an entire family hand and foot.

It will take time and effort, but as a Moroccan-American, I do not feel comfortable with myself knowing I have not made any attempts to better the situation of poor, young maids in Morocco. In an entrenched political system, change has to come slowly and over the course of many years. However, by spreading Zainab’s story and seeking solace in the power of awareness, I know that eventually, as it has in our own country, “A Change is Gonna Come”.

Take a look at a few photos that have already been published here and please send what you have to PhotoErraji[at]gmail.com along with your name (optional) and location.

Update: We received the great news that all charges against Erraji have been dropped. In the words of one of his instrumental supporters:

The court of appeals in Agadir has overturned the decision by the court of first instance and has decided to abandon all charges against blogger Mohamed Erraji. On behalf of his family and friends, we thank all those who stood by them during these difficult times.

This is great news for freedom of speech in Morocco, and also shows the power of excessive international support.

Souad Rodi, a journalist for ALMASSAE, Morocco, has sent us an urgent alert concerning an arrested blogger in Morocco.

Unfortunately, the Morrocan government has proved its disrespect for free speech by arresting a young blogger on Friday, the 5th of September, simply for publishing an article critical of one of the King’s policies. He is said to be the first blogger to be arrested in Morocco.

The authorities forced Raji to give them his e-mail password, and until now he apparently has no access to a lawyer, but notes that he is being treated well to this point. He is an active author and blogger who writes on socio-political issues in Morocco.

There is already a petition demanding his freedom and more reasonable rights to free speech.

Souad will send a more complete article tonight with more details concerning Raji’s arrest.

Update: Some readers who attempted to sign the petition have noted that Sudan and the UAE are not included in the country lists. Whoever is responsible for the petition, please add these countries to your list.

Update II: Someone has just made us aware that, according to Hespress.com, Raji has just been sentenced by a court in the city of Agadir to 2 years in jail and a 5000dhs fine.

Update III: Now a Facebook group in his support.

Final update: We received the great news that all charges against Erraji have been dropped. In the words of one of his instrumental supporters:

The court of appeals in Agadir has overturned the decision by the court of first instance and has decided to abandon all charges against blogger Mohamed Erraji. On behalf of his family and friends, we thank all those who stood by them during these difficult times.

This is great news for freedom of speech in Morocco, and also shows the power of excessive international support.

But seeing all the Arab countries participate is an enormous source of pride we should all share. I am especially excited that the Palestinian Athletic team continues to grow despite Israel’s oppressive occupation policies. Here’s a rundown of some facts that I was able to glean from the opening ceremonies and from my own research:

Boycotts:

1956 Games Melbourne, Australia Boycott: to protest the Israeli- planned invasion and occupation of the Sinai.

1976 Games Boycott in Montreal, Canada. Africa’s nation’s boycotted the game sin Montreal after New Zealand broke a world boycott of South Africa’s apartheid regime and participated in a rugby competition. South Africa was banned from Olympic games.

1980 Games Boycott in Moscow, Soviet Union, to protest the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The boycott was initiated by the United States.

1984 Games Boycott. Citing terrorism threats against their team members, the Soviet led a boycott of the Los Angeles, United States games, also partly in protest to the boycott organized in the prior summer games by the United States.

Highlights:

The Arab Nations have hosted their own Olympics. The 11th Arab Olympic Games were held in Egypt in 2007. It was previously hosted by Egypt in 1965 when it was founded to promote Arab Nationalism by Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser.

South Africa was banned from the Olympics between 1964 and 1992 because the nation prohibited Blacks from participating as athletes in its sports programs.

Islamic extremists have threatened to kill female athletes from Muslim countries that have participated in the Olympic Games.

The Arab Athlete to watch: Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco won the 1,500 metres and 5,000 metres at Athens 2004, becoming the first male athlete since Paavo Nurmi, 80 years earlier, to succeed in that double. Prior to Athens, El Guerrouj had won 84 of his 89 races at 1,500 metres or a mile since 1996, At Atlanta 1996, he tripped and fell in the final, finishing 12th. At Sydney 2000, he placed second to Kenya’s Noah Ngeny. The sports pros believe he has a shot at Gold and was named by Time Magazine as one of the top 50 athletes at the Beijing Olympics.

The Olympic Torch in the Biejing Games made its way through only one Arab city and country, arriving in Muscat, Oman on April 14, 2008, the ninth leg of the torch relay that eventually opened the Beijing games in a spectacular display August 8, 2008. The international leg of the Olympic Torch Relay took 33 days and crossed five continents and visited 21 countries. More than 2,000 torch bearers participated in the relay. The 20-kilometer torch relay (of 137,000 total km) in Oman began at al Bustan Palace which features a wooden dhow used to make an eight month water voyage to Guangzhou, a harbor city in southeast China, in 1981.

The International Olympic Committee determines how many athletes a nation may enter into competition, not the athletes’ country.

Although China hopes to use the Olympics to soften the tarnished image caused by its oppressive policies and restrictions on civil rights, the country still is among the leaders in blocking web sites from foreign nations, mostly political or that feature news, opinion and information.

The official IOC Olympics web site is the worst resource for information on the games.

Arab Countries in the Biejing Olympics:

The Arab League was established in 1945 and it currently has 22 member nations defined as being Arab. Here’s a rundown of Arab countries and their Olympic histories:

ALGERIA – athletes. First competed in 1964. One of 26 nations led by African nations to boycott the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada. Competed in Moscow and Los Angeles, Atlanta and Sydney. Has won 12 Olympic medals, including three in 1996 and five in 2000.

In 1996, 1500m runner Noureddine Morceli and lightweight boxer Hocine Soltani won gold. The five medals it won in Sydney were the most ever at a single Games for Algeria. Its lone gold medal in Sydney went to Nouria Merah-Benida in the women’s 1500m. Hassiba Boulmerka won Algeria’s first gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona women’s 1500m. The prior year in 1991, Hassiba Boulmerka of Algeria scored a stunning upset victory in the 1 500m run at the World Athletics Championships. When she returned to Algiers, she was hailed as a national heroine and as a model for Arab women who wanted to break away from restrictive roles. But she was also condemned by Islamic fundamentalists and was forced to move to Europe to train.

BAHRAIN – 15 athletes. Planned to attend the 1980 Olympics but boycotted along with many countries to protest the Soviet Unions invasion of Afghanistan, and attended its first Olympics in 1984. Has never won an Olympic medal, though Adel Darraj won a bronze medal in taekwondo when it was a demonstration sport at the Seoul Olympics.

COMOROS – 3 athletes. Founded its Olympic Committee in 1979 and was officially recognized by the IOC in 1993. Was one of 25 countries that made its Olympic debut in Atlanta. Never won a medal.

DJIBOUTI – 2 athletes. Made its Olympic debut in 1984, when it sent three athletes to Los Angeles in 1984. In 1988, Djibouti earned its first and only Olympic medal when Ahmed Houssein Salah won a bronze in the marathon. He returned this year to carry Djibouti’s flag in the opening ceremony for the competing athletes.

EGYPT – 104 athletes. First competed in 1912. From 1960 to 1968, competed with Syria as the United Arab Republic, but it is believed that most of the athletes were Egyptian. Boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980 because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Has won 21 medals. Mohammed Ali Rashwan’s silver in the open judo division in 1984 ended a medal drought since 1960.

Egypt was a weightlifting power in the 1930s and 1940s, dominating the lighter classes. Won five medals in Athens (one gold, one silver, three bronze). Karem Gaber won gold in men’s Greco-Roman wrestling (96kg/211.5 lbs) and boxer Mohamed Aly won silver in the men’s super heavyweight (91kg/201 lbs). No Egyptian woman has ever won an Olympic medal.

IRAQ – 4 athletes. Iraq made its Olympic debut in 1948 and has earned one Olympic medal: Abdul Wahid Aziz’s weightlifting bronze in 1960. In 2004, after the United States invaded and then occupied the country, the Iraqi men’s soccer team qualified for Athens.

JORDAN – 7 athletes. Made its debut in 1980 by sending four athletes to the contentious Moscow Olympics, breaking the Arab League boycott of the Soviet Union because of its invasion of Afghanistan. It has competed at each Olympics since. Has never won an Olympic medal.

KUWAIT – 8 athletes. Kuwait first competed in 1968, and has competed continuously since. Won its first Olympic medal at the 2000 Sydney Games – Fehaid Al Deehani won bronze in the men’s double trap shooting event. Danah Al Nasrallah became Kuwaiti’s first female Olympian in Athens, where she competed in the women’s 100m.

LEBANON – 6 athletes. Lebanon first competed in 1948. Boycotted the 1956 Games in Melbourne to protest Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula. Has won four Olympic medals, none of them gold, and none since 1980. Three have come in Greco-Roman wrestling, the other in weightlifting.

LIBYA –7 athletes. In 1964, Libya’s only athlete in Tokyo was marathon runner Fighi Hassan, but he got sick and could not compete, delaying Libya’s entrance into the Games until 1968. Did not participate in the 1984 Games, although it was not part of the Soviet-led boycott. Did not have any athletes competing in Sydney though it did send a delegation. Sent eight athletes to Athens. Has never won an Olympic medal.

MAURITANIA – 2 athletes. Mauritania was to have competed at the 1980 Games in Moscow but boycotted. Made its debut at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Had two athletes in both Sydney and Athens. Has never won an Olympic medal. It’s athletes in Track & Field are Bounkou Camara and Souleymane Chabal El Moctar.

MOROCCO – 49 athletes. Has won 19 Olympic medals – six gold, four silver, and nine bronze. Thirteen of the medals have come in men’s track and field. First competed in 1960. Was one of four African nations to participate in the Opening Ceremony of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada, before withdrawing from competition in solidarity with the 22 other African nations that had boycotted the Games. Boycotted the 1980 Games in Moscow.

In 1984, Nawal El Moutawakel won the women’s 400m hurdles and Said Aouita won the men’s 5000m. Some consider Aouita, who was a world-class athlete at every distance between 800m and 10,000m, to be the greatest runner of all time.

Its most infamous medal came in Barcelona – Khalid Skah’s controversial win in the 10,000m. Skah’s lapped teammate, Hammou Boutayeb, interfered with Kenya’s Richard Chelimo, who held a slight lead over Skah. Skah won the race, but Chelimo’s initial protest was granted by officials and he was considered the winner upon Skah’s disqualification. The ruling was later overturned and Skah reinstated as the winner.

Won two medals in Atlanta, both track and field bronzes – Khalid Boulami (men’s 5000m) and Salah Hissou (men’s 10,000). Added five medals in Sydney (one silver, four bronze). The biggest shock was the performance of Hicham El Guerrouj in the men’s 1500m – Kenya’s Noah Ngeny upset the favored Moroccan, who, for the second time, entered the Olympics as a favorite and left without gold.

In Sydney, El Guerrouj managed to hang on for the silver. In Athens, he settled for nothing less than gold, winning both the men’s 5000m and 1500m. He became the first man to do since Finnish great Paavo Nurmi accomplished the feat in 1924. Hasna Benhassi won Morocco’s other medal in Athens, a silver in the women’s 800m.

OMAN – 4 athletes. Made its debut at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Has not won a medal. Buthaina Yaqoubi is Oman’s first female athlete to compete in an Olympic game. Buthaina Yaqoubi will compete in the women’s 100m sprint, as well as the long jump or the triple jump. Oman won its first gold medal in the Asian Games held in Beijing in 1990 by 400-meter runner Mohammed bin Amer Al Malky. Other athletes include shooter Dad Allah Al Balushi, and athletes Abdullah Al Sooli, and swimmer Mohammed Bin Nassib Al Habsi.

PALESTINE – 4 athletes. Made its Olympic debut in Atlanta. Palestine was so excited about the possibility of competing in the Olympics that a Palestinian Olympic Committee was one of the first things established after the late Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Arafat signed a peace agreement on the White House lawn in October 1993. Even though the Palestinian Authority is not a state, its status as an independent territory makes it eligible for the Olympics.

Sent just two athletes to Atlanta and one of them competed. Majdi Abu Marahil, who had a full-time job in Force-17, Arafat’s secret service, finished last in the first round of the men’s 10,000m.

Sent two more athletes to Sydney – swimmer Samar Nassar and men’s 20m race walker Rami Deib Abdel Hami. The Athens delegation consisted of three athletes, including a female flag bearer: Sanaa Abu Bkheet, a 19-year-old 800m runner.

For years, Israel blocked any recognition of “Palestine” arguing it was not a sovereign nation, yet non-sovereign nations like Puerto Rico, for example, which is an American territory, have a tradition of participation.

QATAR – 22 athletes. Qatar boycotted the 1980 Games in Moscow. First competed in 1984. In 1992, Mohamed Sulaiman finished third in the 1500m to win Qatar’s first Olympic medal.

In Sydney, weightlifter Saeed Saif Asad (one of eight former Bulgarian weightlifters who Qatar bought for a reported $1 million) won bronze in the men’s 105kg/231 lbs division. He was formerly known as Angel Popov.

Many nations attract foreign athletes and give them citizenship, but Qatar is often singled out by the mainstream American media, which has an anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias, as having “bought” eight Bulgarian weightlifters prior to the 2000 Sydney games, resulting in one bronze medal. In 2004, several African runners applied for and received Qatari citizenship and competed. One of its best gold medal prospects would have been Saif Saaeed Shaheen, the 2003 world champion in steeplechase, a Kenyan who became a Qatari citizen two weeks before the 2003 World Championships. But Shaheen did not receive clearance from the Kenyan National Olympic Committee to run for Qatar in Athens.

Doha bid to host the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016, but was eliminated in June 2008 as a result of a negative Western media campaign.

SAUDI ARABIA – 17 athletes. Debuted in 1972 and has since missed only the 1980 Moscow Games. Was the first country to announce it would boycott the 1980 Games in response to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan; the declaration came two weeks before Jimmy Carter announced the U.S. boycott.

After sending just nine athletes to Barcelona, Saudi Arabia had a team of 35 competitors, all male, in Atlanta. Won its first Olympic medals at the 2000 Sydney Games. Hadi Souan Somayli won the country’s first medal, a silver, in the men’s 400m hurdles. Khaled Al Eid later won bronze in equestrian’s individual jumping competition. Did not win a medal in Athens.

Newscasters make a point of always saying its team is “all male.” Women are prohibited by Saudi Arabia’s government from participating, but many other nation’s also have teams that are also only all male.

SOMALIA – 2 athletes. Somalia has never won an Olympic medal. Boycotted the 1980 Games in Moscow. The country’s best hope in Atlanta, Abdi Bile, the 1987 world champion at 1500m, finished sixth in the final. Somalia sent two athletes to the Biejing Olympics, Samiyo Yusuf, a young teenaged woman who competes in the 800 meters race for women, and Abdinasir saeed, a young man in his early twenties who will compete in the 5000 meters race for men.

SUDAN – 9 athletes. Sudan has never won an Olympic medal since first competing in 1960. It first participated in a team sport at the 1972 Games, when the men’s soccer team qualified. Boycotted the 1980 Games in Moscow.

SYRIA – 7 athletes. Syria made its Olympic debut in 1948, sending a diver to the London Games. It first participated in a team sport at the 1980 Games, when the men’s soccer team competed in Moscow.

Syria has won two Olympic medals. The first was a silver earned by freestyle wrestler Joseph Atiyeh at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Atiyeh, a student at Louisiana State University at the time, was pinned by American Lou Banach in the final.

The second medal was by heptathlete Ghada Shouaa, Syria’s only female athlete in Atlanta. Shouaa won the gold medal in Atlanta – her country’s first Olympic title. First competed in 1948. From 1960 to 1968, competed with Egypt as the United Arab Republic, but it is believed that most of the athletes were Egyptian. Has never boycotted.

TUNISIA – 4 athletes. Has won six medals in the Olympics, four of them by distance runner Mohamed Gammoudi – in 1964, a silver in the 10,000m; in 1968, a gold in the 5000m and a bronze in the 10,000m; and in 1972, a silver in the 5000m. Gammoudi is in some select company. He is one of six men who have won multiple medals in both the 5000m and 10,000m, joining Flying Finns Paavo Nurmi, Ville Ritola and Lasse Viren, Sweden’s Edvin Wide, and Czechoslovakia’s Emil Zatopek.

Was one of two Arab nations and four African nations to participate in the Opening Ceremony of the 1976 Montreal Games and then join a 22-African-nation boycott of those Olympics. Boycotted in 1980. After failing to win a medal in Barcelona, Tunisia won a boxing bronze in light welterweight thanks to Fathi Missaoui. Its last Olympic medal came in 1996.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – 8 athletes. 1980, but did not compete in Moscow. Made its Olympic debut in 1984. In 2004 in Athens, shooter Ahmed Almaktoum won the nation’s first medal, a gold in men’s double trap. Maitha al Makthoum will compete in taekwondo, and Latifah al Makthoum will compete in show jumping (equestrian). Maitha is the daughter of Mohammed bin Rashid al Makthouhm ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the UAE and Latifah is a niece. NBC sports reporters said that both are al Makthoum’s daughters.

YEMEN – 5 athletes. Until 1990, Yemen was divided. Yemen made its Olympic debut as a unified country in Barcelona. South Yemen boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Games and made its first appearance in Seoul with six athletes. North Yemen made its debut by sending two athletes to Los Angeles in 1984 and it sent 11 athletes to Seoul, where one of them made headlines.

Abdallah Alizani, a Greco-Roman wrestler, was believed to become the first Arab athlete to follow through on the Arab policy of not participating in head-to-head competition with Israelis. Alizani failed to appear at his first-round match against Israel’s Dov Grobermann, who was awarded a victory by forfeit.

(Compiled by Ray Hanania from numerous broadcast and online sources. Contact Ray with any updates at www.TheMediaOasis.com and by email at rayhanania@comcast.net.)

The ministry official says the pardon was one of 566 announced Wednesday by the king as part of a tradition of granting royal pardons on the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed

Links:
Help Fouad Mourtada [on FB]

HelpFouad.com

This is a video documenting Fouad’s case, and all the wonderful rallies that were held for him across the world. From the official Help Fouad campaign site:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOozV-_Z5Vg[/youtube]

Please do what you guys can to spread the word. This case is a real blow for Morocco, which we had very high hopes for until this devastating case.

To the good folks at Help Fouad: Keep up the great work, we’re rallying right behind you.

PS: Fouad Mourtada is not to be confused with the Saudi Fouad, a blogger who was arrested 3 months ago and is still in prison without charge.

Free Fouad Mourtada, Free Fouad Alfarhan, Free Kareem Amer!

A Moroccan court sentenced a computer engineer to three years in prison late on Friday for setting up a Facebook account in the name of King Mohammed’s brother.

Despite an appeal to Prince Moulay Rachid for clemency, the court found 26-year-old Fouad Mortada guilty of falsifying data and imitating the prince without his consent. It also fined him $1,300 (10,000 dirhams), Mortada’s lawyer Ali Ammar said.

“The importance of the personality at the heart of this affair clearly influenced how the case was handled,” Ammar said.

Mortada’s brother Ilyas said the family would appeal. Fouad Mortada said he set up the account on the social-networking site in mid-January out of admiration for the 37-year-old prince, who is second in line to the throne.

Read full article here.

Okay, some people are obviously taking Facebook way too seriously.