Jul 24, 2024 | Egypt Through the Lens is a four-part series about how photographers recorded the modern history of Egypt over 150 years – its kings, presidents, politics, conflicts and cinema.
The second episode sees how war photographers captured key moments of Egypt's history, from the earliest British occupation in 1882 to the Arab-Israeli wars of the late 20th century. Acclaimed photojournalist Samir Ghazouli draws on his family's extensive archive to show the development of war photography in Egypt. He reveals iconic images from the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the rise of a young Egyptian army officer Gamal Abdel Nasser from war hero to president, the Suez Crisis and both the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli wars, where photographs vividly captured the contrasting emotions of victory and defeat.
Jul 23, 2024 | Egypt Through the Lens is a four-part series about how photographers recorded the modern history of Egypt over 150 years – its kings, presidents, politics, conflicts and cinema.
The first episode sees Egypt's rulers captured on camera, from the earliest recorded still images of Egypt's royal family taken in 1836 to the country's first presidents in the mid-20th century. King Farouk's whole life was documented in photographs, from his birth in 1920 to his abdication in 1952. Farouk understood the importance of photographs as a PR tool and tried to control his public image - but with limited success. Gamal Abdel Nasser took his own informal photos, offering a behind-the-scenes look into his presidency in the 1960s. His successor Anwar Sadat was also keenly aware of the power of photography. One iconic picture shows him in a traditional jalabiya, sitting on a rural porch sharing pastries with farmers, aimed at showing the president as a man of the people.
Feb 22, 2022 | “A land without a people, and a people without a land” is how the relationship between Palestine and the Jewish people was described by Christian writers in the 1800s. And the 20th-century history of the Middle East has largely been written through these eyes.
But this film from Al Jazeera Arabic looks at Palestine from a different angle. It hears from historians and witness accounts, and features archive documents that show Palestine as a thriving province of Greater Syria and the Ottoman Empire at the dawn of the 20th century.
The evidence suggests that its cities had a developing trade and commercial sector, growing infrastructure, and embryonic culture that would enable it to meet the challenges of the decades ahead.
However, the political ramifications of the Balfour Declaration, San Remo Conference and British Mandate set in motion a series of events that profoundly affected this vibrant, fledgeling society and led to the events of 1948 and beyond. This film is the other side of the Palestinian story.
Across the United States, there has been a growth in organizations that portray Islam as a threat. Over two years, the number of groups that make up what’s become known as the Islamophobia industry has more than tripled.
This investigation reveals the tactics these groups use to instigate a fear of Islam, including how they manipulate social media to create a false narrative that Muslims are trying to take over the country. Anti-Muslim messages proliferate social media with bought-in followers, fake accounts and robotic amplifiers.
The investigation also shows how these organizations try to suppress the rise of a Muslim political voice in America. It uncovers the “dark money” that has fuelled the rapid growth of Islamophobia Inc. - tens of millions of dollars, which are funnelled through secretive, anonymous donor funds. We unveil the donors of the dark money and ask; what do they ultimately hope to achieve?
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the architect and the face of the Iranian Revolution, is seen by many as the embodiment of the principles of the Islamic Republic. Rarely in history has a man who did not seek power come to wield so much of it. He wanted to serve the people of Iran and throughout his life fought the régime's oppression, corruption and the Shah's opulent lifestyle.
Forced exile empowered Khomeini even further, providing him with the freedom to speak out against Iran's ruling élite. "He became the main speaker of the opposition inside Iran... he was continuously attacking the Shah's brutality and because of that he gained the popular support of the people," says Ebrahim Yazdi, who was Iran's deputy prime minister in 1979.
The charismatic religious scholar managed to overthrow one of the strongest and most oppressive régimes in the world - and set Iran on a collision course with the West. But who was Ayatollah Khomeini and what is his legacy? Al Jazeera spoke to those who knew the man behind a revolution that shook the world. This documentary was originally broadcast on Al Jazeera English in January 2009
Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi president, was executed on December 30, 2006. His death, like his life, was filled with controversy.
Saddam Hussein was born into humble beginnings, but his straightforward, brutal efficiency eventually propelled him to power. By 1979 he had absolute control of Iraq, and had become a prominent figure on the world stage.
I Knew Saddam was first broadcast on Al Jazeera English in 2007.
Nearly one million ethnic Arabs fleeing war and violence back home have come to Germany since 2015.
This film follows one of them, newspaper editor and Syrian asylum seeker Ramy Alasheq, as he looks into historical patterns of Arab immigration and how the latest arrivals are being received in their new country.
For Ramy and many others, life has not been the same since young men said to be Arab were accused of robbing and attacking German women on New Year's Eve 2015 in his new hometown, Cologne. It is a city that Ramy has come to love. But while he and fellow immigrants initially received a warm reception, there are now widespread calls to halt the entry of Arab refugees into Germany.
For hundreds of years, Germany has been a magnet for migrants and refugees from all over the world. But its specific focus on encouraging migration from countries in the Middle East like Egypt, Syria, Iraq and to a lesser extent Jordan, Palestine and North Africa, is not often discussed.
Through the human stories of second and third-generation migrants, as well as incoming new refugees, this film paints a picture of how the experience of Arab immigrants in Germany has changed over the decades.
We ask what it means to be a foreigner in Germany, and at the same time come to understand Germany itself and the reasoning behind its immigration policies. We also hear from German analysts and decision-makers about Germany's dependency on migrant communities to re-populate its dwindling towns and keep its economy strong.
Oud, also known as Agarwood, is the basis of some of the of the most world’s exclusive perfumes.
Derived from the resinous bark of a tree that only grows in parts of South East Asia, it is also one of the world’s rarest and most expensive commodities – kilo for kilo more costly than gold.
The fragrances it releases have long been of huge cultural significance in the Gulf and the Middle East where they are used as tokens of hospitality and welcome. But more recently leading western perfumers and Chinese investors have also been beguiled by its unique scent.
Now supplies are drying up as consumer demand grows, profit-hungry speculators close in on the market and the tree from which it is sourced becomes increasingly endangered.
