Social media is often considered an arena for the young and liberal– but it is not always the case. A couple filmed kissing and hugging in the Jordanian capital have caused a viral storm, including calls for the amorous couple’s prosecution on obscenity charges and complaints that such behavior is “un-Arab”– and a few commentators angry at whoever took and published the film.
Also in Jordan, a new geography textbook at the University of Jordan is causing waves: The National Campaign for Defending Students’ Rights (Thabahtoona) has criticized the book that identifies Israel but not Palestine on a map, for “promoting normalization” of ties with Israel.
Israel and Jordan have been formally at peace since 1994, but Thabahtoona’s chair told the Jordan Times “we are not used to seeing a book at Jordanian universities that recognizes the Zionist entity and the state of what is referred to as ‘Israel’.”