Why doesn’t Ikbis recognize Palestine ?
March 26, 2008 | 9:50 pmI am sure you have heard about ikbis, the Arabic multimedia sharing website. I have nothing against that site, i personally think it is an amazing growing web application, i browse its content on an almost daily basis, and i wish it all the best.
However, as i was creating a user account on that site today, i was shocked to see that they don’t list Palestine as a country. Instead they listed it as the Palestinian Territories. I am shocked to see this from an Arabian company based in Jordan. As far as i know, Jordan does recognize the state of Palestine, so why doesn’t Ikbis ? Other Jordanian websites (such as Maktoob and Jeeran) do list Palestine as a country, so why not Ikbis ? Are we being disowned by our brothers in Ikbis ? Not long ago, Facebook created a swarm of protesting users after it removed Palestine as a “network” on their sites (which ultimately resulted in reinstating that network), so why is Ikbis afraid ?
I know, i know, Ikbis probably did not mean to make a political statement in this. I bet they also sympathize with the Palestinian plight. Most likely, they made this move so that they can grow their site in peace without worrying about politics. However, come on! this is a very small gesture, and it doesn’t seem to hinder other sites from growing and prospering, even sites with global audiences, so how about sites with an Arab audience ?!
So, dear Ikbis folks, please list Palestine as a country.
I am also interested in seeing what do my dear readers think about this .
Note: In all fairness, i didn’t notify Ikbis about this issue until Qabbani mentioned that below.
By the way, for some reason they missed translating the word “Sex” in the Arabic registration form. What’s wrong in saying جنس after all, that is how it is reported on your passport :-p
Qabbani
On March 26, 2008 | 10:46 pmhmm i see
well i guess u should post them that
oh or they already read ur articles
jama3et I toot ,
Qwaider قويدر
On March 26, 2008 | 11:30 pmGeopolitical issues are very tough to catch.
I doubt it’s intentional
za3tar
On March 27, 2008 | 12:33 amQabbani: You know what, i actually didn’t think of that. I have just sent them an email. I probably should have done that first.
Qwaider: Yeah i understand the toughness of the situation, i know they want to be a technology company and just focus on that without worrying about the politics. I am also highly confident that it is not intentional. However with that said, i still think that they need to change that. After all, Maktoob and Jeeran did it, and they are having no problems with that. Also, their countries drop down list was edited (since the Arab countries are listed at the top of the list as well as in their correct places .. so they could have edited it then).
Fat7al
On March 27, 2008 | 12:44 am“I am also highly confident that it is not intentional.”
Better think again.
Are you surprised of how low Vichy Arabs can go?
in the absence of any form of public pressure, these scumbags tend to slip into a pattern of despicable conduct. you can only shame them, but even that is becoming more difficult since they are protected by an increasingly audacious neoliberal establishment that is so disconnected from the arab public and so insensitive to its concerns, sooner or later something has got to give. the Ikbis people are the same people who run ITOOT, a bloggers directory that proudly lists among their hand-picked bloggers some of the slimiest neolibs known to blogging.
Waltz
On March 27, 2008 | 9:29 amShame on them,