Batir Wardam Blog: Thanks Abu Aardvark

One of the most intriguing blogs about Middle East you can ever find around is the work of Marc Lynch, professor of political science at Williams College and author of Voices of the New Arab Public (Columbia University Press). The blog entitled Abu Aardvark is the richest collection of views, articles and insights about Middle East Politics. The blog provides a very nice balance between "academic research" and simple and direct blogging that can reach a wide scope of audience.

The views of Mr Lynch are always deep and thorough, and he is a very good follower of the Arab blogsphere. In a recent research article that was published in the Arab Media & Society Magazine, he takes a close assessment of Arab bloggers.

Mr Lynch provides a skeptic view of the potential of the Arab blogs saying :" it is highly unlikely that blogging will induce wide political change in the Middle East.". However, he has a good reason to be positive in identifying the emerging importance of Arab blogging by stating :" Arab political blogging is changing and becoming more politically relevant. Bloggers have had a discernible impact in a wide range of Arab countries.

Mr Lynch is impressed with political blogging in Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain and Lebanon in particular, but not much in Jordan. In his 30 page article he rarely refers to Jordanian bloggers but when he does it comes with a compliment. I feel particulary honored and pleased with his mentioning of my blog as one of the referenced political ones. In his article he writes :" In Jordan, for instance, the first wave of young, tech-focused youth has already been supplemented by blogs maintained by Batir Wardum (a liberal columnist for the newspaper Al Dustour), Yasir Abu Hilala (Al Jazeera’s Amman correspondent and columnist for Al Ghad), Ziyad Abu Ghuneima (an Islamist former MP), and Hilmi Asmar (a columnist and former editor of the Muslim Brotherhood weekly newspaper Al Sabil).

Moreover, he provides another nice assessment of this blog and other Jordanian blogs by stating :" Bloggers such as Khalaf , Batir Wardum, and Nasseem Tarawneh in Jordan remain on the political sidelines, but offer some of the sharpest and most direct public argument anywhere about Jordanian politics".

Having read this I would like to offer a big thank you for Marc Lynch for two big reasons:

1- Providing positive assessment for my blog from a very renouned and respected researcher.

2- Helping me to gain an important thrust to maintain my political blogging, after reaching an almost final decision of giving it up.

Last week I published a post here declaring my intention to stop political blogging for reasons of time scarcity and the need to focus on career development. I deleted the post 24 hours later when I thought I still have more attachment to political blogging than I thought previously and wanted to take more time to think.

I did not have much time last week but had an emerging feeling to go back to blogging but needed some support. I got a lot of support from the fact that my blog continued to receive visits while being silent in updating, and a very nice message from a reader in Canada and then this article by Marc Lynch.

If people think that my blogging is worth following up and referring to it makes me feel very happy and proud, and so I have decided to dedicate more time to this blog and to remain able to provide the political views I have and even in a more direct manner.