Shawn Baldwin

Middle East

A Lebanese man prays in the remains of a mosque that was heavily damaged during last summer's war with Israel in the village of Siddiqqine in southern Lebanon. July 2007.
  
Hamza Abu Zanad, 27, from Jordan, right, smokes shisha with friends at an exclusive bar in Dubai. August 2008.
  
A man receives a shave in the Palestinian neighborhood of Wehdat in Amman, Jordan. Jordan has revoked citizenship from nearly 3,000 Jordanians of Palestinian origin in recent years and should put a stop to the practice, Human Rights Watch said in a report earlier this month. February 2010.
     
  
Businessmen outside a Visa International meeting this week in a hotel in Tripoli, Libya, under a portrait of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, who is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the system of government he instituted. There is much talk of economic, but not political, change. February 2007.
   
A family picnics on a green area in Amman, Jordan. February 2010.
   
Veiled Jordanian students vote during student elections at the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Jordan in Amman. Across the Middle East, young people are using religion to defy the status quo and challenge their governments. December 2008.
     
  
Students make their way in front of campaign posters prior to this weeks student elections at the University of Jordan in Amman. Across the Middle East, young people are using religion to defy the status quo and challenge their governments. December 2008.
  
Young Arabs enjoyed a night out at Elegante, a popular Dubai disco. August 2008.
   
Asian workers relaxed and looked out over the Dubai skyline at sunset on their day off. August 2008.
     
  
Dozens of African and Egyptian migrant workers wait near a bridge in hopes of getting work in Tripoli, Libya. March 2009.
  
Palestinian refugees, who fled the besieged camp of Nahr al-Bared, take refuge in a classroom in a school in the Beddawi refugee camp outside of Tripoli, Lebanon. One year ago, Lebanon found itself in the middle of a war between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah after Hezbollah fighters crossed the border and seized two Israeli soldiers. Although the war's catastrophic damage drew Lebanese together, they quickly turned on one another politically. Killings, bombings and political protests have become routine. June 2007.
   
In spite of the Islamist-influenced school system, Algerian youths appear to be more socially liberal than their counterparts in places like Egypt or Jordan. Outside Okba Ben Nafaa high school, a young veiled woman sat leg to leg with young boys, which is unthinkable in some Muslim countries. May 2008.
     
  
A Syrian woman walks past a picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad on a street in Aleppo, Syria. March 2006.