Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei
"The supreme leader of Iran expanded his social media presence with the addition of Instagram in 2012, and he received a lot of media attention for it. The account features filtered photos of Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mostly in official or religious settings, meeting with other officials, speaking before crowds, or bowing in prayer."
Lebanon's Elie Saab
"Featuring behind-the-scenes shots from photo shoots, portraits of models walking the runway, and extreme close-ups of braids, clutches and embroideries, this Instagram account serves as a pictorial playground for the Beirut-based, internationally-recognized Lebanese fashion label launched by designer Elie Saab."
Lebanon's Haifa Wehbe
"Run by the management of Lebanese model, singer, and actress Haifa Wehbe, this Instagram account is labeled “haifamjk” because of the title of her 2012 album “Malikat Jamal Kon,” or “Miss Universe” in English. The pictures, almost exclusively of Wehbe in a range of poses, settings and outfits, uses Instagram filters to enhance the famous sex appeal of the Miss Lebanon runner-up who has since become one of the most well-known and widely-followed female music artists in the Arab World."
Qatar's Matthew Cassel
"A journalist and photographer with Al Jazeera English, Mathew Cassel shares photos on his Instagram documenting his travels throughout the Middle East. This picture, from Doha comes with the caption: “Balloon seller. How does he stay grounded?” Like many Instagram users, Cassel threatened to delete his account after news broke in December that Instagram wanted the right to sell user photos to advertisers. After the backlash, the company redacted the policy change."
Iraq's Yassin Alsalman
"Better known as The Narcicyst, Yassin Alsalman is an Iraqi rapper, or as he puts it on his Twitter account, “a pop culture provocateur and Arab culture investigator” who writes “nice verses.” Born in Dubai, UAE before moving to Montreal, Canada, he now spends much of his time back in the Middle East, and documents his travels and observations on his Instagram. He often posts pictures of what he finds funny, such as a sweatshirt reading “Mother Puckers” above cartoon hockey sticks, and a syringe labeled “Nutella.” In this picture, he squats in Jordan with his Jordan sneakers, and notes the irony in his caption."
Al-Monitor recently released this article detailing the top 15 most prominent instagram accounts in the Middle East. We've chosen the top five we think are the most... intriguing. From politicians and journalists to fashionistas and photographers, these 5 accounts remove the middle man between you and the (in)famous. All captions are accredited to Al-Monitor.
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