By Amr Khalifa The controversy surrounding the Red Sea islands conceals a much more important struggle between Egypt’s judiciary and Sisi’s regime In April of 2016 with zero political debate, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi decided to surrender two Red Sea islands, Tiran and Sanfir, to the country’s primary political and economic patron, Saudi Arabia. Widespread […]
Blood, bribery, and the two islands: An Egyptian tale Read More »
By Peter Speetjens The forgotten Algerian civil war that killed as many as 200,000 people set the tone for the ‘Arab Spring’ and the paradox of democracy On 11 January, it will be exactly 25 years since Algeria’s military staged a coup to prevent the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) from winning the first multi-party elections
Remembering Algeria 1992: The first Arab spring that never became a summer Read More »
By Hillary Aked Everything you need to know about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, and what’s being done to combat BDS. File: Israeli border police and soldiers block Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank [EPA] What is BDS? BDS stands for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (and not, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
By Adam Eley and Katie Alston When former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was captured in December 2003, the CIA required a specialist who could identify and interrogate him for information. That person was John Nixon. Mr Nixon had studied Saddam Hussein since joining the CIA in 1998. His role was to gather insight into
The ex-CIA agent who interrogated Saddam Hussein Read More »
By : Abdul Qadir Muslims throughout the world celebrated on Monday the birthday of Prophet Muhamad s.a.w. who was born on 12 Rabi ulAwal in the Year of the Elephant [June 8, 570 AD]. There were processions, lectures, syair and music expressing deep love for him.Several governments and politicians in the Muslim states have
By Abo Bakr al Haj Ali Yarmouk in south Syria is not known as a hotbed of extremism – but IS-inspired militants have taken over, and are preaching in its schools Young boys, their faces obscured by MEE, attend school (source: Khalid bin al-Walid Army) The village of al-Shajarah, Arabic for “tree”, is nestled in the
‘I fear for my sons’: IS-style group forces brutal lessons on Syrian children Read More »
By Samar Batrawi While east Aleppo falls to devastation at the hands of pro-regime troops, debating over exact population figures and a young girl’s tweets is morally indefensible ‘These are appalling stories. Sometimes people say that to be on the safe side you should divide them by 10, or 100 or 200; but divide them as
Siege of Aleppo: How can the world make up for how much we have failed Bana Alabed? Read More »
by Malak Chabkoun The spirit of the revolution in Syria persists, even as Assad’s forces advance. Regardless of what Donald Trump says he is going to do in terms of disarming Syrian rebels and his promises to Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian revolution is not dead. Regardless of how many armed opposition
And who are we to say the Syrian revolution is dead? Read More »
By Salman Masalha Both Assad senior and Assad junior advocated resistance against Israel. This slogan was hollow, serving the regime merely as an insurance policy against any demand for freedom and democracy. As strange as it sounds, everyone in Israel loves Arab dictators. When I say everyone I mean both Jews and Arabs. The favorite dictator
By Sharif Nashashibi The bill, effectively creating a parallel army among Shia militias accused of abuses and already resistant to authority, risks turning Iraq into Libya The passing of a bill by Iraq’s parliament on Saturday legalising the Popular Mobilisation Units (PMUs) as a government entity operating alongside the army will further exacerbate sectarian tensions
Unleashing the untameable monster: Iraqi bill will only inflame sectarianism Read More »
