Turning Point
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Continue ReadingKilling of Soleimani evokes dark history of political assassinations in the formative days of Shiite Islam
by Deina Abdelkader * Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who promoted the religious and political influence of the Iranian regime across the Middle East with covert military operations, was an important figure in the Iranian government. But that’s not the only reason his targeted killing by the United States has elicited explosive grief and outrage in Iran. […]
Continue ReadingIndonesia’s new international Islamic university to host global research for “moderate Islam”
by Luthfi T. Dzulfikar* In an attempt to offer an alternative Islamic university model to the current dominance of Middle Eastern universities, Indonesia has announced plans to open the Indonesian International Islamic University (UIII) in Depok, West Java. With more than 200 million believers, Indonesia is home to the largest Muslim population in the world. […]
Continue ReadingBroken trust: How Iraqis lost their faith in Washington, long before the Kurds did
by Mieczysław P. Boduszyński, Assistant Professor of Politics, Pomona College In all the hand-wringing that critics and commentators have done since President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria, one of the common refrains emphasizes the breach of trust between Washington and its Kurdish militia partners. Some scholars of international relations […]
Continue ReadingTurkey’s Safe Zone in Northern Syria and International Law
By Ahmed E Souaiaia* Abstract: Mere hours before Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, visits with his Russian counterpart in Sochi, his government clarified the purpose of its invasion of Northern Syrian. The Turkish government frames its intervention as partly humanitarian, partly security missions. Considering that Erdoğan has called for such a “safe zone” as early […]
Continue ReadingTunisia’s new president Kais Saied has a big job to wrestle the country back from its political elites
by Omar Safi* The election of Kais Saied, a 61-year-old former law professor and political outsider, to the Tunisian presidency was not surprising: he represents the Tunisian ideal of how the ruling class should be. The size of the vote in his favour was impressive. He won 73% of the vote in the second round […]
Continue ReadingThe U.S. is planning “an attack on Iran”, a real Groundhog Day event
More than 22 years ago, an attack in Saudi Arabia was blamed on Iran, and the media, then, said the US is preparing to attack Iran. Now, another attack in Saudi Arabia is blamed on Iran and the US is said to be preparing to Attack Iran. And guest what, at that time too, Afghanistan […]
Continue ReadingWill Zarif’s surprise G7 visit help resolve row?
by Xu Hailin, based on conversations with Li Weijian, a senior research fellow with the Center for West Asian and African Studies Iran has been striving to overcome the crisis in its relations with the US. Although the Islamic Republic has taken some tough steps, such as shooting down a US military drone in June […]
Continue ReadingCanada’s labour movement must take a stand against the Saudi arms deal
by Simon Black and Anthony Fenton* As Canada’s largest labour organization and the political arm of the labour movement, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has long been a voice for peace, human rights and social justice. But on one of the most controversial issues in Canadian politics, Canada’s arms deal with Saudi Arabia, it has […]
Continue ReadingSeparate and Unequal: Is State’s Support to Elite Universities a Human Rights Violation
By Ahmed E Souaiaia* Abstract: On May 11, 2019, the US federal government indicted 50 individuals, charging them with bribery and fraud in a widespread college admission scandal involving wealthy parents, coaches, administrators, and business executives, paying bribes to buy their children’s way into the nation’s elite schools. For weeks thereafter, the public discourse had […]
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