I know why I’m obsessed with Jews, but why are you?

by David Palumbo-Liu* Knowing how public I’ve been in support of the call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctionsagainst the state of Israel, a Jewish colleague came up to me on campus one day to talk. “I know why I’m obsessed with Jews,” he said, “But why are you?”  I could hear both puzzlement and pain Read more

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Contextualizing David Ignatius’ claim about “John Kerry’s big blunder in seeking an Israel-Gaza cease-fire”?

Contextualizing David Ignatius’ claim about “John Kerry’s big blunder in seeking an Israel-Gaza cease-fire”? by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* David Ignatius, a journalist with extraordinary access to the halls of power but apparently limited sound reasoning argued that John Kerry has committed a “big blunder in seeking an Israel-Gaza cease-fire.” He explained that “Kerry’s error has Read more

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Chaos and anarchy in the Middle East: How did it happen?

Takfīris‘ path to their “caliphate” is soaked with the blood of Muslims by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* The most important event of the summer might end up being ISIL’s (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) declaration that it has restored the caliphate. For the second time in the past two decades, Salafi Islamists have gained Read more

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Lebanon’s online Salafists monitor Iraq events

ISIL map by Ghassan Rifi [Lebanon’s] Salafists are closely following events in Iraq. Some Salafists are waiting to see how the wars between the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and the Iraqi army will turn out before deciding what to do. Social media posts indicate that many jihadist Salafists are pleased with ISIS’s Read more

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Niyaz, brilliantly and deliberately building bridges through time, space, and cultures

(Music and band performance review)  Members of the band Niyaz are similar to the music they produce: stunningly eclectic. They represent different ethnic, religious, and national backgrounds. Their music resurrects ancient arts and give life to words spoken in different tongues. Their songs seamlessly transition from Persian, to Urdu, to Kurdish, to Turkish, to Arabic. Read more

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Why have many Syrians voted for Bashar al-Assad and what is the U.S. administration’s alternative to elections it does not particularly like?

by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Syrians vote, June 3, 2014. Most Western governments and some observers argue that the elections that took place in Syria on June 3, 2014 were not legitimate because not all Syrians were able (or willing) to participate, they were held under war conditions, and Syrians were coerced into voting for the Read more

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Results of first post U.S.-occupation parliamentarian elections in Iraq gives Maliki an edge, but not a majority that would allow him to form a majority government on his own as he hoped

Iraq needs a strong government to face the ethnic and religious divisions that continue to cost Iraq nearly 1000 lives every month in the last few months. Most recently, al-Qaeda affiliates or al-Qaeda alike armed groups took control of several cities and towns in western Iraq threatening the unity of the country. Also, Kurdish leaders Read more

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Jabhat al-Nusra losing support among rebels, tribes in south Syria

by Tarek Al-Abed  On May 7, Syria’s Daraa province witnessed three events. First, battles broke out in the western countryside and militants started advancing toward the province. Second, a march was staged in support of the regime, near the location where armed confrontations were underway. Third, tension between Jabhat al-Nusra and other armed groups escalated Read more

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The slow moving wheel of democracy in Turkey and the future of women in politics

By Sumeyye Pakdil * see key below Turkey has been occupied with a corruption scandal and the recent split between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Fethullah Gulen, a prominent religious figure who leads a worldwide Sunni movement named after him. Arguably, this split dates back to the government’s decision to close all school preparation Read more

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Is Ukraine becoming for the West what Syria has been for Russia?

by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Riding the wave of protests known as the Arab Spring, many Syrians rallied to demand more political and civil rights. Without the hesitancy that characterized their initial reaction to the protest movements in Tunisia and Egypt, Western administrations and some of the Persian Gulf regimes immediately threw their support behind the Read more

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