Since breaking free from the French colonial rule, Algeria has had very uneasy relationship with Morocco, reaching the point of direct armed conflict at one point (Sep 25, 1963-4). Then, Morocco, eager to capitalize on a moment of weakness in Algeria whose army consisted of Mujahideen fighters trained to fight asymmetrical war against the French Read more
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On September 23, 2021, the branch of the Islamic State (al-Khilafa) in Afghanistan released a statement claiming responsibility for an attack, using small arms, on members of the Taliban, whom they described as “Taliban militia.” Local news reports confirmed the attack. This is a small-scale attack that represented no serious danger to Taliban’s grip on Read more
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In 2016, the Justice and Development Party (French acronym PJD) in Morocco won 125 seats of the 395-seat house of representatives in the parliament of Morocco, earning it the top spot and forcing the King to appoint the party’s leader to form a government. Fast forward to September 8, 2021, and the same party, under Read more
Continue ReadingThe Muslim World in Modern South Asia: Power, Authority, and Knowledge, by Francis Robinson, draws together a decade’s worth of the author’s articles, lectures, and reviews. The book covers temporally and geographically broad trends within Muslim responses to the rise of European colonial power and Western capitalist influence, particularly but not only within South Asia. Read more
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by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Intrigued by a fake photograph used by the BBC in its coverage of the war in Syria ten years ago, our interest in qualifying and quantifying the media bias while covering events in Southwest Asia and North Africa took a life of its own. Over the span of ten years, we Read more
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by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Most commentators would argue that Tunisia has been the only success story of the so-called Arab spring. The validity of such a statement would depend on the definition of success. The success that most people might have in mind could mean transition to representative governance without civil war and violence. To Read more
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On July 25, the president of Tunisia, Kais Saied, cited article 80 of the ratified 2014 constitution to declare a national emergency. The presidential order suspended the parliament for 30 days, dismissed the prime minister, and lifted immunity on parliamentarians. Here is a translation of the article that the president is relying on to justify Read more
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by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* About six months after the inauguration of the Biden administration, nearly 90% of the US fighting troops are pulled out of Afghanistan. The vacuum was filled immediately by Taliban forces who claimed that they now control 85% of the country. After having spent nearly three trillion dollars on the invasion of Read more
Continue Readingby Marie Kortam* In May, following violence in Jerusalem, hundreds of third and fourth generation Palestinian refugees tried to cross the Lebanon-Palestine border that separates them from their homeland to join the popular civil resistance and support their families against Israeli occupation. In the camps, refugees organised sit-ins, marches and various demonstrations of support for Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Abstract: Since the start of this century alone, and since the Israeli government withdrew from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military has fought four wars involving Gaza, with the most recent one culminating in an apparent ceasefire on May 21, 2021. The Oslo Accord, the U.S.-backed peace deal brokered more than Read more
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