Public scholarship, informed readers
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 […]
Continue Readingby Dr. Necmettin Acar * Middle Eastern states have started to give signals of radical change in the direction of their foreign policies, which have become a tradition after being followed for many years. The Gulf-Israeli rapprochement, the tendencies of Turkey and Egypt to thaw ties, the mutual desire between Turkey and Israel to strengthen […]
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* August 16, 2020 Abstract: With the war on Yemen going against Saudi stated goals, three years ago, (5 June 2017), Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and imposed isolating sanctions. Three years later, none of their conditions, which included, primarily, shutting down Aljazeera, […]
Continue ReadingMore 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 Readingby David Mednicoff* The international crisis over whether top Saudi Arabian leadership murdered U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is a striking example of the consequences of Donald Trump’s blanket disregard for democratic politics and human rights in other countries. This departure from decades of American foreign policy rhetoric remains comparatively undiscussed. However, in the Middle East, […]
Continue ReadingAfter being summoned like a Saudi diplomat to appear before the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Saad Hariri returned to Beirut to pack and say his goodbyes, then returned to Riyad, picked up the phone and called the Lebanese president to tell him that he is quitting. The bizarre process led President Michel Aoun to […]
Continue ReadingISR Comment: Because of stories like this, Saudi Arabia wants to shut down Aljazeera The rift between four Arab governments and Qatar is a good thing for those interested in reduced level of violence in Islamic societies and the potential for serious reform in area of religious thought and practices. For nearly a decade now, […]
Continue ReadingISR comment: Four Arab States want Qatar to close down Aljazeera, a sign that the current crisis is in fact a reaction to and fear of the protest movements popularly known as the Arab Spring. It was on the pages of ISR that the role of Aljazeera in galvanizing social change in the Arab world […]
Continue ReadingTogether, Saudi Arabian and Qatari rulers bankrolled armed rebellions that destroyed Libya, Syria, and Yemen. They offered political and military support to all armed groups that are willing to fight regimes they do not like. Their united front against their common enemies did nothing to remove their own internal problems. Now, they have to face […]
Continue ReadingTrump would like to claim that all Arab and Muslim leaders he lectured in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, are united to fight terrorism and confront Iran. The reality tells a different story. Just a day after he left, Egypt, UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia launched an unprecedented and coordinated media attack on one of their own: […]
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