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by Ahmed E. Souaiaia The Ukrainian war, from day one, has exposed the latent and not-so-latent racism, bigotry, discrimination, and double standard. From the media coverage to the treatment of persons displaced by the war, the West has shown that, in the eyes of Westerners, white, European, blue-eyed people are entitled and deserving of exceptional Read more
Continue ReadingBy 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 Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia * Abstract: Social labels and categories are exercise in control. They describe opponents, create boundaries, exclude social groups, justify discrimination, and promote persecution. They are imbued with sociopolitical power. Muslims used labels, internally for the first time, during the formative period of the community to privilege the elite and marginalize dissenters. Read more
Continue ReadingbyAhmed E. Souaiaia Abstract: The organization known today simply as the “Islamic State,” or by its Arabic acronym, Daesh (English, ISIL), has historical and ideological roots that go beyond the territories it now controls. These deep roots give Daesh confidence that it will succeed in dominating the world, but give others reasons to believe that Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* GCC When Prince Salman became King Salman, world leaders wanted to know about the man now controlling the country that exports more oil than any other, Saudi Arabia. Several leading publications claimed that the 79 year old king suffers from serious chronic illnesses. The Economistproposed that his predecessor, King Read more
Continue ReadingEurope’s hypocrisy and latent racism displayed after the Paris attacks by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* On January 11, 2015, an estimated 1.6 million people walked the streets of Paris as part of a “unity march” in reaction to the recent attack in the French capital. Some 40 world leaders joined the march. Other high-profile individuals also Read more
Continue ReadingTunisia’s transition to representative governance brings hope to Arab Societies by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Four days after the fourth anniversary of the spark that ignited the fury of protests widely known as the Arab Spring, Tunisian voters reminded the world about what the Arab Spring is supposed to look like. The election of a Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* On the eve of the Republicans’ takeover of the U.S. Senate and increased control of the House, the Wall Street Journal revealed, on the authority of anonymous sources, that President Obama had sent “secret letter” to the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran took its time confirming it Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* ISIL attacks Kobane Earlier this month, Vice President Joe Bidenangered some Middle Eastern leaders by making a true statement. Speaking at Harvard, Biden said that the U.S. allies were determined to overthrow Bashar al-Assad from power so they “poured hundreds of millions dollars, and tens thousands of tons of weapons Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Less than a year after the start of the crisis in Syria, I warned that militarizing the Syrian uprising is a dangerous step. Picking sides and arming them would amount to launching a new proxy-war similar to the one that took place in Afghanistan in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The danger, Read more
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