Saudi Arabia and Iran project influence using their interpretations of Islam and the politicization of sectarian identities as instruments of foreign policy.
Saudi Arabia and Iran project influence using their interpretations of Islam and the politicization of sectarian identities as instruments of foreign policy.
It is crucial to plan beyond the short-term military strategy and work to create a new environment in which ISIS or its successor cannot re-emerge.
Toxic polemics disseminated mainly by those loyal to Saudi Arabia and Iran made a full-blown Sunni-Shia civil war across the Muslim world a matter of time.
After the defeat of ISIS, temporary Turkish and Egyptian occupation zones should be imposed in Sunni provinces of Iraq and Syria prior to partition.
Current governments of Syria, Iraq and Kurdistan should rule over their ethnic populations while Sunni areas should be occupied by foreign Sunni powers.
Saudi Arabia’s decision to suspend $4 billion in military aid to Lebanon is the latest example of a meddlesome foreign power attempting to undermine Lebanese sovereignty to advance its own political agenda.
Following Saudi Arabia’s execution of the Shiite Cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, observers of the Middle East are pondering a multitude of eventualities, many of which point to a hot conflict between the two regional powers.
Yesterday President Barack Obama spoke to media in the White House briefing room in order to provide an update on his government’s approach to the situation in Iraq. The Commander-in-Chief, looking visibly tired, told reporters that under his direction the U.S. has increased its intelligence capabilities in Iraq; will continue to support Iraqi security forces […]
For many of us, February 14 is celebrated as St. Valentine’s Day, an occasion marked by lovers expressing their love for each other by presenting flowers, candy or greeting cards. For Bahrainis, the day is marked quite differently, as it represents the third anniversary of the uprising on their tiny Gulf archipelago of 1.7 million people. […]
By Manuel Langendorf In the absence of other alternatives, Islamists were elected by default. Political Islam is among the most controversially discussed issues in the Middle East and North Africa. While modern Islamist political thought traces its origin back to a rejection of European encroachment into the Muslim world – as the work of Jamal al-Din […]
By Tyler Hooper On Thursday, June 13, the White House announced that it will now provide military weapons and supplies to Syrian rebels. The announcement came with claims by the Obama administration that they have found evidence of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime using chemical weapons against rebel forces, which is strictly prohibited by international […]
Early Wednesday morning, nearly seventy people were killed and more than 100 wounded in a flurry of road-side bombings targeted against Shi’a pilgrims. A redoubtable Sunni insurgency launched the coordinated wave of attacks as tens of thousands of their countrymen participated in a religious festival marking the anniversary of the death of the eighth century […]
The fundamental divide in Islam is all too often overlooked when evaluating Middle Eastern countries’ relationships, foreign policies, and roles in the international community. Despite a myriad of nuances among Muslims, from spoken language to the sect of Islam to which they belong, the majority of people worldwide ignorantly group Muslims into one category: Muslim. […]
Given the latest news of the strategic suicide bombing in Lahore, it’s important that we think hard about what we are fighting for in Pakistan. We need to ask: What is the U.S. fighting for in Pakistan? What is Pakistan fighting for? An answer to either question is not readily available. Perhaps neither question is […]