TeleSur | – – The news comes amid rising tensions between the U.S.-backed Kurdish militia and Arabs in Syria. The “first group of Arab fighters” joined the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the YPG, according to Kurdish media. The YPG has been known to include non-Kurdish forces, including Western, Turkish and Assyrian fighters, and it […]
Archives for February 2016
Gianna Toboni’s Cycle of Terror Debrief (VICE on HBO)
A brief report on western views towards Muslims and Islam following the Paris attacks
As Syrian Army advances East of Aleppo, ISIL strikes back with Bombings that kill 140
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) said Sunday that it was behind the horrific bombings that struck Shiites in Damascus and Homs. Twelver Shiites congregate in the Sayyida Zainab district of Damascus, the Syrian capital, around the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad’s granddaughter. Car bombs and suicide bombers wearing […]
Two Children Die Every Day Trying to Cross the Mediterranean
TeleSur | – – Children make up 36 percent of the those making the perilous migration journey across the sea, often to flee conflicts. As the refugees crisis surges on with thousands of refugees from the Middle East attempting to cross the Mediterranean on route to Europe, two children have drowned every day since September […]
Can Morocco Create a New Middle East through Green Energy?
By Moha Ennaji | ( Project Syndicate) | – – FEZ – The global oil-price bust has devastated economies across the Middle East and North Africa. Having seen severe price declines in the past, many leaders in the region may be tempted to wait for prices to rise again. But this collapse is different, and […]
Afghanistan: Washington’s Twenty-First-Century Opium Wars
By Alfred McCoy | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – In October 2001, the U.S. launched its invasion of Afghanistan largely through proxy Afghan fighters with the help of Special Operations forces, American air power, and CIA dollars. The results were swift and stunning. The Taliban was whipped, a new government headed by Hamid Karzai […]
Israeli forces demolish sole school in Bedouin community
Ma’an News Agency | – – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Sunday demolished a Bedouin school for children in the Abu al-Nuwaar community near the town of al Eizariya in the occupied West Bank, a spokesperson for the Al-Jahalin Bedouin community said. Atallah al-Jahalin told Ma’an that Israeli forces, accompanied by 30 vehicles and […]
Spirit and Sensuality in the mystical Sufi poetry of Rumi
By Nesreen Akhtarkhavari and Anthony A. Lee, Translators | (Informed Comment) | – – The poems of Rumi, the thirteenth-century teacher, scholar, and poet known simply as Mowlana in the Muslim world, have shaped Islamic culture for centuries. They still stand just as vital after eight hundred years. Rumi speaks to us of unchanging spiritual […]
Trump’s SC Victory and anti-Muslim Hatred
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Billionaire bigot Donald Trump won the South Carolina primary Saturday with about 32.5 percent of the vote. He was about ten points ahead of his two closest rivals, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who more or less tied at between 22 and 23 percent each. Trump […]