Juan Cole

Saad Eddin Ibrahim has been freed from prison by an Egyptian appeals court, which nullified his earlier sentence of seven years of hard labor. But, it ordered a retrial rather than simply freeing him. (He was out for `Id al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan). A human rights activist, […]

Saad Eddin Ibrahim’s case will be decided today by the appeals court, which can set aside or confirm his sentence of seven years of hard labor. If the appeal is turned down and Saad Eddin serves that sentence, there is some question about whether his health will collapse altogether long before he is released. Hosni […]

It’s “Not Back to School” for Palestinian Children Children continue to be among the chief victims of the continuing conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Although it is natural to concentrate on the toll in lives taken by the struggle, among its biggest impacts have been psychological and educational. Over a million and a […]

At the request of a number of friends, I’m reprinting this piece here. —– Chronicle of Higher Education Tuesday, July 16, 2002 OPINION Why We Should Not Boycott Israeli Academics By JUAN COLE I thought the divestiture movement and the boycott of academic institutions in the old racist South Africa a good idea, and was […]

At a conference in South Africa, State Minister Ronny Kasrils, himself a Jew, condemned Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and said it was actually worse than the Apartheid government’s treatment of blacks in South Africa had been. He said Israel actively discriminated against the Palestinian people. The conference was focused on solidarity with the Palestinians and […]

Terrorism against Israelis in Kenya The attack on the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya (which killed 9 Kenyans and two Israeli children) and the firing of shoulder-launched missiles at an Israeli airliner leaving Mombasa airport both smacked of al-Qaeda tactics. They like at least two big explosions to go off around the same time. […]

Saudi Minister Denounces Muslim Fundamentalists (!) Saudi Interior Minister Naef bin Abdul Aziz has denied in an interview with a Kuwaiti newspaper that there are al-Qaeda sleeper cells in Saudi Arabia. He said there might be individuals under suspicion of having terrorist links. He said Islam requires social order, and lamented that some young radicals […]

Note: “Informed Comment” has just posted a new article on the Aghajari case below, but is on hiatus until Wednesday November 27 because Cole will be busy with conferences, including the annual meeting of the Middle East Studies Association conference in Washington, D.C. While I’m gone there are a number of interesting new articles at […]

More on the Aghajari Case The case of the history professor at Tarbiat-Modarres University in Tehran who was sentenced to death for a talk he gave continues to roil Iran. There are daily substantial student demonstrations in support of him, and boycotts of class. He is scheduled to be executed (I would say judicially murdered) […]