By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – `Abd al-Aziz Al Shaikh, the chief jurisconsult or mufti for the interpretation of Muslim law in Saudi Arabia, said Wednesday that Iranian Shiites are not Muslims. This statement is a huge step back from the limited progress Saudi had made under the previous king, Abdullah, toward […]
Saudis Should Not Run Hajj Pilgrimage: Iran
TeleSur | – – Pilgrims from Iran will be unable to attend hajj, which starts on Sept. 11 this year after talks between the two countries on arrangements broke down in May. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei renewed criticism of Saudi Arabia over how it runs the hajj after a crush last year killed […]
With Defeat Looming, ISIL haunts Syria with 6 Bombings, Killing 53
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) is still acting like a military organization, but it has always mixed military with terrorist tactics. On Monday it slid toward the terrorist side of the spectrum, setting off 6 coordinated bombings that left over four dozen people dead. It mainly targeted, however, […]
Top 5 Ways Green Energy is already Helping American Workers
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – As we celebrate American workers (I prefer to honor workers today rather than the abstract “labor”), let’s remember where their future lies. And that is, in part, in the renewable energy sector. “Solar Energy in the United States: A Decade of Record Growth” The rapid growth […]
Syria: Can Russia & US Broker a new Cease-Fire?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Stars and Stripes reports that US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov may be very near a new US-Russian deal on Syria. The key elements are reported to be: 1. Syrian Air Force stops bombing cities, including Aleppo and Homs 2. […]
The Plague of Karimov’s Rule in Uzbekistan
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The death of Islam Karimov, the president for life of Uzbekistan who came to power in 1990 after the collapse of the Soviet empire had begun in 1989, has been confirmed. His stroke six days ago was a badly kept secret. I saw a headline from […]
Top 8 Syrian-Americans whom we’d miss If Trump had Kept them out
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In his fiery speech demonizing immigrants to America on Wednesday night, Trump took a moment to deplore that the Obama administration has admitted 10,000 Syrian refugees in the past year (after admitting almost none after the crisis began in 2011). I talked here about why America […]
Florida: Politicians in Big Oil’s Pocket Beware, The People want their Solar
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Florida voters have overwhelmingly passed Amendment 4, which exempts solar panels and solar equipment from extra taxes. Before this, if someone put up solar panels on their house in Florida, as we did in Michigan, and it caused the value of the house to increase […]
America’s Shameful Record on Syrian Refugees
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The US government played a role in the collapse of Syria. It continually placed sanctions on this little country, including the 2003 Syrian Accountability act. By 2013 the CIA was apparently passing medium weaponry through Saudi Arabia to fundamentalist militias, the ideology of which cannot easily […]
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