History

By Baher Kamal | (Inter Press Service) | – – MADRID (IPS) – One hundred years ago, on 6 May 1916, two men, Briton Sir Mark Sykes and French diplomat François Georges-Picot, were entrusted by their respective governments with a rather exceptional task. That task, which initially counted with the assent of the Tsarist Russia, […]

History

Vacuum of Knowledge: What you Need to know about the History of Syria

contributors

Via ISLAMICommentary Column » ‘By the Book’ with Joseph Preville by JOSEPH RICHARD PREVILLE and JULIE POUCHER HARBIN for ISLAMiCommentary on DECEMBER 4, 2015: Is there a more tragic country in the world today than Syria ? How did it descend into chaos, conflict, and crisis? John McHugo offers some answers in Syria: A History […]

Climate Change

This Year Thanksgiving overlaps Paris Climate Summit: Let’s be Thankful we can Do Something

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) — Reprint edn. The popular story about Thanksgiving is an environmental parable that we would do well to remember today. It was a harvest festival in 1621, participated in by the 50 (out of 100) survivors at Plymouth Plantation and 90 Native Americans. Some of these latter, such as […]

History

Lessons for the West on Immigrants & Exclusion from the Age of the ‘Bomb-throwing Anarchist’

contributors

By Akil N. Awan | (The National Interest) | – – The bearded young terrorist furtively slipped amongst the oblivious theatergoers. Glancing around to ensure he had not aroused suspicion, he looked out over the crowded throngs in the theater. Blissfully unaware of the carnage that awaited them, they laughed and reveled in their petty […]

Archaeology

Brutal Bombing of Yemen risks Destroying its Cultural Heritage along with Civilian Lives

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – (Beirut) – Parties to Yemen’s armed conflict should take all necessary measures to protect Sanaa’s Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. International humanitarian law provides special protections to buildings and other structures that are part of humanity’s cultural heritage. Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, has been controlled for the past […]

Balkans

Ottomans saved Hungarian PM Orban’s Ancestors; now he says Islam never part of Europe

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban not only continued to defend his anti-immigrant bigotry but went on to say that Islam has never been part of Europe. Mr. Orban not only is increasing the misery of largely Muslim refugees, but now he has erased 1300 years of […]

Haredim

‘Bibi in Bible Land’: The Likud Party Miscalculates and loses on Iran Deal

contributors

By Shalom L. Goldman | (Informed Comment) | – – Now that the Democratic senators have blocked a challenge to the Iran deal, pundits are looking at what the most persuasive arguments in the presentations to Democratic members of Congress were. What persuaded most Democrats to back the Iran deal, despite the well-funded campaigns against […]

Colonialism

The lost fortunes of Palestine’s dynamic Ottoman-era merchants

contributors

By Charlie Hoyle | (Ma’an News Agency) | – – The pink stone mansions hidden among the modern urban geography of Bethlehem —surrounded by an eight-meter high concrete wall and penned in by Israeli settlements — contain a rich untold history of phenomenal global success:The city’s pioneering 19th century merchants. An interior view of the […]

Archaeology

Martyr to Science in Palmyra: Archeologist Khaled al-Asaad

contributors

By Pierre Leriche | (The Conversation) | – – A second ancient temple at Palmyra has been razed, with a satellite image appearing to confirm the destruction of the Temple of Bel, previously one of the best-preserved parts of the ancient city. The revelation follows the release of images by Islamic State last week showing […]