Dissent

By Efe Kerem Sozer | (GlobalVoices.org) | – – Ahmet Davutoglu was disliked by many in Turkey. [Even after] he step[pped] down as Turkey's Prime Minister amid an apparent confrontation with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he will fail to distance himself from the grave human cost of the government military operation in Eastern Turkey and […]

Books

Pulitzer Prize-Winner Michael Chabon Slams Israeli Occupation of Palestinians

contributors

By Joe Dyke | ( Your Middle East | – – American author Michael Chabon’s Jewish identity has long been central to his work. From 2001’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” — the story of two Jewish cousins before, during and after World War II — to 2007’s “The Yiddish Policemen’s […]

censorship

Egypt arrests Hundreds to Stop Protest, including Journalists, Lawyers

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – (Beirut) – Egyptian security forces arrested at least 382 people in the days leading up to and during the dispersal of mostly peaceful protests on April 25, 2016. The protests followed a rare mass demonstration against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on April 15. Police arrested lawyers and […]

Democracy

Why Are there no Iranian Suicide Bombers? Evolving Islamic Democracy Matters!

contributors

By Ali R. Abootalebi | (Informed Comment) | – – The emergence of political Islam in the mainstream politics in the Middle East and across other Muslim countries since the 1970s has impacted socioeconomic and political development in so many different ways. The return of religion–a symbol of traditionalism–to the mainstream debate about and the […]

Colonialism

Beyond Victimhood: 5 Slaves Who Fought Back and Changed History

contributors

By Mohamed Hemish | ( TeleSur | – – March 25 marks the United Nations’ “International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery,” which aims to draw attention to the more than 15 million men, women and children who fell victim to the Transatlantic Slave Trade that lasted from the 15th through to the […]

Dissent

In attack on 1st Amendment, U of California outlaws criticism of Israel while ignoring Islamophobia

contributors

TeleSur | – – Pro-Palestinian groups argue that Muslims also need protection from Islamophobia on campus, an issue officials neglected to address. A University of California committee unanimously approved a statement Wednesday that cites anti-Semitism as a form of intolerance that campus leaders have a responsibility to challenge. The University of California is a public […]

Afghanistan

A Teacher in Afghanistan: Is the Future Democracy or Muslim Extremism?

contributors

By Jeffrey E. Stern | (Informed Comment) | – – A few months ago, in downtown Kabul, a small man stood on top of a car with a megaphone in a city liberated by American troops, and faced down his government. His quarrel was with President Ashraf Ghani. Tensions rose, a guard fired on the […]

Democracy

Iranian Pres. Rouhani slams Hard Liners: Ban on Liberal Candidates makes Parliamentary Vote Pointless

contributors

By Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL) | – – Iran’s president has criticized the mass disqualification of candidates in next month’s parliamentary elections, suggesting the decision could make the vote pointless. The comments by Hassan Rohani signaled continuing tensions between the president, who has presented himself as a moderate, and powerful hard-liners who control key […]

Democracy

Rare victory for Freedom of speech in Turkey, as Pianist allowed to quote Omar Khayyam

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In a rare victory for freedom of speech in Turkey, the country’s Supreme Court of Appeals has completely overturned a lower court ruling that sentenced world-famous pianist Fazil Say to a suspended sentence of 10 months in prison. Say’s crime? To tweet out passages from the […]