Morocco

World Bank WASHINGTON, September 30, 2014 – The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors approved today a US$519 million project to support Morocco’s ongoing efforts to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels by developing its renewable energy resources. The project will back the government’s strategy of harnessing power from the sun through the use […]

Colonialism

Lessons from French Morocco: “Fanaticism Anxiety” about Muslims has been with us since the Colonial Era

Juan Cole

By Edmund Burke III Today we hear a great deal about the question of what went wrong in Middle Eastern societies. For an historian of the early twentieth century world, it’s déjà vu all over again. Similar questions and similar anxieties were being voiced a century ago. Very much like fin de siècle Europeans, we […]

Apartheid

“Dead Children Names Too Threatening For Israel” – Something being Covered Up (Young Turks)

contributors

The Young Turks: “”The Israeli Broadcasting Authority has banned a radio advertisement from a human rights organisation which listed the names of some of the scores of children killed in Gaza since the conflict began 17 days ago. B’Tselem’s appeal against the decision was rejected on Wednesday. It intends to petition Israel’s supreme court on […]

Egypt

Gaza meets the New Politics of the Middle East: “Islamic State,” Egypt, Turkey

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole The Israeli security establishment was almost certainly encouraged to launch its military assault on little Gaza by the current divisions over political Islam in the Middle East. Hamas is an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, though they are quite separate in policies and leadership. The overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood government […]

Arab Spring

Middle East Regional Contention over Egypt’s New Government

Juan Cole

The change of government in Egypt produced starkly different reactions in various Middle Eastern countries, which tells us something about the situation there. With the exception of maverick member Qatar, the Gulf Cooperation Council, grouping six conservative Gulf oil monarchies, cheered loudest for the military coup made by Brig. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi against elected […]

Morocco

The Struggle over the Qur’an in Morocco (Video report)

Juan Cole

In Morocco, as in most Muslim countries, there is a lively contest over the meaning of the Qur’an and Islam. The official government-approved Qur’an contains some commentary of a moderate, Sunni, sort, intended to combat narrow-minded Wahhabi interpretations emanating from Saudi Arabia. (The reporter confuses some technical terms here; “warsh” is not commentary but a […]