Arab World

(By Juan Cole) It can only be called an Escherian Mobius Strip foreign policy. The Obama administration is sending hellfire missiles and surveillance drones to the Shiite Islamic Mission Party-dominated government of Iraq to help in the latter’s struggle against radical Sunni rebels who have increased their bombings and attacks this year. If the helicopter […]

Dissent

Egyptian Junta designates Muslim Brotherhood as “Terrorist Organization” in Attempt to Crush Dissent

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) In Egypt, the interim appointed government of Prime Minister Hazem Biblawi, backed by the military junta that made the coup of July 3, on Wednesday formally categorized the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. The decree was published by the feared Interior Ministry (kind of like US FBI but with torture) on […]

Christianity

Wounded by Apartheid Wall, Occupied Bethlehem Hopes for Pilgrimage Revival

Juan Cole

(Agence France Presse) Bethlehem eyes tourist boom after dark decade (via AFP) After a decade of unrest, Bethlehem has seen a surge in visits to Christ’s traditional birthplace, raising hopes of a tourism bonanza in the West Bank town despite Israel’s separation barrier. The Palestinian territories’ top tourist destination is… —- Related Video AFP: […]

Christianity

The Flight to Egypt – Coptic Artwork (Picture of the Day)

Juan Cole

h/t osjusa.org Attributed to the Coptic Museum, Cairo, Egypt Coptic Christians probably came to predominate in Egypt by the 600s when Muslim Arabs conquered it. As late as 1200, some historians think that Egypt was half Christian and half Muslim. For the past two hundred years, the Coptic Christian population has been estimated at around […]

Dissent

Damascus’s Other Battle: Regime Cyberwar on the Opposition

contributors

(By Dave Maass) Social Engineering and Malware in Syria: EFF and Citizen Lab’s Latest Report on the Digital Battlefield (via EFF) More than two years into the Syrian conflict, the violence continues both on the ground and in the digital realm. Just as human rights investigators and weapons inspectors search for evidence of chemical weapons, […]

Egypt

The Iraqization of Egypt: Two Large Bombs Rock Security Bldg in Mansoura, kill 14, wound 130

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Two large explosions at the state security building in downtown Mansoura, Dahqaliya Province, killed at least 14 persons and wounded 130 on Monday, reducing some of the edifice to rubble and damaging its facade. The head of the directorate of security was among the wounded. [Photos via Mansouracity.com] Crowds immediately gathered to […]

Human Rights

War Crime: Syrian Regime Killed Hundreds of Civilians, including Children, with Airstrikes on Aleppo

Juan Cole

(By Ole Solvang, senior emergencies researcher, Human Rights Watch) < Dozens of government airstrikes that have killed hundreds of civilians, including children, in Aleppo governorate in the last month were unlawful. After months of stalemate between government and opposition forces in Aleppo, Human Rights Watch documented an intensification of government attacks starting on November 23. […]

Arab Spring

From Tahrir to New Orleans: Hope has not Failed, it has only Begun

contributors

(By Rebecca Solnit) Hope, History, and UnpredictabilityBy Rebecca Solnit North American cicada nymphs live underground for 17 years before they emerge as adults. Many seeds stay dormant far longer than that before some disturbance makes them germinate. Some trees bear fruit long after the people who have planted them have died, and one Massachusetts pear […]

art and photography

A Christian Bride of Mosul, Iraq, 1903 (Photo of the Day)

Juan Cole

Caption: A Mosul Bride: The girl in the centre of the picture is a Christian bride decked out in her wedding costume. The gold coins, necklaces, and girdle are her dowry. From M. E. Hume-Griffith and A. Hume, Behind the Veil in Persia and Turkish Arabia: An Account of an Englishwoman’s Eight Years’ Residence Amongst […]