Middle East

Ebrahim Deen | (Informed Comment) | – – Hassan Rouhani’s victory in Last Friday’s Iranian presidential election, by a large majority, portents a continuation of the country’s path toward global reengagement, both on a more popular level and in terms of economic and political cooperation. The intensified nature of this electoral campaign does however point […]

Iraq

Mosul curses ISIL corpses: “Beguiled by promises of Virgins, you’re Garbage now”

contributors

Special Correspondent | (Mosul) | (Niqash.org) | – – NIQASH’s Mosul correspondent left the city shortly after the extremist Islamic State group took over. But most of his family remained. After 34 months, he returned home. This is what he found. When I left Mosul on July 1, 2014 – fearing for my life because […]

Dissent

Iraq Parliament Mulls ending Freedom of Assembly

contributors

By Afef Abrougui | ( Globalvoices.org) | – – When armed men in civilian clothes kidnapped journalist Afrah Shawqi from her home on 26 December 2016, journalists and activists quickly took to the street to demand that the government take action to ensure her safety and her immediate release. Iraq's parliament is currently reviewing a […]

Copts

Who are Egypt’s Coptic Christians, ISIL’s latest Victims?

contributors

By Paul Rowe | (The Conversation) | – – Coptic Christians in Egypt have been attacked while traveling on pilgrimages and bombed while praying on Palm Sunday, amid an accelerating series of attacks over the last decade. The interrelated challenges of violence, economics and discrimination have led to the increasing departure of Christians from the […]

Human Rights

Iran: Does the Rouhani Win Matter for Human Rights?

contributors

By Tara Sepehri Far. | ( Human Rights Watch ) | – – In Second Term, Should Move on Rights Reforms When the 2017 election season kicked off April 21, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani did not go into the race possessing an enviable track record of defending human rights. While he achieved his 2013 election […]

Iran

What Iranian women want: rights, jobs and a seat at the table

contributors

By Azadeh Davachi | (The Conversation) | – – Issues affecting women were conspicuously absent from Iran’s 2017 presidential election. That’s unless one finds useful the leading conservative candidate Hojjat al-Islam Ebrahim Raisi’s comment that his government would enhance women’s dignity within the family, because women should be “good mothers and wives”. The absence was […]

Arms Sales

Trump, Saudi Arabia and yet another arms deal

contributors

Russell E. Lucas, Michigan State University The first stop on Donald Trump’s first trip as U.S. president was to Saudi Arabia. That was no accident. His decision was surely based on the fact that the alliance between Saudi Arabia and the United States is one of the foundations of American foreign policy in the Middle […]

Elections

Rouhani’s win a Victory for Reform, will Trump waste Opportunity?

contributors

By Shahram Akbarzadeh | (Informed Comment) | – – In Iran’s election, Hassan Rouhani’s re-election was not a forgone conclusion. Criticism of Rouhani’s performance focused on growing unemployment, as the economy was not keeping pace with new entries into the workforce. Official rates put unemployment at 12% but this rate is estimated to be much […]