Islam

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) — Kidnappers in Baghdad are disgusing themselves in Iraqi army uniforms. There’s been a rise in crime and kidnapping in Baghdad and it seems that perpetrators are often in military uniform, driving official cars. This has led locals to suspect members of Shiite Muslim militias recently formed to […]

Iraq

Iraq Fail: Shiite Gov’t asks Sunni tribe to fight ISIL, but Sentences Politician from Tribe to Death

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) While members of the Sunni Muslim al-Bu Ulwan tribe were fighting extremists in the Anbar province, alongside the mostly Shiite Muslim military, judges in Baghdad sentenced a politician from the tribe to death. The tribe says it feels like Baghdad has stabbed it in the back. Other Anbar […]

Iraq

Iraqi Kurdistan: Can a Bastion of Tolerance and Democracy survive in the Middle East?

contributors

By Richard Foltz | — Having committed ourselves to military involvement in Iraq, we in North America should be asking ourselves exactly what goals we hope to achieve. Personally, after recently spending three weeks in the region, I am not convinced that “preserving the territorial integrity” of the present Iraqi state should be one of […]

Christianity

Christians of Syria’s Aleppo Hold out Despite Extremist Daesh/ISIL Threat

contributors

AFP | — “Tens of thousands of Christians have fled homes in Syria’s war-wracked second city of Aleppo but many others are determined to hold out despite their dread of Islamic State jihadists.” AFP: “Christians of Syria’s Aleppo hold out despite jihadist threat”

nationalism

Turkish Pres. Erdogan says Women not Equal to Men: “Their System is Different.”

contributors

Euronews | — “The Turkish President has triggered fresh controversy, declaring in a speech that women are not equal to men. Recep Tayyip Erdogan also criticised the feminist movement, claiming they do not accept or understand the concept of motherhood. He spoke at a global justice and women’s summit in Istanbul. An English translation of […]

Islam

Jerusalem: This Is Why The Temple Mount Matters To one Israeli-American

contributors

AJ+ | — “For Jews, the Temple Mount (known as Haram as-Sharif, or “Noble Sanctuary,” to Muslims) is their religion’s holiest site. The Temple Mount is on the same hilltop as Islam’s third-holiest site: the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Recent pushes by far-right Israeli Jews to pray on the Temple Mount have heightened tensions, especially as the […]

Islam

Jerusalem: where religion divides but lives are entwined

Juan Cole

By Wendy Pullan, University of Cambridge (The Conversation) The latest violent episode between Palestinians and Israelis has prompted Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to assert that Israel is in the midst of a “battle for Jerusalem”. This is a city divided along many lines, and while the latest attack has caused outrage and hostility, it […]

Featured

Iraq: Daesh/ISIL executes 26 Sunni Tribesmen in Campaign to Take Ramadi

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole: Daesh (the Arabic acronym for ISIS or ISIL) has mounted a major offensive in a bid to take Ramadi, the capital of al-Anbar Province in western Iraq. Ramadi is due west of Baghdad past Fallujah. Iraqi eyewitnesses told the al-Arabiya satellite news channel that Daesh had taken over some of the neighborhoods […]

Christianity

Pope Francis’s Visit to Turkey Embroiled in Partisan Controversies

contributors

By Ali Murat Yel The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis will visit Turkey on 3-day official visit from November 28 to 30. However, the publication of Turkey’s official invitation letter in Milli Gazete, a Turkish daily, has caused an enormous stir in the country. As a result, Pope Francis’s visit has stirred controversy among […]