religion

By William R. Polk Like many observers I am both sick at heart and emotionally drained from watching and reading about the horrible events in Gaza. Is there more to be said about them? Yes, I think there is if we hope to achieve a degree of security and peace. So, at the risk of […]

Iraq

Iraq: Tribes and other Sunnis begin Splitting from so-Called “Islamic State”

contributors

By Shalaw Mohammed | Kirkuk | via Niqash.org The Sunni Muslim extremist group that has taken over parts of Iraq recently is dependent on support from locals in the areas it wants to control. Recently one group of locals tried to leave – they wanted open roads, prisoner releases and a truce with their neighbours. […]

Christianity

New Wave of Christian Refugees as “Islamic State” Takes Iraq’s Largest Christian Town

contributors

By Middle East Eye “Christians have fled from the largest Christian city in Iraq as the militants of the Islamic State took control. They were given a choice of death, fleeing, conversion or taxation, after IS over powered the much vaunted Kurdish peshmerga.” Middle East Eye: “Christians flee Qaraqoush in Iraq as Islamic State takes […]

Displaced and Refugees

Iraq: Yazidis Trapped By Extremists: ‘We Will Run Out Of Food, Water In Two Days’

contributors

By Khales Joumah | Mosul | via Niqash.org Over the weekend, the Sunni Muslim extremist group, Islamic State, entered the Sinjar area in northern Iraq. Their arrival saw the population, mostly members of the ethno-religious Yazidi group, flee. NIQASH spoke with three refugee families, one trapped in the mountains, another that made it to relative […]

Iraq

The Capital of the Caliphate: VICE on the so-called “Islamic State” in Syria & Iraq

contributors

By VICE: “The Islamic State, a hardline Sunni jihadist group that formerly had ties to al Qaeda, has conquered large swathes of Iraq and Syria. Previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the group has announced their intention to reestablish the caliphate and declared their leader, the shadowy Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, […]

American Jews

Is Zionism/ Jewish Nationalism a Political Cult? The Salaita Firing

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Liberal politics in the broad sense, in the tradition of Locke, Voltaire, Madison, Jefferson and John Stuart Mill, is rooted in a conviction that vigorous debate clarifies issues and makes for better public policy over time. This principle is often misunderstood by political partisans, who confuse analytical disagreement with simply being contrarian […]

Christianity

In Orgy of Destruction, IS Radicals reduce Ancient Iraqi Holy Sites To Rubble

contributors

By RFE/RL The Islamic State initially exhibited some restraint after entering northwestern Iraq in June, focusing on establishing control of the territories it held and gaining the trust of local Sunni communities. But as the self-declared caliphate has grown more comfortable in its surroundings, it has revealed its radical aims by destroying anything that conflicts […]

Christianity

The Persecution of Christians by ISIS contradicts idea of a Caliphate

contributors

By Erica C D Hunter, SOAS, University of London – via The Conversation ISIS conquests across northern Iraq have been comprehensive in recent weeks. Taking control of large parts of the region, they declared a Caliphate last month. And one group who have especially suffered at their hands are the Christians that have been a […]