Driving out Islamic State from Libya: What Lies Ahead?
Libyan forces with US air support are driving out Islamic State fighters in Libya. Still the oil-rich nation is deeply divided by rival factions and armed militias.
Finding Ways to Fight Women’s Exposure to Violence in Arab World
It should now be beyond dispute that gender-based violence is a critical human rights issue– possibly the most important human rights challenge of our time. There is a great deal of…
Remember Syria’s President Adib Shishakli
Nearly 52 years ago, a Syrian political leader hiding in exile was killed in the heart of Brazil. As Syria watchers continue to monitor and understand the country’s grinding civil…
Can Syria Avoid Disintegration?
On September 10, 2016, after mammoth negotiating sessions held in Geneva, the USA and Russia announced that agreement had been reached on a cease-fire in the Syrian civil war, to…
Israel Denies Entry to London University Scholar
Violation of Academic Freedom: Israel denies entry to SOAS scholar, which triggered a protest by Birzeit University Birzeit University condemns in the strongest possible terms the denial of entry to Dr.…
What If Islamic State Becomes Stateless?
The grandiose dreams of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder of Islamic State (IS) who envisioned a jihadist caliphate encompassing the entire globe under his leadership, appear to be crumbling. In…
The Lure of Power in Yemen
In Yemen – as in much of the Middle East – Islam is at war with itself. As Saudi Arabia’s Sunni fundamentalist ruling family and Iran’s equally uncompromising Shia-based Islamic…
A Hospital Bombed Every 18 Hours
Right now hospitals are under attack in Syria. According to the Statistics compiled by the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), a hospital was attacked every 18 hours during this month. This…
Destabilising the Middle East: A Historical Perspective of US Foreign Policy
I wrote the first version of this essay in June 2014. Since then, I had over 4,000 hits on it in my blog. I decided to update it partly because…
Traffic Laws in Saudi Arabia Between Infraction and Enforcement
Every year in Saudi Arabia, misery visits households across the land as the lives of approximately 7000 people are cut short as a result of traffic accidents. Some 39,000 more…