The ball is in Saudi Arabia’s court now

As anticipated, the reaction of the Saudi front to the U.S. administration’s release of the report last week regarding the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was met with anger. As for Riyadh's response to Washington, we can see that the Kin... more

What will Biden do if Israel, UAE back MBS in Saudi Arabia?

During an assignment I took on back then, I had joined the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage in 2016 as an official guest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After performing the basics of the pilgrimage, a feast was organized on the second day of Eid al-Adha, bri... more

Why hasn’t Biden called Bibi yet?

The fact that Joe Biden has not yet called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite it being a month since he was inaugurated as U.S. president, is currently at the top of the agenda of global media. White House reporters for their part ar... more

The tragedy in Yemen

The new American administration did what was anticipated: It declared that the Houthis, one of the parties involved in the Yemen civil war, will be removed from the list of “terrorist organizations.” An official from the U.S. Department of State said... more

The end of the road for Jewish casino mogul Sheldon Adelson

On Monday, January 11, 2021, Jewish casino mogul Sheldon Adelson died at 87 years old after suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Adelson was a colorful character indeed, what with the power of the money he administered, his influence on U.S. politics... more

Is Russia behind the sudden dissent of Assad's tycoon cousin?

Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad’s maternal cousin Rami Makhlouf released videos last week voicing his open criticisms aimed at some of the regime’s actions. Makhlouf, who, based on his tone and context of speech, was obviously unable to directly re... more

How a slap with a fly swatter led France to invade Algeria

Exactly 193 years ago, on April 29, 1827, Algerian ruler Hussein Dey, who was a subject of the Ottoman Empire but was largely autonomous, hosted the French Consul-General Pierre Deval. A very tense meeting between the two ensued. The matter at hand w... more

The Qatar blockade: A sibling's quarrel

On Monday evening, our Qatar Airlines flight, which departed from Doha, the capital of Qatar, bound to the Omani capital of Muscat, first proceeded headed north and then entered Iranian airspace. Later, after flying for a while parallel to Iranian te... more

Why did Egypt issue a fatwa forbidding Arabs to watch Turkish TV series?

Egypt’s High Fatwa Council (Dâru’l-İftâ) recently issued a fatwa, stating that under no circumstances should Turkish TV series be watched.It warned the Arab public that Turkey was in pursuit of regional hegemony through its dramas and that they shoul... more

Hamas takes refuge in Tehran once again

A noteworthy development from last week was the visit by a high-level delegation from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to Iranian capital Tehran. The delegation led by Saleh El-Arouri, the deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau, held meetings... more

Moon sightings ahead of Eid in the Muslim world influenced by politics

As Muslims, we ask the same question before every Eid celebration: “Are Islamic countries going to be able to celebrate Eid on the same day this year?” Every Eid, there are some sort of disputes, disagreements concerning the sighting of the moon due ... more

Post- Camp David Peace and the occupied Golan Heights

On March 26, 1979, U.S. capital Washington hosted a signing ceremony that was very closely followed by the world press. Behind a long table placed in the White House garden were Israeli, Egyptian and U.S. flags. The three people at the table were Egy... more

The Durand Line: The borders the British drew up between Pakistan and Afghanistan

Amir Sher Ali Khan, who ruled Afghanistan between 1863 and 1879, had made numerous breakthroughs. The restructuring of the state administration, using modern methods, was first done during his term. The first military school, the first official maili... more