Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Anjuman Rahman
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Guantanamo's cruelty is medieval. It’s a horror story. And it’s true.
Mohamedou Ould Slahi, 50, faced beatings, electrocution mock executions and sexual humiliation in America’s notorious Guantanamo Bay prison ...
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The Wandering Palestinian
“I had a politically active life and enjoyed a large circle of friends who, like me, came from other parts of the Arab world to be in Beirut, the centre of revolutionary and progressive politics of the time. But love is blind, and I thought my life could become...
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‘As proud modest Muslim Saudi women, we want to champion being strong inside and out’
Dr Mezna AlMarzooqi set up the first Women’s Sports Initiative at Saudi universities to help break the taboo of females taking part in physical activity in the kingdom, she tells MEMO what inspired her...
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‘Palestinians thinking of liberation, should not only learn from South Africa’s past, but also its present’
Israel’s repression of its own Palestinian citizens, as well as Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, and even African refugees, has become ever more brutal, despite decades of global solidarity efforts for justice in Palestine. Many of the solidarity achievements — including the successful Boycott Divestment...
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It’s a mistake to believe that Biden will be a friend of Palestine
Palestinians are eager to turn a new page after four years of the Trump administration in Washington, which undermined the whole Palestinian cause. Trump let Israel’s right-wing government do as it pleased, and gave its illegal activities a veneer of acceptability. Joe Biden’s election win was thus welcomed, not...
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Israel will be responsible for more Palestinian deaths if it withholds the Covid-19 vaccine
Israel is refusing to provide Palestinians with Covid-19 vaccine in the occupied territories where it controls every aspect of their lives. This is in addition to helping to destroy the Palestinian health sector, especially in the Gaza Strip, with bombs and blockades. At least one vaccine dose is being...
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Americans suffer from Trump as much as the Palestinians, says activist Issa Amro
While US President Donald Trump was busy inciting a mob to attack the Capitol Building in Washington DC, Palestinian activist Issa Amro was convicted on three counts of protesting peacefully against illegal Jewish settlements and human rights violations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He was found guilty of protesting...
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‘I refused to join the Israeli army, it justifies violence and inequality’
19-year-old Hallel Rabin spent 56 days in jail after refusing to complete military service she believes it allows ‘criminals, thieves and swindlers to roam free and run the state’ To outsiders, the decision not to serve in one of the most brutal and immoral armies in the world may...
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Everything and nothing has changed for Palestine this year
Landmark developments seem to have changed everything and nothing for Palestine this year. The flurry of normalisation deals is one of them and arguably the most significant. In advance of the US presidential election and the possibility of these being his final months in office, Donald Trump made it...
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World’s first hijabi skater: 'I want to show the world that our women are powerful’
Over the past few years, the number of women from the Middle East participating in international sporting events has risen steadily. The glass ceiling appears to have been broken. One of these athletes is international figure skater Zahra Lari, who believes it is important to inspire Arab women to...
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I Refuse to Condemn: Resisting Racism in Times of National Security
Muslims have become a convenient focus for the rage that the world feels after every terrorist act around the world. However, for the contributors to I Refuse to Condemn: Resisting Racism in Times of National Security, enough is enough. I agree. Muslims are being blamed too often for not...
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Journalist arrested after exposing the plight of Palestinians in Israeli prisons
A Palestinian journalist and activist has been detained for the fifth time by the Israeli authorities after being released earlier this year from an eight-month term of administrative detention, when she was held with neither charge nor trial. Bushra Al-Taweel, 27, was detained on 8 November while going home...
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Colorado rep: ‘As a practising Muslim, Palestinian American, you mobilise advocacy every day’
The 38-year-old daughter of Palestinian immigrants became a trained political scientist after earning a bachelor's degree at the University of Colorado Denver and then a Master’s degree in Public Policy....
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This Arab artist hits the mark by looking at where British Muslims feel safest
Art communicates across every border and culture. Visual art is open and ambiguous, and allows imaginations to wander in time and space. Through London-based artist Alaa Alsaraji, they even wander into people’s homes. With her family coming from Iraq, she was born in Iran and raised in Austria. Alsaraji...
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‘My activism is fueled with love’, says Uyghur campaign searching for her disappeared sister
China’s decades-long abuse of Uyghurs Muslims is now well known, with satellite pictures of detention camps circulating along with the desperate testimonies of former inmates and their families, a horrid picture is being formed of what has been described as the worst human rights crisis in the world. Many...
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Israel is subjecting Palestinian children to physical and psychological abuse
Israel is the only country in the world to prosecute children routinely in military courts that lack basic safeguards for a fair trial...
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Palestine’s Hotdog Van man is successful, despite the pandemic
The infrastructure of the Israeli occupation of Palestine is designed to have a negative impact on the lives of Palestinians, and it does. The dire situation has been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. No doubt to the delight of the Israelis, there can be no place easier to lock...
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Biden is copying Clinton in embracing the pro-Israel lobby
The future that the US has planned for Palestine is already determined, no matter whether President Donald Trump is re-elected or Joe Biden replaces him in the White House after next month’s election. Nevertheless, it is Biden, with a sizable lead over Trump in the national polls, who Palestinian...
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The Israel ‘peace deals’ are post-Trump insurance policies for Arab dictators, Palestinian activist says
Israel’s peace deals with Gulf states did not come as a surprise to many, especially not pro-democracy Palestinian activist Iyad El-Baghdadi. “We knew they were going to try to rush through things before Trump leaves the White House. Maybe the surprising part is how one-sided it...
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Rihanna under fire for playing Islamic hadith during lingerie show
Globally renowned superstar Rihanna has been criticised for using a song that contains a narration from an Islamic Hadith during her recent lingerie show. Released on Amazon Prime on Friday, the track featured in the Savage X Fenty soundtrack contains a Hadith – Islamic phrases from the Prophet Muhammed...
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Winter is coming, but internally displaced persons in Syria are not prepared
Waves of internally displaced persons have increased the difficulties of everyday life for civilians in the north-west areas of Syria. Although a ceasefire was agreed in March, civilians in the region still face a new humanitarian crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic. To this has to be added spiralling...
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Legacy of Empire – Britain, Zionism and the Creation of Israel
The Black Lives Matter protests have brought to the fore the issue of slavery upon which many British fortunes were built. This has led to calls for schools to take another look at their approach to the British Empire and its consequences. In many respects, this is a taboo...
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A Palestinian author is reigniting hope in Lebanon with candles and celebrities
The explosion in Beirut last month could not have come at a worse time for children and families. In a country that is already under enormous economic and social strain, it was a tragedy. The catastrophic blast in the port of Beirut killed nearly 200 people and destroyed thousands...
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Uyghur rights activist Arslan Hidayet on the lack of international support and solidarity with Uyghur Muslims
Born and raised in Australia, Arslan Hidayet visited East Turkestan every 3-4 years and eventually married there. He is the son-in-law of internationally renowned Uyghur comic Adil Mijit who was being detained by the Chinese authorities....
