Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Daud Abdullah
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Muslim slaves taken to Brazil were expensive, and worked to earn their freedom
Some of the descendants of Africans taken into slavery still share the name of the slaver who bought and sold them...
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‘We will never negotiate under pressure’, ex-Cuba envoy to US says
Israel’s siege of Gaza bears stark semblances to the 64-year-old US blockade of Cuba, Jose Ramon Cabañas Rodriguez tells MEMO...
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Britain’s missed opportunity to redeem itself
This year’s International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was yet another missed opportunity for Britain. There were no messages of support or atonement from Whitehall for the tragedy it inflicted on the Palestinian people when it enabled the UN partition of their land on 29 November 1947....
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What does the Iron Dome debate say about American politics?
There was a time when Israel’s requests for US aid, military or otherwise, were granted spontaneously and unreservedly. That is no longer the case. While the majority members of the House of Representatives and Senate remain staunchly committed to Israel’s security, a growing number are bucking the trend. Tel...
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Does Israel want to end its forever wars in Gaza?
Israel is finally waking up to the stark reality that it can no longer continue with its forever wars in Gaza. This was the critical message from Foreign Minister Yair Lapid when he spoke at a conference at Reichman University in Herzliya last weekend: “The State of Israel has a duty to tell...
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Africa’s struggles with decolonisation are being replayed in Afghanistan
Within minutes after it was taken, the photo of US Major General Chris Donahue boarding a C-17 plane in Kabul went viral. The 20-year war had ended in a humiliating defeat and the retreat of the world’s most powerful army. That image evoked memories of the summer of 1962...
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Whether it’s Afghanistan or Palestine occupations don’t last forever
Establishing an army or security apparatus to serve the interests of an occupying power is no easy task, not even in the best of times. The US has finally come to this realisation, albeit reluctantly. Recent events in Afghanistan confirm this. Just 14 years ago, the US-funded security forces...
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Dispelling the myths about refugees in Europe
The great floods which recently decimated parts of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands were much more than a warning on the perils of climate change. They also revealed some truths about political and social trends in Europe. In Germany, images of the “Syrian Volunteer Helpers” wading through mud and...
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Saudi Arabia saw Turkey as a security guarantor in 2011, why not in 2020?
This is one of the uncomfortable questions raised by the newly declassified Clinton files. A diplomatic dispatch to the former Secretary of State dated 12 October 2011 revealed that the Saudis actually considered Turkey to be a possible security guarantor after the discovery of an alleged Iranian plot to...
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Britain’s colonial legacies and broken promises
Britain’s dramatic change of policy toward China has been underpinned by two charges. That Beijing violated its international treaty obligations in Hong Kong and secondly, that it has engaged in appalling human rights violations against its Uyghur population in Xinjiang Province. Seen from London, China’s National Security Law in...
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Having refused negotiation, the Blockading Four must bear the consequences of arbitration
A press release issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 14 July described its judgement against Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and UAE as “final, without appeal and binding on the Parties.” Since June 2017, the four countries have imposed a land, air and sea blockade against the...
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Egypt deserves better
In August 2016 The Economist magazine published a leader article titled “The ruining of Egypt;” it spoke of a dangerous mix of repression and economic incompetence and the likelihood of another uprising. Since then, former Army General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has tightened his grip on power in such a...
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Annexation is still inadmissible, even by Israel
Israel’s project to annex 40 per cent of the occupied West Bank is hanging in the balance. Without the long-awaited green light from the Trump administration, it will remain stalled. After his abysmal mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests, recent polls show the president is...
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Palestine remembers Morsi
Anniversaries are usually occasions for reflection and soul searching and the first anniversary since the passing of Mohamed Morsi is no exception. It evokes memories of his life and times, which culminated as Egypt’s first democratically elected civilian president. For Palestinians, his one year in office was filled with...
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Take back control from America too
Nothing new has come out of the virtual visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories by James Cleverly, Britain’s Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa. It was simply more of the same, laden with symbolism but lightweight on substance. Palestinians have every right to be disappointed....
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The US has no right to claim leadership of the free world
Donald Trump’s refusal to address the legitimate grievances of America’s black population has underscored, yet again, why his country does not qualify to be the ‘leader of the free world.’ Until the systemic racism that underpins American society is eradicated, its claim to world leadership will continue to ring...
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Israel’s flirtation with football stars won’t stop cultural boycott
Cultural boycott is one of the most effective methods of peaceful protest against institutional racism. It was used successfully against South Africa’s apartheid regime in the 1980s. In order to prevent a similar fate, Israel has stepped up its charm offensive to woo celebrities from the entertainment industry and...
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UNESCO should cry no tears over Israel's departure
There will be no tears now Israel and the US have withdrawn from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Both countries have undermined the organisation’s credibility and brought it into disrepute – UNESCO will be better off without them. UNESCO is governed by several international accords,...
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In Palestine, it’s freedom for all or freedom for none
The Trump administration’s failure to secure a UN resolution condemning Hamas and other resistance factions was welcomed by Palestinians as a moral and political victory. They should not, however, be carried away by euphoria because the resolution received a high level of support. Eighty-seven countries voted in favour of...
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After Khashoggi, what next for the Middle East?
The search for Jamal Khashoggi’s body is over. After one month of extensive investigations, Turkey’s attorney general has finally concluded that the body was dissolved in acid and disposed of in a well. Forensic samples from a well in the Counsel’s residence and nearby sewage drains confirm this. None of...
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As Jamal Khashoggi's friend and one of the last people to see him before he disappeared, these are my thoughts
As we sat for dinner after the conference, Jamal pointed out to me some of the negative tweets that were posted by his Saudi critics. He, like many compatriots, had been criticial of some Saudi politics – though he loved the people of the region unreservedly...
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The truth about Corbyn and the Rabaa massacre
Desperate people do desperate things. They often discredit themselves and undermine their causes. Jeremy Corbyn’s critics fell into this trap when they attempted to smear him by publishing a photograph of him making the Rabaa hand gesture. The Daily Telegraph, one of several newspapers to publish the photo, believes...
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The American people must stand up and be counted against the Gaza blockade
In a rare act of political intervention, former US First Lady Laura Bush rebuked the Trump administration for its “zero-tolerance” policy toward illegal migrants. Writing in The Washington Post on 17 June she condemned the policy as cruel and immoral. She added: “And it breaks my heart.” Between 5 May...
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The Singapore summit is a wake-up call. The US is a threat to world peace
After all the hype the Singapore summit turned out to be damp squib. Apart from the spectacular photo opportunities, the meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un produced no groundbreaking agreement. If anything, Trump was outfoxed by his North Korean counterpart. In this there is a wake up call for...
