Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Muhammad Hussein
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Turkey will soon be forced to tackle the rebels in Idlib
Long before Turkey’s revenge attacks against the Syrian regime in February, and even before the regime’s offensive to recapture Idlib and its bombardment of the province, Turkey and Russia struck a now apparently forgotten agreement in September 2018. This focused on the “demilitarised zone” which Turkey hoped to create...
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Hajj, the coronavirus and technical innovation
The coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic has caused countless events to be cancelled, forcing them onto the digital realm and leaving them to rely on the power of modern technology. Even the G20 summit ended up online. The annual Hajj pilgrimage, however, is one of those events that cannot be held...
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Haftar and the Gulf states are leading a hypocritical, fake war against Islamism in Libya
In 2017, Abu Dhabi’s Foreign Minister, Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan told a forum that, “There will come a day that we will see far more radicals, extremists and terrorists coming out of Europe because of a lack of decision-making, trying to be politically correct, or assuming that they know...
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Remembering the Douma chemical attacks
A chemical weapons attack was carried out on the people of Douma, south-western Syria, killing around 85 people...
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Lockdowns in Western democracies are a taste of dictatorship; will our politicians give it up?
Over the past few weeks of the coronavirus crisis, democratic governments around the world have imposed stricter controls on their citizens in more places than at any other time in recent history, even during wartime. From the closure of non-essential shops and businesses to curfews and full lockdowns enforced...
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The Arab states need to be completely honest about coronavirus
At the beginning of this month, pro-Assad journalist Rafiq Lutf wrote on Twitter that he had discovered many people infected with the coronavirus in Syria. He said that that he appealed to the Ministry of Health to investigate and reveal the exact number of cases, but because the ministry...
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The Russia-Turkey Idlib deal is as bad as Trump’s ‘deal of the century’
The Middle East has seen some bad deals in recent years; some are still in effect while others have crumbled. The agreement struck between Russia and Turkey last week seems that it will be one of the latter. Instead of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arriving in Moscow resting on...
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Turkey should conquer Damascus, but knows it is a trap
After nine long years, Turkey has finally punished the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad, with the dictator ignoring Ankara’s ultimatum to withdraw his troops Idlib province by the end of February. A confrontation between the two was largely unsurprising: the only tangible factors obstructing it were first the civil...
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The 'Axis of Resistance' is hypocritical, not 'anti-imperialist'
Since the first stages of European colonisation of the Middle East, as with other imperial powers elsewhere, there has been resistance in one form or another. This has been the case right up to and including the stifling US military presence in the region, particularly since 9/11 and the...
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One chemical weapons report should not whitewash a decade of Assad’s crimes
Ever since the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad responded to peaceful popular protests in the country with a brutal military crackdown in 2011, the ensuing civil war has witnessed numerous atrocities in Syria. Opposition fighters as well as civilians have been the victims. One of the most controversial aspects...
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The EU is dogmatic in its opposition to Turkey
Relations between the European Union and Turkey have seldom been good. Throughout Turkey’s efforts to join the EU over the past few decades to the current tension, Europe has long looked down on the republic as a pawn in its own game rather than a partner with which it...
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Soleimani’s assassination has cornered Iran
The killing of Iran’s Major General Qassem Soleimani by the US in Baghdad has been met with mixed reactions around the world. Some have expressed their grief, while others were overjoyed at the death of the man they call “the butcher of Aleppo” and the killer of Sunni Muslims...
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2020 heralds the decade of new colonial borders
This New Year will mark a century since the historic Treaty of Versailles was put into effect, creating the borders of much of the contemporary world and enabling the European colonial powers to seize the Middle Eastern territories of the defunct Ottoman Empire. The consequences of that treaty and...
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The revolutions in the Middle East are naïve without leadership
A revolution is a project. Like all projects, it has requirements before it can truly be deemed successful. For a start, there must be popular resentment of the government and a desire for change. Another rule is that once completed, the revolutionary government must be purged of the elements...
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Erdogan: The revolutionary enigma who holds the West in sway
There are few political enigmas these days – strongmen, yes, but not enigmas. We have US President Donald Trump, who is far from it; we have UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is Trump without the charm, and we have various leaders across Europe and the world who somehow...
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Hanna: Christians must defend Palestine
'We will remain in Jerusalem, defending our religious sites and endowments. We reject the policies of the occupation. We will not surrender'...
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First Global Conference on Israeli Apartheid
Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territory, as well as the efforts that Israel goes to to impose second-class citizen status on Palestinian citizens and inhabitants of the occupied West Bank prompted the “First Global Conference on Israeli Apartheid” to take place in Istanbul, Turkey, last weekend. Inaugurating the conference,...
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Remembering the 1979 Siege of Makkah
What: Religious extremists in Saudi Arabia under the charismatic leadership of man disgruntled with Western access to the Kingdom, took over the Grand Mosque of Makkah for two weeks. When: 20 November – 4 December 1979 Where: Makkah, Saudi Arabia Some years are quiet, and others are filled with...
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In Turkey, Erdogan is temporary, but Ataturk is forever
Turkey has long been perceived to be undergoing a struggle between the secular and the religious. The population in its Anatolian heartland and east is generally more religious and conservative, while people in the coastal areas and major cities tend to be more liberal. The local election results in...
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Iran: the eternal geopolitical empire
A current has swept throughout the Levant from a subtly-felt but well recognised influence. From the protests in Iraq and Lebanon to the Sunni insurgents and opposition groups in Syria, public dissatisfaction with the direct and indirect interference of Iran in the region has been exposed. This influence may...
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Opposition to Turkey’s operation is opposition to Sunni power in the Middle East
“Who created you? Who is your God? Who do you pray to?” asked a Syrian regime soldier to a man he was torturing and beating in a small dank room. The prisoner shouted back, “Bashar Al-Assad!” His torturer then asked him, “Who is better, God or Bashar?” The prisoner...
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Remembering the death of Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi’s overthrow and death left a void in the region as well as Libya, which has yet to be filled....
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A Microsoft genius and a digital Palestine offer hope for the future
A nation’s image is usually only as good as its achievements, so it is a sad time when the image that appears in many minds when hearing the name “Palestine” is one of bombs, ruined buildings, stone-throwing children and a corrupt authority which arrests its own people on behalf...
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Old sheikhs, new caliphs and the myth of a centralised Muslim authority
According to US-based Imam Siraj Wahhaj, “We need a centralised leadership, and that’s the key.” He said this in a speech at a recent event in New York, hosted by the Turkish American National Steering Committee (TASC). In his usual fiery and animated style, Wahhaj prompted wild applause when...
