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January 20, 2022 |
Omar Ahmed World leaders and diplomats were quick to condemn the missile and drone attack carried out by the Houthi-allied Yemeni armed forces ("the Houthis") in Abu Dhabi earlier this week...
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January 19, 2022 |
Omar Ahmed On this day in 1981 agreements were signed between the United States and the nascent Islamic Republic of Iran in order to bring an end to the embassy hostage...
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January 7, 2022 |
Omar Ahmed A common trope over the past decade has been the notion that Lebanon has been "held hostage" by the Hezbollah movement and its chief backer, Iran. This is based...
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Yemen's under-15 football team won the West Asian Junior Championship on Monday by beating hosts Saudi Arabia 4-3 on penalties. Back home in the war-torn country, thousands poured onto...
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December 14, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed There are just four remaining countries in this year's FIFA Arab Cup held in Qatar ahead of tomorrow's semi-final fixtures (15 December, 2021): Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, and the host...
Published in:
Africa,
Algeria,
Article,
FIFA,
International Organisations,
Middle East,
Morocco,
Opinion,
Qatar,
Syria,
Tunisia -
December 3, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed It is perfectly reasonable for Iraqi nationalists and patriots to demand that their country be free of foreign interference and patronage. This has been most vocalised in relation to...
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November 23, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed Bilateral relations between Algeria and Iran have grown ever since ties were restored 21 years ago. They were initially severed in 1993 after the North African country accused Tehran...
Published in:
Africa,
Algeria,
Article,
Egypt,
Europe & Russia,
Iran,
Israel,
Middle East,
Morocco,
Opinion,
Palestine,
Spain,
Sudan,
UAE -
November 13, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed Before the existence of modern-day Lebanon, a devastating famine wiped out a third of the population of the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate
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November 12, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed A revolution may be defined as "a forcible overthrow of a government or social order, in favour of a new system." With this in mind, it becomes clear that...
Published in:
Africa,
Article,
Bahrain,
Libya,
Middle East,
Opinion,
Saudi Arabia,
Syria,
Tunisia,
UAE,
Yemen -
Newcastle United has reversed a decision requesting that fans refrain from wearing traditional Arab attire at games over concerns that it could be seen as "culturally inappropriate". A statement...
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October 23, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed The latest UN Security Council's (UNSC) statement on the situation in Yemen was released on Wednesday amid continued fighting between the Houthi-allied army and the Saudi-backed militia fighting on...
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October 9, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed The distinctive symbol of the clenched fist has become synonymous with various revolutionary, social and political movements across the world. The imagery of a fist clutching an assault rifle...
Published in:
Afghanistan,
Article,
Asia & Americas,
Azerbaijan,
Europe & Russia,
Iran,
Israel,
Lebanon,
Middle East,
Opinion,
Pakistan,
Syria,
Turkey,
Yemen -
September 27, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is often described as the most militant of the main Palestinian resistance factions yet, when compared with the likes of Hamas and Fatah, little is...
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September 16, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed An Islamic scholar turned freedom fighter, Omar Al-Mukhtar is best known for leading an armed revolution and guerrilla campaign against Italian colonisers for the last two decades of his...
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August 31, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed Before the emergence of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement in 1982, the country's most charismatic and prominent Shia Muslim leader during the preceding two decades was arguably Sayyid Musa Al-Sadr. He...
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August 26, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed When the bubble that was Kabul finally burst a few days before Afghanistan's Independence Day this month, it also put an end to mounting speculation throughout the course of...
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August 12, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed Iran's outgoing Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, yesterday expressed sentiments shared by many of his compatriots following an "inappropriate" post on social media by the Russian Embassy in Tehran. The...
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August 3, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed The sheer speed and scale of the early Islamic conquests following the death of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in 632 CE has captivated the imaginations of historians...
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July 26, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed It is safe to say that Ali Ibn Abi Talib is one of the most important figures in early Islamic history, recognised as the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph by...
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July 8, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed The disagreement between the UAE and Saudi Arabia over a proposed deal by OPEC+ to increase oil production is the latest sign that the close relations between the two...
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June 25, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed Towards the end of the Trump administration last year, the US Department of Justice announced that two American citizens and one Pakistani national had been charged with the federal...
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June 14, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed When last month's ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza, the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, thanked Iran for its support. "The...
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The comic book superhero genre is one of the great American art forms of the 20th century, its impact on popular culture is immense and it continues to thrive...
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One could easily be mistaken into thinking that some of the most ardent and vocal supporters of Zionism on social media are Israeli Jews or certain Evangelical Christians in...
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May 12, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei first claimed back in 2015 that Israel won't see the next 25 years, "Firstly, you will not see the next 25 years,"...
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I've read several books on Islam's Sunni-Shia split, with each having provided informative insights on this ancient schism steeped in both theology and politics. The latter is the primary...
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April 23, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed There is a common assumption that the Islamic Republic of Iran's strategic thinking and foreign policy are fundamentally different from those of the pre-revolution era. The theocratic government's worldview...
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March 26, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed After Qatar reconciled with its Gulf neighbours at the start of this year, chief among them Saudi Arabia, an almost four-year blockade came to an end. It was perhaps...
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March 10, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed The historic visit by the head of the Catholic Church to Iraq was intended to promote interfaith dialogue and help in uplifting the country as it deals with an...
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February 14, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed Known as the "Forgotten Uprising", the largely peaceful pro-democracy protests erupted across the tiny island Kingdom of Bahrain ten years ago, only to be faced with a brutal crackdown...
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February 9, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed Michael Christopher Low's book Imperial Mecca: Ottoman Arabia and the Indian Ocean Hajj is a fascinating account of the Hajj pilgrimage to Islam's holiest city of Makkah ("Mecca") during...
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January 19, 2021 |
Omar Ahmed Last week, the outgoing US Secretary of State and former head of the CIA, Mike Pompeo, announced a flurry of last-minute sanctions against rivals and foes China, Cuba and...
![Yemenis inspect the damage after The Saudi-led coalition forces announced on Tuesday that they are carrying out airstrikes on Sanaa in response to the latest attacks on Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), by the Houthis in capital Sanaa, Yemen on 18 January 2022. [Mohammed Hamoud - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/20220118_2_51774960_72650258.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
World leaders and diplomats were quick to condemn the missile and drone attack carried out by the Houthi-allied Yemeni armed forces ("the Houthis") in Abu Dhabi earlier this week...![The first released group of US Embassy staffers in Tehran hold a press conference 18 November 1979, the day after Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the release of all women and black U.S. hostages. [H. KOTILAINEN/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GettyImages-51952046.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
On this day in 1981 agreements were signed between the United States and the nascent Islamic Republic of Iran in order to bring an end to the embassy hostage...![This picture taken on January 3, 2022 shows a view of a screen displaying a televised speech by the head of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah, airing during a memorial service marking the second anniversary of a US drone strike that killed the top commander of the Iranian revolutionary guard corps (IRGC) Qasem Soleimani alongside Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, at a hall in a school in the southern suburb of Lebanon's capital Beirut. [ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GettyImages-1237519782.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
A common trope over the past decade has been the notion that Lebanon has been "held hostage" by the Hezbollah movement and its chief backer, Iran. This is based...![Yemeni fans gather at a stadium to watch on a screen the West Asian Junior Championships Cup football match between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, in the Huthi-held Yemeni capital Sanaa on December 13, 2021 [MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/GettyImages-1237224001-scaled-e1639572342461.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Yemen's under-15 football team won the West Asian Junior Championship on Monday by beating hosts Saudi Arabia 4-3 on penalties. Back home in the war-torn country, thousands poured onto...![Players line up for national anthems ahead of the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 quarter final football match between Morocco and Algeria at the Al-Thumama Stadium in the Qatari capital Doha on December 11, 2021 [KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/GettyImages-1237169918-scaled-e1639515868645.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
There are just four remaining countries in this year's FIFA Arab Cup held in Qatar ahead of tomorrow's semi-final fixtures (15 December, 2021): Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, and the host...![Iraqis waving the Iraqi flag in Al Tahrir Square on May 25, 2021 in Baghdad, Iraq [Taha Hussein Ali/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/GettyImages-1233106793.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
It is perfectly reasonable for Iraqi nationalists and patriots to demand that their country be free of foreign interference and patronage. This has been most vocalised in relation to...
Bilateral relations between Algeria and Iran have grown ever since ties were restored 21 years ago. They were initially severed in 1993 after the North African country accused Tehran...
Before the existence of modern-day Lebanon, a devastating famine wiped out a third of the population of the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate![Yemeni people gather to celebrate the 6th anniversary of the Yemeni Revolution in Taiz, Yemen on 11 February 2017. [Abdulnasser Alseddik - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/20170211_Yemen_revolution_6yearson-6.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
A revolution may be defined as "a forcible overthrow of a government or social order, in favour of a new system." With this in mind, it becomes clear that...
Newcastle United has reversed a decision requesting that fans refrain from wearing traditional Arab attire at games over concerns that it could be seen as "culturally inappropriate". A statement...![A smoke plume rises following an explosion as forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government clash with Houthi fighters around the strategic government-held "Mas Camp" military base, in al-Jadaan, Yemen, on November 22, 2020 [-/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/GettyImages-1229750051-1.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The latest UN Security Council's (UNSC) statement on the situation in Yemen was released on Wednesday amid continued fighting between the Houthi-allied army and the Saudi-backed militia fighting on...![Pro-IRGC channels circulating pictures allegedly showing a new Shia militia being formed in Azerbaijan, called Huseynyun [Twitter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/FAkjPzSXEAMoXWe-e1633769155295.jpeg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The distinctive symbol of the clenched fist has become synonymous with various revolutionary, social and political movements across the world. The imagery of a fist clutching an assault rifle...
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is often described as the most militant of the main Palestinian resistance factions yet, when compared with the likes of Hamas and Fatah, little is...![Omar Al-Mukhtar [Wikipedia]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Omar-Mukhtar.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
An Islamic scholar turned freedom fighter, Omar Al-Mukhtar is best known for leading an armed revolution and guerrilla campaign against Italian colonisers for the last two decades of his...![Amal movement supporters hold up pictures of Imam Musa al-Sadr in Beirut on August 31, 2018 [STR/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1025546752-e1630401263737.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Before the emergence of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement in 1982, the country's most charismatic and prominent Shia Muslim leader during the preceding two decades was arguably Sayyid Musa Al-Sadr. He...![Soldiers of Turkish Task Force in Afghanistan are on duty in and around Hamid Karzai International Airport to help people who are waiting for evacuation, in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 23, 2021 [Aykut Karadağ - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/20210823_2_49725058_68131063.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
When the bubble that was Kabul finally burst a few days before Afghanistan's Independence Day this month, it also put an end to mounting speculation throughout the course of...![Russian envoy Levan Dzhagaryan with the recently appointed British ambassador, Simon Shercliff, outside Russia’s diplomatic mission in Tehran, Iran on 11 August 2021 [Russian Embassy, IRI /Twitter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021-08-11-Ambassador-Levan-Dzhagaryans-meeting-with-the-new-head-of-the-British-diplomatic-mission-in-Iran-Simon-Shercliff.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Iran's outgoing Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, yesterday expressed sentiments shared by many of his compatriots following an "inappropriate" post on social media by the Russian Embassy in Tehran. The...
The sheer speed and scale of the early Islamic conquests following the death of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in 632 CE has captivated the imaginations of historians...
It is safe to say that Ali Ibn Abi Talib is one of the most important figures in early Islamic history, recognised as the fourth Rightly Guided Caliph by...![Crown Prince and Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman al-Saud (L) is welcomed by Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan with an official ceremony at Abu Dhabi Airport in Abu Dhabi, UAE on 22 November 2018 [BANDAR ALGALOUD/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/20181122_2_33561476_39252517.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The disagreement between the UAE and Saudi Arabia over a proposed deal by OPEC+ to increase oil production is the latest sign that the close relations between the two...![Iraqi demonstrators lift flags and placards as they rally in Tahrir square in the capital Baghdad on 3 January 2021, to mark one year after a US drone strike killed Iran's revered commander Qasem Soleimani and his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis near the capital. [AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/GettyImages-1230404560.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Towards the end of the Trump administration last year, the US Department of Justice announced that two American citizens and one Pakistani national had been charged with the federal...![This photograph taken on May 14, 2014 shows a Gaza-Turkey Solidarity flag projected on a wall of Ankara Castle in Ankara [ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/GettyImages-1232889883-scaled-e1623670296516.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
When last month's ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza, the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, thanked Iran for its support. "The...![StandWithUs posted an image on Twitter of an idealised Israeli superhero named after the state’s air defence system - the Iron Dome [@StandWithUs/Twitter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/superhero.png?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The comic book superhero genre is one of the great American art forms of the 20th century, its impact on popular culture is immense and it continues to thrive...![Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) hold a joint press conference following their meeting in Jerusalem on 5 July 2017 [Haim Zach/GPO / Handout /Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/20170705_2_24573510_23772986.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
One could easily be mistaken into thinking that some of the most ardent and vocal supporters of Zionism on social media are Israeli Jews or certain Evangelical Christians in...![Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran on 3 November 2020. [Iranian Leader Press Office - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/20201103_2_45167378_59443055.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei first claimed back in 2015 that Israel won't see the next 25 years, "Firstly, you will not see the next 25 years,"...
I've read several books on Islam's Sunni-Shia split, with each having provided informative insights on this ancient schism steeped in both theology and politics. The latter is the primary...
There is a common assumption that the Islamic Republic of Iran's strategic thinking and foreign policy are fundamentally different from those of the pre-revolution era. The theocratic government's worldview...![Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) meets King of Saudi Arabia Salman Bin Abdulaziz (R) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 14 February 2017. [Kayhan Özer/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Erdogan_Saudi_King-3-e1487103359906.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
After Qatar reconciled with its Gulf neighbours at the start of this year, chief among them Saudi Arabia, an almost four-year blockade came to an end. It was perhaps...![Pope Francis holds a mass at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Arbil, on March 7, 2021, in the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region [SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1231576790-scaled-e1615392010933.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
The historic visit by the head of the Catholic Church to Iraq was intended to promote interfaith dialogue and help in uplifting the country as it deals with an...![Bahraini anti-government protesters place concrete roadblocks on the highway leading to Pearl Square in Manama on 14 March 2011. [JAMES LAWLER DUGGAN/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-110118818.jpg?resize=500%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Known as the "Forgotten Uprising", the largely peaceful pro-democracy protests erupted across the tiny island Kingdom of Bahrain ten years ago, only to be faced with a brutal crackdown...![Imperial Mecca: Ottoman Arabia and the Indian Ocean Hajj [cover]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/41W1CK73W0L.jpg?resize=333%2C333&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Michael Christopher Low's book Imperial Mecca: Ottoman Arabia and the Indian Ocean Hajj is a fascinating account of the Hajj pilgrimage to Islam's holiest city of Makkah ("Mecca") during...
Last week, the outgoing US Secretary of State and former head of the CIA, Mike Pompeo, announced a flurry of last-minute sanctions against rivals and foes China, Cuba and...