Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Omar Ahmed
-
We can expect stronger Algeria-Iran ties as Israel plans to establish a base in Morocco
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 of supporting the armed wing of the Islamic Salvation Front during the civil war, brought on by the Algerian military’s...
-
Remembering the Great Famine of Mount Lebanon (1914-1918)
Before the existence of modern-day Lebanon, a devastating famine wiped out a third of the population of the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate...
-
Why Yemen’s was the only real revolution, post-Arab Spring
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 the term had been all too easily or prematurely applied to a number of countries in the aftermath of the...
-
Newcastle backtracks on banning fans from wearing traditional Arab clothing
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 issued on Saturday by the football club, recently taken over by a Saudi-led consortium, said supporters who wished to wear “appropriate culturally-inspired clothing”...
-
Speaking of meaningless statements, I 'condemn' the Security Council's pro-Saudi one on Yemen
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 behalf of the Riyadh-based Yemeni government over the strategic city of Marib – the only pro-government stronghold in the densely-populous...
-
The Huseynyun: Iran’s new IRGC-backed movement in Azerbaijan
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 is commonly associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and supported armed movements in other countries, such as Lebanon’s...
-
A History of Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Faith, Awareness, and Revolution in the Middle East
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 known about it, especially in Western media and academia. The author of A History of Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Faith, Awareness, and...
-
Remembering Omar Al-Mukhtar (20 August 1862 – 16 September 1931)
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 life until his capture and subsequent execution 90 years ago. He remains a Libyan national hero and an inspirational symbol...
-
Profile: Musa Al-Sadr — ‘The Vanished Imam’
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 disappeared mysteriously during a visit to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya in 1978. The son of an Ayatollah, Musa Al-Sadr was born...
-
‘Whoever rules Eurasia, controls the world’ and the US is withdrawing from it
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 the two decades long US-led war in the country that the Taliban movement which was toppled after the 2001 invasion...
-
Tehran embassy photo threatens ties with Iran unless apologies are made
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 image posted online shows Russian Ambassador Levan Dzhagaryan meeting his recently-appointed British counterpart, Simon Shercliff, in a quasi-recreation of an...
-
The Arab Conquests: The spread of Islam and the first caliphates
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 and writers for centuries. Against the odds, the pioneering Muslim armies from the recently unified Arabian Peninsula took on the...
-
Opposing the Imam: The Legacy of the Nawasib in Islamic Literature
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 the majority Sunni sect and the first Imam by the Shia. He is also highly revered by Sufis for whom...
-
Is the bromance over between Bin Salman and Bin Zayed?
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 Gulf states, and in particular those of their respective de facto rulers, are turning into a bitter rivalry. The Saudi-led cartel...
-
Taking over Shia websites is more than about Iran; the US has exposed its fear of revolutionary religion
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 crime of moving US dollars to Iran on behalf of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2018 and 2019....
-
The only Turkish boots on the ground in Palestine are on Israeli soldiers’ feet
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 Islamic Republic of Iran did not hold back with money, weapons, and technical support,” he said. Haniyeh also thanked Qatar...
-
Israel superhero gets ‘ratioed’ by Captain Palestine
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 through other media such as blockbuster movie franchises and video games, not to mention a new generation of comics and...
-
‘Please sir mention India’, Hindutva Twitter reacts to Netanyahu snub
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 the US. However over the past several years, far-right Hindu nationalists from India, who subscribe to the ideology known as...
-
According to Khamenei’s prediction Israel has 19 years left, for Kissinger it’s next year
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,” Khamenei said. “God willing, there will be no such thing as a Zionist regime in 25 years. Until then, struggling,...
-
Sunnis and Shi’a: A Political History
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 focus through which Laurence Louër’s Sunnis and Shi’a: A Political History attempts to explain how this division has manifested throughout...
-
No Conquest, No Defeat: Iran’s National Security Strategy
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 and its enmity towards the US and Israel are certainly noteworthy points of departure from the Imperial State of Iran...
-
Saudi reconciliation could see Turkey on the wrong side of history in Yemen
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 inevitable that talk of reconciliation between Qatar’s ally Turkey and Riyadh would follow. As a precursor to such a warming...
-
The BBC’s coverage of the Pope’s visit to Iraq was biased and misleading
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 array of political, security, and economic challenges. Pope Francis’s visit went ahead having been postponed last year owing to security...
-
Remembering the Bahraini Uprising
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 by the police and finally be suppressed weeks later by the military intervention of neighbouring Saudi Arabia. In its wake,...
