Islamic radicalism is the product of societal developments and it is not directly related to the religion of Islam. The lessons of Iraq are being actively ignored by the US and the west in general. The main tenets of American foreign policy, which have done well for extremism, are unchanged.
In Damascus there are no direct routes linking Jaramana to Mhajirin, or the Yarmouk camp to Sayyida Zayneb - each home to different communities stratified along lines of class and religious belonging. Isolation and distance is reinforced; and in so doing serves to reproduce the Other.
The term is heard whenever the Middle East or Syria are discussed, yet a talking head would be pressed to define what they mean by sectarianism. Mohammad Dibo speaks to two prominent Arab thinkers willing to assist our understanding by going back to the basics.
A negotiated peace may be Syria’s only salvation from imminent demise, but internal complexities and strategically incoherent external responses mean it will not be forthcoming.
PKK has been fighting ferociously against ISIS from day one and is in need of arms and weapons. But it has long since been declared a terrorist organization by many including Turkey, the US, EU and NATO.
Just last week Erdogan once again ruffled some feathers with his polemical outburst at the UN General Assembly, questioning the legitimacy of Sisi’s rule.
The military success of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq intensifies questions over Turkey's strategy and decisions. What Ankara does next will help to resolve them.
When people are dying in their thousands, why should we care about the destruction of artefacts? Cultural violence has long been a component in the obliteration of communities; it legitimates the denial of diversity and makes them much harder to rebuild.
I’m Syrian. I lived most of my life in Syria and the Gulf, until I came to the UK to study. There is an apartment I think of as
As media coverage of Syria is increasingly monopolized by geopolitical and military approaches, a small town in northwestern Syria continues to provide a collective account of the country that is both accessible and nuanced.
A victory for the Kurds and their allies in Syria is a victory for all who want a future that is dictated neither by fundamentalists nor imperialists.
Razan Ghazzawi delves into her relationship with her mentor, namesake, and towering figure within the Syrian uprising: Razan Zaitounah. An insight into the complicated and deeply personal relationship with a cause.
