Recent articles

Keep anti-terrorism and theology apart
Comment Is Free, 5 Aug 2010

A leaked memo, arguing that the state's anti-terrorism strategy should involve tackling nonviolent Islamism, is wide of the mark

Lebanon and Israel need a proper border agreement
Comment Is Free, 4 Aug 2010

Focusing on a pact to calm border tensions is far better than arguing over who fired the first shot in this week's confrontation

Journalism court threat to Iraqi media
Comment Is Free, 25 Jul 2010

Iraq's proposed new journalism court is a further blow to the country's already oppressed media

The trouble with Twitter
Comment Is Free, 8 Jul 2010

As the sacking of a CNN journalist for a tweet on an ayatollah's death has shown, it's hard to convey nuance in 140 characters

Divorcing fundamentalism
Comment Is Free, 6 Jul 2010

Nasr Abu Zaid was a brave and honest scholar disgracefully persecuted for his attempts to read the Quran historically

Iran's 'blogfather' on trial in Tehran
Comment Is Free, 24 Jun 2010

Hossein Derakhshan, the Iranian blogger and Cif contributor, is accused of producing propaganda against the Islamic regime

Salman Ahmad, Sufi rocker
Comment Is Free, 20 May 2010

Can extremism be defeated by rock music? Maybe not, but Salman Ahmad's message of tolerance deserves to be heard

Where next for the Middle East?
Lecture at the American University of Beirut, 9 June, 2010

Why Elton John is considered a danger to Egypt 
Comment Is Free, 4 May 2010

A move to ban Elton's gig is about fear of social discord. Yet in other ways the Arab world fails to address 'the public good'

Egyptian law gives fanatics free rein 
Comment Is Free, 28 Apr 2010

An attempt to ban One Thousand and One Nights for being 'obscene' shows the hesba principle is increasingly misused

Yemen: Dancing on the Heads of Snakes by Victoria Clark
The Guardian, 24 April 2010

Brian Whitaker on an authoritative survey of a troubled country

Not much blog for your buck 
Comment Is Free, 25 March 2010

Home Office research has thrown up some blindingly obvious insights into the Muslim blogosphere. Why did they bother?

Fatwa wars aren't the solution 
Comment Is Free, 2 March 2010

Minhaj al-Qur'an's grand fatwa against terrorism, though well-meaning, does nothing to help progressive Islam

Are Saudis being served?  
Comment Is Free, 22 Feb 2010

The kingdom has got its knickers in a twist over the delicate question of who should be allowed to sell underwear to women

Mahmoud al-Mabhouh's murky world 
Comment Is Free, 17 Feb 2010

Details of the Hamas official's murder resemble a movie script, but there's unlikely to be a neat Hollywood ending

Can Gulf states really help Yemen?  
Comment Is Free, 10 Feb 2010

Keeping Yemen unstable and poor is in nobody's interests – except, perhaps, those of the Arab Gulf regimes

Saving Yemen  
Comment Is Free, 28 Jan 2010

The international community now recognises that Yemen faces 'many urgent problems', but Saleh's regime is one of them

Arab society's crunch points 
London Middle East Institute lecture at SOAS, 26 January 2010

Yemen: Saleh isn’t the solution 
Middle East International, 22 January 2010

Yemen, where dead men eat lunch 
Comment Is Free, 19 Jan 2010

The wily Yemeni president knows how to spin out his war on al-Qaida to win western support – and hype achievements

Method in Iran's conspiracy madness 
Comment Is Free, 6 Jan 2010

A new list of subversive western organisations is not born solely of paranoia, but does show political naivety

Help Yemen, not its government 
Comment Is Free, 4 Jan 2010

Yemen needs aid, but propping up its ailing regime will only perpetuate its problems

Beware the militant engineers 
Comment Is Free, 2 Jan 2010

Is there a connection between the mindset of those who study engineering as a subject, and violent extremism?

When is a dictator not a dictator?  
Comment Is Free, 18 Dec 2009

Bashar al-Assad leads an authoritarian regime, but the workings of power in a country such as Syria are surprisingly complex

In Dubai, they still don't get it 
Comment Is Free, 9 Dec 2009

The emirate likes to see itself as a modern financial centre yet reverts to authoritarianism and censorship in the face of bad press

Self-righteous agonising over Muslims 
Comment Is Free, 7 Dec 2009

In criticising the Islamic world's false 'narrative', an American writer falls victim to another: that US foreign policy is altruistic

With all due respect, Mr President
Comment Is Free, 18 Nov 2009

Barack Obama has talked about 'respect' on his Asian tour, but risks getting into a muddle over its meaning

One year on, blogger languishes in jail
Comment Is Free, 1 Nov 2009

Hossein Derakhshan was arrested in Tehran and 12 months later his family still don't know why

Arab winds of change
Comment Is Free, 22 Oct 2009

Who is driving real change in the Arab countries? Not politicians, but feminists, gay people and bloggers

War crimes in Yemen?
Comment Is Free, 18 Sep 2009

After Gaza, the next task for Judge Goldstone could be Yemen where the government continues to fight a rebellion in the north

Democracy, Tunisian style
Comment Is Free, 9 Sep 2009

Tunisia has been praised as peaceful and competitive, but its next election will have little to do with democracy

Islam's 'enemy within'
Comment Is Free, 24 Aug 2009

Across the Sunni world, growing fear of Shia influence exposes the cultural schism that exists between the two traditions

Hero's homecoming for jailed sheikh
Comment Is Free, 12 Aug 2009

The shameful conviction of Yemeni Sheikh Mohammed al-Moayad during US post-9/11 hysteria has been overturned

Yemen – the next failed state?
Comment Is Free, 27 Jul 2009

Beset by rebels, poverty, crime and corruption, Yemen increasingly looks less like a fragile state than a failed one

Shock of the new media
Comment Is Free, 16 Jul 2009

As Fatah shuts down al-Jazeera in the West Bank, other anxious administrations are cracking down on Middle East media

A tale of two parties  
Comment Is Free, 25 Jun 2009

While 69 revelling Filipinos face prison and flogging in Saudi Arabia, wealthy British expatriates are left to party in peace

A night out in Riyadh  
Comment Is Free, 22 Jun 2009

More than 70 men have been arrested in the Saudi capital for being in an 'unnatural state' and wearing women's clothing

What Obama will say in Cairo 
Comment Is Free, 2 Jun 2009

Changing Arab and Muslim perceptions of the US will be top of Obama's agenda – but don't expect too much on Israel or Iran

Abu Hamza and The Italian Job  
Comment Is Free, 29 May 2009

Abu Hamza's sons' botched luxury car scam was the kind of thrill-seeking that led other no-hopers to the cleric's twisted vision

Iran and the west: lessons from history  
Comment Is Free, 20 May 2009

Ever since Shah Abbas tried to reach out to Europe, our dealings with Iran have been lost in translation

Afghan-wards Christian soldiers?  
Comment Is Free, 6 May 2009

The US military stands accused of breaking its own rules by attempting to convert Afghans to Christianity

Pigs to the slaughter in Egypt 
Comment Is Free, 30 Apr 2009

Amid swine flu hysteria Mubarak has ordered pigs to be killed – but is this just another assault on Egypt's Christian minority?

Sheikhs, lives and videotape  
Comment Is Free, 29 Apr 2009

A member of the UAE royal family is accused of torture – but is there any chance of justice when the country's rulers are the law?

Saudi Arabia's sewing machine stitch-up  
Comment Is Free, 21 Apr 2009

Learning by rote at school has no real value – and it certainly doesn't prepare you for life in the scam-filled modern world

Mutual friends: secularism and Islam 
Comment Is Free, 14 April 2009

The Middle East will only be convinced by Islamic arguments for a secular state

The killing of Islamic secularism 
Comment Is Free, 8 Apr 2009 

Debate about the relationship between religion and state has been stifled by history – and the influence of a colonising west

God's own countries? 
Comment Is Free, 7 Apr 2009

In the debate about Islamism it's often forgotten that most Middle Eastern regimes claim a special relationship with God

Interview with Abdellah Taia  
15 April 2009

The Moroccan writer talks about his book, Salvation Army

Should faith override the will of the people? 
Comment Is Free, 3 Apr 2009

Islamism links the state with religion – this brings it into direct conflict with the principles of democracy

What in the World? 
Gay Times, April 2009 

Though things may seem peachy for gay people in the UK, what is the state of play in the rest of the world?

Alienating British Muslims 
Comment Is Free, 24 Mar 2009 

Labour's actions against the Muslim Council of Britain destroy any credibility its engagement policy might have had

Is exclusion the best policy? 
Comment Is Free, 19 Mar 2009

The editor of a Hezbollah newspaper has been denied entry to Britain. It demonstrates the Home Office's confusion on the issue

Egypt's step towards freedom of belief 
Comment Is Free, 17 Mar 2009

A court ruling that Egyptians will no longer be forced to pick from three approved religions is a crucial victory for equal rights

Hello, democracy – and goodbye 
Comment Is Free, 24 Feb 2009

Saudi Arabia has quietly abandoned the municipal elections that were due to take place this year

Warsi wades in 
Comment Is Free, 20 Feb 2009

Is there a serious problem with polygamy in the UK, or is the Baroness's attack simply cultural point-scoring?

Egypt has got its priorities wrong 
Comment Is Free, 19 Feb 2009

The regime is more likely to enforce petty rules to protect its sense of authority than laws that serve the public good

Ousted by a gay sheikh 
Comment Is Free, 16 Feb 2009

An author whose book touched on the sexual hangups of the local establishment has been disinvited from a Dubai literary festival

Unsorted articles

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A letter to Barack 
Comment Is Free, 6 Nov 2008

Please resist the temptation to fix the Middle East, and make sure your own country leads by example

The leaders that go on and on
Comment Is Free, Aug 19 2008

Musharraf's detractors can console themselves with the fact that his reign was short – at least by the standards of the Arab world

Reclaiming orientalism
Comment Is Free, Jun 19 2008

Orientalism at 30: Research for the sake of genuine mutual understanding should not be confused with the imperialism of the Iraq war

Middle of where?
Comment Is Free, Jun 4 2008

The Middle East may be a crucially important region politically and economically, but try getting your hands on a decent definition of it

Scratching secularism's surface
Comment Is Free, May 1 2008

Today's launch of British Muslims for Secular Democracy showed the need for a more rigorous debate on religion in politics

Islamic Newspeak
Comment Is Free, Feb 26 2008

A new version of the Prophet's sayings is due to appear - as approved by Turkey's Department of Religious Affairs

Your flexible friend
Comment Is Free, Feb 22 2008

It's smart, organised and, er, can squeeze through very small gaps. Let's hear it for the humble cockroach

Is the end in sight?
Comment Is Free, January 11, 2008

It's easy to understand the scepticism over Bush's current intervention in the Middle East, but we shouldn't write off the initiative just yet

A question of receipts  
December 13, 2007 

How far has the Policy Exchange report on extremist literature in British mosques been undermined by the discrepancies found by Newsnight?

The globalisation of ideas  
December 3, 2007

Ideologies and values are no longer limited by cultural and geographical boundaries. With time, this should prove to be a good thing

Gratuitous violence  
Comment Is Free, November 22, 2007 

YouTube has a policy against violent postings. Fine, but what happens when you need to highlight state brutality?

Found in translation  
Comment Is Free, November 21, 2007 

A new initiative to translate important books into Arabic has announced the first 100 titles - and its a pretty good start

Rubbish from Riyadh 
Comment Is Free, October 30, 2007 

A new report says inflammatory texts from Saudi Arabia can be found in British mosques. If so, they need to be challenged, not banned.

Satellite evidence 
Comment Is Free, October 25, 2007 

Pictures of what could be a nuclear reactor cast new light on Israel's mysterious bombing of a site in Syria.

A spoof too far? 
Comment Is Free, October 11, 2007

A satirical US attack on a questionable conference has been taken seriously, a sad reflection on that country's ability to debate Islam.

Food for thought 
Comment Is Free, October 3, 2007 

As preparations are made for Benazir Bhutto's farewell dinner, there are ample grounds for asking whether she is fit to hold office in Pakistan.

Required reading
Comment Is Free, September 6, 2007

A new initiative in the Middle East aims to translate 100 books into Arabic in its first year. Which titles do you think should be included?

US hate department   
Comment Is Free, September 3, 2007 

An experienced American diplomat is facing trial on two charges of racial intimidation and sending threatening messages.

Another militant bites the dust 
Comment Is Free, August 29, 2007 

The burgeoning literary genre of political/religious recantations has a new, internet-based addition: welcome to the world of The Islamicist.

Birth of a myth  
Comment Is Free, August 21, 2007 

Rumours of the demise of Holocaust education have been greatly exaggerated, but that doesn't stop the chain emails flying.

Cheney: prophet of doom 
Comment Is Free, August 16, 2007

A 13-year-old video shows Dubya's right-hand man opposing - yes, opposing - war in Iraq.

The wrong kind of surge  
Comment Is Free, August 2, 2007

Despite escalating evidence to the contrary, the Bush administration continues to support the military surge in Iraq. 

A green light to oppression  
Comment Is Free, July 31, 2007 

In the name of 'fighting extremism', the US is arming two of the Arab world's leading human rights abusers: Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Hamas is a fact of life  
Comment Is Free, July 23, 2007

Tony Blair begins his job as the Quartet's Middle East envoy today. But if he can't talk to Hamas, what's the point?

Wish you were here? 
Comment Is Free, July 11, 2007

The main goal of Hizb ut-Tahrir is to set up a theocracy based on discrimination against non-Muslims and women.

Family values  
Comment Is Free, June 13, 2007

An 'honour' killing caused shockwaves in Britain but it is part of a wider social tyranny that has blighted the Middle East.

The battle for control  
Comment Is Free, June 7, 2007

An event last night discussed why some people dislike the internet. Yet it is not the web itself that they fear, but what others can do with it.

The evolution of daft ideas 
Comment Is Free, May 29, 2007

Islamic creationism is growing and the movement is now repackaging ideas from reactionary American Christian groups.

Would you Adam and Eve it? 
Comment Is Free, May 25, 2007 

As a new creationism 'museum' opens in Kentucky I'm still puzzled as to why Darwin is such a problem for Christians but not Muslims.

The value of trash TV 
Comment Is Free, May 22, 2007

Reality television may be thought of as lightweight in this country but elsewhere it can be a platform for subversion.

Arabic under fire  
Comment Is Free, May 15, 2007

A child on Hamas TV talked of annihilating the Jews ... or did she?

Blog and be damned 
Comment Is Free, April 11, 2007

Today's argument over the tone of online debate would be familiar to the pamphleteers of 18th-century Britain.

Found in translation 
Comment Is Free, April 4, 2007 

Online language tools are a wonderful development, making Arabic newspapers and other writing on the internet far more accessible.

Peace in our time? 
Comment Is Free, April 2, 2007 

While there are grounds to be sceptical about Ehud Olmert's offer to meet with all Arab heads of state, there are also a few reasons to be hopeful.

Mobile madness  
Comment Is Free, March 14, 2007 

Aren't you sick of being forced to listen to other people's phone conversations?

Land of the 72 Virgins?  
Comment Is Free, March 8, 2007 

A certain chain of music stores is planning to expand across the Middle East. Is this a sign that restrictions are gradually breaking down in the region?

Wiki ways  
Comment Is Free, February 21, 2007

It contains information on a wide range of useful subjects - but is Wikipedia just a refuge for the lazy?

The end of history - or hysteria?  
Comment Is Free, January 31, 2007 

I am not convinced that Francis Fukuyama was ever a real neocon - at least, not the wild-eyed variety.

Laughing down the line  
Comment Is Free, January 24, 2007 

Now and again, Radio 4 does something quirky, funny and totally amazing, as one of its current comedy shows attests.

Bring on Mahatma Brown 
Comment Is Free, January 19, 2007 

It comes as a relief to learn that our amply-proportioned chancellor finds inspiration in the work of Mahatma Gandhi.

Victim of the bloggers 
Comment Is Free, January 5 2007

Online conspiracy theorists have once again caused a stir by attempting to expose Iraqi police captain, Jamil Hussein, as a fictional AP source.

Soothsayer of the Year 
Comment Is Free, December 29, 2006

It used to be a fair bet that whatever a columnist predicted on January 1 would be long forgotten come December 31. Not any more.

Hundreds burned alive in Lagos pipeline fire  
Guardian, Wednesday December 27 2006

More than 260 people were killed yesterday - burned alive when a ruptured oil pipeline burst into flames in Lagos. 

Anger as Libyan retrial hands death sentence to medics  
Guardian, Wednesday December 20 2006

Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of deliberately infecting hundreds of children with HIV were sentenced to death for a second time by a court in Libya yesterday, drawing widespread international condemnation. 

A microcosm of Arab malaise 
Comment Is Free, December 6, 2006 

An article in a Lebanese newspaper provides an antidote to the simplistic picture of the Middle East found in some sections of the media.

World's youth believe 'war on terror' counterproductive  
Guardian Unlimited, Monday December 4 2006

Young people overwhelmingly believe the US-led "war on terror" is not making the world safer, according to a poll conducted in major cities across the globe. 

Resisting the clash of civilisations 
November 22 2006

“Clash of civilisations” is a catchy phrase but also a dangerous myth. 

UN says politics lies behind rift between west and Muslims 
Guardian, November 14 2006

Politics - not religion - lies at the root of a growing divide between Muslim and western societies, according to a report presented to the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, yesterday.

Rush for deal as tests point to genuine nuclear test 
Guardian, October 14 2006

The US last night refused to confirm that North Korea had joined the nuclear club, despite the discovery of a gas consistent with a nuclear blast in the atmosphere close to where Pyongyang claimed it had detonated a device on Monday. 

All Libyan pupils to get laptop and web access 
Guardian, Thursday October 12 2006

Libya could become the first country to provide every school-age child with a laptop computer and internet connection under a scheme supported by the UN Development Programme.

Not so polls apart 
Comment Is Free, October 11, 2006 

Surveys of Arab opinions show that the clash of civilisation theory, promoted by Islamists and neoconservatives alike, is basically hot air.

Condi's top priority  
October 6, 2006

The purpose of Condoleezza Rice's visit to the Middle East is becoming clear - to encourage Arab states to form an alliance against Iran.

The cost of improper payments  
Comment Is Free, October 4, 2006 

Companies often try to shrug off bribes as a way of fitting in with local customs, but the consequences can be serious.

Palaces and prisons 
Comment Is Free, October 3, 2006 

Condoleezza Rice wants to meet with Middle Eastern moderates - but she's looking in all the wrong places.

Mr Bush's mirage  
Comment Is Free, September 20, 2006 

The US president's speech yesterday highlighted his desire to see only what he wants to see in the Middle East.

Saddam no dictator, says judge  
Guardian, September 15 2006

Saddam Hussein was not a dictator, the chief judge at his genocide trial said yesterday. 

The race taboo 
Comment Is Free, September 8, 2006

The existence of racist attitudes within some Arab countries is often denied, resulting in scandalous displays of prejudice against certain ethnic groups.

The thinking person's Oscars 
Comment Is Free, September 4, 2006

White, European, male, you could be in line for a Nobel Prize. So how does its selection process work?

Peace in our time? 
Comment Is Free, August 31, 2006

We are enjoying the longest period of peace between nations in more than half a century, apparently.

Peril British troops face in Afghanistan 'was underplayed' 
Guardian, August 31 2006

Britons were probably not aware of the daunting problems ahead when the government sent additional troops to Afghanistan this year, the Ministry of Defence conceded yesterday.

Growing pains 
Comment Is Free, August 29, 2006

Is the rise of euro-cannabis necessarily a bad thing?

Tongue-tied 
Comment Is Free, August 24, 2006 

Learning a foreign language helps you to understand other societies and cultures, and what makes people tick.

Apocalypse postponed 
Comment Is Free, August 22, 2006

So far, so good. Despite predictions that Iran would launch nuclear war today, the world has not ended quite yet.

Iran's cyber-president  
Comment Is Free, August 14, 2006

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad does not really get the point of blogging.

World to end on August 22 
Comment Is Free, August 9, 2006

While the Middle East smoulders, commentators of an apocalyptic bent are lining up for a date with Armageddon.