July 27th, 2010 | by Ted Thornton
The lead editorial of today’s New York Times “Pakistan’s Double Game” contains a good summary of the problems surrounding the behavior of Pakistan’s intelligence service (ISI) over the course of the last few decades, problems we have been discussing in this course since its inception in 2000. Pakistan has long used the Taliban as a proxy: its overall aim is to build and maintain influence over what happens in Afghanistan, thus preventing Afghanistan from falling into orbit around India, Pakistan’s biggest enemy.
See also
More in the “Pakistan” category of this blog
Posted in Af-Pak War, Foreign Policy, Middle East, Pakistan, Terrorism | No Comments »
July 25th, 2010 | by Ted Thornton
Many in Lebanon fear that the international tribunal investigating the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 will issue indictments of members of the Lebanese Shia movement Hizbullah (also spelled Hezbollah). If that happens, Hizbullah has warned it will not accept the indictments. The outcome could be a new new war picking up, as it were, where the summer 2006 war left off. The following article contains a good summary of Lebanon’s recent political woes (click here for more).
Robert F. Worth, “Hezbollah Looks for Shield From Indictments’ Sting,” New York Times, July 25, 2010
Posted in Arab World, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Lebanon, Middle East, Sectarianism | No Comments »
July 21st, 2010 | by Ted Thornton
Sami Zubaida tells us that in the late Ottoman Empire (19th century), Jews, Christians, Freemasons, and Muslims lived together, with exceptions to be sure,in an atmosphere of harmonious cosmopolitanism. So, what went wrong? Zubaida blames Arab nationalism and a renewed sectarianism that accompanied it.
Go to article at OpenDemocracy.net
Posted in Culture, History, Islam and Politics, Middle East, Politics (General), Sectarianism, Turkey | No Comments »
July 19th, 2010 | by Ted Thornton
The Economist is featuring a series of reports on its website (dated July 15, 2010) profiling the political futures of three key Arab countries: Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. The author of the piece on Egypt is NMH alumnus Max Rodenbeck.
Go to the reports
The July 17, 2010 issue of The Economist features a “Special Report On Egypt” containing much more. This report is accessible via ProQuest on the NMH Virtual Desktop to members of the NMH community.
More on Egypt
More on Lebanon
More on Saudi Arabia
Posted in Arab World, Egypt, Lebanon, Politics (General), Saudi Arabia, Trends | No Comments »
July 8th, 2010 | by Ted Thornton
More than 45 people have been killed in bomb attacks in Baghdad this week during the annual Shiite pilgrimage to the shrine of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim.
Story at the BBC
Posted in Iraq, Islam, Islam and Politics, Sectarianism, Terrorism | No Comments »
July 7th, 2010 | by Ted Thornton
At a point where anti-Semitism throughout the Middle East has reached an all time high, Edward Rothstein explores the phenomenon in a review of recent books on the topic:
Edward Rothstein, “A Hatred That Resists Exorcism,” New York Times, July 6, 2010
More on Anti-Semitism throughout history
The neologism “anti-Semitism” was coined in 1879 by a German writer and hater of Jews named Wilhelm Marrih in an attempt to replace the word Judenhass (“Jew-hatred”) with a more “scientific” term. His intent was to sanitize and otherwise dress up discourse devoted to defaming Jews.
Posted in Judaism, Stereotyping | No Comments »
July 5th, 2010 | by Ted Thornton
Turkey is threatening to break off diplomatic relations with Israel.
Story at the BBC
BBC analysis
Posted in Foreign Policy, Israel, Middle East, Trends, Turkey | No Comments »
July 4th, 2010 | by Ted Thornton
Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, a leading Shiite cleric in Lebanon revered as a religous guide by the militant group Hizbullah, is dead at the age of 74.
Story at BBC
Analysis from ABC News
The death of Fadlallah comes in the wake of warnings by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki -moon that Lebanon and Israel may be on the brink of another war. See: Edith M. Lederer, “UN Chief Warns That Increased Tensions Could Spark New Lebanon-Israel Conflict, Canada East, July 2, 2010.
Posted in Arab World, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Islam and Politics, Lebanon | No Comments »
July 3rd, 2010 | by Ted Thornton
Egyptian Ismail Serageldin is attracting attention as a voice for reason, pluralism, and tolerance in Islam.
Michael Slackman, “A Voice in Egypt for an Arab Voice of Reason,” New York Times, July 3, 2010
Posted in Arab World, Culture, Egypt, Islam, Trends | No Comments »
