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The Kurdish YPG and the future of northeastern Syria
Assad smiles from the sidelines
In northeastern Syria, the U.S. and Turkey are wrangling over how to deal with the Kurdish militias. The regime could score points from this – and gain control with Russian support. An analysis by Kristin Helberg
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Album review: Diali Cissokho and Kaira Baʹs "Routes"
Marrying music and culture
Diali Cissokho left his native Senegal for North Carolina years ago. Raised as a griot, one of the traditional musical story tellers and historians of West Africa, he wanted to continue playing music in his new home. It may have taken a while to find the musicians he was looking for but, writes Richard Marcus, it was worth the wait
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Michael Muhammad Knight's "Muhammad: Forty Introductions"
An arba'in for non-Muslims
In his latest work, Michael Muhammad Knight – the enfant terrible of American Muslim writers – has sifted through the thousands upon thousands of Islamic hadiths to find 40 he feels best serve as an introduction to the Prophet Muhammad. Richard Marcus read the book
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Trump’s Syria withdrawal
A chance for peace?
Trump's withdrawal from Syria could indeed be a dangerous prelude to an expanded regional war. Yet with imagination and diplomacy the withdrawal could also be an important step on the difficult road to peace in the region, argues Jeffrey D. Sachs
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Portrait of the Lebanese-American artist Helen Zughaib
"We are more similar than dissimilar"
Since 9/11, Beirut-born Lebanese-American artist Helen Zughaib has used her art to project positive images of Arabs and the Middle East to a mostly American audience. Based in politically charged Washington D.C., her goal is not to take sides, but highlight the consequences of life-changing situations. By Yasmine Salam
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Repression against journalists
A world of Khashoggis
Following the death of the Saudi dissident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi, there are fears that the masterminds of the murder could go unpunished. A development that sends a fatal signal to journalism worldwide, writes Daoud Kuttab
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The killing of Khashoggi
Letting Mohammed bin Salman off the hook
Despite global media coverage and condemnation by governments and human-rights activists, Saudi officialsʹ murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has not led to any meaningful sanctions. And such impunity is an important reason why the murder happened in the first place. By Leon Willems
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Peace talks in Stockholm
Yemenis – pawns in a cynical game
The problem with peace negotiations is always that the perpetrators of war represent the only hope for a resolution. In the case of Yemen, the talks are being conducted by the very same warring parties that led the nation into what is currently the world′s greatest humanitarian crisis. Commentary by Karim El-Gawhary
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70
The red herring of 'Islamic human rights'
Muslims who grant themselves the right to adopt a human rights declaration based on their own religion need to allow followers of other religions to do the same, argues Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi in her essay
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Interview with Karl-Otto Zentel, General Secretary of CARE Deutschland
Yemen – what is the world waiting for?
With the latest round of peace talks aimed at ending the war in Yemen underway in Sweden, Karl-Otto Zentel, General Secretary of CARE Deutschland, gives his own assessment of the civil war and the chances for peace. Interview by Carsten Gruen
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Interview with the Islam expert Behnam T. Said
Why al-Qaida is stronger than ever
When we think about terrorism in the Arab world today, the first name that springs to mind is IS, not al-Qaida. But, as Behnam T. Said reveals in interview with Jens-Christian Rabe, the organisation has merely changed its objectives
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Sisi's self-defeating security plan
A bloody year in Sinai
The Egyptian government has intensified its military campaign in the Sinai peninsula with the aim of finally shutting down a jihadist insurgency linked to IS. Hundreds may have died, but the insurgency continues with no end in sight. By Tom Stevenson