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Murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Donald Trump's ersatz reality
The gruesome killing of former Saudi government advisor and journalist Jamal Khashoggi will not lead to dissociation with Saudi Arabia, says Stefan Buchen in his essay. After all, the most powerful man in the West is Donald Trump, one of the murdererʹs best friends
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Interview with Middle East expert Guido Steinberg
No one wants conflict with Saudi Arabia
Even though the case of the disappeared Saudi journalist Khashoggi weighs heavily, no government is prepared to risk open conflict with the Saudis. Meanwhile, the concerns of dissidents who have fled their authoritarian countries of origin to the West are growing. By Diana Hodali
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Poetry anthology: Fady Joudah's "Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance"
A web of living tissue
At a time when we have almost become accustomed to the poetry of witness, recounting events or a poet's reaction to them, the latest anthology by acclaimed Palestinian-American poet and physician Fady Joudah cuts deeper, with appropriately surgical precision, to reveal connections beneath the surface of things. By Marcia Lynx Qualey
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Fighting Western reductionist perceptions
Arab, Muslim – whatʹs the difference?
Writer and activist Myra Al-Rahim examines the nature of her own Arab identity, the prejudices of her American peers and why religion is not the last word
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The legacy of 9/11
Why the world needs to re-think its war on terror
Seventeen years have passed since 9/11, which marked a turning point in relations between the West and the Islamic world. Jordanian Islamism expert, Hassan Abu Haniyya, offers Ouifaq Benkiran the following observations about the most important repercussions of the war on terror
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Military parade attack in Ahwaz, Iran
The Islamic Republic reels
Following this weekendʹs attack on a military parade in the southern Iranian city of Ahwaz, fears that the United States, Saudi Arabia and others may seek to destabilise the country by instigating ethnic unrest are rife, writes James M. Dorsey, raising the likelihood of a clampdown against opposition groups at home and abroad
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Interview with extremism researcher Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck
"Being part of a ʹcommunityʹ transcends everything"
Attending this yearʹs Vienna International Christian University, Algerian extremism researcher Dr. Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck, resident scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, talked to Zahra Nedjabat about the role of women in jihadism, the roots of violent radicalisation and possible antidotes
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Islamophobia and xenophobia
The West’s racism problem
The mob in Chemnitz had a lot in common with the neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan followers and other extremists who caused mayhem a year ago in Charlottesville, Virginia, writes Ian Buruma
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Book review: Radwa Ashour's "The Journey"
An inheritance of grief and joy
In Radwa Ashour's "The Journey", newly translated by Michelle Hartman, the Egyptian novelist chronicles the four years she spent doing a PhD in African-American Literature at the University of Massachusetts in the 1970s. Marcia Lynx Qualey read the book
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USA cancels aid to Palestinian aid agency UNRWA
Washington's penchant for moving the goalposts
At the beginning of September the USA announced it would pull its entire aid to the Palestinian refugees owing to UNRWAʹs inefficiency. But Washington's attack on the UNRWA serves a much broader plan, says Peter Philipp in his commentary
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Iraq post-IS
Mosulʹs cultural comeback
Music is back in Mosul, as are books and paintings. With Islamic State gone, locals are enjoying their newfound freedom and embracing culture. Will it last? Judit Neurink reports from Mosul
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U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic
Playing poker with Iran
Iran and the U.S. seem to have reversed roles with the Trump administrationʹs decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal. Iranʹs isolation before the agreement now contrasts with Americaʹs determination to swim against the global tide. By Hassan Hakimian