UK
A brief history of Western ‘jihadists’
April 2013 – From Guy Fawkes and Lord Byron to Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell, Westerners have an ancient tradition of doing ‘jihad’ in foreign lands.
Gay pride (and prejudice) through the ages
February 2013 – Historic examples of homosexuality being tolerated by Judaism, Christianity and Islam can help overcome homophobia and reinvent these faiths.
The Arab world’s missed opportunities
November 2012 – Early Arab rejectionism and division unwittingly helped to build Israel and to lose Palestine, with the Palestinian people paying the heavy price.
The Mubarak regime’s legalised robbery
September 2012 – Since the ‘Mubarak mafia’ were not outlaws but were the law, proving that Egypt’s lost billions were ill-gotten is an elusively difficult challenge.
August 2012 – In an era of economic austerity, we must revive the idea of a permanent venue for the Olympics, which would also help to de-politicise the games.
July 2012 – It was the last word in music, and turned words into music. The WORD, which defied the decline in print media with wit, edge and artistry, is no more.
David Miliband: revolution v extremism
July 2011 – Britain’s former foreign minister David Miliband has high hopes for the Arab revolutions.
December 2010 – The Simply Red lead singer’s admission that he slept with thousands of women shatters one longstanding ginger stereotype, but discrimination against redheads goes way back.
The rise of far-right politics on both sides of the Atlantic
November 2010 – On KALW’s weekly media round table, Khaled Diab took part in a radio debate on the rise of far-right politics on both sides of the Atlantic.
November 2010 – Some in the west are more likely to believe in elves in Middle Earth than in Arab men in the Middle East who are secular and do not oppress women.
October 2010 – Should organisations raising money for foreign militaries or to perpetuate occupations enjoy charitable status?
A shop window on Egyptian history
September 2010 – The buyers of Harrods are reportedly planning to take over Egypt’s oldest department store, Omar Effendi, whose story mirrors Egypt’s modern history.
July 2010 – The fifth anniversary of the 7 July attacks has refocused attention on Islamist terrorism, but the neo-Nazi threat goes largely unnoticed.
February 2010 – Big corporations are using the banking crisis as an excuse for exploiting cheap labour. Is it time for a global minimum wage?
January 2010 – From ‘gay girls’ to ‘shagging flies’, the changing meaning of English words causes no end of confusion.
December 2009 – The British are famously reserved, but so are the Belgians. Let’s break the ice and make the public sphere more friendly.
Bugging the culinary operating system
September 2009 – Elevating food to celebrity status has turned the theory of motivation upside. It’s time to stick one up the foodies.
Faith and desire in Albert Square
August 2009 – EastEnders is breaking new ground on gay issues by exploring what happens when Muslim boy meets boy – but marries girl.
August 2009 – Tougher naturalisation laws are counterproductive. What we need is to redefine our understanding of citizenship.
TV’s desperate Muslim romantics
August 2009 – Sexual relationships among ethnic minorities offer richer dramatic pickings than cliched stories about arranged marriage.
What about the Western warlords?
July 2009 – Cherie Blair’s chastisement of the African Union for not co-operating with the International Criminal Court is pretty rich coming from the wife of a man many believe is a war criminal.
July 2009 – Tragic as the deaths of young British soldiers in Afghanistan are, why is the media not mourning Afghan civilian casualties?
July 2009- Wacky conspiracy theories cause damage by drawing attention away from the real plots being hatched by our governments.
All continents on the Western Front
November 2008 – It is time European countries acknowledged the part soldiers from their former colonies played in the First World War.
