USA
America and Europe’s real “homegrown terrorism” threat
The Boston marathon bombings have refocused attention on the threat of “homegrown terrorism”. But there is a much more dangerous domestic threat.
The clash within civilisations
March 2013 – This year marks the 20th anniversary of the clash of civilizations theory, but Samuel P Huntington was wrong.
Obama, enough listening, it’s time to act
March 2013 – Barack Obama’s plan to “listen” when he visits Israel and Palestine is not enough, the US president must take act to launch a people’s peace process.
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.
Half-baked rules undermine community spirit
January 2013 – A little story about itsy-bitsy rules has big ramifications on the sort of society we live in, our attitudes to authority and how a home-baked biscuit can make all the difference!
December 2012 – Sinterklaas (Santa Claus) brings joy to millions in the Low Countries. But his dark-faced helpers, Zwarte Pieten, are racist and a colonial throwback.
September 2012 – There is no conflict between Islam and the West – only clashes of interests between and within them. But there is a very real mash of civilisations.
Aanslag op Amerikaans consulaat in Benghazi valt niet uit de lucht
September 2012 – De aanslag op het consulaat in Benghazi was geen verrassing. De voortekens waren al lang zichtbaar.
Sex and the citizen in Egypt and America
January 2012 – Fundamentalists in America and Egypt are obsessed with “virtue “and “vice”. But the rise of Islamists threatens to bind Egyptian women in a moral vice.
November 2011 – Palestinian ‘freedom riders’ defiantly boarded a bus to Jerusalem. So is the next stop for the Palestinian struggle a mass civil rights movement?
9/12: Turning over a new leaf in the Middle East
September 2011 – On the 10th anniversary of the day after 9/11, it is high time to trash the ‘clash of civilisations’ theory and the ‘war on terror’ and start a new chapter in the West’s relationship with the new Middle East.
America’s missed opportunity in Egypt
1 February 2011 – There’s no reason to believe that the uprising will bring radical Islamists to power – so why isn’t the US supporting it?
December 2010 – Animal rights activists are calling for global vegetarianism, but the Middle East is not ready to sacrifice its meat-eating lifestyle.
November 2010 – Islamophobia is common in western society, so the classroom is a good place to start combating it.
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?
August 2010 – Most journalists dread crunching data. But finding narratives among the numbers is part of journalism’s mandate. Luckily, there are tools to help.
July 2010 – A return to an ancestral homeland is a dream that’s long inspired diasporas – often with troubling results.
May 2010 – An Arab-American Miss USA may have put Muslim beauty on the western map, but let’s also recall all those women of courage and talent.
Miss USA 2010 and an Islamic cover-up
May 2010 – Rima Fakih’s Miss USA win is welcomed by many Arab-Americans, but some neocons denounce it as a sinister Islamic plot.
May 2010 – Fancy a beer company with your pint? For a few painful minutes, the value of many major US companies hit zero. And computers may share the blame.
May 2010 – The chair of a leading multinational claims that Europeans do not work hard enough and do not value work enough. I beg to differ.
سبيل للخروج من فوضى الشرق الأوسط
يناقش خالد دياب بأن انتشار الأسلحة النووية سوف يستمر طالما استمرّينا في التعامل مع ترسانة إسرائيل النووية
A way out of the Middle East’s critical mess
May 2010 – As Barack Obama seeks to tackle the proliferation of nuclear weapons, it is high time for Israel to dismantle its nuclear arsenal.
March 2010 – In South Dakota, everyone knows that the climate is just right – and that global warming is just the hot air of science.
The naked truth about body scanners
February 2010 – Airport body scanners are being touted as the latest anti-terroism wizadry. But do they actually work and are they worth the invasion in privacy?
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.
Should America fear a democratic Egypt?
January 2010 – The depiction of Egypt as a country of religious fanatics who await a breeze of freedom to turn Egypt into a radical regime is far from accurate.
November 2009 – As the singer prepares to visit Egypt, Christian and Muslim fundamentalists agree: Beyoncé is the root of all evil.
التسوية الفلسطينية عبر الصندوق الانتخابي
قد حان الوقت لمحمود عباس أن يذهب بكرامته وفتح المجال للشعب لكي يقررعبر صندوق الاقتراع
Palestinian reconciliation through the ballot box
October 2009 – To break the destructive deadlock between Fatah and Hamas, Mahmoud Abbas should step down as Palestinian president, call immediate elections and organise referenda on the future course of the Palestinian struggle.
Middle East: a Belgian solution?
October 2009 – Northern Ireland offers one model for Israeli-Palestinian peace. But a dose of Belgian pragmatism wouldn’t go amiss either.
Huff and puff brought the economic house down
October 2009 – How the Mr Bigs and their biglettes unwittingly brought down the world’s economies – and the hotly contested prize for ‘America’s worst investor’.
Is Mubarak really a force of stability?
September 2009 – Providing more legitimate access to power should be the way to guarantee security and stability in Egypt.
Who’s responsible for the Arab world’s mess?
August 2009 – A UN report has reignited the controversy over who is to blame for the sorry state of the Arab world: Arabs or the West?
July 2009- Wacky conspiracy theories cause damage by drawing attention away from the real plots being hatched by our governments.
Is Obama’s change simply cosmetic?
June 2009 - Obama may gain some trust, but America’s deceptive belief that it is not an empire condemns its leader to repeating old mistakes.
Grassroots change we CAN believe in
June 2009 – One of Barack Obama’s winning campaign slogans was “change we can believe in”. And with his presidency, everything has changed and nothing has changed when it comes to US foreign policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
تغيير على مستوى الجذور نستطيع أن نؤمن به
كان أحد شعارات حملة باراك أوباما الناجحة “تغيير نستطيع أن نؤمن به”. ومع توليه الرئاسة، تغير كل شيء، إلا أن شيئاً لم يتغير بالنسبة لسياسة الولايات المتحدة الخارجية تجاه النزاع الإسرائيلي الفلسطيني
January 2009 – Governments need to rethink their economy policies to make them more equitable and responsive to citizens’ needs.
January 2009 – Is there any chance that George W Bush will ever face indictment for his alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity?
December 2008 – An Iraqi journalist expressed his contempt for President Bush in a manner familiar in the Arab world: by throwing his shoes.
November 2008 – If we suspend scepticism and take up Barack Obama’s invitation to dream of change, what Middle East can the audacity of hope help to forge?
What’s the difference between Obama and an Arab?
October 2008 – John McCain has furnished compelling proof that Barack Obama is not an Arab: the Democrat is a family man.
August 2008 – Does Obama’s choice of running mate mean he’s shaping up to be just another establishment candidate for the White House?
August 2008 – If Barack Obama were a pop star, he would be a jazz musician or a rapper, not a Britney Spears. And to prove it, BaRock should release an election rap, UnPrezidented.
