FAQ ME: Fact checking the Gaza war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – part II
In the second part of this Q&A series, Khaled Diab fact checks the claims being made about the war in Gaza and the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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middle east
How Egypt clutched political victory from the jaws of military stalemate
Although the 1973 Arab-Israeli war is widely regarded as a military victory in Egypt, it ended in a stalemate and near defeat. Nevertheless, it ultimately led to the return of all occupied Egyptian territory and saved Egypt’s ruling junta from popular discontent.
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FAQ ME: Answers that make sense of the Middle East
By providing alternative answers to common questions about the Middle East, this FAQ will help you make sense of this complex region.
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The queen, the princess and the prophet
Although it is improbable that Elizabeth II is a descendant of Muhammad, one of the British queen’s ancestors was likely a refugee Muslim princess. However, the enduring popularity of this theory speaks some harsh truths about post-colonial reality and sheds light on the intertwined history of Islam and Christendom.
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When a Christian king and a Muslim caliph united against their common foes
Despite the official holy war between Islam and Christendom, Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid and Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne exchanged lavish gifts, including an elephant named Abu al-Abbas, and built a largely forgotten alliance. This reveals how Christians and Muslims can simultaneously be foes and friends and how sharing a religion is no guarantee of peace, just as belonging to different faiths is no assurance of war.
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Cultural adornments: How clothes fashion identity and mask bigotry
The clothes we wear speak volumes about our individual and collective identities. However, the history of fashion reveals that “western” and “eastern” traditions are not cut from different cloth but are an intricate patchwork foreign and local influences.
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A recipe for mashing civilisations
The migratory history of foodstuffs and cuisines reveals that our dinner tables, like our societies, are both melting pots and salad bowls of ingredients from many different civilisations.
Read MoreRemembering Jewish Arabists and Arab Jews
In these polarised times, the social, political and cultural influence and fluid identities of Arab Jews and Jewish Arabists is largely forgotten when it should be commemorated and celebrated.
Read MoreHow not to fight extremism in America
A sudden lurch from ignoring or underplaying the threat of right-wing extremism in America to treating white crusaders like jihadis and QAnon like al-Qaeda will set off the insurgency timebomb rather than defuse it.
Read MoreAncient Egypt: A pyramid scheme that worked
By Khaled Diab Spanning some three millennia of recorded history, Ancient Egyptians built a state to last. What was behind
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