An explosive musical comeback
Arab audiences are not ready for the return to music of a pop superstar who became a Salafist extremist and allegedly took up arms against the Lebanese state.
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Israeli pilgrim in Prophet Muhammad’s house
By Khaled Diab A visit by an Israeli Jewish blogger to some of Islam’s holiest sites has stirred up controversy
Read moreHypocrisy and the Holy Land
In their reactions to Donald Trump’s hypocritical Jerusalem declaration, many Arab and Muslims leaders have exhibited their own grotesque double standards.
Read moreAngela Merkel: The ‘Arab’ chancellor
If Arabs could have voted, Angela Merkel would have won by a landslide, rather than the embattled situation she currently finds herself in following the shock gains scored by the far-right.
Read moreMuslim women in short skirts and the Tunisia paradox
Bombing Afghanistan will not bring back women in short skirts, rather it will only empower men in short skirts (beards and long trousers). The path to gender equality lies in internal reform, as Tunisia demonstrates.
Read moreUnsung death on the Nile – Part I
Once the mother of our world departed, her ghost arrived, plunging me into the memory hole which grief opens up, where the past becomes its own present and the present morphs into a kind of phantom future.
Read moreThe folly of the Arab world’s nuclear enery dream
Investing in nuclear energy makes no economic, geostrategic or environmental sense in the Arab world. Renewables will provide the only sunny future.
Read moreThe Arab media paradox: Free expression amid repression
Frustratingly for Arab dictators and despots, no matter how much they try to silence, intimidate or co-opt the media, new loud and critical voices emerge.
Read morePodcast: The Israeli passion for Arabic music
Mizrahi Jews are reviving the Arabic music of their heritage and fusing it with new influences, which is proving popular with young Palestinians.
Read moreMake diplomacy, not war
The world is paying the price for Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s foiled attempts to reform the United Nations into an effective force to resolve conflicts.
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