After ISIS, former Yazidi sex slaves are caught between trauma and taboo
Safia, a Yazidi teenager from Iraq, was captured by the Islamic State, sold into sexual slavery, raped, tortured and made pregnant, leaving deep psychological scars. Her ability to come to terms with the trauma are thwarted by taboo, shame and her forced separation from her daughter.
Read MoreThe unlikely demonisation of Salman Rushdie
Salman Rushdie made a very unlikely target for the fury of conservative Muslims, which is why the opportunistic fatwa issued by a Khomeini in serious decline took the novelist and the world by surprise.
Read MoreIsland of refugee despair
While the outrage of Europeans has been turned to Donald Trump’s wall and the handling of migrants at the border with Mexico, they ignore a humanitarian disaster closer to home. The EU has left Greece to handle the influx of refugees on its own and those stuck on Lesbos are living in abysmal conditions.
Read MoreThe truth about Islamic reformations
Islam needs a reformation for Muslim societies to develop and prosper, is one of those rare convictions shared by both Islamophiles and Islamophobes. Tunisia has done just that: radically reformed its brand of Islam and established a vibrant democracy to boot, yet prosperity eludes it. Why?
Read MorePost-ISIS Mosul, pt 2: Home is where the hurt is
Despite the destruction, pain, trauma and dread for the future, Mosul’s tough and long-suffering residents are returning to the ruins of their devastated city.
Read MorePost-ISIS Mosul, pt 1: The final death of a city?
Its building turned to dust, its citizens traumatised and impoverished, Mosul may have been ‘liberated’ from ISIS but it has become a graveyard. Can this razed and devastated city ever be free again?
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 MoreGreek island teaches Europe how to welcome refugees
The Greek island of Tilos has hosted more than seven times its population in refugees… and has done so with dignity, respect and with almost no external assistance.
Read MoreDreaming of a vanished Syria
“A lot of Syrians are indulging in a nostalgia that requires a lot of denial,” says Syrian-American author Alia Malek. “This is why I’m a student of history, not to live in a fantasy but to learn why and how we are where we are today.”
Read MoreRefugees trapped inside Fortress Europe
The plight of the 63,000 refugees and migrants still marooned in Greece should give Europeans pause for thought.
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