Saudi and Emirati religious moderation inspires few beyond their borders
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have drawn praise for social reforms that have domestically reduced the role of religion in public life,...
Is Kazakhstan Russia’s next Ukraine?
With Russian troops massing on Ukraine's borders, it's not only Ukrainians who worry about what President Vladimir Putin may have in store for them....
Qatar, like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, but unlike Kuwait, cleanses its textbooks
Qatar has begun to cleanse its schoolbooks of supremacist, racist or derogatory references as well as celebrations of violent jihad and martyrdom, according to...
Pakistan revamps education at the point of a gun
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi is a rare clerical voice in Pakistan.
A prominent religious scholar and former member of the state-appointed Council of Islamic Ideology...
Christmas arrives in Saudi Arabia as kingdom plays catch-up in religious soft power rivalry
Long banned, Christmas has finally, at least tacitly, arrived in Saudi Arabia; just don’t use the name in marketing or be ostentatious about your...
Are Arab militias losing their usefulness for Iran?
Iranian support for Arab militias has long threatened Iran's detractors, unable to develop an effective counterstrategy. Now, the tide may be turning.
A string of events...
Qatar World Cup sparks culture controversies
Footballers with diametrically opposed views on homosexuality and alcohol consumption have sparked heated controversy about Islamic mores and human and workers’ rights in Qatar's...
China’s BRI crown jewel joins the era of defiance and dissent
The crown jewel of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) increasingly looks like a powder keg that has exploded.
Mass protests have for the past...
Playing cat and mouse: UAE energy company agrees to build power plants in Iran
Increasingly, compliance with US sanctions against Iran could emerge as a litmus test of the United Arab Emirates’ close ties to the United States.
At...
Saudi Arabia targets banned ultra-conservative proselytisers
Saudi Islamic affairs minister Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz al-Sheikh has ordered imams in the kingdom to identify one of the world’s largest Muslim movements as...