Algerian soccer success is a double-edged sword
It took Algeria barely two weeks to charge Algerian soccer
fan Samir Sardouk and sentence him to a year in jail for harming the national...
Muslim causes vs national interest: Muslim nations make risky bets
Saudi attitudes towards the plight of thousands of illegal Rohingya in
the kingdom fleeing persecution in Myanmar and squalid Bangladeshi refugee
camps help explain Saudi support...
Tension in the Gulf: Not just maritime powder kegs
A recent interview in which Baloch National Movement chairman Khalil Baloch legitimized
recent militant attacks on Iranian, Chinese and Pakistani targets is remarkable
less for what...
UAE withdraws from Yemen: Managing alliances and reputational threats
A United Arab Emirates decision to withdraw the bulk of
its forces from Yemen shines a spotlight
on hard realities underlying Middle Eastern geopolitics.
The pullback suggests...
Vladimir Putin vs Liberalism 1:0
Certain that Western and liberal democratic leaders would limit
themselves to verbal denials, Russian president Vladimir Putin knew he was
kicking into an open goal when...
FATF Ultimata to Iran and Pakistan threaten to cloud China’s FATF presidency
China’s chairmanship of an international anti-money laundering and
terrorism finance watchdog could put to the test the cohesiveness of global
efforts to counter political violence with...
The Middle East: Barrelling towards a nuclear and ballistic missiles arms race
The Middle East is barrelling towards a nuclear and
ballistic missiles arms race.
The race is being aided and abetted by a US policy
that views the...
Public decency law puts Saudi reforms in perspective
A newly adopted Saudi law on public decency helps define Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman’s vague notion of ‘moderate Islam.’
It also lays bare the pitfalls...
Caught in geopolitical crossfire: Al-Azhar struggles to balance politics and tradition
When Pope Francis I visited
Egypt in 2017 to stimulate inter-faith dialogue he walked into a
religious and geopolitical minefield at the heart of which was...
Building cohesive societies: Southeast Asian states take on gargantuan challenge
Several Southeast Asian governments and social movements are seeking to
counter mounting polarization and inter-communal strife across the globe fuelled
by the rise of civilizationalist leaders...