Latest Articles about Middle East
The Scholar Behind the Islamic State’s Ideology: A Profile of Bahraini Cleric Turki al-Bin’ali
Ludovico Carlino The June 2014 proclamation of a Caliphate covering a large area spanning from eastern Syria to western Iraq has provided the Islamic State with a powerful tool to claim religious legitimacy among supporters and detractors alike. The Islamic State’s claim that it is... MORE
The Most Dangerous Women in Jihad – Part I: Nada al-Qahtani
Halla Diyab Introduction The rising number of foreign female militants and recruiters among the ranks of the Islamic State is a direct result of the ongoing manipulation of gender norms within the State’s jihadist framework. With female jihadist recruiters deviating from prescribed norms and bypassing... MORE
Russia’s Air Operations in Syria Expose Problems
Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine and Syria expose a fundamental distinction in approach: trying to extract itself from the former while showing no sign of applying that strategy to the latter. Officially, an “all is well” message is promulgated by the Russian political-military leadership concerning... MORE
China and the United Arab Emirates: Sustainable Silk Road Partnership?
Among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is emerging as an important player through its relationship with China. Despite Saudi Arabia and Egypt’s perceived dominance given their size and historic role in the Middle East, the UAE’s increasing prominence as a... MORE
New Law Reshapes Chinese Counterterrorism Policy and Operations
On December 27, the National People’s Congress approved China’s new Counterterrorism Law, establishing a legal basis for counterterrorism operations and the authorities delegated to the security services for that mission (Xinhua, December 27, 2015). Earlier drafts of the law sparked international controversy after Beijing claimed... MORE
Unwanted Ally: Hezbollah’s War Against the Islamic State
“There is no future for ISIS. Not in war and not in peace.” These words were spoken not by Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin, but rather by Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, whose Lebanese Shia supporters are engaged in a growing battle against the Sunni... MORE
Turkey’s Dance with the Islamic State
Turkey’s relationship with terrorism is entrenched with history. The country fell victim to the actions of different terrorist groups with different motivations. The most popular terrorist organization in Turkey’s history is the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been active for almost 40 years. Another... MORE
Azerbaijan: Trapped Between Two Fault Lines
The deterioration of Turkey-Russia ties on the one hand and Iran–Saudi Arabia relations on the other have been a major source of worry for the Azerbaijani authorities over the past year. The leadership officially acknowledged this concern last week (January 10) (APA, January 10). However,... MORE
Iran’s Overtures to Tajik Opposition Expose Deep-Seated Grievances
In December 2015, Iran invited Tajikistan’s opposition leader, Muhiddin Kabiri, to attend a conference on Islam. The invitation extended to Kabiri, who is accused of allegedly masterminding an unsuccessful armed mutiny back home, unsettled the authorities in Dushanbe, which led to Tajikistan’s government summoning the... MORE
Russia’s Muslims Increasingly Critical of Moscow’s Actions in the Middle East
Russia’s Muslims are slowly realizing that they have a voice in the country’s foreign policy in the Middle East. President Vladimir Putin unexpectedly launched a military campaign in Syria in the fall of 2015, apparently giving little consideration to Russia’s Muslim population. Indeed, Moscow threw... MORE