- April 24, 2024
Middle East
Islamic State as a Western Phenomenon?
Not only is IS to a degree an alien movement in the larger body politic of the Middle East, it also seems to be a partly western phenomenon, a hideous offspring resulting from western neocolonial adventures in the region, coupled with alienation and demonisation of Muslim communities in western societies. By “western phenomenon”, I refrain […]
Qu’est-il advenu de l’intellectuel arabe ?
By Ramzy Baroud (Traduction : Info-Palestine.eu – Claude Zurbach) C’était un endroit bondé et poussiéreux où les taxis délabrés attendaient des passagers, entourés de vendeurs de poissons et de légumes. La poésie de Darwish était trop énigmatique pour que nous, adolescents d’un camp de réfugiés à Gaza, puissions la comprendre complètement. Mais on essayait malgré tout. […]
The Arab Intellectual is Resting, Not Dead
By Ramzy Baroud Whenever a new poem by Mahmoud Darwish was published in al-Quds newspaper, I rushed over to Abu Aymen’s newsstand that was located in the refugee camp’s main square. It was a crowded and dusty place where grimy taxis waited for passengers, surrounded by fish and vegetable venders. Darwish’s poetry was too cryptic […]
Obama’s Admission Not Enough: US Spin on Middle East Violence Must Change
By Ramzy Baroud Truly, US President Barack Obama’s recent call to address the root causes of violence, including that of the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) and al-Qaeda was a step in the right direction, but it is still miles away from taking the least responsibility possible for the mayhem that has afflicted the Middle East […]
Parking Space Terrorism: Time for Action after Killing of Three US Muslims
By Ramzy Baroud The murder of three American Muslims at a University of North Carolina condominium on Tuesday, 10 February, was no ordinary murder, nor is the criminal who killed them an ordinary thug. The context of the killings, the murder itself and the media and official responses to the horrific event is a testimony […]
Mending ‘Axis of Resistance’: Hamas Goes Back to Square One
By Ramzy Baroud Despite its success in repelling Israeli military advances in Gaza, Hamas’s regional political manoeuvres of recent years are not bearing fruit. Jointly isolated by Israel and other Arab parties, unaided by the Palestinian Authority (PA) of Mahmoud Abbas, the Islamic Resistance Movement is once again facing difficult choices, and it seems to […]
La « Grande Guerre » du Sinaï : comment on perd une « Guerre contre le Terrorisme »
Quittant les marges de la politique égyptienne, la Péninsule du Sinaï est devenue incontestablement centrale, et l’homme fort de l’Egypte, le Président al-Sissi, se retrouve lui-même fortement décrédibilisé par la montée d’une rébellion qui semble se renforcer au fil du temps. Une nouvelle série d’attaques mortelles et coordonnées, le 29 janvier dernier, a brisé la […]
The ‘Great War’ of Sinai: How to Lose a ‘War on Terror’
By Ramzy Baroud The Sinai Peninsula has moved from the margins of the Egyptian body politic to the uncontested centre, as Egypt’s strong man – President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi – finds himself greatly undercut by the rise of an insurgency that seems to be growing stronger with time. Another series of deadly and coordinated attacks, […]
Dear Syria: From One Refugee to Another
By Ramzy Baroud Whenever the word “refugee” is uttered, I think of my mother. When Zionist militias began their systematic onslaught and “cleansing” of the Palestinian Arab population of historic Palestine in 1948, she, along with her family, ran away from the once peaceful village of Beit Daras. Back then, Zarefah was six. Her father […]
‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’: Things I Learned Writing about the Middle East
By Ramzy Baroud Writing about and reporting the Middle East is not an easy task, especially during these years of turmoil and upheaval. While physical maps remain largely intact, the geopolitical map of the region is in constant influx. Following and reporting about these constant changes without a deep and compassionate understanding of the region […]
Political Prophecies: Sealing the Fate of al-Aqsa
By Ramzy Baroud Israel’s decision to shut down al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday, 30 October, is not just a gross violation of the religious rights of Palestinian Muslims. In fact, the rights of Palestinian Muslims and Christians have been routinely violated under the Israeli occupation for decades, especially in Jerusalem, and more recently in Gaza. During […]
Fighting for Survival in the Sinai: Egypt’s Convenient War
By Ramzy Baroud Sinai is both heaven and hell. This triangular desert boasts an arid landscape of hopeless horizons often interrupted by leftover military hardware from previous wars. The land is comprised of breathtaking beaches, incredible history, and a fusion of fascinating cultures that reach back into the past as far as ancient times can […]
The Missing Context: ‘Islamic State’ Sectarianism is Not Coincidental
By Ramzy Baroud Consider this comical scene described by Peter Van Buren, a former US diplomat, who was deployed to Iraq on a 12-month assignment in 2009-10: Van Buren led two Department of State teams assigned with the abstract mission of the "reconstruction" of Iraq, which was destroyed in the US-led wars and sanctions. He […]
What if ‘Islamic State’ Didn’t Exist?
By Ramzy Baroud What if the so-called Islamic State (IS) didn’t exist? In order to answer this question, one has to liberate the argument from its geopolitical and ideological confines. Flexible language Many in the media (Western, Arab, etc) use the reference “Islamist” to brand any movement at all whether it be political, militant or […]
Convenient Genocide: Another Failed War to Re-Arrange the Middle East
By Ramzy Baroud A few months ago, not many Americans, in fact Europeans as well, knew that a Yazidi sect in fact existed in northwest Iraq. Even in the Middle East itself, the Yazidis and their way of life have been an enigma, shrouded by mystery and mostly grasped through stereotypes and fictitious evidence. Yet […]
Fearing Political Islam: Why Arabs Betrayed Gaza
By Ramzy Baroud Ask any Arab ruler, and they will tell you of the great sacrifices their countries have made for Palestine and the Palestinians. However, both history and present reality are testaments, not only to Arab failure to live up to the role expected of them and stand in solidarity with their own oppressed […]
Recruiting to Kill – It Is Not Just an Israeli War on Gaza
To some, US secretary of state John Kerry may have appeared to be a genuine peacemaker as he floated around ideas during a Cairo visit on 25 July about a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian fighters in Gaza. But behind his measured diplomatic language, lies a truth not even America’s top diplomat can easily hide. […]
‘Prince of Darkness’ Disowns Iraq’s Tragedy
By Ramzy Broud As Iraq stands on the verge of a complete breakdown into mini sectarian states, former leading neoconservative and Iraq war advocate Richard Perle has chimed in on the situation on Newsmax TV. His statements in an interview given on Saturday were yet another testimony to the intellectual degeneration of a group that had once promised […]
Reverting to the Ummah: Who is the ‘Angry Muslim’ and Why
By Ramzy Baroud “Brother, brother,” a young man called on me as I hurriedly left a lecture hall in some community center in Durban, South Africa. This happened at the height of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, when all efforts at stopping the ferocious US-western military drives against these two countries terribly failed. The young […]
ISIL and Iraq’s Pandora’s Box
By Ramzy Baroud “Labeiki ya Zaynab,” chanted Iraqi Shiite fighters as they swayed, dancing with their rifles before news cameras in Baghdad on 13 June. They were apparently getting ready for a difficult fight ahead. For them, it seemed that a suitable war chant would be answering the call of Zaynab, the daughter of Imam […]
The Lost Voices of the Arab Revolutions
By Ramzy Baroud The Arab uprisings were sparked and fuelled by the justified demands of impoverished, oppressed peoples. The world’s media almost entirely missed this narrative Irrespective of how one feels about the direction taken by various Arab revolutions in the last three years, a few facts remain incontestable. Arab revolts began in the streets […]
Haftar Leads A Coup: A General’s Odd War on the Muslim Brotherhood
By Ramzy Baroud On 16 May, Libya’s rogue general Khalifa Haftar staged several bloody attacks against other Libyan militias in the name of eradicating terrorism by leading a paramilitary force evasively named the Libyan National Army. His well-equipped brigades were rapidly joined by officers from national army bases in the eastern parts of the country. […]
What the Media Not Telling Us about Yemen
By Ramzy Baroud “In Yemen today, the US embassy is closed to the public. Officials telling CNN there is credible information of a threat against Western interests there,” a CNN news anchor read the news bulletin on May 08. This is CNN’s Yemen. It is a Yemen that seems to exist for one single purpose, […]
Navigating Syria: The Impossible, Indispensable Mission
By Ramzy Baroud I unfriended another Facebook friend this week. It may seem to be a trivial matter, but for me, it is not. The reason behind my action was Syria. As in Egypt, Syria has instigated many social media breakups with people whom, until then, were regarded with a degree of respect and admiration. […]
US Pursues ‘Peace’ on Israel’s Terms
By Ramzy Baroud To understand how thoughtless the latest US "peace process" drive has become, one only needs to consider some of the characters involved in this political theatre. One in particular who stands out is Martin Indyk. Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel, was last July selected by Secretary of State John Kerry […]
‘Reality Check’: US Empire beyond Salvation
By Ramzy Baroud U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry couldn’t hide his frustration anymore as the U.S.-sponsored peace process continued to falter. After eight months of wrangling to push talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority forward, he admitted while in a visit to Morocco on April 4 that the latest setback had served as […]
Kerry’s Looming Deadline and the Peace Process Industry
By Ramzy Baroud As the US-imposed April 29 deadline for a ‘framework’ agreement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority looms, time is also running out for the American administration itself. The Obama administration must now conjure up an escape route to avoid a political crisis if the talks are to fail, as they […]
Tears of Yarmouk – The Palestinian Lesson that Every Syrian Should Know
By Ramzy Baroud In the early days of the Syrian uprising-turned civil war three years ago, the writing on the wall of it becoming an intricate regional and international conflict was there for all to see. Palestinians in Syria were likely to find themselves a pawn in a dirty war, but few could have predicted […]
The Libyan Bedlam: General Hifter, the CIA and the Unfinished Coup
By Ramzy Baroud On Friday, Feb 14, 92 prisoners escaped from their prison in the Libyan town of Zliten. 19 of them were eventually recaptured, two of whom were wounded in clashes with the guards. It was just another daily episode highlighting the utter chaos which has engulfed Libya since the overthrow of Muammar Ghaddafi […]
Preserving the Abu Ghraib Culture: The Harrowing Abuse of Iraqi Women
By Ramzy Baroud “When they first put the electricity on me, I gasped; my body went rigid and the bag came off my head,” Israa Salah, a detained Iraqi woman told Human Rights Watch (HRW) in her heartrending testimony. Israa (not her real name) was arrested by US and Iraqi forces in 2010. She was […]
