Middle East & North Africa

More Than a Game: Religious Persecution Endangers Egypt’s Future

Last spring, in the 53rd minute of a hotly contested soccer match between two of the most famous soccer clubs…

A Church at War: Clergy & Politics in Wartime Lebanon (1975–82)
A Church at War: Clergy & Politics in Wartime Lebanon (1975–82)

The role of the church during the Lebanese Civil War can serve as a case study of the active role the clergy can play in the Middle East to prevent forced migration of Christians to the West, and preserve their rightful place by resisting at home.

Authoritarians Won't Save the Middle East's Religious Minorities
Authoritarians Won’t Save the Middle East’s Religious Minorities

In every major Muslim country, governments use, abuse, and instrumentalize religion, but they don’t merely use it; they feature it…

Islam is Different—and That’s Okay
Islam is Different—and That’s Okay

Some people did not like Robert Nicholson’s article on Ilhan Omar’s run-in with Israel because they disagreed with the way he classifies Judaism and Christianity in a category separate from Islam.

What Should Palestinians Think of Trump’s “Deal of the Century”
What Should Palestinians Think of Trump’s “Deal of the Century”?

For more than two decades, most Israelis and Palestinians have accepted the “two-state solution” for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This solution…

US Sanctions, and Iran Sanctions in Particular, Are Just
US Sanctions, and Iran Sanctions in Particular, Are Just

The US is employing just war considerations of proportionality and discrimination in the course of its employment of sanctions. That doesn’t mean there won’t be disheartening impacts on innocents. But we should be clear about who should receive the blame and insist, vigorously, that point is not lost.

Here We Go Again and Again - War on Terror - 9/11
Afghanistan and The Taliban: Here We Go Again and Again

If history is any guide, we will regret abandoning Afghanistan (again), trusting the Taliban and disengaging from the world around us.

The Deal of the Century and the Spirit of the Nineties
The Deal of the Century & the Spirit of the Nineties

With its “Deal of the Century,” the Trump administration stands to repeat the central mistake of which it has accused the rosy idealists of peace dividends past.

UN Inefficiency Revealed Again, This Time in Syria
UN Inefficiency Revealed Again, This Time in Syria

Though the UN’s job, according to its charter, is to maintain international peace and security, protect human rights, deliver humanitarian aid, promote sustainable development, and uphold international law, the organization is becoming increasingly ineffective in all these areas. And now people like Ahmad see help from the UN as a dangerous mistake.