Lebanese singer-turned radical Fadel Chaker was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in deadly clashes in 2013. Yet his story reflects the contradictions of Lebanon and the tragedy of its broken justice system.
Tag: sectarianism
We had believed that Bashar al-Assad’s downfall would be a chance to come together and heal the wounds of the victims’ families. It was not to be. The regime had left roots too deep and the new rulers failed to learn the lessons of our neighbors.
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What Syria’s Future Means For Jordan
Amman and its allies, much like the skeptical secular Syrian opposition, await tangible actions on the ground to match the promises of pragmatist rhetoric from Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, who is marketing himself as a statesman committed to building an inclusive new Syria that’s a good neighbor after abandoning extremist ideologies.
The Lebanese coastal metropolis has long been a source of inspiration and freedom for Baghdad native poet Aya Mansour. As Israel sends ground troops into Lebanon, she asks how the world can watch as fire and smoke covers the beauty of Beirut without saying a word.
How do you rebuild a country decimated by four decades of war and embargoes? Following the withdrawal of the U.S. military, Iraq faces many challenges, from oil revenues captured by the militias and endemic corruption to religious segregation. However, there are glimmers of hope for the country’s future.
When a freshly inaugurated Donald Trump issued his infamous travel ban exactly one year ago, the message was clear, not only to Muslims but to the entire world, that the United States was suddenly a very different place. But in some way, the policy can be viewed as just an official confirmation of a disturbing […]
A quick shot of what’s brewing in the Arab world …
-Essay- CAIRO – Copts are being persecuted in Egypt. So, what’s new about that? This has been the norm in our “beloved homeland” since at least the 1970s. But in fact, there is something new: sectarianism against Copts and many other minorities — including Shias, Bahais, and Bedouins — intensified after the beginning of the […]
Maged, a young officer who’s defected from the Syrian police, says his countrymen often never even knew each others’ religious and tribal backgrounds. “We used to live in peace,” he says, recalling life before the past year of violence. “But the regime has managed to breed sectarianism in people.” Syria has not yet turned into […]