Arab World

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The gruesome and terrifying attack on a Hanukkah gathering at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, left 15 people dead, including a rabbi, a ten-year-old girl and a Holocaust survivor. Some 24 are in hospital. The perpetrators were apparently Australian Muslims of Indian origins, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, […]

Iran

One Year After Assad’s Fall: Iran’s Strategic Collapse In Syria

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Iliya Jazaeri and Kian Sharifi ( RFE/ RL ) – One year after Assad’s fall, Iran grapples with the collapse of its key regional ally. Tehran lost up to 50 billion dollars invested over a decade, its Mediterranean access, and supply routes to Hezbollah. Iran seeks to rebuild influence, but is there a way back?” […]

Hayat Tahrir

Review of ‘Transformed by the People: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s Road to Power in Syria’

Middle East Monitor

By Usman Butt X: TheUsmanButt ( Middle East Monitor ) – Ahmed Al-Sharaa has been in power in Syria for nearly 1-year. The lightening rebel offensive that brought down five decades of the dictatorial rule of the Assad family, was a shock to many. In Al-Sharaa, Syrian’s were greeted with a new kind of […]

censorship

Syria: One Year since Assad’s Fall

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Syrian transitional authorities have taken positive steps on justice, transparency, and rights but failed to prevent continued violence and atrocities, Human Rights Watch said today on the anniversary of the former government’s fall. As Syrian authorities move the country forward, they should, with international support, credibly address outstanding concerns around […]

Arab Spring

Great Powers and the People: The Divergent Paths of the Egyptian and Syrian Revolutions

Mehmet Rakipoglu

Exeter, UK (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – The Arab revolutionary wave that began in 2011 presents two of its most significant, yet fundamentally divergent, case studies: Egypt and Syria. While both nations experienced the overthrow of long-standing authoritarian regimes, the mechanisms, actors, and ultimate outcomes of their revolutions differed significantly. A comparative analysis reveals […]

Iraq

Iraq’s 2025 Elections reveal a Democracy without Belief

The Conversation

By Bamo Nouri, City St George’s, University of London The Conversation – Iraqis went to the polls on November 11 to vote in parliamentary elections. Preliminary results put the coalition of Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, in the lead. But no bloc has won anything close to a governing majority in the 329-seat parliament. […]

censorship

Rebuking U of Guelph for Cancellation of People’s Conference for Palestinian Solidarity

Committee on Academic Freedom

Committee on Academic Freedom | Middle East Studies Association of North America | – Letter to the University of Guelph expressing concern at its last-minute cancellation of the People’s Conference for Palestinian Solidarity Rene Van Acker President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Guelph president@uoguelph.ca Dear President Van Acker and Provost Rosehart: We write on […]

Christianity

Pope Leo XIV: “We Know Israel does not … Accept” Palestinian State, But “We see it as the only Solution”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Pope Leo XIV flew from Turkiye to Lebanon on Sunday, and surprised the press corps flying with him by making some comments to them. His predecessor, Pope Francis, had been more engaged with the press in such situations. Justin McClellan at the National Catholic Reporter reports that Leo said that […]

censorship

Yemen: Houthis’ Widespread, Arbitrary Detentions of Political Opponents

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Houthi authorities have detained dozens of political opponents since July 2025, including the leaders of several political parties in Yemen, some of which may amount to enforced disappearances, Human Rights Watch said today. At least 70 people associated with the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, known as the Islah party, were […]