This essay by Juan Cole was originally published in Tomdispatch.com. See the original for a perceptive introductory essay by Tom Engelhardt. This spring, the novel coronavirus pandemic has raised the issue of the relationship between the blindest kind of religious faith and rational skepticism — this time in two countries that think of themselves as […]
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Shiites
Could Instability in Lebanon Further Strengthen Hezbollah, or Will the Sectarian order Collapse?
Detroit (Special to Informed Comment) – Since its inception as a French mandate at the San Remo Conference in 1920, Lebanon has lived on the cusp of chaos economically, militarily, and politically. For many, life in the mountainous country has been synonymous with major political crises (like the events of 1958 and Operation Blue Bat, […]
Challenge to Trump: Muqtada al-Sadr & Iraqi Shiite leaders Call for a Million-Man March against US Military Occupation
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iraqi nationalist Shiite clergyman Muqtada al-Sadr said Tuesday that he and the Iraqi Popular Protection Units have planned out a Million-person March to demand that Trump withdraw US troops from Iraq. Sadr leads the Sairun bloc in Parliament, which with 54 seats is the largest party in parliament. The Trump […]
Trump’s Killing of Gen. Soleimani evokes Dark Themes of Martyrdom in Shiite Islam
By Deina Abdelkader | – Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who promoted the religious and political influence of the Iranian regime across the Middle East with covert military operations, was an important figure in the Iranian government. But that’s not the only reason his targeted killing by the United States has elicited explosive grief and outrage in […]
Millions Come into Streets for Slain Gen. Soleimani in Biggest Rallies in Iran’s History (And no, They weren’t Coerced)
Trump and Pompeo have managed to Shore up the Iranian Regime
Making America Hated Again: Tens of Thousands of Iraqis Chant “Death to America” at Soleimani Funeral in Baghdad
Prime Minister Adil Abdulmahdi Attended the Funeral
Trump Unites Iran and Iraq . . . against the United States
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – As is always the way with Western colonialists, Trump administration figures such as secretary of state Mike Pompeo gave it out on Friday that the people of Iran are dying for the United States to invade and occupy them, and are just tickled pick that the US assassinated Gen. Qasem […]
Iraqi PM ‘Categorically Rejects’ Trump Admin. Strikes, as Shiite Militia Leader Pledges attacks on US Troops
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Iraqi newspaper Shafaq reports on the reaction of the Kata’ib Hizbullah, an Iraqi Shiite militia, to the US airstrikes targeting its bases on Sunday. The US maintains that Kata’ib Hizbullah (not to be confused with the Lebanese militia) is responsible for an unprecedented number of mortar and rocket attacks […]
Iran and the US Come Closer: Ayatollah Rick Perry’s Evangelical Theology of Trump as God’s Chosen is just like Khamenei
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Jay Willis at GQ reports that Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said on Fox and Friends that Trump is God’s Chosen One. He said he told Trump, “If you’re a believing Christian, you understand God’s plan for the people who rule and judge over us on this planet and our […]
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