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Category Archives: Saudi Arabia
VOA Interview regarding “The Saudi Roots of Today’s Shi’ite-Sunni War”
Here’s a very brief interview regarding my article “The Saudi Roots of Today’s Shi’ite-Sunni War” at Voice of America. Please excuse the accent.
The Saudi Roots of Today’s Shi’ite-Sunni War
My latest piece at The Huffington Post: The rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its fervent anti-Shi’ite worldview has once again sparked the debate about the “age-old” conflict between Shi’ites and Sunnis with countless “experts” … Continue reading
Posted in Iran, Iraq, ISIS, Saudi Arabia, Syria
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Saudis warned of backing women drivers online
Excerpts: “Saudi officials have warned online activists from backing protests planned by women challenging the male-only driving rules in the kingdom. Friday’s edition of the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat quoted Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Turki al-Faisal as saying cyber-laws banning political dissent … Continue reading
Posted in Saudi Arabia
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The Unknown Arab Uprising: Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia Keep the Protest Movement Alive
The Global Post: Editor’s Note: When Arab Spring protests broke out in Saudi Arabia in 2011, the government reacted quickly. It pumped $130 billion into the economy, including hiring 300,000 new state workers and raising salaries. It also brutally cracked … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring, Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, US Foreign Policy
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The Syrian “Jihad” Part 2: Saudi Youth Fighting Against Assad Regime in Syria
What a miserable state of affairs. The Syrian Uprising had such hope and promise. Now look at it, it’s turning into a Salafi Jihad (in part). Part of the blame must be leveled at the Syrian regime. Had the regime … Continue reading
Posted in Saudi Arabia, Syria
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The Arab Spring and Eastern Saudi Arabia
I’m partial towards any uprising, more or less, against any and all regimes in the Middle East as I believe that not a single one is worthy of toleration. The ones that really tug on the heartstrings, however, are the … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring, Saudi Arabia
1 Comment
Dabashi: “Iran: The garrison state conducts a parliamentary election”
Al-Jazeera English Excerpts: “If Iranian national politics took the centre stage and overshadowed the regional geopolitics shortly after the presidential election of June 2009, it is now the turn of the geopolitics of the region, dominated by the unfolding Arab … Continue reading
Posted in Iran, Saudi Arabia
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Sectarianism in the Middle East
Professor Vali Nasr recently published an important article on Sunni-Shi’ite sectarianism in the Middle East as the “dominant dynamic in the region today.” Although it is an important issue in the Middle East and the wider Muslim world, I disagree … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring, Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia
2 Comments
Saudi Arabia is the key to the US/EU oil embargo on Iran
The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Iran’s central bank making it increasingly difficult for others to purchase Iranian oil. The European states are phasing out their remaining outstanding contracts with Iran. Saudi Arabia, the avowed … Continue reading
Posted in Arab Spring, Saudi Arabia
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The Iranian “conspiracy” to kill the Saudi ambassador to the US
I don’t buy it one bit, not for a second. For all its pretenses about ideology, the Iranian regime has been incredibly pragmatic since the Iranian Revolution. I mean, they even bought US weapons from Israel during the Iran-Iraq war, … Continue reading
Posted in Iran, Saudi Arabia
11 Comments
Protests in eastern Saudi Arabia (Video)
This is major, especially since the Saudi demonstrators carried the Bahraini flag in solidarity with the protesters in neighboring Bahrain and in opposition to the Saudi state and its military support for the Bahraini regime’s crackdown of the pro-democracy protests. … Continue reading
Posted in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia
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Documentary: “Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark”
This is by far the best documentary I’ve seen on the uprising in Bahrain and the Saudi-backed regime’s counter-revolutionary onslaught. It’s a little bit less than an hour but definitely worth your time. Qatar, an ally to the Saudi and … Continue reading
Posted in al-Jazeera, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia
2 Comments
Saudi Arabia and Jordan: Dictatorships Standing Together
See the video here.
Posted in Jordan, Saudi Arabia
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Vali Nasr: Will the Saudis Kill the Arab Spring?
Bloomberg: In his speech last week on the Middle East, President Barack Obama left little doubt that America stands with the people of the region in their demand for change. This puts the U.S. on a collision course with Saudi … Continue reading
Posted in Saudi Arabia
9 Comments
Saudi Arabia condemns church burnings in Egypt (while destroying Shi’i mosques)
Does the Saudi regime (the mastermind of the counter-revolution) think it’s a beacon of freedom, democracy, human rights, and religious tolerance to offer such words? I mean, it’s an utter joke for the Saudi authorities, the most brutal and sectarian … Continue reading
Posted in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia
2 Comments