Middle East
Middle East
Fair Observer provides inclusive, insightful and contextual analysis of the Middle East with its manifold cultures and civilizations.
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Afghanistan War / Asad Zaidi / Axis of Evil / Barack Obama / George W. Bush / Hassan Rouhani / Iran / Iranian Revolution / Iraq Invasion / North America / Politics / Shah Reza Pahlavi / United States of America / US Foreign Policy / US-Iranian relations / Focus Article / Middle East & North AfricaBy Asad ZaidiDespite antagonistic identity politics, US-Iran relations have a history of pragmatic dialogue. Relations between the US and Iran have been compellingly described as a “Sisyphus act.” Sisyphus was a king in Greek mythology. As punishment for his transgression against the Gods, he was condemned to roll a boulder up a hill and watch it fall back for eternity. Within the narrative of US-Iranian relations, the argument goes that the two states are destined to continue this endless cycle of antagonism — both tragic and absurd in its repetition of history. Marshaled by Ayatollah Khomeini, the 1979 Iranian Revolution signaled the end Richard Nixon’s twin pillar norm,...
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Abdul Wahhab Mosque / Al-Thani / Bahrain / Emir of Qatar / Iraq / James Zack Hollo / Kuwait / Oil / Oil Industry / Oil Rent / Oman / Politics / Qatar / Rentier State / Rentierism / Saudi Arabia / United Arab Emirates / Focus Article / Middle East & North AfricaPolitical legitimacy in the Gulf cannot be explained by oil wealth alone. The bargain between rentier states and their populations is simple: the government ensures the financial well-being of the people, and the people do not rebel or try to influence political decisions of the state. In an article for International Relations of the Middle East entitled, "Oil and Political Economy in the International Relations of the Middle East," Giacomo Luciani, one of rentierism’s most prominent thinkers, wrote that because the relationship between rentier states and their people involves money flowing from the government to the people in the form of entitlements —...
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Al Azhar / Al-Masry Al-Youm / Censorship / Democracy / Egypt / freedom of expression / Hosni Mubarak / Journalism / Military Council / Mohammed Morsi / Political Cartoon / Politics / Repression / Self-Censorship / Tumblr / Focus Article / Middle East & North AfricaPolitical cartoons are useful survey instruments for mapping permissible speech in Egypt. This is the last of a two part series. Read part one here. Throughout Mohammed Morsi’s year, artists performed new acrobatic feats along the red lines. Operating within (and around) explicit and implicit regulations, each artist took his or her own approach toward challenging the rules of the game. This involved learning the new red lines and how to work with them, publishing controversial cartoons, even if they crossed these lines — and finally, developing other media platforms for cartooning. For instance, controversial images could often be published within the system. In some...
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360° Analysis / Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi / Arab Spring / Coup d'etat / Democracy / Egypt / Egyptian Islamic Jihad / Gama'at Islamiyya / Hassan Al-Banna / Hosni Mubarak / June 30 Protests / Mohammed Morsi / Muslim Brotherhood / Nasser / NDP / Politics / Sarah Eltantawi / Sayyid Qutb / Middle East & North AfricaPopular checks will make a comeback in Egypt. This is the last of a two part series. Read part one here. The brief history of the Muslim Brotherhood discussed in part one, gives us some context as we try to understand Egyptians’ feelings as they took to the streets on June 30. I was in Egypt shortly after these events and went to the rallies that General Sisi called to gather a mandate to “deal with terrorism,” where I interviewed dozens of people over 12 hours. There has been some dispute over the size of the crowds in support of the uprising against Morsi’s government. I dismiss most of this as unconvincing. This analysis is based on the assumption that Tahrir...
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360° Analysis / Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi / Arab Spring / Coup d'etat / Democracy / Egypt / Egyptian Islamic Jihad / Gama'at Islamiyya / Gamal Abdel Nasser / Hassan Al-Banna / Hosni Mubarak / June 30 Protests / Mohammed Morsi / Muslim Brotherhood / NDP / Politics / Sarah Eltantawi / Sayyid Qutb / Middle East & North AfricaPopular checks will make a comeback in Egypt. This is the first of a two part series. Enough time has passed since the June 30 revolution against Mohammed Morsi’s regime, which brought millions of Egyptians to the street to call for the removal of their first elected president. Many of these Egyptians demanded for the army — whom they had protested against a mere two years prior – to step in and broker a transition to another period of military rule. Since the military heeded the call, this portion of Egypt’s recent dramatic events can be called a military coup — but only this portion. Thus, the entire episode cannot simply be reduced to a “coup.”...
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360° Analysis / Barack Obama / Benjamin Netanyahu / Diplomacy / Hassan Rouhani / Iran / Iranian Nuclear Program / Iranian Sanctions / Mohammed Javad Zarif / North America / Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty / Nuclear Weapons / P5+1 / Politics / UN General Assembly / United States of America / US Foreign Policy / Middle East & North AfricaHope for a real improvement in US-Iranian relations is not far-fetched. Observers of the relationship between the US and Iran recently lived through one of those rare weeks when the colored glass in the kaleidoscope shifts and the outlook changes. It was a momentous week, possibly a historic week. It culminated in US President Barack Obama telephoning Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as the latter was driving to the airport from downtown Manhattan to fly home. Shortly after, Obama gave the American people an account of what passed between the two presidents in the first contact at that level since 1979. The two of them discussed ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over Iran...
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1967 War / Egypt / Egyptian Military / Golan Heights / IDF / Israel / Israel Defense Forces / Josef Olmert / Likud Party / October War / Politics / Sinai Peninsula / Suez Canal / Syria / Syrian Military / War of Independence / Yom Kippur War / Focus Article / Middle East & North AfricaBy Josef OlmertThe Yom Kippur War ended the Israeli attitude of disrespect towards Arab capabilities. Mark Twain, ever a source of infinite wisdom, once remarked that "God created war, so that Americans will learn geography" — whereas wars for Israel were about survival, saving the home, and preventing collective extinction. At least three of Israel’s wars clearly fall into this category: the War of Independence, 1948-9; the 1967 war; and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Of these three, the first still should be conceived as the most important of all, as without a victory then, there would be no Israel. The 1967 war was the one in which Israel’s continuing existence in the...
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Bahar Confectionary / Baklava / Cafe Confectionaries / Cafe Culture / Communist Revolution / French Confectionary / Iran / Minion Chocolate / Nobel Confectionary / Orient Confectionary / Qottab / Tehran / Ukraine / University of Tehran / Yazdi Cake / Focus Article / Middle East & North Africa / CultureOld Café Confectionaries in Tehran evoke memories of bygone years. Old buildings, palaces, as well as monumental streets or museum objects are not the sole articles in a country’s history which can make up that country’s cultural heritage as well. Café confectionaries are also among “sweet” heritage of every country. The history of confectionery business in Iran has not been well-documented. However, before new confectionaries became famous and established in Tehran, it was café confectionaries which attracted the citizens of the Iranian capital city. The early cafés of Tehran gradually started presenting sweet items and, by and by, their...
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Al Dostour / Al Watan / Blasphemy / Censorship / Egypt / Egypt Penal Code / Hosni Mubarak / Islam / Media / Mohammed Morsi / Muslim Brotherhood / Political Cartoon / Politics / Religion / Salafism / Satire / SCAF / Focus Article / Middle East & North Africa / CulturePolitical cartoons are useful survey instruments for mapping permissible speech in Egypt. This is the first of a two part series. The job of political cartoonists is to push the envelope. But what happens when the size and shape of the envelope changes? That, in effect, is what has been happening ever since Hosni Mubarak was removed from power by the combination of a mass uprising and a military coup. Since then, the contours of permissible speech have been shifting constantly. This has led as much to confusion as it has to creativity. Cartooning has long been one of the pillars of the public discourse in Egypt. Especially during authoritarian times, cartooning has often been where...