A Blog about Middle Eastern & North African Politics, Society and Culture
For the forthcoming book, To the Mountains: My Life in Jihad, from Algeria to Afghanistan by Abdullah Anas and Tam Hussein, (Hurst), 2019, I thought I would add materials that are useful… Continue reading "An Interview with Umm Mohammed: The Wife of Bin Laden’s Spiritual Mentor Abdullah Azzam"
Description The Algerian Islamist Abdullah Anas, ‘perhaps the greatest warrior of the Afghan Arabs’, fought the Soviet Union for a decade. As one of the earliest Arabs to join… Continue reading "To the Mountains: My Life in Jihad, from Algeria to Afghanistan"
Abstract: The recent arrest of Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, the two British Jihadists part of the notorious Beatles, has again raised the debate as to what should be… Continue reading "Dealing with Syria’s Foreign Fighters: A Liberal Conundrum – an Update"
The trial of Rahmat Akilov, the lone wolf terrorist who killed five pedestrians in Stockholm’s equivalent of Oxford Street, last April have just begun. Whilst the trial is expected to… Continue reading "Rahmat Akilov’s Trial Raises Important Dilemmas for Swedish Policy Makers"
Abstract: For Muslims in the West especially those who become militant, the question of authority or the lack of it, is an important question. I will use the story of… Continue reading "Problems in the Caliphate: The Issue of Authority "
Youssef Rakha is the author of The Book of the Sultan’s Seal: Strange Incidents from History in the City of Mars. Cairo where Rakha lives and works, is at the heart… Continue reading "An Interview with Youssef Rakha: Author of The Book of the Sultan’s Seal"
Cultural historians have often focused attention on Islam’s achievements in architecture, craftsmanship and calligraphy. However, except for poetry scant attention has been given to Islamic culture’s contribution to performance art:… Continue reading "A Glimpse into Performance Art in the Muslim World: A Clash of the Profane and the Sacred"
There are things All the Battles by Maan Abu Taleb is not. It is not a cliched story based on a Rocky film. It is not an Arab version of… Continue reading "Review: All the Battles my Maan Abu Taleb"
Raqqah has fallen. There are many jihadists who will look at this loss with a sense of bitterness. Some foreign fighters are pragmatic. Is the Jihad over? “It goes on”… Continue reading "Into the Heart of Darkness: Working Notes on Three ISIS Jihadists."
One of the most interesting books this summer may be a rather innocuous book by Anne Wolf, a leading Tunisia and North Africa specialist. In Political Islam in Tunisia: A… Continue reading "Political Islam in Tunisia: a History of Ennahda and the Tunisian Exception"