Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem
The Ecumenical Institute for the Middle East will launch a new program to bring Christians from the throughout the Arab World together to strengthen their faith in hopes of reinforcing the vanishing Christian presence in the Middle East and Holy land. Participants will come from Levant countries including Palestine, Jordan, Syrian, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq and…
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Since the Arab Spring crashed into Cairo’s Tahrir Square in 2011, Egypt has been on a roller coaster. Once the cornerstone of secularism in a world of growing religious extremism, Egypt could use some excesses to protect itself from the Islamic extremists. But in recent years, Egypt has not been discretionary in how it deals…
Omar Sharif was one of the first Arab actors to appear in the biased anti-Arab arena of Hollywood. His talent took him past the bigotry that has denied Arabs roles in major motion pictures, excluded pro-Arab themes and narratives from Hollywood movies, and marginalized Arabs to the sidelines of a biased movie industry. But his legacy…
Read More “Obituary: Omar Sharif, 1932-2015, the back story” »
The American Human rights Council (AHRC) welcomes the release of Mr. Mohamed Soltan, a fellow US citizen from his Egyptian prison. Soltan was detained in Egypt from August of 2013 and endured a painful experience – he almost died in detention. Soltan was forced to renounce his Egyptian citizenship as part of the release arrangements…
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By Eileen Fleming On Saturday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to thank the U.S. for blocking a decision that would task the UN secretary general with convening an international conference on making the Middle East a nuclear weapons-free zone by March 2016. U.S. Under Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller…
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Voices are rising slowly against the growing injustices and undemocratic tyranny that claims to be wrapped in Democracy. But increasing death sentences handed down by Egypt’s politically driven judicial system and oppressive government are putting Democracy and freedom to shame. Among the condemned is Dr. Emad Shahin, visiting professor of public policy at Georgetown University in…
Read More “Egyptian death sentences violate Democracy, freedom” »
By Ali Younes As the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood organization (MB) is getting ready to hold a celebration in Amman this coming Friday for the 70 years anniversary of its founding in Jordan, a new confrontation between the group and the Jordanian government is looming on the horizon. Ever since the group announced that it will…
Read More “Why the Muslim Brotherhood group is crucial to the survival of Jordan” »
Cairo Institute for Human Rights denounces torture by Egypt’s new government and President al-Sisi. Egypt was also used as a torture location for the United States immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Hundreds of prisoners were tortured and killed there A group of human rights organizations strongly condemned on Thursday (March 26, 2015) the…
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By Abdennour Toumi Ankara, Turkey — The Bardo Museum massacre shocked Tunisians who thought they were safe from ISO dystopia. Years ago a dynamic change took place in the streets of Tunisia that launched a concerted struggle that is still taking place, whether in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt or Yemen. But this change is obstructed by solid…
The truth is that President Al-Sisi of Egypt can move his nation forward both as a strongman and as a hero of the Arab Spring by learning the lessons of past failures of Democracy in the Middle East and understanding that George Orwell’s book 1984 cast tyranny in the wrong way. By Ray Hanania In the…
Read More “Egypt and the need to overcome Radical Islam, a 1984 re-do” »
By Ray Hanania I used to watch beauty pageants purely for entertainment. But in recent years, they’ve become the focus of a cultural debate between the Arab world, and the rest. The Miss Universe Pageant was held Sunday in Doral, Florida in the United States. It featured 88 female contestants competing in categories involving their…
The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies has condemned the Government of Egypt for flogging a blogger who allegedly criticized Islam, and for banning travel to critics of government policies. Here are the two press releases from the CIHRS: A Serious Violation to the Constitution and a New Way to Harass Democracy Advocates The undersigned organizations…
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By Ray Hanania At no time has it been clearer that Israel does not want genuine peace with the Arab World. What Israel wants is for Palestine to disappear and eventually, for the Arab World to go away, too. Israel’s government has repeatedly rejected peace based on Two-States — Palestine and Israel. In Israel’s current…
Read More “Time for Arab moderates to step up to the peace plate” »
By Ray Hanania View image | gettyimages.com An Egyptian court on June 23, 2014, handed out jail terms ranging from three to ten years each to 18 people, including four foreign Al Jazeera journalists convicted of ‘fabricating news’, eleven defendants including three foreign correspondents including Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fadel Fahmy (L), were sentenced in absentia to ten…
Read More “War of words escalates between Clooney and Egypt” »
By: Ali Younes In his first address in more than 5 months, the “Islamic State” leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi addressed his followers around the world urging them to fight and kill enemy soldiers especially of the Iraqi army also urged them to fight the United States and its Arab and Western allies. The audio…
Read More “In a new message: ISIS leader calls for the killing of Shia, Saudis, Westersn soldiers” »
Ray of Hope from Tunis, despite criticism By Abdennour Toumi Tunisian parliamentary election put an end to the Islamists rhetorical course and reset the secularists theoretical discourse. There is worthy of comment due to the repeated and disappointing coverage by Western and Arab media alike. Such “twisting” of the news continues as Western media persists…
Gaza Human Rights group: probe sinking of ship that killed 400 refugees Human Rights Group Investigates, Calls for International Action in Response to Sinking of Boat Carrying Asylum Seekers Photos by Mohammed Asad, Gaza Strip, Palestine Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Occupied Palestinian Territories – An international investigation must be launched into the smuggling operation that…
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Hamas Israel Ceasefire, International Court and Palestinian Resistance Unity By Eileen Fleming On Tuesday evening, Israel’s 50-day’s of assault on the Gaza Strip ended with an indefinite ceasefire mediated by Egyptian officials in Cairo based on the understandings that ended the Israeli war against the Gaza Strip in 2012. Three months ago, Israeli Prime Minister…
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