مقالات

As a liberal agnostic, I might better enjoy my time critiquing religion with fellow skeptics. But when skeptics single out a particular faith or group for unfair demonization, I do feel compelled to respond. It is, of course, old news that Bill Maher is one of the skeptics who, while feeling antipathy towards religion in general, holds exceptional hostility towards …

By Kenneth Roth Some combination of denial and fear led the Egyptian government to refuse my colleague and me entrance to the country on Sunday night. The form wrapped around my colleague’s passport describing why we were being denied entry was checked, “For security reasons.” It was an unprecedented step. No one from Human Rights Watch had ever been barred …

By Rafia Zakaria It is often offered as a solution to the problem of destitute women. If every man married four of them, some have stated, then all women would have a male guardian, a protector, someone to support them. The reality of polygamy, however, is often neither this neat nor this simple. Last week, The National, a leading newspaper …

By Ramzy Baroud What if the so-called Islamic State (IS) didn’t exist? In order to answer this question, one has to liberate the argument from its geopolitical and ideological confines. Flexible Language Many in the media (Western, Arab, etc) use the reference “Islamist” to brand any movement at all whether it be political, militant or even charity-focused. If it is …

In June, this reporter traveled to Israel and Palestine with a Sabeel delegation of individuals from the United States and Canada to explore the religious and political climate of the Holy Land. This article is the first in a series that will examine our findings and reflections. As Iraq and Syria disintegrate, the world watches with great trepidation. The group …

by Ramzy Baroud Netanyahu’s war-turned-genocide in Gaza has backfired badly – his strategy has helped resurrect Hamas, the very movement he tried desperately to crush Aside from being a major military setback, Israel’s war on Gaza has also disoriented the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu like never before. Since the announcement of a ceasefire on 26 August, his statements …

Quneitra is a border crossing between Syrian and Israeli controlled territories of the Golan Heights. Syrian Druze from the Golan are permitted to cross through the passage to study, work and live in Syria. Apples grown by Israeli Druze farmers are exported to Syria under the auspices of the Red Cross, and occasional brides cross both ways to their new …

Land Seizure, Settlement Construction, Forcible Displacement of Palestinians (Jerusalem) – Israel should immediately reverse its illegal appropriation of a large swath of land in the occupied West Bank south of Jerusalem, Human Rights Watch said today. The appropriation, announced on September 1, 2014, paves the way for substantial settlement construction near the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Transferring civilian settlers …

By Abdulrahman Murad Gaza, Nearly three weeks of being housed in overcrowded shelter schools in dire living conditions has not dulled Gazans’ desire to see Israel’s blockade on the strip lifted. Palestinians displaced from east Gaza City following Israeli shelling and bombing of the Shejaiyeh and Tufah neighborhoods have demanded that negotiators in Cairo do not waive their demands during …

An Israeli military bulldozer pulling out a Merkava tank out of the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday. At least 15 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed overnight 23 July in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian death toll on the 16th day of the Israeli offensive surpassed 640, Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said. More than 4,000 people have been …