The world’s worst humanitarian disaster is unfolding in Yemen, where outside powers stoke a civil war. Peace remains a distant dream. A Red Crescent staffer tries to pull a body from rubble at a detention center after it was hit by airstrikes in Dhamar, Yemen, 1...
Why are the U.S. and Iran at daggers drawn while Donald Trump has vowed to pull troops out of foreign wars? Mutual antagonism goes way back. Demonstrators protest against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Tehran, Iran, 9 October 1979. The effects of the 1979 revolution...
I used to associate the Middle East with violence, devastation and instability. On a trip to Israel, I discovered hospitality and generosity. Artwork by Banksy in Bethlehem (Photo by Jasmine Li) Sitting in the shade, I touch the sand in my hand, cold and moist....
Women leaders in Jordan fighting for equal rights offer hope that feminism can be advanced without sacrificing our unique culture. Former U.S. First lady Laura Bush, center, meets Jordanian women leaders (from left) Dr. Amal Sabbagh, Malak Ghazal, Reem Abu Hassan,and...
For decades, Jordan has struggled to introduce reforms and prevent honor crimes — one of the uglier vestiges of colonialism. A Jordanian woman shows the name of her sister in a list of honor crime victims published by a human rights group in Amman, Jordan, 20 May 2000...
For decades, militant religious schools in Pakistan called madrassas taught students to kill non-believers. Now, Islamabad is taking them on. Zaman and Viqar Shah head to a madrassa in Islamabad, Pakistan, 22 May 2003. (EPA-PHOTO/EPA/Shabbir Hussain Iman) For 30...
The war in Afghanistan is the longest military conflict in U.S. history. It has failed. The key to peace is diplomacy and the quiet work of diplomats. U.S. and Taliban negotiators at peace talks brokered by Qatar, in Doha, 25 February 2019 (Qatar Ministry of Foreign...
After extremists killed hundreds in Easter suicide bombings, Sri Lanka’s minority Muslim population now has to worry about retaliatory attacks. A Sri Lankan Muslim waits to pray in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 29 April 2019 (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) It used to be that Sri...
By Jonathan Thatcher After the world’s largest ever democratic election in a single day last week, Indonesia’s 20-year-old democracy is looking reassuringly predictable. There was even an indignant post-election sulk by the losing candidate, who claimed, as he did...
Many Westerners hold misconceptions about Middle Eastern women. They are not powerless, and Islam is compatible with women’s rights. Candidates wave during a rally ahead of parliamentary elections in Jordan, 2 September 2016. (EPA/Jamal Nasrallah) This is the...