First Independent Mena Newspaper
Ismail Serageldin, the director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, is being sued for squandering public funds after library staff accused him of abuse of power claiming he unfairly appointed advisors and gave them huge salaries. He was also accused of embezzling donations destined to the library and illegally transferring them to a bank account controlled by […]
When, in 1949, Mao Zedong forced Chiang Kai-Shek’s army to retreat from mainland China, thus consolidating the Communist Party’s grip over the People’s Republic, the reverberations could be felt across the world. In the United States, Republicans put forward a poignant, yet rhetoric question: Who Lost China? In the eyes of the Republicans, the answer […]
On Sunday October 7th, The Philippine government has announced a preliminary peace agreement with the country’s largest Muslim group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). This deal aims at ending a 40-year conflict that has killed an estimated 120,000 people. But it could also open the way to boost domestic and foreign investments in the […]
Presidential debates in America have been hijacked, creating the “charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and answers to tough questions.” The October 3 debate leaves citizens to rail against the lobbyist-led, anti-democratic control of the process. Three sponsors even dropped out before the opening remarks. US Pres. Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney “hoodwinked the […]
The United States has reportedly deployed a dozen aircraft in the Middle East-North Africa region probably as a precaution, in case conflicts there necessitate quick action. According to Stratfor, a news outlet specialized in geopolitical analysis and intelligence news, at least a dozen military transport planes and gunships, typically used for a variety of special […]
The last few days have set off the alarms of a radical Islamist winter hijacking some promising landscapes of the “Arab Spring”. The murder of US Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Benghazi (Libya), as well as the attacks on western diplomatic missions across the Middle East and North Africa, have brought the threat of radicalisation to […]
Before the Soviet Union controlled the former republics of Central Asia, Sufi brotherhoods dominated the religious scene in Chechnya, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. However, the Soviet policy toward Islam drove these Sufi groups underground for fear of persecution. In the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet bloc, legions of radical Islamists filled the gap left […]
Did the movie Innocence of the Muslims cast a shadow on the romanticism of the Arab Spring? This amateur production was the work of an Egyptian Coptic who evidently drew a satirical picture of Muhammad. The movie was barely watched when its 14-minute “trailer” was first uploaded to You Tube in June. But then a […]
According to a report published by Ernst & Young’s Global Islamic Banker of Excellence, global demand for Islamic bonds could triple to $900bn by 2017. This expected rise is partly driven by the fact that conventional investors look to securities backed by tangible assets. South East Asian economies, especially Malaysia is pushing to play the […]
The current international environment has been significantly shaped by three defining events: the eurozone crisis, the ‘Arab Spring’ accompanied by the rise of political Islam in North Africa and the Middle East, and the continuing rise of China’s global influence. A closer look at these three seemingly disconnected events reveals that they are in fact […]