First Independent Mena Newspaper
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 […]
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 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 […]
The Party of justice and development (PJD) is the first Islamic party to lead the government in Morocco’s modern history. This was the results of the early elections held in Morocco on November 25, 2011. The Islamist party won 107 out of 395 seats. Between pros and cons, the Moroccan society has different views about […]
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 […]
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 […]
The uprising in Syria has led the European Union (EU) to employ an instrument it rarely uses in the Mediterranean: sanctions. Since May 2011, the EU has deployed its sanctions toolbox in support of the anti-regime uprising in Syria. The objective of the EU is to increase pressure on the Assad regime to end repression, […]
In a tragic yet entirely unexpected way, it is immediately post a dramatic event in the Maghreb- the unfortunate assassination of U.S. ambassador in Libya- that Morocco and the United States have renewed vows on their long standing shared journey by signing a Strategic Pact in Washington two weeks ago. While many observers view this […]
When Mohamed Morsi won the presidential elections in Egypt, a conflict between the president and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) was only a question of time. Morsi’s move to call the Parliament back into session was nothing less than the opening salvo in this conflict and a strong reminder by the President […]