James M. Dorsey

China Gets It Wrong in MidEast. Again.

China Gets It Wrong in MidEast. Again.

JAMES M. DORSEY: China’s veto of the U.N’s resolution condemning Syria is a watershed moment for its involvement in the Middle East.

 James M. Dorsey

Pork, Alcohol and Qatar: Setting the Limits to ‘Modernity’ and Global Ambition

Pork, Alcohol and Qatar: Setting the Limits to ‘Modernity’ and Global Ambition

JAMES M. DORSEY: The debate will determine Qatar’s effort to become a global sports hub, and its positioning as a forward-looking sponsor of change.

 James M. Dorsey

Qatar Alcohol Ban Underlines Internal Tensions

Qatar Alcohol Ban Underlines Internal Tensions

JAMES M. DORSEY: Alcohol has been banned on the Pearl Qatar, dubbed the ‘Arab Riviera’. It’s the latest manifestation of internal discord.

 Rob L. Wagner

‘This Car Is Made With Pride in Riyadh’: At Last, Saudi’s ‘Magic Export Product’?

‘This Car Is Made With Pride in Riyadh’: At Last, Saudi’s ‘Magic Export Product’?

ROB L. WAGNER: Saudi Arabia has been looking for more than 40 years for an export product that will minimize its dependency on oil. Have they found it?

 Mondoweiss

West’s 1% salivates over spoils of the Libyan 99%

West’s 1% salivates over spoils of the Libyan 99%

MONDOWEISS, MATTHEW TAYLOR: Whatever one thinks of The West’s role in this revolution, it should not have a free pass to engage in more oil imperialism.

 Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

The Nobel Women: Changing the World Masterclass

The Nobel Women: Changing the World Masterclass

SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: I am sure her award will have detractors who claim that it is a conspiracy to “westernise” Muslim women…

 James M. Dorsey

Arab Spring First Casualty in New Power Struggle

Arab Spring First Casualty in New Power Struggle

JAMES M. DORSEY: The people power movement has the most to lose and could find itself in the grinder as the United States, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran jockey for power.

 The View From Fez

It’s Official: Morocco is Now Malaria-Free

It’s Official: Morocco is Now Malaria-Free

THE VIEW FROM FEZ: Bad news for mosquitoes is good news for residents and tourists. Malaria has finally been eradicated from Morocco.

 Common Ground News Service

Middle East: What’s Changed Since 9/11?

Middle East: What’s Changed Since 9/11?

HRH PRINCE EL HASSAN BIN TALAL, CGNEWS: It’s been a tumultuous decade defined in large part by violence and death but how different is the Middle East today?

 The Moor Next Door

Algeria & Libya: The Big Questions To Answer

Algeria & Libya: The Big Questions To Answer

TMND: It’s becoming clearer by the day that Algeria played a key role in supporting the Qadhafi regime, particularly in its dark, late days. The Algerians face some very uncomfortable questions

 James M. Dorsey

Damage limitation: China and Russia’s Options

Damage limitation: China and Russia’s Options

JAMES M. DORSEY: China and Russia could quietly establish relations with Syrian protesters if and when Mr. Assad is forced to relinquish power.

 Juan Cole

Top Ten Myths about the Libyan Revolution

Top Ten Myths about the Libyan Revolution

JUAN COLE: It is worthwhile reviewing the myths about the Libyan Revolution that led so many observers to make so many fantastic or just mistaken assertions about it.

 Ramzy Baroud

Gazans Respond Generously to Somali Disaster

Gazans Respond Generously to Somali Disaster

RAMZY BAROUD: There has been much criticism of the paltry response by the Muslim world to the famine in Somalia. Gazans show the way forward.

 The View From Fez

Moroccan Souks Under Threat: Retail Boom Bites

Moroccan Souks Under Threat: Retail Boom Bites

THE VIEW FROM FEZ: The big boys from Europe are moving aggressively into the Moroccan retail space and they’re squeezing the profit margins of souk operators.

 Lucy Emmerson

Promise of Arab Spring Failing to Deliver for Middle-Eastern Women

Promise of Arab Spring Failing to Deliver for Middle-Eastern Women

LUCY EMMERSON: Now is not the time to let “women’s issues” fall to the back of the agenda; they must not be deprived of the dignity that they have fought for.

 Ramzy Baroud

Forget the Bombs, Africa Needs Food. Now.

Forget the Bombs, Africa Needs Food. Now.

RAMZY BAROUD: Maybe it’s time to save a few bombing runs on Libya and donate the proceeds to the humanitarian catastrophe that’s unfolding in the Horn of Africa?

 Ramzy Baroud

Is the ‘Turkish Model’ the one to follow in region?

Is the ‘Turkish Model’ the one to follow in region?

RAMZY BAROUD: It has endured some punishing attacks but the democratic experience in Turkey is presented as a model for the region to follow. How useful is it, however?

 Juan Cole

Top Ten Mistakes of the Libyan ‘Intervention’

Top Ten Mistakes of the Libyan ‘Intervention’

JUAN COLE: I believe it’s legal but that doesn’t mean that the West’s military intervention in Libya has been wisely handled.

 American Bedu

How do you Accurately Define a Muslim?

How do you Accurately Define a Muslim?

AMERICAN BEDU: It’s a topic that seems, more often than not, to generate more heat than light but here’s my attempt to define a Muslim.

 James M. Dorsey

Soccer vs. Islam: The Battle for Egypt’s Future

Soccer vs. Islam: The Battle for Egypt’s Future

JAMES M. DORSEY: The calm with which Egyptians accepted defeat, contrasts starkly with riots that erupted on two continents in late 2009 when Algeria stopped Egypt making it to the 2010 World Cup.