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Religion and Populism
[On January 6, 2022, the Council on Foreign Relations held an on-the-record discussion of the relationship between religion and populism, and how this relationship is affecting the politics of Europe and the United States, featuring Jocelyne Cesari, chair of religion and politics at the University of Birmingham, and Tobias Cremer, junior research fellow in religion…
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New and Analysis 1/5/22
Kazakh ambitions to replace Russian with their own language as the official language provokes troubling rhetoric: Is Kazakhstan Russia’s Next Ukraine? (Middle East Soccer) “While the Houthis have hit Saudi Arabia several times recently, it is a small fraction of cross-border strikes, with the Saudis carrying out dramatically more airstrikes against sites in Yemen”: UN…
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News and Analysis 1/3/22
As Iran demands U.N. condemnation of the U.S. and a trial for Donald Trump for extra-territorial assassination … Iran Calls for UN Action on US over killing of Qassem Soleimani (Aljazeera) Iran Vows Revenge for Soleimani Killing if Trump Not Put on Trial (Reuters) … “[M]embers of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces were chanting against the…
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In Memorium: Mahmoud Ayoub, Robert Crane, and Safei El-Deen Hameed
Among the remarkable Muslims who passed away in 2021 were three who, in different ways, supported the Minaret of Freedom Institute. Dr. Mahmoud Ayoub, one of the most outstanding scholars of his time, was knowledgeable in both Islamic jurisprudence and in Sufism. We were honored to work with him on a number of occasions and…
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News and Analysis 12/31/21
Transporting “Noureddine Bhairi and his sister-in-law … to an unknown destination” is President Kais Saied’s latest move to drag Tunisia into tyranny: Tunisia’s Ennahdha Party Says Senior Official Detained (Aljazeera) At one point Facebook blamed the “widescale deletion of Palestinian posts” on “a technical bug that it sought to fix,” but, to the alarm of…
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News and Analysis 12/29/21
That Tunisian President Kais Saied’s plan for a return to democracy is disturbingly unpromising is no surprise, but the U.S.’s “tepid” response is simply disgraceful: The Tunisian President’s Election Plan Is Troubling. So Is the U.S. Response (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) Not satisfied with their violence against Palestinians, settlers now expand their sights to…
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News and Analysis 12/27/21
“Israel refused to grant Archbishop Tutu and Professor Chinkin authorisation to enter Gaza, but they were eventually able to travel to the besieged territory via Egypt”: Anti-apartheid Icon Archbishop Tutu Dies. Here Is What He Said About Israel-Palestine (Middle East Eye)) The Sangh Parivar seeks to claim exclusively for Hindus a shrine belonging to both…
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News and Analysis 12/24/21
As targeting nuclear development has become more difficult, Israel has turned to “conducting massive cyberattacks on sensitive civilian targets like dams, gasoline stations and power plants to foment nationwide riots with the objective of toppling the regime or keeping the rulers busy with day-to-day, endless riots”: A Hacking Slugfest Between Iran and Its Foes Sparks…
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News and Analysis 12/22/21
At the “religious parliament,” the general secretary of the Hindu Mahasabha made a direct call for mass murder:Â “Be ready to kill and be ready to go to jail. Even if 100 of us are ready to kill 20 lakhs of them (Muslims), then we will be victorious, … [defending] Hindutva from every demon who…
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News and Analysis 12/19/21
“[A]round 20,000 employees of Jammu and Kashmir’s Power Transmission and Distribution Corporations went on an indefinite strike on Saturday to protest … the merger with the central government entity”: Over 20,000 Staff in Jammu and Kashmir Protest Decision of Merging State Power Grids (Indian Express) “After three weeks of talks, discussions on the Iran nuclear…
