Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Nasim Ahmed
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Explained: Why do Syria peace talks keep failing?
The Syrian war may have gone down the route of a typical civil war early in the conflict, when a prolonged standoff was unsustainable...
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9/11 bill may be a step too far in US-Saudi relations
The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) bill passed by the US Congress earlier this week, has put further strain on US-Saudi relations. Relations between the two countries, derided at times as a marriage of convenience, are possibly going through their toughest test yet. The Saudi foreign ministry quickly...
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Iraq’s problems are bigger than Daesh
President Barack Obama has said that he wants to strike at the heart of Daesh by the end of the year. In a meeting with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider Al-Abadi, during the UN summit in New York, Obama stressed the need to push Daesh out of Mosul, which...
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Is Bishop Nazir Ali the new ‘Comical Ali’
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali caused a stir earlier this week when he was interviewed by journalist Matt Frei on Channel 4 News about his controversial meeting with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The former Bishop of Rochester was part of a delegation to Syria that included peers from Britain’s House of...
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Al-Qaeda and beyond: where do Arab dictatorships fit?
Four experts discussed the hidden relationship between dictators and extremist groups at an event held by MEMO in London....
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How deep is the connection between Celtic fans and Palestine?
Thousands were touched by the Celtic fans’ show of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Large sections of the stadium turned into a sea of green, red, black and white as fans raised the Palestinian flag despite repeated warnings from European football’s governing body (UEFA). The fans earned further respect...
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Refusing to shake hands is childish, but turning a blind eye to racial discrimination is criminal
Egypt’s Islam El-Shehaby’s refusal to shake hands with his Israeli opponent Or Sasson was clearly not in the spirit of the Olympic Games. The athlete, who has been sent home in disgrace by the Egyptian Olympic Committee following strong condemnation of his unsporting behaviour, acted against the “rules of...
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Extradition of Gulen will be a tough test for US-Turkey relations
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım confirmed that an official request for the extradition of Fethullah Gulen has been sent to the US. Ankara accuses the cleric, who lives in Pennsylvania, of masterminding last Friday’s failed plot to oust President Erdogan which left 208 people dead and nearly 1,500 others...
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Blair shouldn’t be alone in the dock over the invasion and occupation of Iraq
Yes, Tony Blair needs to answer for his actions but, more importantly, so too do the real masterminds behind the carnage; he shouldn’t be alone in the dock...
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The final judgement of Tony Blair has to be nigh
With the Chilcot Inquiry due to publish its long-awaited report on 6 July, an early indication of what the findings might be have been aired by BBC Panorama’s “Iraq the Final Judgement”. In the hour-long programme, journalist Jane Corbin returned to the war-ravaged country with the grief stricken parents...
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US Congress members question Israel’s abuse of Palestinian children
Members of the US Congress made an unprecedented move by calling for the appointment of “a special envoy for Palestinian youth”. In a letter to Barack Obama, US lawmakers petitioned the President to address the abuse of Palestinian children. Twenty members of the US Congress signed the letter urging the “Department of the State to elevate the human rights of Palestinian children to...
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Daesh and Netanyahu share the ‘clash of civilisations’ narrative
President Barack Obama was uncharacteristically agitated as he unleashed an attack on Donald Trump in his speech following the murderous atrocity in Orlando. He denounced the presumptive Republican presidential nominee for his “dangerous mind-set”, “rhetoric”, “loose talk” and “sloppiness”. A visibly angry Obama went on to recall that Muslim-baiting...
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Having British troops in Syria proves that the lessons of Iraq have not been learnt
Was anyone surprised by the latest revelation in the Times that British Special Forces are operating in Syria? I think not. Since David Cameron successfully made the case for military intervention in Syria – having already failed once – many half-expected British troops to join in on the ground,...
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Will Labour’s investigation into anti-Semitism claims silence the critics?
Last month, the leader of Britain’s Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, set up an independent inquiry to investigate claims of anti-Semitism within its ranks. He appointed Shami Chakrabarti, the former Director of human rights group Liberty, to lead the investigation. Along with Professor David Feldman and Baroness Janet Royall she...
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Blair and his opinions are toxic; he should be ignored
Since he stepped down as Britain’s Prime Minister in 2007, Tony Blair has made a number of public interventions in support of military action in the Middle East. The latest was at an event hosted by Prospect magazine, where the former Middle East “Peace Envoy” called for ground troops...
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From Iraq to Palestine, the power of the pro-Israel lobby is plain to see
The boundaries of what is and isn’t possible change constantly in politics. We like to think that in a democracy, citizens are empowered sufficiently to partake in the process of political change; we even believe that this is a unique characteristic of our progressive society where politicians listen to...
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Britain’s chief rabbi is wrong to say that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism
Britain’s chief rabbi waded into the anti-Semitism row this week with an article in the Telegraph.: “Ken Livingstone and the hard left are spreading the insidious virus of anti-Semitism,” claimed Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis. In his strongly-worded article, he made a number of remarkable statements while trying to dispel what...
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The neo-Con legacy has poisoned our political culture
The election of Malia Boutattia as President of the National Union of Students (NUS) has been controversial to say the least. Her critics have called her a Daesh sympathiser, anti-Semite and racist. Such allegations are neither new nor unique to Boutattia as anyone who has fallen prey to the...
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BDS is a crime, claims Michael Gove, but the ICJ disagrees
According to the Conservative MP Michael Gove, anyone involved in the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel “is committing a crime worse than apartheid.” His remark was made in New York during a speech at the third annual gala celebrating the top 100 People “Positively Influencing Jewish...
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The Knesset Speaker denies political freedom to non-Jews but is still feted in Westminster
Yuli Edelstein is a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party as well as the Speaker of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset; he also happens to be addressing British MPs this evening. Edelstein is a hardliner; a proud settler whose daily life involves breaking international law. He is visiting Britain...
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US Democrats criticise Terrorism Designation Bill to ban the Muslim Brotherhood
America’s House Judiciary Committee approved legislation on Wednesday to add the Muslim Brotherhood to the US list of banned foreign terrorist organisations. The bill was introduced initially by Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz last year; it was approved by 17 votes to 10. It now requires the Secretary of...
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UK survey on British Muslims cites Palestine as major issue
Few would have been surprised by many of the findings in a new survey commissioned by 5Pillars on the views of “influential British Muslims”. Billed as the “Normative Islam Report”, the survey sampled 150 influential Muslims from a cross-section of British Muslim communities. This included Sunni and Shite participants,...
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Is Bernie Sanders a civil rights campaigner or a loyal supporter of Israel?
Standing metres from Martin Luther King during a Civil Rights march must have been a proud moment for the young Bernie Sanders. One can imagine the now veteran US senator sensing the gravity of the situation, burdened by duty and moral obligation to bring an end to centuries of...
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Iraq’s religious split: 7th century issues or 21st century political fallout?
This is the second article of a two part series examining the Iraqi revolution and the five years that followed it. Part I looks at Iraq after the Arab Spring. Read Part I here. The Arab Spring reinforced a number of popular assumptions about the Middle East. None, however, has...