Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Usman Butt
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Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula
Laleh Khalili’s book Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula is a surprisingly seductive read. A cross between history, geopolitics and economics, with a bit of a travelogue thrown in for good measure, Sinews of War and Trade… is neither a specialist tome nor...
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MEMO in conversation with Nasser Weddady
Our interview with Mauritanian-American activist Nasser Weddady discussing corruption in Mauritania...
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UAE: The scramble for the Horn of Africa
The United Arab Emirates is waging a war for influence over the Horn of Africa...
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Deep Knowledge: Ways of Knowing in Sufism and Ifa, Two West African Intellectual Traditions
Deep Knowledge: Ways of Knowing in Sufism and Ifa, Two West African Intellectual Traditions by Oludamini Ogunnaike is a sweeping and ambitious book that operates on multiple levels with the aim of getting us to think differently about the foundations of knowledge itself. Through the traditions of Tijani Sufism...
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MEMO in conversation with Reza Zia-Ebrahimi
Our interview with Dr Reza Zia-Ebrahimi, historian of nationalism and race at King's College London, about Islamophobia in France in light of President Emmanuel Macron's recent comments about Islam being 'in crisis'....
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The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US and Iran’s Global Ambitions
It is almost a year since Iranian Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani (11 March 1957 – 3 January 2020) was killed in a US drone attack near Baghdad International Airport. His final months were apparently characterised by his growing arrogance and unshakeable power: “Soleimani now often spoke in a...
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The Son King: Reform and Repression in Saudi Arabia
Social anthropologist Madawi Al-Rasheed’s new book The Son King: Reform and Repression in Saudi Arabia looks at the conflicts taking place in the desert Kingdom both historically and under the de facto rule of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, the eponymous Son King. The author examines the central issue...
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A History of Jeddah: The Gate to Mecca in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Ulrike Freitag’s A History of Jeddah: The Gate to Mecca in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries is a seductively charming urban history of the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, popularly known as the “Bride of the Red Sea” or the “Gate to Mecca”. While cities such as Baghdad, Damascus...
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Revolution and Its Discontents: Political Thought and Reform in Iran
Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi’s Revolution and Its Discontents: Political Thought and Reform in Iran takes us on an intellectual tour of post-Islamism and Islamic left thought in Iran. The early 1990s were hugely significant for global politics with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the First Gulf War. The decade...
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Remembering the birth of the Republic of Turkey
On 29 October 1923, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk declared the birth of the Republic of Turkey and became its first president...
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Forgiveness Work: Mercy, Law and Victims’ Rights in Iran
Arzoo Osanloo’s Forgiveness Work: Mercy, Law and Victims’ Rights in Iran takes us through a little discussed feature of the Iranian legal system, which has implications beyond the country itself. The system looks peculiar to outsiders; human rights reports paint a harrowing picture of justice within the Islamic Republic...
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On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist
“Under these circumstances, talking to a Western reporter could be a death sentence. And yet here in Douma, as soon as people saw that I was a journalist, they wanted to tell their story.” Thus begins the extraordinary autobiography of Clarissa Ward, On All Fronts: The Education of a...
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Rape, power and corruption: Is this Egypt’s MeToo moment?
MEMO's Usman Butt takes a closer look at Egypt's MeToo moment in the context of the social and political structures in the country as well as the way in which the state handles ongoing cases...
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MEMO in conversation with Sarah Hunaidi
Sarah Hunaidi, a Syrian feminist and human rights activist, spoke exclusively to MEMO about the Syrian uprising, revolution and civil war, as well as the politics of the Druze community....
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Arabic Shadow Theatre 1300-1900: A Handbook
Li Guo’s Arabic Shadow Theatre 1300-1900: A Handbook is a sweeping survey and interesting introduction to all things shadowy and theatrical. It is rare to say that an academic study is a joy to read, but this book certainly proved to be the case. Shadow theatre is rooted deeply...
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Understanding Libya Since Gaddafi
Ulf Laessing’s book Understanding Libya Since Gaddafi is published at a time when it has never been so important to know what is happening in Libya, but few outside the country and diaspora actually appreciate and comprehend events there. Libya post-2011 conjures up an image of chaos and disappointment...
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Remembering Bashar Al-Assad becoming President of Syria
Following the death of his father Hafez Al-Assad, Bashar Al-Assad official became president at only 34 years old...
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Authoritarian Apprehensions: Ideology, Judgment and Mourning in Syria
The nature of authoritarian rule in Syria remains little understood outside the country. As a notoriously closed society with limited access to the outside world before the 2000s, with few journalists and academic venturing into the Arab republic, a substantive knowledge gap has developed. However, the 2011 Arab Spring...
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Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How Editors and Print Culture Transformed an Intellectual Tradition
Ahmed El Shamsy’s Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How Editors and Print Culture Transformed An Intellectual Tradition takes us into the story of how seminal works of Islamic philosophy, theology, poetry, sciences and other disciplines from 700-1400 AD were revived, adapted and changed in the 19th and 20th centuries. The...
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The Caliphate of Man: Popular Sovereignty in Modern Islamic Thought
The Caliphate of Man: Popular Sovereignty in Modern Islamic Thought by Andrew F March comes to us at an interesting time. The 2011 Arab Spring led many across the MENA region to aspire to a new democratic and pluralistic political order, but the counter-revolutions led by the UAE, the...
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Political Quietism in Islam: Sunni and Shi’i Practice and Thought
Events in the Arab world and beyond over the past decade have ignited an intense debate about Islam, Muslims and political engagement. A common theme of western historical research situates Islam’s scholarly tradition to be on the side of obedience to the ruler, and encouragement to avoid political disagreements....
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Ilan Pappe: Netanyahu may start a civil war in Israel to save himself
Professor Ilan Pappé cautions against overly optimistic readings of the Netanyahu affair...
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Why the Assad regime will continue to destabilise Syria
Over the summer of 2019, observers of events in Syria were left bemused by the news that Rami Makhlouf had been placed under house arrest. It simply didn’t make any sense. Makhlouf is President Bashar Al-Assad’s cousin, a member of his regime’s inner sanctum who has been instrumental in...
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Democracy in Lebanon
For the past few weeks, Lebanon has been rocked by anti-government protests calling for a change in the ruling system and an end to corruption, economic decay and political stagnation. Analysts are trying to understand how the country has reached this position. They would do well to read the...