Lakshmi Senthilnathan has spent most of her adult life working in the country of Oman as the sole breadwinner of her family. While telling her story, she breezes past several accounts of physical and sexual abuse, claiming they are not out of the ordinary. Lakshmi persuades the interviewer that she was fortunate, for some of […]
Tag: Middle-East
Everybody’s Zion: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and Resolution
Driving by car, the entire State of Israel is less than six hours tip to tip. The world outside the window changes from barren desert to sudden, massive artificial forests, erected through donations by millions abroad who have “planted a tree in Israel” for fun, as a birthday gift, or for some other celebration; and […]
The Fate of a Nation
In the span of three years, from 1986 to 1989, the Iraqi Military Force killed between 50,000 to 182,000 Kurds and destroyed 90 percent of all Kurdish villages in Northern Iraq. This dark episode in history is often referred to as the Anfal Genocide. As the persecutions against the Kurds continued in Iraq, many sought […]
Saudi Arabia and Iran’s Rivalry: Politics Under the Veil of “Deep-Rooted Sectarianism”
During the 2015 Hajj season, when a tragic stampede of pilgrims killed at least 2,426 people, including 465 Iranians, a war of words commenced between Saudi Arabia and Iran. While Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini accused Saudi Arabia of murdering Muslims as they fulfilled their Haj duty, Saudi clerics accused Iran’s leaders of not even being Muslim. […]
Still Stuck in the Cold War? Turkey, NATO, Russia, and the Art of Patronage
Russia announces new arms deals almost daily, and successfully completes them nearly as often. But the sale of Russian arms to a NATO member is a strikingly rare event. Last month, Turkey signed an agreement to purchase the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system from Russia, following in the footsteps of Belarus, Algeria, and China, all […]
A Drone Before Noon
Humankind has always wished to take to the skies. The innovations of Abbas ibn Firnas and the Wright Brothers have captured the imaginations of millions, as their contributions to flight technologies gave us a chance to soar through the clouds. Today, this technology is used to transport millions around the globe, allowing passage from New […]
The Reformation Conundrum
Why Ayaan Hirsi Ali is wrong. Islam does not need a reformation. The rise of ISIS has created a number of question about the nature of Islam, ranging from the state of the religion today to fundamental theological questions that arise from the justification given by individuals or groups who use the religion of Islam to […]
The Deal of the Decade
Many thought this day would never come. In an interesting turn of events, negotiations between the United States and Iran over a developing nuclear deal are currently underway. Secretary of State John Kerry has led negotiations with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over a deal in which sanctions on Iran would be lifted on […]
Continued Persecution of Christians
“Continued Persecution of Christians” was originally published in the Davis Political Review on April 6, 2015. On April 2, students at Garissa University College in Kenya started their day as usual; waking up, going to class, and attending religious services, completely unaware of the tragedy that would soon unravel. Early in the morning, masked gunmen stormed […]
A New Reign in Saudi Arabia
On January 23rd, the global political sphere lost one of its longest standing participants when Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud passed away. King Abdullah, by the age of 90, had officially ruled the kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 2005, but since the nineties effectively managed domestic, security and foreign policy affairs in […]