Middle East
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Breaking Down Orientalist Views of Politics
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Last October, I was talking with friends about the situation. Week after week, it became clear to me: they didn’t care about defending Palestine, or standing with oppressed people, or fighting against colonialism. It was only about fighting Israel, at any cost. I had a conversation with a Palestinian friend…
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The Anti-Colonial Dilemma: Israel and Palestinian Liberation
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What we face today on the global left is a fundamental issue, not just with ideology, but with clarity of purpose. There’s a fixation on the destruction of Israel, a vision rooted in an anti-Semitic worldview. It’s crucial to confront this head-on. The struggle for Palestinian liberation, over the past…
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Iran on the Brink: War, Fascism, and the West’s Hypocrisy
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The people in the West, standing up for Palestine over the past year, are doing something important. It’s true, some of them also hold racist and Orientalist views, supporting Islamic fascism without realizing it. But for us Iranians, the fight against Islamic fascism and the struggle for Palestinian liberation are…
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The Geopolitical Implications of Ismail Haniyeh’s Assassination
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It is undeniable that the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh involved cooperation from high-ranking security officials of the Islamic Republic. The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, while aiding Netanyahu’s agenda, has broader implications for the Middle East. It underscores the fragile nature of political alliances and the continuous struggle for power in…
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Hijab, Political Islam,
and the Construction of Theocracy in the Middle East•
The Iran-Iraq war saw the slogan “My sister, your hijab is your fortress” symbolizing the Islamic Republic’s efforts to cement its ideology through veiling. Over time, the veil revealed itself to be a protective measure for the regime rather than for women. Questions about policy’s significance in women’s dress arise…
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Rima Hassan: The Controversial Advocate of Palestinian Rights in France
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Rima Hassan, a 32-year-old legal scholar and activist, has made history by becoming the first French-Palestinian member of the European parliament. Her party, the left-wing France Unbowed (La France Insoumise, LFI), obtained 9.89 percent of the votes cast on EU elections and is now sending nine MEPs to Brussels. The…
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Gender Dynamics in Authoritarian Islamic States
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From “Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East by Asef Bayat.” A book about struggles for social change in the Muslim Middle East, mostly focused on Iran and Egypt but with scattered references to other countries as well. The first edition was written not long before the…
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What the EU-Lebanon Agreement Means for Syrian Refugees
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Beirut and announced a billion-euro support package for Lebanon, focusing on banking, infrastructure, and border security to manage migration and potentially facilitate voluntary refugee returns. This move aligns with the EU’s broader policy to confine migration by funding third countries to detain…
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From Harlem to Palestine:
Baldwin’s Intersectional Resistance•
“Of Latitudes Unknown” explores James Baldwin’s intellectual legacy by reevaluating and expanding on existing Baldwin scholarship, introducing new critical perspectives and themes. The book delves into lesser-known aspects of Baldwin’s thought, including his bilingual communications, later interactions with Africa, his engagement with French and Arab media, and his overlooked works…
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From Iran to Palestine:
The Shared Path of Liberation and Feminist Resistance•
This discussion revolves around the challenges and advancements of the Women, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran, which is resisting oppressive measures by the regime, including gender oppression and increasing death sentences for protesters. The interview introduces a member of the Nasvan Revolutionary Committee, a secret women’s committee formed to address…
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The Challenge of Anti-Fascism in Western Leftist Politics
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The left-wing, while diligently opposing fascism domestically by promoting anti-racism, often falters internationally, owing to the intertwining of nationalism and religious fervor. Trotsky’s “uneven and combined development” elucidates this by revealing how variegated political and economic stages breed both progressive and reactionary ideals globally. Additionally, leftist factions in countries like…
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Theology of Terror:
How Religion Fuels Genocide in Gaza•
When 100 days had passed since Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Abu Ubaida (Hudhayfah Kahlout), the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, spoke in a televised message about the reasons for the “Al-Aqsa Storm” operation. One of these reasons was forgotten among the many news reports and…
