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Interview with Syrian dissident Yassin al-Haj Saleh

The West's lamentable myopia

Syrian intellectual Yassin al-Haj Saleh was a revolutionary from the very first. He remains harshly critical of all those political observers and experts in the West who claim that there is no alternative to Assad and that shoring up the regime would be the lesser of two evils. Interview by Emran Feroz
The Syrian revolution

Girding the forces of change

"We will return, Aleppo" says the writing on the walls of the devastated city. These words defy Assad's claim that his regime's military victory is now complete, writes the Syrian dissident Akram al-Bunni
Turkey’s Afrin offensive

Wrong, but not unjustified

Although the presence of an armed group on Turkey′s border – especially one allied to the PKK – was inevitably going to be perceived as a threat, Ankara′s Afrin offensive has been given short shrift in Germany. Commentary by Ulrich von Schwerin
US presidential election

Ever the aliens

Donald Trump has sparked a backlash after criticising the parents of a slain Muslim American soldier. It′s another reminder of the challenges faced by Muslims in the US military. By Brandon Conradis
Western involvement in the Middle East

A rotten legacy

Whatever else they were guilty of, the two authors of the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, George Bush and Tony Blair, displayed an astonishing ignorance of history. By Roger Hardy
Sykes-Picot and the role of Gertrude Bell

Midwife of the Middle East

The order of nation states in the Middle East has been disintegrating since Islamic State fighters overran the Syrian border in 2014 – a border that dates back to 1916 and a secret agreement between the diplomats Sir Mark Sykes and Francois Georges-Picot. Yet one woman also played a key role: the British national Gertrude Bell. Birgit Svensson visited her grave in Baghdad
UNRWA photo exhibition: "The Long Journey"

The long journey into uncertainty

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) recently opened a photo and video exhibition on the history of Palestinian refugees since 1948 in East Jerusalem. By Joseph Croitoru
Erdogan's 'Nazi' accusations

Politically motivated provocation

For German-Turkish journalist Cigdem Akyol, Erdogan′s recent ′Nazi′ outbursts can be put down to electioneering. Few taboos remain in his race to win the upcoming referendum. Yet German politicians and the media will be playing into his hands if they overreact. Interview by Laura Doing
Germany′s ′Nazi′ methods

Erdogan – the expert on democracy

In likening present-day Germany to the Nazi era, Recep Tayyip Erdogan demonstrates that his ignorance of Germany is on a par with his ignorance of Nazism. As the Lebanese journalist Hazem Saghieh writes, it is a glaring example of the illiteracy that is prevalent among politicians in the Middle East
The Gulen movement in Turkey

Creating an elite to lead the state

The movement of Turkish imam Fethullah Gulen has relied on schools, educational institutions and clubs to expand to many countries. Many experts view the movement with scepticism, however. They claim that it has cult-like structures and is pursuing a secret agenda, only pretending to be an open-minded education initiative with a moderate take on Islam. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan considers Gulen public enemy number one. By Timur Tinc