Tag Archives: Shia

“We are  very grateful for the help we have received from the coalition forces,” he said “Their backing meant it was too much for Isil to handle.” But he warned that, as the military campaign against Isil began to wind down, it was important that countries like Britain continued to …

THE LEVANT EXCLUSIVE – By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem* — Each year, as they commemorate Ashura, the Shiites debate whether certain rituals are permissible. Some of those rituals are violent, such as Tatbir and hitting oneself with chains practices that harm one’s body and distort the revolution and objectives of Imam …

The Levant News | BAGHDAD | BY STEPHEN KALIN AND AHMED RASHEED for REUTERS | Iraq’s interior minister said it was difficult to prevent attacks against people fleeing the Islamic State-held city of Falluja, but denied that such actions were systematic and pledged to punish anyone proven guilty of abuses. …

by Graham E. Fuller*– Iraqi politics are in turmoil—nothing new here. Not surprisingly, the post-invasion order is taking a long time to shake down, given the destruction of the old. Entirely new relationships had to be forged under the new, radically changed environment. What Iraq requires above all is the …

By Chris Zambelis for CTC — Abstract: With Saudi Arabia now firmly in the Islamic State’s crosshairs, concern over sectarian tensions in the kingdom’s volatile Eastern Province is rapidly increasing. The Islamic State has initiated a campaign of violence and terrorism targeting Saudi Shia to create and take advantage of …

The Levant News — Saudi security forces have arrested a Shia preacher in the east of the kingdom, charging that he “glorified” Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah online, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. Hussein al-Radi was arrested after Gulf Arab states declared Hezbollah a “terrorist” group earlier this month and …

The Levant News — By Hassan Hassan* — The war against ISIL is changing, and how its opponents adapt will be a key test of the group’s ability to achieve its goals. A string of attacks and counter-attacks over the course of this year so far signal a major shift …

By TOBY CRAIG JONES for The New York Times — WHEN Saudi Arabia executed the Shiite cleric and political dissident Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday, the country’s leaders were aware that doing so would upset their longtime rivals in Iran. In fact, the royal court in Riyadh was probably counting …

THE LEVANT NEWS– BY Dr. Haytham Mouzahem — An-Najaf city is located southern of Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Including the shrine of Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib (599-661 CE), the Shia’ called it the city of ”An-Najaf al-Ashraf” which means the holy city of An-Najaf. Imam Ali …

Facing discrimination and a lack of opportunity, ethnic Hazara are among those landing on the Greek island of Lesbos. At least 16 people drowned and dozens went missing last week after overcrowded boats sank [Kevin Kusmez/Al Jazeera]  THE LEVANT NEWS — Lesbos, Greece – The smuggler camp where Milad was …

The Levant News — by Ghassan Michel Rubeiz, Washington — At great risk, Saudi Arabia confronts Iran in rhetoric and on the battlefield in Syria and Yemen. The National Council on US-Arab Relations, NCUSAR, is an established Washington intercultural agency focused on Arab Gulf interests. This year’s Iran meeting (October 14-15) was the 24th …

THE LEVANT NEWS – BAGHDAD on July 18, 2015 — More than 100 people were killed in a suicide car bombing at a busy market in an Iraqi town on Friday, in one of the deadliest attacks carried out by Islamic State militants since they overran large parts of the …

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and BEN HUBBARD for The New York Times —  The Levant News — CAIRO — King Salman of Saudi Arabia met Friday with top political leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the most striking example yet of the new king’s willingness to work with Islamist …

By Graham E. Fuller – Source: grahamefuller.com– Saudi, Israeli and US neoconservative voices warn us tirelessly that Iran’s imperial sway has now come to dominate the governments of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and now Yemen, and still threatens Bahrain. Analytically speaking such views are not just exaggerated, but misleading and dangerous, …

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem — The hawza (seminary) in Najaf, which consists of religious schools where Shiite clerics are trained, was founded by the most prominent Shiite religious scholar, Sheikh Muhammad al-Tusi, in 1028 — even though some tend to believe that the hawza was established in Najaf decades before …

Shiite nemesis Iran seen as greater threat to kingdom By YAROSLAV TROFIMOV for THE WALL STREET JOURNAL — Ever since the Arab Spring began four years ago, Saudi Arabia waged a two-front campaign against its Shiite nemesis Iran, and against the Sunni Islamists—led by the Muslim Brotherhood—whose rise across the …

By Maysaa Shuja al-Deen – Translator: Pascale Menassa – Source: Al-monitor.com Ever since Sanaa fell into the hands of the Houthis on Sept. 21, 2014, Iranian officials have been rejoicing with their new victory in Yemen, which they consider a new land to spread their influence. The most popular statement …

By Graham E. Fuller Published first on Graham Fullet’s Blog – ISIS has particularly targeted Shi’a as a key part of their brutal onslaught against any practice of Islam that does not conform to their narrow ahistorical interpretation view of their religion. We hear a lot from western commentators about …

By Justin Salhani for the Media Line – [Beirut] — In American policy making circles, the name Hizbullah cuts a shadowy figure of a radical Islamist terrorist group, hell-bent on Israel’s destruction. Hizbullah, which translates to “Party of God,” describes itself as a Shiite-Muslim political and social movement that first …

By Ala’a Shehabi for Foreign Policy – summarized by Julia Lugovska – After the recent uprisings in Bahrain Bahraini government was working on confronting and crushing pro-democracy activists, but what about the supporters and followers of the Islamic State? IS becomes very active in their online and video campaigns, trying …

THE LEVANT –  By Dr. Amer Al Sabaileh – Across the region, some of the more stable countries continue to face political and military challenges. Of particular note at this point in time is Turkey and Saudi Arabia, for very different reasons. Turkey is currently mired in a dilemma triggered …

By Toby C.Jones  for www.jacobinmag.com –   Last Wednesday, a criminal court in Saudi Arabiasentenced Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, one of the kingdom’s most visible political dissidents, to death. Saudi authorities have justified the verdict in terms of national security. Convicted on vague charges of sedition, Al-Nimr was tried in …

By Catherine Shakdam – “Then fight in the cause of Allah, and know that Allah Heareth and knoweth all things.” Quran 2:244 When ISIL enounced its plan earlier in June to lay waste Shia Islam and destroy everything and everyone related to it, millions across not only Iraq but the Islamic …

Revolutionary Guards in Tehran raise their fists in support of Supreme Leader’s order for the country’s armed forces to take measures against the Taliban in Afghanistan, 15 September 1998. Photograph: Atta Kenare/EPA The Guardian – Tehran Bureau correspondent Merila, 30, has no love for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but …