Asia specialists will not openly admit it, but they hate the Middle East. To them, the Middle East is the great distraction that keeps people from focusing on what’s really important – their own area in the Western Pacific. The media are primarily to blame, according to this narrative. The media love sudden drama, even More »

After just four months at the helm, Ahmed bin Abdel-Aziz al-Saud has been replaced as Saudi Arabia’s interior minister in favor of his deputy (and nephew), Mohammed bin Nayef (pictured above). The appointment of Prince Mohammed, who was assistant interior minister between 1999 and July 2012 (and deputy interior minister thereafter), is a logical move More »

As someone who writes and lectures about women and gender in Islam, I am often asked if women had any role in the making of the Islamic tradition. Happily, the answer is always yes. There were in fact many prominent women in the early history of Islam. At the top of the list would have More »

Our source for this post, Mousab Alhamadee, by his own account, is a school teacher and an activist serving as an international media spokesman for the Local Coordination Committees of Syria. He purportedly works under the protection of the Free Syrian Army in the mountains near Hama. He also says he is a former translator More »

October 11, 2012, marks the United Nation’s first-ever observance of the International Day of the Girl Child. According to the U.N., selected as this year’s theme was “Ending Child Marriage.” Organizers say it was chosen because the practice is seen as a phenomenon that violates millions of girls’ rights, disrupts their education, jeopardizes their More »

On October 1st, 2012, women organizers launched a Facebook page, “The Uprising of Women in the Arab World,” to highlight the discrimination against them which they don’t feel comfortable – or safe – enough to protest in the streets.  In just ten days, the page has generated nearly 35,000 “likes” and conversation among more More »

Recently, the Saudi Industrial Property Authority – or MODUN – announced it was building a number of industrial cities which will include women-only business sectors. This would allow women to work without violating strict religious laws on gender mixing.  The announcement has generated some controversy.  Some see it as an attempt to empower women, More »

Violent clashes between supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebel fighters are showing no signs of abating, and Middle East expert Daniel Newman, a professor at Durham University in Britain, says for at least the next few months, that’s what the world can expect. He spoke with VOA’s Meredith Buel about the Syrian conflict, and said More »

This week in Bahrain, human rights activist Nabeel Rajab was sentenced to three years in prison in what observers call a ‘shocking’ decision. In Iran, earthquakes killed hundreds and injured over 4,500. Relief workers tried desperately to free trapped citizens from the rubble and Tehran, after initially rejecting help, called for international aid. In Syria, fierce More »

This week in Syria, government forces pushed back Free Syrian Army rebels in Aleppo, a bomb exploded in the state news agency, and President Bashar al-Assad’s newly appointed prime minister, Riad Hijab, defected, raising the question, is the Syrian regime coming apart? In Lebanon, security forces detained for questioning former information minister Michel Samaha, an ally of Syrian More »

In this newsmaker interview, Marc Lynch, author of The Arab Uprising, The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East, discusses his recently published book and the future of the new Middle East with host Carol Castiel and VOA Middle East senior reporter Cecily Hilleary. Listen and find out why Lynch identifies Turkey, Qatar, Egypt More »

To eat or not to eat? That is the question for about 3,000 Muslim athletes in London’s 2012 Summer Olympic Games. All 17 days of competition, from July 27 to August 12, fall within the holy month of Ramadan — a time when Muslims are required to fast and refrain from drinking water from sunrise More »

If there is to be another Arab Spring in the next few years, it will look markedly different from what has transpired in 2011-12. Social media and mobile phones clearly played a role. But satellite television was deemed the amplifier that took self-organizing groups on Twitter and Facebook and turned them into million-man (and More »

The newspaper stories are shocking: Man stapled maid several times and left her disfigured…Heated nails hammered into Sri Lankan maid…Housemaid plunges to her death from Sharjah tower…Ethiopian domestic worker beaten on camera commits suicide… Open any newspaper in Lebanon or the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and you will likely find similar stories More »

Why has there been no Arab Spring in Saudi Arabia? Are Saudis frightened of the consequences of dissent? Are they politically too apathetic? Are they happy with their socio-economic system? Observers suggest it may be a little of all of the above. Background In mid-December 2011, a series of sporadic protests erupted across Saudi Arabia, roughly More »

Saudi Arabia is reported to be reconsidering the decision to recall its ambassador to Egypt, after leaders in Cairo worked to heal a rift between the Arab neighbors. The Saudis closed their mission in Egypt following anti-Saudi protests there. Egypt’s de-facto leader, Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, reached out to officials in Saudi Arabia in More »

This is our ongoing coverage of the events surrounding this week's Bahrain Grand Prix Formula One race. Team bosses continue to insist the course is safe, but the Force India team skipped the second practice session so its people would not have to travel to their hotel after dark. An open letter declared support for the race and the Bahraini government, but thousands of protesters turned out in a rally against the race and the ruling family. Meanwhile, drivers continue to stay mostly close-mouthed about the political conflict, insisting on focusing on the race only.  More »

It appears that Saudi Arabia will not send female athletes to London this year as part of its official Olympic team. But the kingdom doesn’t mind if they go on their own. Earlier reports had said at least one athlete – equestrienne Dalma Rushdi Malhas, a bronze medalist at the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore More »

The Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled for later this month. F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone says it's a go; leading drivers say they feel safe. But protests against the government continue.  More »