Modern Middle East History

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210325-yemen-used-to-be-using-art-to-bring-a-rich-history-back-to-life/

Today marks the sixth year since the 2015 Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. This article introduces ‘Yemen used to be’, a project formed in 2019 to publicize the nation’s forgotten heritage and culture. Yemen’s historical importance dates back to around 3,000 years ago, where one of the world’s first ancient civilizations developed. Islam was brought to the country in 630 CE, and it became part of the Islamic Empire under Muhammad. In terms of Islamic culture, Yemen is home to a number of architectural contributions, including al-Janad Mosque and al-Jami al-Kabir in the Old City of Sana’a. ‘Yemen used to be’ covers the “outstanding achievements in Yemen’s history” in hopes of educating the international community on Yemen’s rich culture and background.

https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/42363/Arab-Spring-The-End-of-Political-Islam-as-We-Know-It

This article examines the roots of al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin (Muslim Brotherhood), and how it has developed since its formation in 1928. Like many other movements that emerged in response to foreign imperialism in the 20th-century Arab world, al-Ikhwan was built on a pan-Islamic and anti-imperialist vision. It gained popularity in Egypt as a social welfare organization aimed at promoting Islamic principles and outreach through da’wa (missionary activity). Eventually, the realization that a political role was needed to further social objectives led to members of al-Ikhwan running for seats in Egypt’s government. As the article argues, the Arab Spring transformed the role of al-Ikhwan’s bifocal approach to da’wa. Such is the case in Tunisia’s Ennahda, where they have shifted away from their social mission towards increasing political ambitions.

https://lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n05/elias-muhanna/reinventing-islam

https://www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/saracens-and-turks-wests-troubled-relation-islam

This piece by journalist Soumaya Ghannoushi is a bit old, but nonetheless relevant to understanding the persistent distortions of the Middle East and NA. Islam’s designation as the ‘Other’ dates back to medieval Christian writings in the 7th and 8th centuries, wherein Muslims were given the role of the enemy under the reductionist label of ‘Saracens’. However, this Orientalist narrative was not thoroughly espoused in Europe until much later, with the appearance of the Ottomans. In efforts to deter the Ottoman’s growing following, the Roman Catholic Church’s framing of the adversary shifted; Turks and Saracens were made synonymous, and both were classified as the ideological opposition.

While the religious term ‘Christendom’ eventually transitioned into the secular cultural and political identities of modern European nations, Islam’s misrepresentation as the West’s antithesis has become a permanent depiction of the Middle East in Western rhetoric and mainstream media. Modern Europe and the US have continuously used this medieval illustration of Islam as a violent and backward threat to justify Western cultural and political superiority and imperialistic ambitions. Yet, Ghannoushi argues that the “Muslim threat” reveals more on the anxieties in European identity than anything else.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/02/turkey-saudi-arabia-uae-egypt-media-feed-off-myths-in-rows.html

Since our class today was an introduction to the Ottoman Empire, I think it is the perfect time to discuss Turkey’s contemporary foreign policy. In recent years, the country has advanced its geopolitical role beyond the Middle East. While most attention gets placed on the ongoing Kurdish-Turkish conflict, the scope of their growing military and diplomatic presence extends to the Western Balkans, the Caucasus, and the African continent. President Erdogan’s military ambitions in Libya, Sudan, Somalia, and Qatar have become a point of contention within the Middle East, as Egypt and certain Gulf states perceive Turkey’s heightened involvement as a threat to regional stability.  Many Arab journalists and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have accused Erdogan of promoting neo-Ottomanism ideology; yet, Turkish officials are adding fuel to the fire by making comments that recall the Ottoman legacy, and distributing a map of “Greater Turkey.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/algeria-criminalises-fake-news-protect-state-security-200422201042011.html

Algeria criminalized ‘fake news,’ to protect ‘state security,’ this seems like giving oneself the legitimacy to act out against political opponents and dissidents, is there any precedent for this kind of policy in Algeria considering decades of French rule?

https://www.france24.com/en/20200418-turkey-s-covid-19-cases-overtake-iran-to-become-highest-in-middle-east

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/tense-calm-prevails-syria-idlib-ceasefire-holds-200306100457396.html

For the first time in five years, warfare will cease in Yemen. This ceasefire follows calls by the United Nations to halt fighting to combat the spread of COVID-19. Already declared to be the worst humanitarian crisis by the UN in 2019, Yemen faces the possibility of the situation worsening due to COVID-19. The ceasefire was agreed upon by Saudi Arabia, Saudi’s allies, and the Yemeni government. The Houthis, a rebel group who’s controlled part of Yemen since 2014, were not part of the negotiations.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/14/world/middleeast/syria-idlib-displaced.html

More than 800,000 Syrians have fled violence in the last few months but now they are trapped in Idlis between the Syrian government and Turkey’s closed border with nowhere to go.