Category Archives: Short Comments

Qatar- Where God Favours the Rich

Posted on November 19, 2022 by nervana111

The only people who will be able to drink in stadiums will be those in corporate hospitality. (MATCH Hospitality) Can you afford paying $3000? If so, then you are one of few who can enjoy high-end alcoholic drinks in Qatar. The … Continue reading →

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A Review of Israeli Movie “Image of victory”

Posted on July 28, 2022 by nervana111

War dramas are tricky productions. They may be heavily one-sided, lacking objectivity in order to glorify or demonize one side over the other. The latest Israeli drama, Image of Victory, revisits the 1948 war between Egypt and Israel. Although it attempts … Continue reading →

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Time for Arabs to stand with Ukraine

Posted on April 20, 2022 by nervana111

More than 50 days have passed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the attitude in the Middle East towards the war is ambiguous at best. Apart from formal statements from various governments in the region that claim “neutrality,” public … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East, Short Comments | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Djokovic’s Toxic Victory

Posted on January 10, 2022 by nervana111

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is BBC Radio, welcome from rainy Wimbledon.”  I loved tennis even before I had a chance to watch any of its games. In 1980s Cairo, before the era of satellites and Internet, I first heard about … Continue reading →

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Macron, Sisi, and Human Rights in Egypt

Posted on December 8, 2020 by nervana111

“Macron says French arms sales to Egypt will not be conditional on human rights.” This top headline dominated Western media coverage of the Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s visit to France. Regional observers took that headline as a proof of the complicity of … Continue reading →

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The U.S. and the Muslim Brotherhood

Posted on May 15, 2019 by nervana111

  I am delighted to contribute, for the second time, to the Carnegie Middle East’s Diwan, in its regular surveys in matters related to Middle East politics and security. This time the question was: What impact would U.S. designation of … Continue reading →

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Iran’s election: False hopes of a moderate path

Posted on May 22, 2017 by nervana111

( Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei –via The Guardian)  Last Friday, Iranians voted in the country’s presidential election, favoring current President Hassan Rouhani with 56.9% of the votes, defeating his hardliner rival Raisi, who scored only 38.5. Reformist candidates have also … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Middle East, Short Comments | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Egypt’s Islamists and Pope Francis

Posted on May 1, 2017 by nervana111

  A photo circulated on social media accuses Pope Francis is known for his radicalism, hatred to Islam, and supports Zionism “The Pope of Terrorism” ____ a hashtag used by Islamists on Twitter to comment on Pope Francis’s recent visit … Continue reading →

Posted in Diary of Aak, Egypt, Islam, Politics, Short Comments, Terrorism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Islamist Gehad Haddad Versus Muslim Reformer Maajid Nawaz

Posted on March 6, 2017 by nervana111

The New York Times (NYT) recently published a column by Gehad el-Haddad — the [previous] spokesman for the global Islamist group The Muslim Brotherhood — penned from the confines of his Egyptian jail cell, in Tora prison. Haddad wrote about … Continue reading →

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Re-blog: “Moderate” Muslim Brotherhood Mourns Terrorist’s Death

Posted on February 22, 2017 by nervana111

It was my intention to write a piece on the Muslim Brotherhood’s response to the death of  the “blind Sheikh” Omar Abdel Rahman, but I found a comprehensive post on the topic written by John Rossomando in The Investigative Project … Continue reading →

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