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by Brian Whitaker
Originally published in Middle East International, 11 June 2004
The arrest last month of Abu Hamza al-Masri, the fiery Egyptian-born preacher who spent seven years proclaiming jihad from Finsbury Park mosque in London, was greeted by the popular press on both sides of the Atlantic…
THREE days of rioting in Yemen which left 12 dead and about 77 injured appeared to be subsiding last night. But with no sign of government moves to resolve the underlying problems, there were fears that trouble could flare up again. Disturbances began on Wednesday when students and workers took to…
DESPITE continuing security problems, Yemen is pressing ahead with plans for the country's first direct presidential election in October.
So far, no party has named a candidate. President Ali Abdullah Salih insists it is "too early to say" whether he will stand, but he is expected to be nominated…
Background note
Introduction
1. The genesis of the problem
2. Who are the Shia?
3. The Shia and the modern Iraqi state
4. The authorities’ objectives in pursuing sectarianism
5. The nature of the Shia opposition
6. The politics of sectarianism
7. Sectarian differences and sectarian discrimination
8…
by Brian Whitaker
Originally published in Middle East International, 30 May 2003
NINE YEARS after north and south Yemen fought a civil war, President Ali Abdullah Salih and his erstwhile enemy, Ali Salim al-Baid, were finally reconciled at a meeting in Abu Dhabi last Sunday [MAY 25].
Following…
USAMA bin Laden dunnit, probably with help from Saddam Hussein. The American media have already reached their conclusions about the attack on the guided-missile destroyer, USS Cole, in Aden harbour on October 12.
It would certainly be an affront to the prestige of the US Navy to suggest that anyone…
Terrorists or tourists?
In Yemen, eight young Britons are on trial. They are accused of being Islamic fighters, revolutionaries bent on sparking a holy war. Their families and supporters maintain that they are innocents, pawns caught up in a larger political game. And that's as simple as this…
Yemen's second multi-party election has produced a knock-out victory for President Ali Abdullah Salih's party, the General People's Congress. After the crises and conflicts of recent years the result is ostensibly a vote for stability, though it has also changed the political dynamics of the…
TWO months after the end of Yemen's unity war, President Ali Abdullah Salih is consolidating his position with a series of political and constitutional changes aimed at ensuring the recent conflict will not be repeated.
At a televised ceremony last month army officers handed their party membership…
Yemen's most famous prisoner, Mansour Rajih, has been released after 15 years under the shadow of execution. The poet and political writer was arrested in 1983 following the murder of Sheikh Ahmed al-Sarari. After a trial which is now widely regarded as flawed, he was sentenced to death.
Mr Rajih's…
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
