A selection of highlights from al-bab.com ...
From warfare to lawfare: Israel's other battleground
UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) is a lawfare organisation that sends out legalistic letters complaining about criticisms of Israel or expressions of support for the Palestinians. One of its tactics is to demand the cancellation of pro-Palestinian events, hinting at legal action against the venue if they go ahead. Here's a collection of blog posts about its activities, mostly during the Gaza war that began in 2023.
Transgender rights in the Middle East
A four-part exploration of how questions of gender identity are treated across the region.
Degrees of deception
Fraudulent qualifications are a problem in many parts of the world, and especially in the Middle East. Unrecognised universities consisting of little more than a website offer tempting short cuts to a degree certificate. Often based in western countries but run by Arab expatriates targeting clients in their homeland, they not only create unfairness in the jobs market but can lead to unqualified people putting others in danger.
Denying the Obvious
An e-book on the organised effort to cast doubt on chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
The GNRD scandal
The Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) was a strange kind of NGO. Its founder/president, Loai Deeb, had previously been head of a fake university based at his home in Norway. Handsomely funded via the United Arab Emirates, GNRD promoted a suprisingly favourable view of human rights in the Gulf state. In 2015, though, police raided its office as part of a $13 million money-laundering investigation.
The attack on USS Cole in Aden harbour
Seventeen people died and 39 were injured in an attack on the American guided missile destroyer, USS Cole, in Aden harbour, Yemen, on October 12, 2000. While the ship was refuelling offshore, a small craft with two men on board approached the ship and exploded. The blast blew a 40-foot hole in the side of the USS Cole. In the months after the bombing there was growing evidence that the attack had been orchestrated by Usama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida network.
Abu Hamza and the Islamic Army
In 1998, two very different groups of travellers set out from Britain for Yemen. One group, on an adventure tour with Explore Worldwide, went in search of history and a traditional culture. The other group were young men from a Muslim background who had gone, according to their families, to learn Arabic, have a holiday and experience life in the Islamic world. Both trips met with disaster. Ten of the young men were arrested on terrorism charges. The 16 adventure tourists were taken hostage and four died when Yemeni forces tried to rescue them.
Qatar's Christian crusaders
An investigation into the network of American evangelicals who took an unlikely interest in Qatar.
Egypt: The fall of President Mubarak
Tunisia: The fall of President Ben Ali
Yemen: The fall of President Salih