By James M. Dorsey Newly elected Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined this week a host of Middle Eastern and North African leaders seeking to portray protest as terrorism or a threat to national security with the indictment of 35 militant soccer fans on charges of trying to topple his Islamist government. Turkish prosecutors have … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey An expected decision by Egyptian soccer authorities to ban as terrorist organizations groups of militant soccer fans builds on the definition by Arab autocrats of legitimate, democratic opposition forces as violent threats to their grip on power. By leaving youth with ever fewer, if any, options for venting pent-up anger and … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey The disappearance of two British World Cup 2022-related labour rights researchers points to apparent escalating hostility between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over Doha’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood; highlights the Gulf state’s lack of transparency with its silence about the fate of the two men; and has sparked fears … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey The meteoric rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its declaration of an Islamic State straddling the two Arab countries raises the spectre of a militant Islamist state in the heart of the Middle East close to the borders of US allies like Israel, Jordan and Saudi … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey A series of incidents ranging from the killing of a player to the raising of the flag of the Islamic State, the militant jihadist group that controls a swath of Syria and Iraq, to the arrest of militant Egyptian fans signals the return of North African soccer pitches as venues for … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Synopsis Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu is likely to face significant political problems at home and a far less empathetic diplomatic environment abroad once the guns fall silent in Gaza. Calls in Israel for an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Gaza crisis and what is being described as an intelligence … [Read more…]