Why the Middle East Never Bought Obama’s Politics of Hope

Egyptian Revolutionaries Were Hardly Surprised When America Fumbled the Arab Spring

On the night of Barack Obama’s election in 2008, I stood outside a dormitory at the University of Texas at Austin, debating two Egyptian bloggers about Obama’s win.

About two months ago, I was watching another U.S. election season when I learned that one of those bloggers had been sentenced to two years in prison in Egypt. Ahmed Naje was convicted of offending “public morals” and “spreading licentiousness” after an excerpt from his graphic novel was published in a local newspaper. The novel, which includes sexually explicit content, had already …

Is the United Arab Emirates the Future of the Arab World?

The 21st-Century Trading Post Embraces Capitalism and Breeds Tolerance

The Hong Kong of India. The Singapore of the Middle East. The Miami of Africa. No wait, make that the Hong Kong of Iran. Or is it the Vegas of …

Why ISIS Declared War on Soccer

The Sport Keeps Winning Over Hearts and Minds Across the Muslim World, Bridging East and West

It’s not surprising that the crazed “Soldiers of the Caliphate” terrorists selected the France-Germany soccer match at the Stade de France as the central target in their assault on Paris. …

A ‘Musical Intifada’ in the West Bank

Criss-Crossing a Traumatized Land With Young, Palestinian Musicians

Over the last five years, as I criss-crossed the West Bank to document one young musician’s dream to build music schools amidst Israel’s military occupation, I’d often come upon a …

We Miss Saudi Arabia’s ‘Humane King’

Abdullah May Have Been Slow on His Promises, But He Had to Modernize a Traditional Country Without Tearing It Apart

“I slept and my king was Abdullah. Then I woke up and my king was Salman.”

This is how some Saudis refer to the smooth transition of power after our …

An American at Home in Yemen

I Found Warmth, Humor, and Kindness in a Misunderstood Country

I miss Yemen.

That may come as a surprise since whenever the country makes headlines–as it has over the past few weeks–the overwhelming themes are war, violent radicalism, the impending doom …