Category: Opinion

Sun 14 July 2019: Can the esteemed scholar be trusted to speak truth to power, and should the public intellectual be held accountable to a higher standard? Mike Pompeo, United States Secretary of State, announced the formation of the Commission on Unalienable Rights this Monday. The 10-member panel chosen by the former CIA director, will […]

Fri 12 July 2019: The dehumanisation campaign Syrians are facing is strikingly similar to the one that led to the genocide of Bosnians. Refugees are being hunted, arrested and forcibly returned to the regime they fled in increasing numbers. The “reasons” for their targeting are multiple, from formalities regarding their documents to accusations of extremism […]

Mon 08 July 2019: On top of their obstructing humanitarian aid efforts, the Houthis’ tax policy is adding to the suffering of Yemen’s civilians. With Iran reeling under the pressure of increased US sanctions, its proxy militias, such as the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon, are looking for alternative ways to finance their activities […]

Sun 07 July 2019: Europe’s “Scramble for Africa” began in earnest in 1881, but never ended. The attempt at dominating the continent using old and new strategies continues to define the western relationship with this rich continent. This reality was further validated when I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on 23 June. Although my objective was to address […]

Fri 05 July 2019: It’s clear we are living in the age of fear and loathing of the foreign “other”.  A slew of signposts, statistics and signals make this reality abundantly clear, but none more so than data that points to a dramatic spike in hate crimes against religious minorities during the presidency of Donald […]

Tue 02 July 2019: Removing the hijab worn in the form of a headscarf for a Muslim woman is a right infringment. This is according to the Women’s Legal Centre (WLC). On June 29, The Daily Vox reported that Khadeejah Khaffoor, a Muslim woman travelling at OR Tambo International Airport was asked to remove her […]

Tue 02 July 2019: WASHINGTON, DC — The global economic mood is souring. At their meeting in Fukuoka, Japan, earlier last month, G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors warned that economic growth remains weak, with risks still tilted to the downside. Just a few days before that gathering, the World Bank had lowered its […]

Fri 28 June 2019: A newly published Snopes investigation provides a deeper understanding of how small groups of right-wing extremists are manipulating Facebook to portray anti-Muslim views as representative of a much broader swath of the general public. The authors of the investigation reveal how a small group of right-wing evangelical Christians have created an array of Islamophobic […]