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Category - middle east

  • 13 Sep 2011
    Christians under pressure in the fractured politics of the Middle East

    Whether in Iraq, Israel and Palestine, Egypt, Syria or Lebanon, Christians who were once the bellwethers of healthy Middle Eastern societies are feeling exposed, menaced and insecure. Their churches are being burnt down, relatives or friends are at times being killed, beaten up or abducted, voices are being snuffed out, job opportunities are being denied them and they are almost facing a dhimmitude that had become defunct with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Harry Hagopian asks what response is appropriate, starting from a personal exploration of the issues from a European perspective.

  • 11 Sep 2011
    Changing perspectives from 9/11, ten years after

    Over the past ten years we have witnessed the birth of the neologism '9/11' and the horrid and inaccurate phrase 'global war on terror'. Some of what happened in those ten intervening years is now history, says Harry Hagopian. But much of it continues to resonate across the globe, calling us to a change of outlook and action. Revolutions and popular revolts across the Middle East and North Africa region vindicate the standpoint that real changes should come from within and do not necessarily get imposed militarily upon a whole people anymore.

  • 8 Sep 2011
    Orthodox leaders assess Christian presence in the Middle East

    Leaders from five historic centres of Christianity in the eastern Mediterranean region have met to discuss matters of regional and global concern.

  • 5 Sep 2011
    Kamal Salibi: A loss to Lebanon and the Arab intellectual world

    Dr Kamal Salibi, a renowned academic and historian, died suddenly in Beirut this week. Harry Hagopian reflects on his significance not just for his home country, but for the Arab world as a whole and for all concerned for the social, intellectual, religious and political culture of the Middle East.

  • 2 Sep 2011
    Where is Libya's new regime headed?

    All eyes are now on National Transition Council (NTC) in Libya, following the demise of the Gaddafi regime. A week ago I recorded another Middle East Analysis podcast that seeks to examine the challenges it faces.

  • 30 Aug 2011
    The Libyan experience and an Arab awakening

    What started in Tunisia simply cannot stop now in Libya, says Harry Hagopian. It should not only grow but also improve incrementally so that we all stop talking romantically about a one-season 'Arab Spring' and think more pragmatically in terms of an Arab Awakening from a long slumber - a stubborn challenge against those rulers and elites who would prefer their co-citizens to remain dormant.

  • 22 Aug 2011
    Turmoil in Syria and Libya

    In the light of Eid Al-Fitr at the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the continuing bloodshed in Syria comes into focus in my latest Middle East Analysis podcast with the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales - as we discuss the current situation and also look at the plight of the country's Christians.

  • 11 Aug 2011
    Is there a coherent sense of direction for Syria?

    Today Syria is a lesson about how motivated citizens can challenge governments that act violently and seem invincible, says Harry Hagopian. But we also need to be wary towards religious radicalism or fanaticism on the one hand, and military arrogance or political kleptocracy on the other, infiltrating movements for change and co-opting them in order to impose new forms of dictatorships, totalitarian control, subjugation and discrimination.

  • 1 Aug 2011
    The story behind the story in the Middle East

    The Middle East and North Africa area remains a vast and heterogeneous region of turbulence, confusion, hope, dread, reform, stand-off, contradiction, expectation, frustration, life and death.

  • 20 Jul 2011
    Call to support Christian minorities in Israel and Palestine

    A two-day conference at Lambeth Palace on 'Christians in the Holy Land,' jointly hosted by Catholic and Anglican leaders, has ended with a call to action.