Days after welcoming Secretary of State Antony Blinken as part of efforts to reset relations with the U.S., Saudi Arabia turned its attention to boosting ties with one of Washington’s main competitors: China, says Bloomberg. A Bloomberg report — Saudi Arabia Looks to China for Business as US Influence Wanes — said on June 13, 2023: For the past two […]

When June 16, 202310:00 am – 11:00 am Where Zoom Webinar Registration For More Information Programs Departmentevents@mei.edu202-785-1141 ext. 202 Iran has had complicated relations with the Taliban since the group emerged in the 1990s. But recent border clashes and deepening tensions over shared water resources represent a serious escalation — and a new set of challenges — for both Tehran […]

Bangladesh, a vibrant South Asian country, finds itself in the heart of a burgeoning political crisis. As the nation prepares for national elections scheduled for late 2023 or early 2024, escalating violence and civil discord are cause for concern. At this critical juncture, immediate international attention and proactive intervention are required. The nation seems to be inching towards a full-scale […]

The history of the Islamization of indigenous non-Muslim populations of Kashmir is similar to that of the Middle East and North Africa: native non-Muslim peoples were first conquered by Islamic armies and then subjected to discrimination and persecution, which led to either death, conversion to Islam or departure/flight. Due to killings and forced conversions, there are no Hindus remaining in […]

Three days after India announced that it had sent a technical team back to its embassy in Kabul, a delegation of Indian Islamic scholars travelled to Iran and met with the acting ambassador of Afghanistan in Tehran. The delegation led by Salman Husaini Nadwi, a prominent Indian scholar, spoke with Ambassador Fazl Mohammad Haqqani about the issues related to Afghanistan […]

In an interview, Abdullah Baabood discusses Beijing’s evolving role in the Gulf region, where its priority is stability. Abdullah Baabood is a nonresident scholar at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center. He holds the chair of the state of Qatar for Islamic area studies and is a visiting professor at the Faculty of International Research and Education at […]

Remarks by China’s UN Ambassador Geng Shuang on the situation in Occupied Palestine on May 24 were impeccable, in terms of their consistency with international law. Compared to the US position, which perceives the UN, and particularly the Security Council, as a battleground to defend Israeli interests, the Chinese political discourse reflects a legal stance based on a deep understanding […]

“The world is not just Europe and America,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson declared on April 10, 2023, implicitly echoing the views championed for years by the senior leadership of the Islamic Republic regarding the ostensible rise of China and Russia. Indeed, the moment when Iran shifted from a traditional balancing relationship between East and West to decisively embrace Russia and […]

Security issues are complicating Iran’s relations with Pakistan, and there has also been violence on the Iran-Afghanistan border recently. There was another deadly attack on Iran’s border with Pakistan on Thursday, further complicating both countries’ efforts to improve relations. The Pakistani military said unspecified “terrorists” attacked security forces in the Kech district in southwestern Baluchistan province, near the border with […]

The two countries call to de-escalate the situation after deadly clashes erupt apparently over river water-sharing dispute. Last week, deadly clashes broke out between Afghan and Iranian guards at their border raising fears of a new conflict. Both sides have accused each other of initiating the shooting in which at least two Iranian and one Afghan guard were killed. However, […]