Free Syrian Translators (Originally published in Alhayat newspaper), 8 September 2012 Robert Fisk ventured in the company of Syrian regime forces into Daraya [a town just outside Damascus], to cover the death of 245 of the locals– according to him; more like 500 in reality. Who killed them? The “rebels”, says Mr. Fisk. They are…

Free Syrian Translators (originally published in Alhayat newspaper), 29 January 2012 Without putting it in the context of 320 days of unrestrained violence that is practiced against it by the regime, there is no point in discussing the growing military dimension of the Syrian revolution nor the ongoing intellectual, political, and psychological transformations occurring in…

Free Syrian Translators (Originally published in Alhayat newspaper), 8 January 2012 The most prominent aspect of the Syrian revolution is the demonstration: groups between tens and hundreds of thousands of people go out to public spaces, trying to occupy certain areas for a while, while chanting slogans and holding banners condemning the Regime and calling…

Free Syrian Translators (Originally published in Alhayat), 16 October 2011 It was clear that Sheikh Nawaf Ragheb Al Basheer was released, after two months of arrest, only after he was forced to appear on Syrian state television and say what the regime wanted to hear. It is also clear that the regime is not keen…

Jadaliyya, 14 August 2011 The ongoing Syrian uprising has paradoxical effects on Syrian society. On the one hand, it is an unparalleled opportunity for political education and for gaining a better understanding of the country’s affairs in general. On the other, it raises the human cost of the political transformation that an increasing percentage of…

Qantara.de, 15 May 2011 The point that the speakers for the Syrian regime are currently insisting on is evidently that the actions taken by the military and the security forces are aimed at organised armed gangs operating within the country. This assertion has become the foundation for the official version of what is happening in…

The New York Times, 10 April 2011 Damascus, Syria IN all my 50 years, I have never held a passport. Other than visiting Lebanon, I’d never left Syria when, in the fall of 2004, I was barred from leaving the country. I tried many times afterward to get a passport, but to no avail. I…

 Strategic Research and Communication Centre, 10 October 2010 Analysis article reviewing the factors and events that has transformed the social and political structure in the Syrian society leading to its contemporary state. Syria has been experiencing dramatic change since the year 2000. Exposure to globalisation, transition into new social economy, and the information age were…

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,  17 June 2009 The failures of the Bush Doctrine and the global economic crisis will shape the Obama administration’s Middle East policies in its first two years. While economic recovery is increasingly the administration’s top priority, there are indications that diplomacy and reconciliation efforts will determine Washington’s new strategy in…

Arab Reform Initiative, 14 June 2007   Is it necessary for a conversation about cultural or social diversity in Levantine or Arab societies to be tied to another conversation about the disintegration of these societies and the risk of allowing powerful western powers a firm foothold in the area? Is there not a way to…