IDF Videos Aimed Squarely at Spurring Arab-on-Arab Hate and Sectarianism

The head of the IDF’s Arabic language media division has been making a series of videos hoping to undermine Arab support for Palestine and foment hate against Iran.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
IDF Arabic media spokesman Avichay Adraee.

GAZA – A new video released by an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) spokesman has unnerved many in the global Muslim community for its use of sectarian rhetoric and slurs targeting Shia Muslims that are often used by leaders of extremist Wahhabi terror groups. The video, released on social media on Thursday and already with more than 20,000 views,

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Saudi Attempts to Sow Seeds of Sectarianism in Yemen Are Backfiring

Day and night, Yemenis in rebel-held areas are bombarded with polarizing sermons, radio ads reminiscent of the vitriol that fueled the 1994 Rwandan massacre, and leaflet drops that routinely rain down messages of disunity like confetti commandments hurled from an angry, vengeful God.

Ahmed Abdulkareem
By Ahmed Abdulkareem
Supporters of Yemen's Houthi Shias attend a rally to mark the third anniversary of the Yemen's revolution in Sanaa, Sept. 21, 2017. Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, the leader of Yemen's Houthis, accused the U.S., Saudi Arabia and the UAE of seeking to divide Yemen. (AP/Hani Mohammed)

SANA’A, YEMEN -- A  phalanx of flickering video cameras frames the portly Saudi Imam in a shimmering half-light, as he exhorts a brigade of Sunni Muslim mercenaries from the East African nation of Sudan to prepare for battle with rebels from Yemen’s Shia sect known as Houthis. The (Saudi) King Salman Bin Abdulaziz brought you to defend the Prophet

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Trump Just Made Non-Arab Iran the Champion of Arab Nationalism

As Saudi Arabia embraces Donald Trump and Israel, Iranian leaders called for all 56 Muslim-majority countries to make a stand against the US decision on Jerusalem, proclaiming that the city will always be Arab and Islamic.

Juan Cole
By Juan Cole
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks with Iranian officials, participants of the 31st International Islamic Unity Conference and ambassadors from Islamic countries, in Tehran, Iran, Dec. 6, 2017. Khamenei condemned President Donald Trump's imminent recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. (AP Photo)

Opinion -- Some sections of the crazy quilt that makes up the Trump administration want to push Iran back out of the Arab world and weaken it, in support of Israel and Saudi Arabia. Those actors have just been handed a big setback by Trump’s slurred and crazed announcement that he will move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and recognize it as

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Iraq Defeated ISIS, but the Battle Against Extremism Rages On

The military campaign against the Islamic State is almost over. But now, locals and politicians alike say, the Iraqi government must work to ensure they cannot return to recruit more followers.

Mustafa Habib
By Mustafa Habib
A suspected ISIS fighter sits in a basement as Iraqi forces continue their advance against Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, July 3, 2017. (AP/Felipe Dana)

Even as Iraq’s pro-government forces close in on Rawa, one of the very last strongholds of the extremist group known as the Islamic State, ordinary Iraqis everywhere are wondering where the extremists will turn up next. A series of recent attacks and arrests are cause for concern. In Kirkuk, the headquarters of the Shia Muslim militias in that

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Arab Islamic American Summit 2017 – How The U.S. Made A Fool’s Bargain With Saudi Arabia

Iran’s absence at last month’s Arab Islamic American Summit – a massive gathering of Arab and Muslim countries – was more than coincidence. Host Saudi Arabia and its guest, the U.S., have long conspired against Iran, with the summit’s other attendees held hostage to their vision of the Middle East.

Ziad Hafez
By Ziad Hafez
President Donald Trump waits to deliver a speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit, at the King Abdulaziz Conference Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 21, 2017. (AP/Evan Vucci)

BEIRUT (Opinion) -- The Arab Islamic American Summit held in Riyadh on May 20 and 21 was an extraordinarily surrealistic event, to say the least. Many factors made the event highly unusual, not the least of which was its timing. The summit was held just after the anniversary of Nakba Day, which marks the loss of Palestine in May 1948. In addition,

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Trump Sides With Sunni Extremists In Middle East Sectarian War

President Trump campaigned on getting the United States out of the Middle East and away from ‘stupid wars’. But his actions and rhetoric so far as president indicate he is not ready to deviate from long-held U.S. policy.

Dan Wright
By Dan Wright
Donald Trump holds a sword and sways with traditional dancers during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, May 20, 2017. (AP/Evan Vucci)

Published in partnership with Shadowproof. In a speech that contradicted numerous public statements, President Donald Trump praised the rulers of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf state autocracies for fighting Islamic terrorism in his first foreign trip as president. Despite irrefutable evidence (that Despite irrefutable evidence (that he himself

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