Saudi Arabia’s women drivers get ready to steer their lives
Source: Reuters DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) – On June 24, when Saudi women are allowed to drive for the first time, Amira Abdulgader wants to be sitting at the wheel, […]
Evangelicals visit West Bank to see life — and Christian faith — on the other side
Source: Religion News Service NABI SALEH, West Bank (RNS) — Bassem and Nariman Tamimi’s squat but expansive one-story home of stucco and tile sits near the highest point of the […]
Erdogan’s Plan to Raise a ‘Pious Generation’ Divides Parents in Turkey
Source: The New York Times By Carlotta Gall June 18, 2018 ISTANBUL — Public schools are closing, on little or no notice, and being replaced by religious schools. Exams are […]
Jewish artifacts disappear from Damascus in fog of Syria war
Source: Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Jewish artifacts, including ancient parchment torahs from one of the world’s oldest synagogues, have gone missing from the Syrian capital amid the tumult of […]
Jordan walks a tightrope between rival powers
Source: AT However, Jordan’s neighbors and allies have so far rallied round the troubled country, with a string of financial pledges now helping stabilize its creaking economy. In recent days, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have put forward a combined $2.5 billion assistance package, while Qatar has now promised […]
Gaza residents pray near Israel as Muslims mark major feast
Source: Associated Press By WAFAA SHURAFA GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Several thousand Gaza worshippers knelt on prayer rugs spread on sandy soil, near the perimeter fence with Israel, […]
Netanyahu unexpectedly meets with Indonesian Muslim leader
Source: Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The leader of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization has held a surprise meeting with Israel’s prime minister. Yahya Staquf, secretary general of the 60 million […]
Iran arrests two prominent supporters of anti-head scarf protests
Source: Los Angeles Times By SHASHANK BENGALI and RAMIN MOSTAGHIM Iranian authorities on Wednesday jailed a prominent human rights lawyer who has defended women who removed their mandatory Islamic head scarves in public. […]
In Israel, Indonesian Muslim leader risks backlash at home
Source: Associated Press By CARON CREIGHTON JERUSALEM (AP) — A leader of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization is visiting Israel this week, braving angry protests at home in order to spread […]
U.S. plans to return American ISIS suspect to Syria with $4,210, new cellphone and clothes he had when he was picked up
Source: The Washington Post By Ann E. Marimow U.S. military officials plan to release an American citizen accused of supporting the Islamic State “under safe conditions,” and with $4,210 and a […]
Israelis Play Tourists in a Bedouin Town in the Negev
Source: The New York Times By Isabel Kershner RAHAT, Israel — The Bedouin town of Rahat, in the Negev desert, has a reputation among many Israelis as a wild, lawless and […]
Iraq arms cache explosions destroy Baghdad mosque
Source: BBC News At least 17 people have been killed and 80 wounded by explosions that destroyed a mosque in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, medical sources say. The government said […]
Saudi Arabia’s once-powerful conservatives silenced by reforms and repression
Source: The Washington Post By Kareem FahimJune 5Email the author DAMMAM, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s most conservative Islamists are reeling from a loss of influence that has left them confused about […]
Ramadan public wakers face arrest, fines in Jerusalem
Source: Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinian men who chant and beat drums to wake up the faithful during Ramadan in Jerusalem’s Old City say they are being unfairly […]
Israel opening nature museum, with evolution exhibit
Source: Associated Press By ILAN BEN ZION TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — After decades of planning and delays, Israel is opening the doors of a new national natural history museum […]
Saudi Arabia Has Issued Its First Driver’s Licenses to 10 Women
Source: Time By AYA BATRAWY / AP (DUBAI) — Saudi Arabia issued its first driver’s licenses to 10 women on Monday as the kingdom prepared to lift the world’s only ban […]
As Taboos Break Down, Iranians Party On
Source: The New York Times By Thomas Erdbrink TEHRAN — To get to the Emarat wedding hall, you have to drive outside Tehran and into the countryside, down a series […]
Younger Evangelicals Waver in Support for Israel
Source: The Wall Street Journal By Ian Lovett Updated June 3, 2018 5:33 p.m. ET JERUSALEM—Growing up in evangelical Christian churches, Caleb Fitzpatrick learned quickly to be a steadfast supporter […]
Cambridge Analytica’s Parent Company Helped Shape Saudi Arabia’s Reform Movement
Source: The New York Times By Danny Hakim The price of oil was in free fall and a youthful population restive. So the government of Saudi Arabia turned in […]
Rabbinical court in Israel rejects ‘liberal’ American rabbis
Source: Religion News Service By Michele Chabin Students attend a lecture at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, located at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. Photo courtesy of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah JERUSALEM (RNS) […]