The Hajj and the Struggle For Islamic Leadership

The annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca symbolizes much more than the desire of the worshipers to be closer to Allah.
The Most Embarrassingly Wrong Book Ever on the Middle East?

“The Middle East is the graveyard of predictions” notes the left-wing writer and editor Adam Shatz.
Temple Mount Crisis: Moderates Have the Upper Hand, for Now

The interfaith dialogue has proved itself. That doesn’t mean it will last. Turkey’s Erdogan, Hamas, and Sheikh Raed Salah will search for any way to sabotage the agreements and renew the riots. It just means that, sometimes, it’s better to think about less political channels of dialogue.
It’s About Sovereignty

Nothing in the Middle East is ever what it looks like.
Another Turkish Ambassador Confronts Me

In February, Turkey’s ambassador to Israel told this author to stay away from his country; at least he did so diplomatically.
ErdoÄŸan: French Words in Turkish Are Foreign, Arabic Ones Aren’t

Language has been part of ErdoÄŸan’s campaign to make Turkey more Islamic and more Turkish.
Violence Against Women: Some Inconvenient Data for the Corrupt UN

According to the Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum, there is not a single overwhelmingly Muslim nation in the best 50 scoring list of countries.
Turkey’s Failed Grand Design for the Middle East

Once again, Turkey’s leaders were trapped by their own ideological shallowness into betting on a losing horse.
Soft Sharia in Turkey

Turkey, once a semi-modern state, is now drifting fast into the Sharia order — without the name Sharia.
Turkish Funding in Jerusalem Could Be “Explosive”

A report published by Israel Hayom has outlined 63 Turkish-funded projects in the Jerusalem’s Arab sector.