It is as if the foreign press in recent weeks are reporting on a completely different election than the one the Dutch are facing. Unlike the journalists streaming in the country that co-founded the EU, most citizens heading to the polling stations on Wednesday are not obsessed by far-right leader Geert Wilders. Recent articles in…
Newsweek did an article on Dutch far-right MP Geert Wilders for which I was interviewed too. I tried to explain the reporter a bit on his “successful” polarisation of Dutch society, how he manages to set the agenda on various issues including Islam, immigration and crime – and finally, his media antics. A brief look…
Being in Lebanon I noticed Saad Hariri’s 14 March movement showed remarkably poor strategic vision and tactical savvy in dealing with the bombing in Ashrafieh. This article was published by Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram When a car bomb detonated in the Christian quarter Ashrafieh in East Beirut I was only half a mile away. I…
Geert Wilders’ shocking rise to prominence in Dutch politics looks to be over soon. Originally published by Al Jazeera English In a recent biography by a political analyst, Geert Wilders is labelled the sorcerer’s apprentice. Trained by one of the most prominent Dutch politicians in recent decades – “sorcerer” Frits Bolkesteijn – Wilders transformed from a relatively…
Help! The Muslim Brotherhood is coming to power. After years of oppression by the secular military rule of Hosni Mubarak, the Islamists are now the most important political force in Egypt. At least, if their presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi manages to defeat felool (Egyptian slang for someone who was part of the old regime) candidate…
In last week’s edition of Al Ahram Weekly, James Zogby from the Arab American Institute argued that the US should not promote democracy in the Arab world as long as it fails to listen to Arab voices. Zogby makes a very compelling argument why Washington indeed struggles to support and nurture democracy in the region.…
My latest article (in Dutch, apologies to my global audience!) features an analysis of the Iraq war which cemented sectarianism instead of pro-democracy movements. It was published by De Volkskrant. Deze week is het negen jaar geleden dat een door de Verenigde Staten geleide ‘coalitie van welwillenden’ buiten de VN-veiligheidsraad om Irak binnenvielen. De invasie van…
