The ‘Global Mufti’ Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi 1926-2022
Summary: Sheikh al-Qaradawi has died leaving behind a complex and controversial legacy.
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US policy in the Middle East: a continuum of failure
The Arab Digest podcast conversation this week takes a hard look at US foreign policy in the Middle East under President Joe Biden. Digest editor William Law’s guest is Jon Hoffman, a geopolitical analyst and commentator. Hoffman sees Biden’s approach as a continuation of decades of failed policies that have served neither the US nor the people of the region well.
The MbS no show
Summary: there was a flurry of suggestions that the Saudi crown prince would come to London for the Queen’s funeral but in the end he didn’t show up while other senior Gulf dignitaries did.
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen: a feast of tweets
Summary: After a tumultuous week which saw the death of Queen Elizabeth and the rout of the Russian army in Ukraine, the Middle East analyst and author Kristian Coates Ulrichsen returns to the podcast to discuss in detail his recent tweets with Arab Digest editor William Law.
Qatar and Egypt: friends again
Summary: with the Egyptian president’s visit to Doha today, after the Qatari Emir’s June visit to Cairo, old animosities are seemingly buried but Sisi will have to tread carefully lest he annoy Abu Dhabi by wooing Doha too energetically.
Emirati – Qatari Information War: Round 2
Summary: an end to the blockade of Qatar last year has, on the surface, eased tensions between Abu Dhabi and Doha but look a little deeper and the animosity remains.
The Arab Digest Podcast Top Ten Countdown: number 7
Our podcast Cairo and Ankara: a new axis? ranks number 7 in the Arab Digest top ten podcast list. It was released 18 June 2021 and features Ali Bakir, a research assistant professor at Ibn Khaldoon center for Humanities and Social Sciences in Doha. Ali is an analyst following geopolitical and security trends in the Middle East, and especially those between Turkey and the Arab world. His conversation with Digest editor William Law focussed on the thaw in relations between Cairo and Ankara.
Yemen: a solution in sight for the environmental threat of the FSO Safer
Summary: with time running out and autumn storms ahead action is finally happening to offload more than 1 million barrels of crude from a derelict ship moored in the Red Sea but big oil needs to step up and use their recent massive windfall profits to cover a donor shortfall.
Biden in a bind
Arab Digest editor William Law’s podcast guest is Giorgio Cafiero, the CEO of Washington-based Gulf State Analytics. Their conversation focusses on US-Saudi relations and the awkward situation US president Joe Biden finds himself in needing to reach some sort of accommodation with the Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman as petrol prices rocket and America’s domestic economic woes mount.
Qatari princess in custody row dies in Marbella
Summary: a Qatari princess who publicly criticised a senior member of the Qatari royal family died on Sunday in Marbella in unexplained circumstances.