Imminent execution of six in Saudi, Six sentenced to death in Bahrain VOB.ORG

There are fears among the inhabitants of East Arabia that the execution of six Shia Muslims from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia may be imminent. Yesterday they were transferred from a prison in the Eastern city of Dammam to the capital, Riyadh, where executions often takes place.

NYU faculty ends ties with UAE over sectarianism claims

New York University’s journalism department has voted to end its relationship with its campus in the United Arab Emirates following allegations two professors were denied visas because of their religious affiliation.

Saudi women gain access to stadiums: More questions than answers

Saudi Arabia’s decision to allow women to attend sporting events in three of the country’s stadiums raises as many questions as it provide answers that go to the core of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reforms and the kingdom’s sports policy.

Opinion | N.Y.U. in Abu Dhabi: A Sectarian Bargain

The U.A.E.’s security clearance forms require applicants to list religion and sect, and N.Y.U.’s own written instructions specify that its employees cannot leave those fields blank. University officials recently told me that they’re still working to reverse my security clearance denial. But based on my past experience with the Abu Dhabi project, I have little hope.

WF: 40 Years On Part One – The Genesis of WF | The World Federation of KSIMC

That’s how it was then !

Part Two may be found here.

Arab Gulf States: Assault on Online Activists

Gulf governments have sustained their campaigns to silence peaceful critics during the first half of 2017, Human Rights Watch said today, updating an interactive website, created in November 2016, featuring targeted human rights activists.

How BAE sold cyber-surveillance tools to Arab states – BBC News

A year-long investigation by BBC Arabic and a Danish newspaper has uncovered evidence that the UK defence giant BAE Systems has made large-scale sales across the Middle East of sophisticated surveillance technology, including to many repressive governments. These sales have also included decryption software which could be used against the UK and its allies.

Commentary: Inside Trump’s Middle East mess

President Donald Trump’s attempt to bring peace and stability to the Middle East has backfired spectacularly. He has put a major U.S. ally, Qatar, in a serious geopolitical crisis and damaged the efforts of his own cabinet to calm regional tensions.

Experimenting in Mapping Online Anti-Shia Sectarianism on Twitter in the Middle East

Wouldn’t it be interesting to see if sectarianism itself was more dominant in one place than an other, at least online? Are some countries/cities more sectarian than others? Is sectarianism a localised phenomenon, despite what we might see in the news? If we knew this, we could then highlight where to prioritize tackling it.

In Senegal, Iran and Saudi Arabia vie for religious influence

In an upmarket suburb of Senegal’s seaside capital, a branch of Iran’s Al-Mustafa University teaches Senegalese students Shi’ite Muslim theology, among other subjects. The branch director is Iranian and a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hangs on his office wall.