Qatar will withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in January, Qatar Petroleum (QP), the state-owned oil company announced on Monday. The decision to quit the bloc of 15 oil-producing countries, which account for a significant percentage of the world’s oil production, reflects Qatar’s desire to focus its efforts on plans to […]

The following interview with Nadia Aziz, a program manager of the Stop the Hate Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, was conducted, produced and edited by Middle East Policy Council interns, Gabrielle Hunt (Seton Hall University) and Sara Lönegård (University of Dundee/San Francisco State) in 2017. MEPC interns can develop independent projects […]

What are the marriage trends among American Muslims? Marriage is a constant topic in American Muslim circles. Islamic texts encourage marriage. But, given that a majority of American Muslims are first-, second-, or third-generation immigrants, the concept of marriage can take on heightened significance as the community continues to establish itself in the US while […]

A general lack of knowledge about how some Muslim girls and women dress sometimes leads to instances of anti-Islam rhetoric, harmful stereotypes and social barriers. This is not a black-and-white issue as women's attire everywhere is influenced by family, culture and national norms, religious beliefs, personal preference, fashion trends, political views and so much more. [...]
Many people hold a rather bleak view of girls' and women's lives in the Middle East and Muslim world; constrictive stereotypes and judgments about social practices create a one dimensional depiction of women that doesn't reflect their true depth and variety. Some common refrains might refer to the freedom, or lack thereof, of dress; to [...]

This compelling overview of the ancient ruins of Palmyra, located in central Syria, recounts the many conquests that took place here, uses 150-year-old photographs of the area, and provides an understated but powerful chronicle of the devastation enacted by players (not only the Islamic State) in the Syrian Civil War to convey the human burden […]