The world left these Afghan women behind. Now they’re fending for themselves.
Educated in a Canadian-funded school, they became Afghanistan’s best and brightest young women. Today they live in fear, abandoned to the Taliban.
Middle East
The Pope is visiting the United Arab Emirates. That’s a big deal.
Opinion: The papal visit challenges the contention that there is an unbridgeable gap between Islam and Christianity
Prince William’s Middle East trip is the future king’s biggest test
Prince William’s Middle East tour, which includes the first official visit to Israel by a senior British royal, will be fraught—and it’s unclear if he’s up for the challenge
Protests in Iran could spell trouble for the Middle East at large
Opinion: The prospect of major bloodshed at the hands of the state looms large. If that happens, the ensuing domino effect could create a volatile situation.
Alan Kurdi’s relatives on the Syrian conflict: "It’s going to get worse."
On the two-year anniversary of Alan Kurdi’s death, Abdullah and Tima Kurdi discuss his legacy and their hopes for the future.
1916 series: Lines on a map, and a legacy of unrest
Both sides in the Great War strove to create tensions within their enemies. And Islamic loyalties were a prime target.
The Iran-Iraq war, continued
A new book reveals surprising economic subterfuge behind a bloody conflict that still shapes the region
The Sunni vs. Shia schism, and why it matters 1,300 years later
It would be simplistic to say the sectarian outrage over Saudi Arabia’s execution of a Shia cleric was only religion-driven—and would ignore key history
How a prophecy can help us better understand Islamic State
William McCants on the apocalyptic End Times prophecies that drive Islamic State, why it’s so dangerous—and why it is so difficult to defeat
How the Middle East is losing its religions
Thousands of years of history are unravelling as minority faiths flee religious persecution