Middle East Monitor Conversations

Christiana Parreira is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations and Political Science at the Geneva Graduate Institute. Her research focuses on the role of local political institutions and actors in governance, looking primarily at post-conflict contexts in the Middle East and North Africa. Her forthcoming book project examines how local governments and elections facilit...

Join us for a conversation with Ayse Zarakol as we discuss her latest book on politics and world order before the rise of the West, the Mongol Empire and how Turkey adjusted to the International political system in the 20th and 21st centuries.  Ayşe Zarakol is Professor of International Relations at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow at Emmanuel College. Her research is at the intersection o...

MEMO's conversation with senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an assistant research professor of Islamic studies at Fuller Seminary, Dr Shadi Hamid to discuss democracy in the Middle East and the US' policy in the region. Hamid has authored a number of books including The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East and the Rise and Fall of an Idea and Islamic Exceptionalism:...

MEMO speaks with history instructor and cultural heritage consultant Charles Al Hayek to discuss Lebanese history and culture and the ways he has been working to reconnect citizens to it. Al Hayek was a resident writer at the Centre of Arts and Humanities, American University of Beirut (AUB) (2020-2021) where he worked on writing and producing a series of short documentaries, Lebanon's centen...

MEMO speaks with British Palestinian academic and political activist Dr Azzam Tamimi on the life and legacy of Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi who died at the age of 96 on 26 September 2022. Tamimi is currently the Chairman of Alhiwar TV and is its Editor-in-Chief. He is also the author of Hamas: Unwritten Chapters and Rachid Ghannouchi: A Democrat Within Islamism.

MEMO speaks with international human rights lawyer Yasmin Omar as we discuss the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference due to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh in November and Egypt's human rights obligations. Yasmin Omar is the UN and Regional Communication Manager at the Geneva-based Committee for Justice . Omar specialises in international law, UN mechanisms and global sanctions. She hol...

MEMO speaks with Vice-Chair of the Institute of Race Relations Frances Webber about her new report on racism within the UK citizenship system which has reduced Muslims to 'second-class' status. Webber is a former barrister who specialised in immigration, refugee and human rights law until her retirement in 2008. She is an honorary vice-president of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyer...

MEMO speaks with Giovanni Fassina, Programme Director of the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC), about the dismissal of Palestinian journalist Farah Maraqa by German newspaper Deutsche Welle ( DW ) on charges of anti-Semitism and her subsequent legal victory, in the context of a world-wide crackdown on pro-Palestine activism. As Programme Director, Fassina oversees the legal team and the strateg...

MEMO speaks with political analyst Sami Hamdi about the possibility of Turkish reconciliation with Syria's Bashar Al-Assad and the consequences of such a move. Hamdi is the managing director of the global risk and intelligence company International Interest. He is a geopolitical risk consultant who advises governments on the geopolitical dynamics of Europe and the MENA region, as well as advi...

MEMO speaks with British anti-Semitism specialist Antony Lerman about his latest book Whatever Happened to Antisemitism?: Redefinition and the Myth of the 'Collective Jew'. Lerman is the former founding director of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) and has written widely on anti-Semitism, Middle East politics and multiculturalism for such periodicals as the Guardian , London...

MEMO speaks with counterterrorism expert Dr Rizwaan Sabir about the global war on terror, the rise of the security state in execution of that war and its impact on the, mainly Muslim, victims. Dr Sabir is the author of the recently published book The Suspect: Counterterrorism, Islam and the Security State in which he speaks of his own experiences of wrongful arrest, detention and subsequent survei...

MEMO speaks with the Vice President of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East Dr Michael Bueckert to discuss his latest book Advocating for Palestine in Canada . Bueckert has a PhD in Sociology with a specialisation in Political Economy from Carleton University in Ottawa. His dissertation explored the Canadian opposition to boycott movements, and this research involved travel to Palest...

MEMO speaks with prominent British journalist and broadcaster Peter Oborne as we discuss his new book 'The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong About Islam'. Oborne is the former chief political commentator of the Daily Telegraph.

MEMO speaks with Palestinian-Brazilian journalist and writer Eman Abusidu about Palestinians in Latin America and the region's long track record of supporting the Palestinian cause. The discussion will also look at the way in which Palestinians have influenced culture, society and politics in Latin America. Born and raised in Gaza, Eman Abusidu is a member of the Syndicate of Brazilian Journa...

MEMO speaks with Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention, Dr Gregory H Stanton, as we discuss major flashpoints in the world today from India to Ukraine, Israel and China and his thoughts on whether any of these run risks of genocide. Stanton is the founding president and chairman of Genocide Watch. From 2010 to 2019, he was a research professor in genocide studies and prevention at the Schoo...

MEMO speaks with Professor Ashok Swain as we discuss what is fueling the rise in ethno-nationalist sentiments and authoritarian governments around the world and the slide in democracy in places like India where Muslim minorities are being targeted by Hindutva extremists. Swain is a Professor of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University, Sweden. In 2017, he was appointed as the UNESCO Chair...

MEMO speaks with award-winning Australian author and activist Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah as we discuss her latest chapter in Prof. Ilan Pappe's and Dr Ramzy Baroud's recently published book 'Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Intellectuals and Leaders Speak Out'. Dr Abdel-Fattah, who has Palestinian and Egyptian roots, is a postgraduate research fellow at the Department...

MEMO speaks with Prof. Michael Lynk, the 7th Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories (2016-2022), as we discuss his final report which declared Israel an apartheid state. The Canadian legal academic is currently an associate professor at the University of Western Ontario, where he teaches labour law, constitutional law and human rights law.

MEMO speaks with Hebron-based Palestinian peace activist Issa Amro as we discuss his many decades of resisting Israeli Apartheid.  Amro is the co-founder of the grassroots group Youth Against Settlements. He has spent many years advocating the use of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience to fight the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine. In 2010, he was declared 'human rights defend...

MEMO speaks with Walaa Quisay on theodicy and popular religious politics in Egypt. Quisay is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Manchester researching non-violent civil disobedience in contemporary Islamic thought. She completed her first book to be published with Edinburgh University Press on Neo-Traditionalism in the West. She received her DPhil from the University of Oxford...

MEMO speaks with with Scottish-Palestinian actor, singer and writer Amira Al-Shanti about identity and Palestine in the context of her most recent short film 'Said the Dove to the Olive Tree'.  The 12-minute film, created by Amira Al-Shanti and produced by Interbang Productions in 2021, is a piece of digital spoken word which explores the complex feelings and identity of a Palestinian Di...

MEMO speaks with national security reporter Murtaza Hussain about Iran, the Middle East and national security in a changing world. Murtaza Hussain is a reporter at the Intercept who focuses on national security and foreign policy. He has appeared on CNN, BBC, MSNBC and other news outlets.  

MEMO speaks with Eric Maddox and Dalia Shurrab to discuss the Palestine Podcast Academy initiative. The project connects Palestinians across Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank for training in podcast production and an extended mentorship programme. Eric Maddox is the founder and director of the Palestine Podcast Academy, and host and lead producer of Latitude Adjustment Podcast. Dalia Shurrab is a...

MEMO speaks with Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh to discuss the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's 14th annual report on Islamophobia. Ambassador Sheikh is a career diplomat from Pakistan with over two and a half decades of experience. He served as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC (August 2015 – November 2019). Before joining the embassy in Washingto...