Oslo, Monday, 13 May 2019; Iyad El-Baghdadi addressed the widely-reported threats against him by the Saudi government in a press conference. Thank you. Last week, the story broke that I had been contacted by the PST about a threat. The story – and the details that followed – generated a lot of... read more
The authoritarian regimes of the gulf are highly opaque and secretive, but their actions are extremely insidious - they operate in shadows, subverting democratic institutions and spreading disinformation to undermine democracy worldwide. However, there is one way their thoughts leak out – through their Twitter bot networks. These armies of trolls... read more
Jamal Khashoggi was a friend and colleague. His horrific murder has left a real gap in the global public sphere, and in the fabric of the Arab intellectual landscape. His analysis was first-rate, and his journalism was world-class. Moreover, at the time of his murder, we were in advanced talks... read more
The Arab Tyrant Manual - a news & analysis platform - launches on 12 February 2019. If you were on Twitter during the Arab Spring, you probably know how this started. The #ArabTyrantManual hashtag first appeared in March 2011, as our founder, Iyad El-Baghdadi, was watching Arab dictators react to... read more
Coming soon: Islam & Liberty - an online platform featuring articles, podcast, videos, and more. You may have noticed that I describe myself as an “Islamic libertarian” in my bio. I do that for two reasons: Because it’s accurate, and because I derive some kinda pleasure from watching people... read more
On 2nd October, our friend Jamal Khashoggi, a leading Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributor, went into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to get some routine paperwork done. He has not been seen since, and all signs point towards an assassination carried out inside the consulate on the orders of... read more
