My Journey To The Shattered Heart of Syria, Insight With Samar Yazbek: In the Summer of 2012, Syrian journalist and novelist Samar Yazbek squeezed through a gap in the fence on the Turkish border and found herself back in her homeland.
Those Who Feel The Fire Burning With Q+A: Conflict, economic crisis, and depleting environmental resources are driving increasing numbers of people to attempt the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe.
Saudi Arabia, A Kingdom In Peril?: The new leader of Saudi Arabia, King Salman, pledged continuity after his accession to the throne following the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah. But with a growing youth population, faint calls for reforms, an unstable oil market and the Islamic State (IS) on its doorstep, will he be able to deliver his pledge? The House of Saud has survived the events of the Arab Spring intact, but with a changing Middle East and the establishment of IS with strong ties to Saudi Arabia, is the kingdom in peril?
Casablanca Calling (Documentary Screening): In Morocco, the world’s first female Muslim leaders are setting out to change their country, empowering women through the teachings of Islam and challenging the attitudes which breed extremism. Through personal stories, family dramas and everyday lives, Casablanca Calling takes one into the heart of this quiet social revolution through the lives of the women at its forefront.
Mubarak’s Egypt: Director Charlie Smith investigates America’s role during the final years of Hosni Mubarak’s regime in this documentary. By then Egypt, once the Arab world’s most important power, had become a regional bit-player stagnating in corruption and cronyism. With contributions from leading players in Cairo and Washington, the film shows how revolution became the only option left to the millions betrayed by the rule of a modern-day pharaoh.
The Fate of Foreign Fighters Returning from Syria and Iraq: Foreign fighters are travelling to Syria and Iraq on an ‘unprecedented scale’ according to a recent United Nations report. In the UK, a new Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill proposing new counter-terror powers, including temporary exclusion orders and the powers to seize passports of terror suspects, has been met by concern that it threatens civil liberties.
Insight With Gerard Russell (Journeys Into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East): The Middle East has long been home to many varied and distinctive faiths that have learned to survive the perils of attacks and assimilation, but today with the region in turmoil they face greater threats than ever before.
In Conversation with Alaa Al Aswany: In nearly four years, Egypt has seen a revolution, the fall of a dictator, its first democratically elected president ousted by the military and the rise of a new leader.
Libya: A Failed State?: Panel discussion at the Frontline Club looking at whether or not Libya is on the brink of becoming a failed state, three years after the Nato-backed rebels overthrew Muammar Gaddafi and the country was held up as the success story of the Arab Spring but is now divided. As Libya’s parliament calls for foreign intervention to protect civilians from deadly clashes between rival militia groups, looking at what has gone wrong. Discussion taking place 17 September, 2014 with Lindsey Hilsum, Chris Stephen and Ghazi Gheblawi.
Eyal Weizman - The Architecture of Violence: In a journey across the settlements, the roads and the Separation Wall of the West Bank, Eyal Weizman demonstrates how architecture is central to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and how his work on the architecture of occupation has led him to understand the discipline’s role in modern urban warfare. This Al Jazeera Rebel Architecture preview screening on 13 August, 2014 at the Frontline Club will be followed by a discussion with director Ana Naomi de Sousa and protagonist and architect Eyal Weizman.