Category Archives: Saudi Arabia
The R20 Forum in Bali: Signs of an Intriguing Partnership
by Giora Eliraz, Nir Boms – Fikra Forum, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
The Religion 20 (R20) Forum that took place in Bali last November deserves attention, if only for the fact that it was initiated and hosted by two significant Islamic actors, commonly perceived until recently as bitter ideological rivals.
Co-hosting the R20 event were the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)—Indonesia’s largest religious movement and a key civil society partner of the current Indonesian government—and the Muslim World League (MWL)—a Mecca-based Islamic organization considered until few years ago to be Saudi’s main engagement vehicle to globally promote an exclusive Wahhabi/Salafi agenda. Perhaps this new partnership is more than symbolic, and further cooperation could represent an important step in the formation of a new theological and ideological path for the Islamic world.
Continue readingSEPADPod Special on Saudi-Israeli normalisation –
Happy to share the below conversation, a special episode of SEPADPod where Dr. Simon Mabon from the Richardson Institute speaks with Dr. Aziz Alghashian and myself about Saudi-Israeli normalization. According to him, this might be the first podcast of its kind, bringing Saudi and Israeli scholars together!
Aziz is a Fellow with SEPAD and a Saudi researcher focusing on Saudi foreign policy towards Israel. Aziz obtained his PhD in Saudi foreign policy towards Israel, from the University of Essex, where he lectured from 2019-2021. Aziz has published on Saudi political history and Discoursing sectarianism, in addition to a number of journalistic pieces with The Conversation, AGSIW and the SEPAD website. Aziz is currently working on his book project on Saudi relations with Israel.
On this episode, Simon, Aziz and Nir talk about the Abraham Accords and prospects for Saudi-Israeli normalization. The conversation includes a discussion of existing relations, ideas of a ‘tacit security regime’, Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, the role of the US, and the importance of the Palestinian question.
SEPADPod Special on Saudi-Israeli Normalization – Richardson Institute – Podcast en iVoox