Tam Hussein
@tamhussein
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Award winning investigator & writer. Curr. @itvnews @newlinesmag . Usual disc. Substack page: The Blood Rep book:
I dont argue on SM
Joined February 2012
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For the archives: Che Guevara in Damascus visiting Saladin’s tomb - credit
@YBirt
for finding it.
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According to Reprieve (US) the US knew they had the wrong man within 2 days of his capture. He stayed in Guantanamo for 19 years. Thread 👇 for details of case.
🚨 BREAKING: Our client, Ahmed Rabbani, has been cleared for release from Guantánamo, a unanimous decision by six US Government agencies.
Detained without charge or trial for 19 years, Ahmed has never met his son, Jawad, who was born after he was taken into US custody. 🧵1/3
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Thread: Today is the anniversary of Ahmad Shah Massoud. He was killed by two AQ suicide bombers. In a famous obituary in the WSJ he was celebrated as the man who won the Cold War. He was a darling of the West and considered a national hero but his legacy is contested.
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One for the archives- a young Tayyib Erdogan with Hekmatyar- one of the big leaders in the Afghan Jihad.
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Wonderful photo of Afghan Mujahideen praying taken during the Anti-Soviet conflict. The rules of prayer changes drastically during battle.
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Baffled by Boris Johnson’s views on Europe here’s an extract from his book on Roman Empire.
@mrjamesob
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'...debut novel explores contemporary issues through fiction. Using his own experience and creative writing, Darkness Inside promises to be one of the darkest, most timely and relevant novels of the year by one of the UK's most original journalists.'
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Targeting Cultural sites is a war crime, noting that when ISIS destroyed Palmyra the world was rightly upset, and yet here we are. Persian cultural legacy has lasted longer than most civilisations.
#IranianCulturalSites
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For clarity- this is a young and celebrated commander Jalaluddin Haqqani leading prayer during the anti-Soviet war. You can read about him in To The Mountains: My Life in Jihad from Algeria to Afghanistan
@HurstPublishers
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If you asked 10 years ago what motivates Jihadis? I’d reply with the self-assurance of a 30 thirty year old: idealism, youth, foreign policy etc. A decade on having covered war, terror attacks, met its victims, written books. How naive I was. Latest 👇
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Amged El-Hawrani- consultant, Adil El Tayar- surgeon, Habib Zaidi- on the front line, sacrificing and saving lives. Credit-
@thetimes
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Thread: The first partisan to arrive in Chechnya in 1995 was Emir Khattab, or Samir Saleh Abdullah al-Suwailim, a Saudi-Jordanian foreign fighter. He came from a religious and well-to-do family, and was captivated by the Mujahideen and traveled to Afghanistan in 1988.
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Found some lovely little photos for the archives. Ahmed Shah Massoud with Rabbani in Panshir-
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Mullah Omar asks Rahimullah Yusufzai about sending Bin Laden to Chechnya.
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This has gone viral. Dr Amin belongs to Hezb-i Islami not AQ, there are loads of Hizbis incl. Gulbeddin Hekmatyar et al living in Kabul for years who assisted OBL at the time to escape from Tora Bora. Great book on this see Night Letters by
@FazelQazizai
@ChrisSandsKabul
Dr. Amin, one of the top aids to Bin Ladin, and the first host of Bin Laden in Afg after returning from Khartoum, has returned to Nangarhar’s Torabora. He apparently stayed in Pak, just like other Alqaida leaders. Alqaida is back officially now!
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1. 6 years ago I spent time with an AQ affiliated battalion in Idlib province Syria. Many of them were Muhajirs or foreign fighters. Whilst not relevant then, the 2 on the right claimed to be linked to Afghanistan, this is immensely relevant now given the Taliban take over.
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4. Massoud has been described as one of the greatest guerrilla leaders of the 20th century compared to Tito, Ho Chi Minh & Guevara. One of the reasons for this was due to successfully managing to defend Panjshir Valley from USSR & the Taliban- Robert D Kaplan, Soldiers of God
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A bit of caution- Najibullah is former head of KHAD, the Afghan intelligence agency that brutalised thousands of Afghans according to Human rights organisations. Some say his nickname was ‘Kashok’ due to his habit of gouging people’s eyes out with a spoon.
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Rare photo of Osama bin Laden & Abu Mus’ab Al-Suri- the author of the call to Global Islamic Resistance Whose ideas were formulated as early as 90s. He was editor of Al-Ansar magazine and for a time based in North West London before settling in Afghanistan-
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Koshiro Tanaka, an early foreign fighter and excentric. A Japanese citizen & Karate instructor who volunteered to fight for the Mujaheeden during the Soviet-Afghan War, 1980s. He went there to test himself: To learn how to die.
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8. There are many men who owed their position to Ahmad Shah Massoud. Here is a young Amrullah Saleh who was trained by the CIA to become Chief of the Afghan NDS. But after his death many of these men became tarnished by corruption and abuses.
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A stark Kabul sky during the civil war in 90s when the various factions fought each other. Can you imagine trying to live under this?
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7.Jamal Khasoggi recalled that he had met him for the first time when Kabul fell in 1992. “I fell in love with him like everyone else,” he said, “he was truly an astonishing guy. I wish that Osama met Massoud…it could have changed history.”
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3. Peter Bergen: "The struggles btween Bin Laden & Massoud are emblematic of the divisions in Muslim world btween militants who advocate violence against West & those who favor peaceful coexistence. Massoud's Islam was a moderate kind of fundamentalism leavened by tolerance.."
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When you google CIA and Osama Bin Laden in Arabic and the result on CIA website reads: “File of Sheikh Osama Bin Laden (May God Preserve him)-“
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2. He famously warned about the 9/11 attacks- here is Ahmad Wali talking about his brother's assassination and warnings:
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5. The famous Palestinian ideologue Abdullah Azzam certainly loved Massoud and wrote a book celebrating him: Titans of the North -
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Fascinating interview on Zabihullah Mujahid- He added that as the Taliban carried on, the people of the countryside in particular became more and more sympathetic to their cause” | The Express Tribune
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10. Some Arabs also thought he might be Shia and too close to the Iranians. In fact, he was a Sunni Hanafi with a mixture of modernist and mystical leanings. Here he is with the late Qasim Suleimani who was killed by the US in Iraq 2020. Cc
@Emran_Feroz
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One for the archives: A very rare picture of Mullah Mohammed Omar next to man sitting on an anti-aircraft weapon. This is emerging from Pro-Taliban SM.
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Wonderful photos from Reza Degati who photographed the Iranian Revolution and the conflict in Afghanistan. Here is Ahmad Shah Massoud playing chess
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11.But he was also seen as a traitor by some partly because of his well established relationship with India.
Here is an Indian general's account of his meeting with Massoud:
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9. Massoud also had opponents like some Arabs. Sh. Musa al-Qarni a supporter of the Anti-Soviet war, currently imprisoned in KSA believes it was due to him being: “methodical, strategic thinker…The Arabs... were not fond of military discipline.”
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25. Massoud is not just a politician, he does have support amongst young. Will be interesting to see how Massoud’s legacy plays out. We have to try & separate mythical Massoud and reality. Read: To The Mountains: My Life in Jihad from Algeria to Afghanistan
@HurstPublishers
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An extraordinary woman with an extraordinary life; a constant thread in our lives seemingly holding it all together in calm dignity even as the ship of State entered choppy waters.
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Ian Dallas or Abdalqadir as-Sufi the founder of the Murabitoon in UK has passed away. Quite a significant moment for Muslims in UK especially for converts.
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6. See also the late interview with Samira, Umm Mohammed- Abdullah Azzam's wife here:
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14. Massoud’s closeness to the US, him siding against the Taliban and failing to curb the excesses of his men and later, when many of his followers used his memory to seize power tainted his legacy after his death. cc Night Letters
@HurstPublishers
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13. Moreover
@ChrisSandsKabul
&
@FazelQazizai
say that Hekmatyar and many of his members accused him of being an informant & close to the Afghan Communists in Kabul and the intransigence which was usually or conventionally attributed to Hekmatyar, should be applied to Massoud
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16. The Assassins were Dahmane Abd al-Sattar, husband of Malika El Aroud, and Bouraoui el-Ouaer; or 34-year-old Karim Touzani and 26-year-old Kacem Bakkali. They passed security because London based Islamic Observation Centre led by Yasser Sirri gave a letter of recommendation
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1. Father’s and Sons: photo of Abdullah Azzam and his son
@HuthaifaAzzam1
accompanying him to see Ahmad Shah Massoud in Panjshir he then wrote Titans of the North after the experience.
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I challenge any undergrad to find another publisher that do the titles that
@HurstPublishers
do on Afghanistan and Pakistan. There's a sale on- 40% off go and spend your student loan. You'll be indebted
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1. Lest one forget- Prime Minister Boris Johnson is not only a classicist historian but a novelist akin to P G Woodhouse.
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12. Here is Indian Ministry of External Affairs interview with Massoud- "We thank India for the assistance which is extended from time to time in the fields of humanitarian assistance...We have good political relations & consider it to be a positive step"
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For all those brilliant analysts and journos out there remember:
“Man comes from a drop of semen and leaves as a piece of dust. He doesn’t know when he came and he doesn’t know when he’s leaving, yet he goes around thinking he knows everything.”
-Ali Ibn Abi Talib
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24. His father warned the West of 9/11 and no one listened, now young Massoud warns the world yet again holed up Panjshir like his father. Massoud Jr's story not only has historical precedence but it is immensely romantic. Messaging echoes the past:
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20. Here is the late Fahim Dashty who was killed recently in Panjshir recounting the incident. Dashty was seriously injured in the blast.
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This is a stark photo of the Russians hoisting the flag in Grozny, Chechnya. Reminded me of Tacitus: “To ravage, to slaughter, to steal, this they give the false name of empire; and where they create a desert, they call it peace.”
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One for the archives: rare film of
@Abdullahanas58
singing a Tarana or Nashīd in Afghanistan during the Anti-Soviet Jihad. For more see To The Mountains: My Life in Jihad from Algeria to Afghanistan
@HurstPublishers
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I pitched this story to any other magazine, I know what the response would be. “Get out of here”- but if you have a whacky idea
@newlinesmag
they are like: tell me more. So here we are- on Bengali Independence Day i write about the Bengali Muhammad Ali-
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Copies out on 24 January, get in touch with
@HurstPublishers
for review copies. Selected as one of
@thetimes
biggest non-fiction books of 2019.
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Here is an interview I translated that Abdullah Azzam conducted with Ahmed Shah Massoud- shatters a lot of misconceptions regarding the founding of al-Qaeda’s founding:
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For the archives: a young Abdullah Anas and Abdullah Azzam in Afghanistan - read about his account of the man known as ‘the Godfather of Jihad’- To The Mountain: My Life in Jihad, from Algeria to Afghanistan
@HurstPublishers
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For the archives: Hezb-i-Islami: A young Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, propagating in France and Belgium. Hekmatyar had offices all over Europe raising funds for the Afghan war against the Soviet Union.
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23. A young handsome Luke Skywalker figure facing an indomitable incomprehensible foe is an attractive narrative arc. Massoud is attempting to mobilise Western support playing on the fears of the West, real & imagined. He reminds the world that this is what his father did.
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Incredible film emerging purportedly from Kunduz military base, the reporter who speaks perfect Arabic, says that it is the booty that the equipment was donated by the US.
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I have translated Abdullah Azzam’s introduction to on a little known text called ‘On Jihad: it’s etiquettes and rulings’. Do have a read yet again, shows what an ambiguous figure he is. Traditionalist or revolutionary? Jihad according to Abdullah Azzam
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1. Remarkable statement by Anas Haqqani the 2nd in command of the Haqqani network. He celebrates the Taliban victory and says that there will be forgiveness and no revenge and the formation of government that solves the problems of Afghans.
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19. Sanctioned by Bin Laden and the network going all the way to London and Brussels, Massoud was assassinated by the two men. They hid the bomb in the camera. The meeting lasted ten minutes Massoud was killed instantly.
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17. Yasser Sirri worked in a bookshop in Baker street during the day and was an opponent against the Egyptian government in evening. Here is Sirri recounting the incident- he inadvertently vouched for them because he saw a media opportunity- scoop.
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Osama bin Laden was killed in 2 May, 2011, but before he became the head of al-Qaeda there was another side to him. Read: To The Mountain: My Life in Jihad from Algeria to Afghanistan by
@Abdullahanas58
, me
@HurstPublishers
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18. Here is a account of Dahmane and Malika Aroud by
@CruickshankPaul
- Malika Aroud, known as the godmother of jihad and also linked to other jihadist incl the Paris attackers through her associates.
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For the Archives: when I was researching To The Mountains, My Life in Jihad, from Algeria to Afghanistan (
@HurstPublishers
) I found a younger
@bbclysedoucet
in boyish disguise and Pakhool with the legendary Rahimullah Yusufzai interviewing Ibrahim Haqqani in Khost 1991.
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Thread: The purpose of writing The Afghanistan File, Turki al-Faisal told
@newlinesmag
is to “let the reader know where the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stood on the issue of Afghanistan
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21. Here is Massoud Khalili, poet and former ambassador, recalling the events in a wheelchair - he got treatment in Germany.
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One for the archives: Muslem Hayat one of Ahmad Shah Massoud’s commanders and a young Abdullah Anas-
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What a bloody powerful piece: In Syria you can leave prison, but prison never leaves you, as Syrian author Jaber Baker knows. For two years in a notorious prison, he endured torture and humiliation on trumped-up charges.
@newlinesmag
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Extremely shocking pictures coming out of this conflict. You can almost feel the grief of the child.
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Afghan Taliban of course did the same in 90s but it did not stop Al-Qaeda from acting on their own- making press statements to planning the 9/11 attacks. Unless there is an enforcement mechanism it appears politically naive.
Multiple sources tell me the Afghan Taliban has informed groups like Al Qaeda, TTP, IMU and ETIM that they cannot use Afghan soil to attack other countries including the US, Pakistan, China and Uzbekistan.
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Nationalists want Taj Mahal to be rebranded as Hindu holy site
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How stunning is this 👇
God who sends the winds stir up clouds
•
"الله الذي يرسل الرياح فتثير سحابا"
@Hatem_Arafa_
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Having just returned from Iran, and by no means an expert, the impression I got was that yes, there was dissatisfaction with aspects of the government but I just don't think there is enough will or the critical mass to over throw the powers that be in Iran.
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This is big: National Geographic Announces In-Depth Analysis of Osama Bin Laden’s Newly Declassified Personal Files in BIN LADEN'S HARD DRIVE Special Premiering Thursday, September 10- featuring
@Abdullahanas58
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What a packed crowd at
@newlinesmag
event
@frontlineclub
listening to
@nimaelbagir
and New Lines team.
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Thread: 10 years ago I was with Syrian rebels aiming to overthrow Assad. 10 years on I investigate fund raising routes and IS prisoners for
@itvnews
. It began last year in NE Syria & ended up in UK. Here is the investigation:
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A rare photo of Abdullah Azzam- for a discussion on his contested legacy-
@Hegghammer
has a fascinating discussion on him in The Caravan. IS, al-Qaeda, Hamas and indeed Brotherhood can claim him for their own.
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For the archives: Purportedly the graveyard of Arab foreign fighters in Kandahar, note the green flags and white - colours that are associated with Islam. The relationship between Arabs and Afghans are complex.
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This is a stunning piece of art history and criticism and digital journalism: What a Tiny Masterpiece Reveals About Power and Beauty - The New York Times
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Unsurprising if seen from the Grozny/Aleppo playbook -
This is what they are doing now to Kharkiv - a city that they totally believed was part of the "Russian world". What will they do to the OTHERS??
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Exclusive: London Bridge killer penned letter in jail asking for deradicalisation course to be a 'good British citizen' - ITV News
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2. 'Yusuf'- that is what he called himself- claimed to have fought against US forces - he says he fought with the Taliban and had come to Syria to fight Jihad. He struck me to be a Ronin-Jihadi (masterless and wandering and grizzled).
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The book is already getting good reviews from the likes of Lawrence Wright, Peter Bergen and Sh. Yusuf al-Qardawi
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Absolutely awful conditions in Idlib, honestly winters in Syria are worse- goes into your very bones.
الكارثة التي نحن نعيشها اليوم في المخيمات لها حلان حل عاجل وإسعافي والحل الآخر هو حل نهائي للمأساة
من مخيمات ريف إدلب الغارقة رسائل لكل من يهمه الأمر ومن لايهمه!
يوتيوب:
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27. Here is archive of his funeral which has turned into a memorial-
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Brilliant piece of reporting from my friend
@FazelQazizai
. The insurgency’s lightning sweep of the Afghan capital was the easy part. Now they have to control rival factions, and their own wayward element |
@newlinesmag
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What an immensely powerful picture. As the storm breaks lose around the worshipper - the man sits in the eye of the storm immovable and unperturbed. As if all that has passed, is passing and will come to pass will also pass.
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Bisht please- what an informative thread 🧵 👇
The bisht is a men’s cloak worn over a thobe — or ankle-length tunic — in the Arab world. Usually black, brown, grey, beige or white, it is a traditional prestigious outfit associated with royalty, celebrations & ceremony
A thread on the art, heritage & history of the bisht…
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For the Archives: The latest attack on Hasakah prison is symbolically important. IS fighters wearing the red bandana's knew that it would fail. However, 'demolishing walls' is well within the objectives of IS as one infographic released in 2020 in al-Naba magazine showed.
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Abdullah Azzam member of Taliban's political office in Doha urges the international community to act to prevent a humanitarian disaster similar to Yemen.
In this opinion piece,
@Abdullah_azzam7
member of the
#Taliban
political office in
#Doha
; argues strongly for the unfreezing of
#Afghan
assets as
#Afghanistan
faces an ongoing humanitarian crisis.
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