16 September 2012 Insulting Muslims By Gwynne Dyer One of the first scenes in the ridiculous but thoroughly nasty film “Innocence of Muslims” shows angry Muslims running through the streets smashing things and killing people. So what happens when a clip from the film dubbed into Arabic goes up on the internet? Angry Muslims run […]
11 July 2012 The “Arab Spring”: Good News By Gwynne Dyer The good news about last weekend’s election in Libya, as relayed by the Western media, was that the “Islamists” were defeated and the Good Guys won. The real good news was that democracy in the Arab world is still making progress, regardless of whether
28 December 2011 2011 Year-Ender By Gwynne Dyer Every year brings changes, but some years really are turning points: 1492, 1789, 1914, and 1989, for example. Does 2011 belong in the august company of such Really Important Years? Probably not, but it definitely qualifies for membership in the second tier of Quite Important Years. Three
28 December 2011 2011 Year-Ender By Gwynne Dyer Every year brings changes, but some years really are turning points: 1492, 1789, 1914, and 1989, for example. Does 2011 belong in the august company of such Really Important Years? Probably not, but it definitely qualifies for membership in the second tier of Quite Important Years. Three
14 November 2011 The Arab League: The Infection Spreads By Gwynne Dyer For most of its 66-year history, the Arab League was a powerless organisation, dominated by autocratic regimes that made sure it never criticised their lies and crimes. But suddenly, this year, it woke up and changed sides. Last March the Arab League suspended
25 October 2011 Here Come the Muslim Fanatics By Gwynne Dyer Mustafa Abdul Jalil, chairman of Libya’s National Transitional Council and the country’s de facto leader, promised on Tuesday that sharia law would be the basis of all new legislation, and that this would involve getting rid of certain existing laws – like the ban
22 October 2011 Sic Transit Muammar Gaddafi By Gwynne Dyer When I was in school I used to wonder who Gloria Mundi was and how she had died, but it turned out to be my defective Latin. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi means “Thus passes the glory of this world.” But still, it kind of fits,
31 August 2011 Libya: Is Force an Instrument of Love? By Gwynne Dyer Somebody (perhaps a Jesuit) once said: “Force is an instrument of love in a world of complexity and chance.” I’d be grateful if someone could tell me where that comes from, but it has stayed with me for a long time because
24 August 2011 Libya: What Now? By Gwynne Dyer In war, the moral is to the physical as three to one, said Napoleon, and the Libyan rebels certainly demonstrated the truth of that. Gaddafi had more soldiers, they were better trained and much better armed, and they did not lack courage. But the rebels firmly
21 August 2011 Libya and the Future of Nonviolence By Gwynne Dyer “Brother Colonel” Muammar Gaddafi’s time is up: the rebels are now in the heart of Libya’s capital, Tripoli. But Libya has seen six months of fighting, at least a thousand deaths, and foreign military intervention in support of the rebels. This is not