Daniel Pipes :: Writings
World War I saw the emergence of the soldier's camera; the American side of the Vietnam conflict marked the first televised war; the Kuwait War inaugurated the first live-television war; and the civil conflict in Syria, 2011–24 can lay claim to being
Drayson of Cambridge University asserts that "conventional histories" of Christian-Muslim relations "tend to chart the legacy of a centuries-long mutual antagonism and violent conflict between the Muslims and Christians of Europe." In contrast, she
The five years under review, covering my ages 70-75, have been good ones. Semi-retirement means I get to do the work I enjoy (writing primarily) while avoiding the chores that burdened me down (administration, fundraising, etc.) for many decades. The
Each of the three central actors in the current conflict made a central mistake about its enemy. U.S. and Israeli leaders misunderstood key developments taking place in early January, while the Islamic Republic of Iran misjudged its neighbors. These
Ignore the overblown title and the publisher's rush to get this book out quickly following Syria's December 2024 revolution; its charm and power lie in the evocation of nearly 55 years of life under the Assads, father and son, 1970-2024. Although a
For over 75 years, the State of Israel has taken pride in protecting worldwide Jewry as well as its own citizens. The current surge in antisemitism, however, reveals a collapse in this dual promise and obligates Diaspora leaders to adopt a new
To the Editor: David Mamet's op-ed "Sorry, Billionaires—There's No Escape" (Aug. 7) establishes that, come the apocalypse, no amount of money will help the ultrarich reach safety because their aides will revolt and take over. To emphasize his point, Mr
How to understand the fighting in Syria between the central government in Damascus and its many foes, including Alawites, Kurds, Druze, and the Israel Defense Forces? During its first quarter-century of independence, 1946-70, a weak Syrian state served
My article "'Are you Alawite?': A Call to Prevent Genocide in Syria" covers the experience of Alawites under the Sunni regime that came to power in December 2024 through May 2025. This blog continues coverage of that topic. According to the Syrian
For those who follow international politics, the days following Israel's June 13 attack on Iran meant an addictive check of the smartphone every few hours to learn the latest twist. From that avalanche of surprises, twelve stand out, one marking each day
No one knows how many unarmed Alawites were killed in Syria between March 6 and 10, 2025, but Joshua Landis of the University of Oklahoma estimates more than three thousand. While Alawites constitute but a small religious community, perhaps 10 percent of
I published an article on April 4, "Gazans, 'The Bravest People on Earth,' Confront Hamas" about the activities that peaked in late March. The protests continue but the media tends to ignore them, so X provides much of the information. Here are some
Bashir signals his outlook in the first paragraph: "Let us for a moment imagine a world in which Muslim seminaries are training scholars to actively challenge 'modern slavery' across the globe." Having established that, he poses a first question, one
Recalling Muhammad's apocryphal last words about Muslims needing to take care of their slaves, Freamon, a Black American Muslim and professor emeritus at Seton Hall Law School, argues that they "have not lived up to this admonition" either in law or in
As a lifelong Democrat, I was offended by Daniel Pipes's self-serving history of American politics, "Angry conservatives, explained" (Opinion, March 1). Since the early 20th century, the United States has benefited from the leadership of two political