By James M. Dorsey Two separate developments involving improved relations between Sunni and Shiite Muslims and women’s sporting rights...

By James M. Dorsey A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts,...

No women at the table By James M. Dorsey In his effort to improve Saudi Arabia’s badly tarnished image and project the kingdom as...

By James M. Dorsey Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will be putting his best foot forward when enthusiastic women soccer fans this...

An Iranian woman disguises herself as a male soccer fan By James M. Dorsey In supporting recent anti-government protests in Iran, both...

By James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia’s hosting of an international chess tournament focuses attention on the fundamental problem wreaking...

By James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia’s decision to allow women to attend sporting events in three of the country’s stadiums raises as many...

By James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia’s lifting of a ban on women’s driving raises a host of questions that transcend the issue of women’s...

Anuj Chopra AFP 27 September 2017 Saudi Arabia's historic lifting of a ban on women driving will be a litmus test for its...

Source: Middle East Eye By James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia’s long-awaited lifting of a ban on women’s driving, widely viewed as a symbol of...

By James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia's 85th birthday could prove to be historic -- one that could put to the test opposition to Crown Prince...

How the world’s most popular sport has huge impact on politics and society The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer is one of the...

Saudi human rights activist Mohammed Abdullah Al-Otaibi By James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia’s Shura or Advisory Council, in a sign that the...

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh By James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia’s powerful deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has put...

By James M. Dorsey Iran, bowing to external pressure, has allowed women spectators to attend a premier international men’s volleyball...

By James M. Dorsey A Saudi decision to license within weeks the kingdom’s first women-only gyms constitutes progress in a country in...

By James M. Dorsey An unpublished survey of aspirations of young Saudi men suggests that garnering enthusiasm for Deputy Crown Prince...

By James M. Dorsey Pressured by human rights and trade union activists leveraging Qatar's exposure as a World Cup host and influenced by...

By James M. Dorsey This is an expanded version of remarks made at Interdisciplinary Net’s Politics, Money and Sport Places, and Mega...

Politics and Soccer in the Middle East By Peter Alegi | September 19th, 2016 No Comments The Football Scholars Forum opened its 2016-17...