Some might be still trying to get their heads around the new place on the map that has come to our sporting attention -- in the form of Olympic host 'Sochi' ...others are interested in the line-up of athletes as the global competition spirit sets in. Athletes from a record-breaking 88 countries are set to compete in Sochi, the first Olympic Games held in the Russian Federation since the 1991 breakup of the USSR. The number of worldwide viewers will also shatter records as the games can be watched on ...

You probably know that Snoop Dogg (Lion if you’re street enough) can rap, and Ellen Burstyn can act, but did you know that they converted to Islam during their mid-years? While musician Cat Stevens and boxer Mohammad Ali could be considered the “poster boys” for famous Muslim converts, many fans may be unfamiliar with other household names--such as rap artist Busta Rhymes and funnyman David Chapelle's--Muslim alter-egos. From Christians to Jews and all stripes in between, many A-list celebrities have made interesting decisions to convert to Islam during early and ...

Jordan is famous in the Middle East for two things - Petra and its stability. Slap-bang in the middle of the region’s danger zone, it’s a miracle that the Hashemite Kingdom has managed to maintain its balance - it has a functioning parliament ( inshallah mentality and kalashinkov wielding MPs aside ), a respected King (for the most part), political participation and a thriving expat community that hasn’t been driven out of the Arab world by conflict. In fact, if you go to certain parts of Amman, you’ll hear more ...

About 24% of the Middle East population uses social networks and perhaps, the largest segment of Arab users are Saudis. In fact, over half of the kingdom’s population is online. It’s no wonder that the Saudis top the list of most active users on YouTube. Not only do Saudis use the site to view media, they also produce their own programs. Due to Saudi’s conservative nature, YouTube has become a forum for the more progressive or taboo views to be released publicly. Policing via YouTube This conservative tendency on culture ...

Most of us do not have the “luxury” to seek out 5-7 star locales for our next holiday, but who says we can’t window shop with the best of them. For the lucky set who can afford to splurge on the world’s crème de la crème in hotels, the Middle East’s luxurious offerings may be bang on the money! With architectural decadent wonders of the world like the Burj Al Arab that kisses the Gulf’s opulent skylines, and aggressive amenities and seductive services that make the VIPs of VIPs’ jaws ...

There's been quite the build-up -- false starts, pullouts, rumors, political intrigue and rampant speculation, to and fro-ing on the million dollar question 'to attend or to skip?,' and deciding "what it all means" in the end. The days leading up to the highly-anticipated Geneva 2 peace talks have been one heck of a roller coaster ride. On January 22 in Montreux, Switzerland, major world powers will finally come together to discuss a topic that has divided the international community for 34 months - the Syrian civil war. Put forward ...

With all the hype and the hyperbole of the Western media these days, reading the news headlines or watching a movie about the Middle East is enough to make your headspin. Sometimes you need to take yourself into a personal journey in order to understand the intricacies of any situation - away from Hollywood’s “artistic license” and sometimes institutionalized “ Orientalism ”. And that’s where the documentary comes in - the humble artform that strives to shed light on issues and get you thinking. Now that everyone has an opinion ...

After spending eight years in a coma, former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon passed away at the age of 85 this weekend and was buried at his Negev ranch on Monday. Sharon lampooned “the bulldozer” in honor of his affinity for settlements was a combative figure in life , perhaps more responsible than any other figure for deepening the divide between the Israelis and Palestinians. Since the inception of the Israeli state, he was involved with Jewish militias killing and clearing entire Palestinian villages of their occupants. The ruthless massacre ...

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who died on Saturday after spending eight years in a coma, has left a mixed legacy in the Middle East where for the Arab camp he is largely public enemy number one . But what impact did he have on his fellow Middle Eastern leaders - enemies and friends- prior to his death and how will he be remembered by the region's old school who often 'worked' side by side with this larger than life ex-PM. A commander in the IDF, Sharon is widely ...

In 2013, the Middle East saw more action than perhaps the last scene of a Rambo movie. Last year, fighting between Syrian rebels and Assad’s regime forces exploded and spiralled to a new level of violent chaos. Peace talks between the Israeli and the Palestinians were revived. Iran held historic negotiations with major Western powers. And with over 7,000 deaths, Iraq witnessed the worst levels of bloodshed since the country’s 2007 sectarian clashes. Now, all of this action (and more) has spilled over into 2014. With Iran and Saudi Arabia ...

When it comes to newspapers nowadays, it seems that all of the ink on the printing press is devoted to printing negative headlines. Suicide bombings. Murders. Robberies. These negative announcements are especially pronounced when it comes to news from the Middle East. In most Western media outlets, the words “Middle East” and “terrorism” are never far away from each other. But fact is more varied than these fictions. The truth is that many people in the Middle East live out their entire lives without ever witnessing a beheading, bombing or ...