Sami Moubayed

Sami Moubayed is a Syrian historian and author of Under the Black Flag (IB Tauris, 2015). 

Author Articles

Syrian President Bashar Assad (C) greets Muslim clerics as he arrived to attend Eid al-Fitr prayers in Damascus, June 5. (AFP)
Syria regime using influential Muslim clerics to fight extremism
June 15, 2019
Intricate context. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem speaks during a news conference in Damascus. (AP)
Syria’s position on Iran-US standoff signals change of course
May 25, 2019
James Jeffrey, the US special representative for Syria, attends a session during the third day of the 55th Munich Security Conference, last February. (dpa)
US policy on Assad raises red flags for Syrian opposition
May 18, 2019
Lebanon's Christian Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir reviews an honour guard upon arriving at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, June 24, 2008. (Reuters)
Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, formidable figure in Lebanese modern history, dies
May 13, 2019
New escalation. Syrians, fleeing possible air strikes, drive along the main Damascus-Aleppo highway near the town of Saraqib in Syria’s jihadist-held Idlib province, May 9. (AFP)
Russian-Syrian forces pound Idlib, Turkey shifts attention to Kurdish positions
May 11, 2019
A battle for power. Syrian fighters during a graduation of new Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) members at a camp in northern Idlib, last August. (AFP)
A power struggle between radicals looms in Idlib
May 04, 2019
US President Donald Trump (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at NATO headquarters in Brussels, last July. (Reuters)
US Brotherhood designation could throw a spanner in Turkish game in Syria
May 04, 2019
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri heads a general parliament discussion in downtown Beirut.(Reuters)
Ties with Hezbollah put Berri in difficult position
April 27, 2019
At a standstill. Taxi drivers push their cars that ran out of fuel to a petrol station in Damascus, April 16. (AFP)
Damascus struggles with chronic petrol shortages
April 20, 2019
Risks and uncertainties. Turkish soldiers stand guard on the sides of the road during a patrol around the Syrian border at the demilitarised zone, last March.(DPA)
Clock ticks for Erdogan to decide on Syria
April 20, 2019
A strong comeback. Members of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party carry a poster of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in southern Lebanon.(Reuters)
Syria political influence beats the odds, again, in Lebanon
April 13, 2019
Disenchantment. Unemployed men looking for jobs in Baghdad.(AP)
How failures of successive governments led Iraqis to utter despair
April 13, 2019
A Hezbollah supporter carries a poster of the group’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Maroun al-Ras village in southern Lebanon. (Reuters)
Hezbollah responds to deep woes with internal facelift
April 06, 2019
Illegal transaction. US President Donald Trump (L) and Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu hold up a Golan Heights proclamation after a meeting in the White House in Washington, March 25.
Damascus with few options after Trump’s Golan move
March 30, 2019
Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the town of Tell Tamr in the countryside of Syria’s north-eastern Hasakah province, last December. (AFP)
Dark days ahead for Syria’s Kurds
March 23, 2019
Time to repay. Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad (R) meets the Iranian Commander of the Quds Force General Qassem Suleimani in Tehran, February 25. (SANA)
Iran’s mullahs see economic future in Syria
March 16, 2019
Wavering orders. US soldiers surveil the area during a patrol in Manbij.(Reuters)
Trump’s silence on Syria reversal raises questions
March 02, 2019
Bone of contention. Fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham attend a mock battle in anticipation of an attack by the regime in the countryside of the northern province of Idlib, last August.(AFP)
Turkey’s geopolitical manoeuvres strike a sour note in Syria
February 23, 2019
A general view of the courthouse in Damascus. (Reuters)
Damascus infuriates Islamist conservatives with amendments to civil law
February 16, 2019
Treading a fine line. A Russian military vehicle follows a local vehicle in the area of Arimah, just west of Manbij, the northern city near the Turkish border. (AFP)
Russia revives old agreement to end Syria-Turkey dilemma
February 02, 2019