Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

Darryl Li

Darryl Li is assistant professor of anthropology and associate member of the law school at the University of Chicago and author of The Universal Enemy: Jihad, Empire, and the Challenge of Solidarity. He was an editor of Middle East Report from 2011

Current Analysis

An Indecent Proposal?

Quite a few eyebrows were raised last week when Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, perhaps one of the most infamous “terrorists” in Pakistan, extended an offer of humanitarian aid to the United States in the wake of Hurricane Sandy -- notwithstanding the $10 million bounty [http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/index

Darryl Li • 6 min read

Current Analysis

Some Bad Ideas Can't Be Shot Down

Some ideas are so absurd that they reveal interesting things about the times in which we live. Take, for example, an opinion piece [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/opinion/drones-for-human-rights.html?_r=1] by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Mark Hanis in today’s New York Times suggesting that human ri

Darryl Li • 3 min read

MER Article

Lies, Damned Lies and Plagiarizing "Experts"

The 9/11 Commission Report is the closest thing in print to an official narrative of the events that gave rise to the “war on terror.” In American political culture, the Commission embodied a trans-partisan act of knowledge creation, handing down a narrative meant to establish treasured national con

Darryl Li • 3 min read

MER Article

"Afghan Arabs," Real and Imagined

During the holiday season of Ramadan 1425/October 2004, The Road to Kabul was one of the more popular television miniseries broadcast throughout the Arab world. The program traced recent Afghan history from one superpower invasion to another through a budding romance at Cambridge University between Tariq, a Palestinian pursuing

Darryl Li • 13 min read

Current Analysis

What the Guantánamo Leaks Won't Reveal

In the coming days, many will pore over the Guantánamo files released by Wikileaks to find startling revelations or to justify pre-existing positions. But before diving in, it may help to reflect on a few things that may not be explicit in the documents but are crucial to understanding their signifi

Darryl Li • 5 min read

Current Analysis

Disengagement and the Frontiers of Zionism

In mid-January, when Israel further tightened its blockade of the Gaza Strip, it hurriedly assured the world that a “humanitarian crisis” would not be allowed to occur. Case in point: Days after the intensified siege prompted Hamas to breach the Gaza-Egypt border and Palestinians to pour into Egypt

Darryl Li • 13 min read