Qifa Nabki
Tripoli
Revisiting the Dystopia
Last year around this time, I spent an afternoon imagining what a worst-case scenario would look like for Lebanon in 2014. Here’s an excerpt to jog your memory: “As the year draws to a close, Lebanon exists in a state of low-intensity civil war. The Army has begun to fracture along sectarian lines. Saudi-bought French weaponry begins … Continue reading
People of the Book
I’ve written something for The New Yorker’s literary blog about the fire at the Sa’eh Bookshop in Tripoli. The first paragraph is below, followed by a jump to the site. If you’d like to donate books to the library, check out the book drive’s Facebook page. Would prefer to make a cash donation? Here’s the relevant … Continue reading
The Generalissimos of Tripoli’s Streets
Two nice little items to note today: (1) The Economist dubbed Qifa Nabki “the leading blog on Lebanese politics.” Sarah Birke mentions several other excellent authorities to follow on Twitter to get your Lebanon news/commentary. Check them out. (2) QN is five years old! The anniversary came and went quietly a couple months ago, but in … Continue reading
Motives & Mysteries: Tripoli Edition
Whenever a bomb explodes in Lebanon, conversations both public and private revolve around an old parlor game that we might call: “Motives & Mysteries”. For those unfamiliar with the genre, here’s a snippet: Abu Michel: Terrible, the news from Tripoli. Abu Samir: Just awful. Abu Michel: A bunch of jihadi dogs and salafist mercenaries. I … Continue reading
Alley Politics: Saad al-Hariri vs. Za’im al-Zaroubeh
Lina Khatib has an article in the Guardian today about the response of Lebanon’s Sunnis to the bloodshed in Syria, the violence in Tripoli, etc. It’s worth reading along with Mustapha Hamoui’s report for the Heinrich Böll Stiftung and his previous writings on the topic at his blog (here and here). Lina remarked on an interesting difference … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…