Ethnic/Religious Minorities

People attend the funeral ceremony of Mahan Setareh, a member of the paramilitary Basij force who was killed in the recent Israeli attacks on June 26, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. A cease-fire between Israel and Iran has brought an end to 12 days of daily aerial attacks that started with Israel's strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites on June 13. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Female commander in Iran's Basij units assassinated: What to know

Violence in the Sistan and Baluchistan province has become a regular occurrence, marked by clashes with armed groups and ambushes on Iranian security forces.

In first, Israel’s Netanyahu says he held call with Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa

It is the first publicly disclosed contact between the leaders of Israel and Syria, which lack formal relations and have fought several wars. Sharaa’s government began US-mediated talks with Israel in 2025.

This picture shows the border wall between Iran and Afghanistan at the Milak border crossing near the town of Zabol, in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan, on Dec. 17, 2025.

Iran’s IRGC says 5 killed in Baluchistan after dismantling ‘militant cell’: What to know

Iran’s IRGC announced a new operation against armed militants in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, which is witnessing almost daily attacks and clashes.

Youths play the daf, an Iranian frame drum, during a protest demanding the right to education in the Kurdish language in Al-Qamishli, Syria, on September 22, 2026. The demonstrations follow a decision by the Syrian Interim Government to allocate only Kurdish language classes in schools. (Photo by Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Syria's Kurds, Arabs find common cause in battle for language rights

As Kurdish students protest language restrictions, unexpected alliances are emerging between Syria’s Kurds and Arabs.

Latest News

Feature

Syria Golan detentions fuel fury at Israeli forces, doubts in new government

A member of Syria's security forces stands guard outside a former army base near the city of Quneitra in southern Syria, on the edge of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Sept. 21, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Fresh clashes leave 6 dead in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan: What to know

Iranian security forces stand guard in the capital city on July 03, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Israel election committee bars two Arab lists from upcoming vote: What to know

Leader of the Arab Israeli party Ra'am (United Arab List) Mansour Abbas (R) and Israeli politician Yoav Segalovitz (L) attend a news conference in Nazareth on August 31, 2026. Abbas announced that Segalovitz, an Israeli Jew, will join his party for the upcoming Israeli elections. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images)

Third Sunni cleric killed in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan Province: What to know

Milak border crossing near the town of Zabol, Iran

Protesters lift placards during a demonstration in Tunis on Feb. 25, 2023.

Sub-Saharans in Tunisia fear for their lives following Saied's racist comments

A wave of violent racist attacks on sub-Saharan people living in Tunisia has spread across the country since President Kais Saied declared his belief in a conspiracy to change the demographic of Tunisia.

Rally in Jerusalem, Feb. 25 2023 Credit: Tal Kfir Shor

Handmaid's Tale inspires Israeli women battling religious coercion

Hundreds of women clad in red cloaks and sporting white bonnets have been appearing in the past few weeks in several of the anti-judicial overhaul, pro-democracy demonstrations across the country.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men bake Matzoth (unleavened bread) at a bakery in the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, on April 11, 2022. Religious Jews eat Matzoth during Pesach holiday (Passover). According to biblical narrative, due to the haste with which the Jews left the land of Egypt, the bread prepared for the journey did not have time to rise. To commemorate their ancestors' plight, religious Jews do not eat leavened food products throughout Passover. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox seek to prohibit Passover non-Kosher food in hospitals

Back in the coalition and in greater force, ultra-Orthodox parliamentarians exploit their political clout to advance religious legislation.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 23: Kevin Hart attends the Los Angeles premiere of Netflix's "Me Time" at Regency Village Theatre on August 23, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

Culture

Explainer: Egypt cancels Kevin Hart’s show after ‘Black Egyptians’ reference

Hart was criticized on Egyptian social media for comments he allegedly made asserting that ancient Egyptians were black.

Jewish women pray at the women's section of the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City on November 17, 2021. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Can Israel's ultra-Orthodox punish women for 'immodest dress code' at Western Wall?

Though Israel's Shas party has been forced to back away from its proposed dress code for the Western Wall, many Israelis are still outraged by the audacious proposition.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

In this aerial photo from a drone, a tram passes an empty road in the Karakoy district on the final day of a four-day lockdown across Istanbul, Turkey, April 26, 2020.

Church blaze kills two in Turkey's Istanbul

A blaze at an Istanbul church left two dead and two others injured, heavily damaging the historical building.

Members of the Taliban security forces arrive as Afghan women march during a demonstration they call Stop Hazara genocide a day after a suicide bomb attack at Dasht-e-Barchi learning centre, in Kabul on October 1, 2022. - (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Afghanistan's Hazara minority increasingly fearful under Taliban

Al-Monitor spoke to members of the long-persecuted Hazara Shiite minority group in Afghanistan as restrictions on women increase and verifiable information becomes scarcer.

Shelly Kittleson

By Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Erdogan xi

Turkey spars with China over Uyghurs, but is it real?

Turkey’s opposition and some Uyghur activists remain doubtful on how committed Ankara is to defending the rights of the Uyghurs despite its recent spat with Beijing.

Caretakers of the Protestant cemetery inspect vandalised graves on Mount Zion outside Jerusalem's Old City on January 4, 2023. - (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Outrage at desecration of historic Protestant Cemetery in Jerusalem

Police investigates the desecration of at least 30 tombstones by two Jewish-looking individuals at the 19th century Protestant Cemetery in Jerusalem.

Kfar Kama

Culture

Israeli Circassian village lands among UN's top tourism picks

Israel's Circassian village of Kfar Kama is featured in this year's "Best Tourism Villages," a project of the UN World Tourism Organizaiton.

Magda Shehata Haroun talks during an interview with AFP at the Shaar Hashamayim Synagogue.

Culture

Egypt's few remaining Jews celebrate Hanukkah

Hanukkah was celebrated amid tight security in Cairo's Meyr Biton Synagogue. Yet Magda Haroun, head of Egypt's tiny Jewish community, looks forward to the day when all of Egypt's synagogues will be open for prayer and celebrations.

People walk along an alley at a Christmas market in the Christian Quarter of the Old City, Jerusalem, Dec. 15, 2022.

Culture

Israel's Jews flock to Arab towns for Christmas

Many Arab towns and villages, not necessarily Christian, are now featuring Christmas markets, targeting also Israeli Jewish tourists.