Articles

Syriac has been kept alive in Lebanon through Maronite hymns. They have carried the language, along with all the heritage, consciousness, and imagination it has tirelessly conveyed down the centuries. These hymns are the most fully developed and best-preserved expression among the various manifestations of Syriac heritage. Their origins date back to the fourth and fifth centuries, with Saint Ephrem and Saint Jacob of Serugh. They accompanied the birth, development, and establishment of Eastern Christianity in this land. They also carry within them an ancient Canaanite-Phoenician, Aramaic, and Mesopotamian legacy. Through their widespread use, these hymns have above all passed on the Syriac language throughout the parishes and in the hearts of the diaspora.

On Thursday, September 10, it was the Yemeni front that drew the most attention in the Middle East. After days of fierce fighting between pro-Saudi government forces and the pro-Iranian Houthis, the latter seized control of the Red Sea city of Mokha on Thursday, marking a notable advance toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. This passage, which links Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, has become increasingly important since the start of the war in the Middle East, following Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the peninsula. The Houthis have also reportedly seized Zuqar Island, located in the middle of the strait.

The Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula experienced another day of military escalation on Wednesday, marked by strikes and reprisals, statements and counterstatements between Iran and its proxies on one side, and the United States and its Gulf allies on the other. Two developments nevertheless dominated the news: surging oil prices and suspicions that Iran may be resuming the development of its nuclear industry. Iran said it attacked more than a dozen vessels attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, sending oil prices soaring, and announced that it would soon extend the area requiring navigation clearance beyond this strategic passage.

The death of French photographer Jean-François Leroy offers an opportunity to explore the passion that drew him to the image. Not as a cold document, but as a means of approaching human beings in moments of their greatest vulnerability, as a sensory expression of human thought and the human psyche through the physiology of perception. This is what made his experience different. He was more than a mere witness to events. He ventured into that sensitive space, fascinated by life as it appeared in its utmost fragility, with a particular ability to express the autonomy of the image and what distinguishes it from other symbolic manifestations.

This second installment in a four-part series examines the formation and early implications of the Mecca Pact, a trilateral alliance between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan. From the Saudi-Pakistani “Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement” (SMDA) to the Istanbul summit, the analysis traces the gradual development of a collective security framework in the face of Iranian ambitions, regional realignments, and the limits of U.S. leadership. The article also explores how Saudi financial, technological, and military resources complement those of the other two members, as well as the challenges of institutionalizing the alliance.

Three developments in Lebanon deserve close attention because of their significant sociopolitical implications: the second “Appeal to Save Nabatieh,” published Monday and signed by nearly 400 figures, many of them Shiites, from the region of southern Lebanon; an armed clash – the second in 24 hours – between alleged members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and residents of the village of Nmayreh, backed by supporters of the Amal Movement, an ally of Hezbollah; and, finally, statements issued by two Shiite villages, Arabsalim and Doueir, calling on the army to establish permanent posts at the entrances to their communities.