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النسخة العربية
  • Politics
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  • mecca

The US-Iran war has sent the cost of Hajj 2026 soaring Lina Jaradat

Hajj 2026 could be the costliest season on record

Pilgrims continue to stream into Mecca despite rising travel costs and regional tensions following war in the Gulf.

Amer Ziab Al-Tamimi 26 May 2026
Installation "The Black Arch" by Saudi sisters Raja and Shadia Alem is seen at the pavilion of Saudi Arabia taking part in the Venice Biennale for the first time on 2 June 2011, in Venice, Italy. Marco Secchi / Getty

Shadia Alem and the art of sacred continuity

From Mecca to the global stage, Saudi artist Shadia Alem's work unfolds as a continuous practice shaped by memory, spirituality, and place

Mimoza Al-Arrawi 18 March 2026
Lady Evelyn Cobbold, a Scottish aristocrat who converted to Islam and performed the Hajj in 1933, becoming the first British Muslim woman to do so. Getty Images

The Orientalists who entered Mecca in disguise

For centuries, Mecca was the pinnacle of exploration for Western travellers. Shrouded in mystery, it captured the imagination of a small but daring group of European Orientalists

Abdullah Al-Rashid 06 June 2025
Lina Jaradat

The world's first coffeehouse was in Mecca

In 1511, there were places in Mecca specifically designated for selling and drinking coffee, known as coffee houses. Decades later, the first café opened in Istanbul.

Abdullah Al-Rashid 15 November 2024
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Photos of the new head of the Israeli intelligence agency (Mossad), Roman Gofman (right); Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani; and the US Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack.
 Al Majalla
Politics

Why Israel's strike in northern Syria surprised Damascus

20 August 2026

Shaibani held several calls with the Mossad chief days before the strike, explaining why the airport's runway was being rehabilitated and that it had no hostile intentions, but Israel bombed it anyway

Ibrahim Hamidi
Pakistan's Ambassador Permanent Representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, attends a United Nations Security Council meeting after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, in New York, on 28 February 2026. REUTERS/Heather Khalifa
Politics

Pakistan's UN envoy: there is no military solution to Iran war

20 August 2026

Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad speaks to Al Majalla about Islamabad's diplomatic role in the talks between the US and Iran, its balancing act between Tehran and Riyadh and the Mecca Pact

Ahmed Maher
Al Majalla
Science & Technology

Why Israel's outsized influence on global tech is worrying

19 August 2026

From Apple's chips to Nvidia's data centres, Israeli tech has embedded itself in the global tech ecosystem. This comes with grave national security implications.

Marco Mossad
Lina Jaradat
Politics

Ahmed al-Sharaa: the next battle

20 August 2026

Balancing the competing interests of regional and global stakeholders is no easy task. Can the president keep Syria from becoming an arena for regional conflict?

Al Majalla - London
Stock markets reacted to an uptick in US inflation, suggesting that President Donald Trump's tariffs were impacting the American economy. Angela Weiss/AFP
Business & Economy

Why bond markets are unnerving rich-world politicians

20 August 2026

As stocks rise ever higher, yields have been climbing ominously

The Economist

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OPINIONS

Could the Black Sea become the "Hormuz of food"?

Abdel-Rahman Ayas
Abdel-Rahman Ayas

What if Türkiye shot down an Israeli jet?

Ibrahim Hamidi
Ibrahim Hamidi

Anthony Fauci and the politics of expertise

Stefanie Butendieck Hijerra
Stefanie Butendieck Hijerra

Is an Israel-Syria pincer attack on Hezbollah in the works?

Elie Kossaifi
Elie Kossaifi
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