Safaa Khalaf

Iraq, Norway, Seattle

Investigative Journalist and Crisis Analysis Researcher at Freelance

Award-winning Iraqi investigative journalist and independent researcher reporting on Iraq and the Middle East region

Featured in: Favicon

washingtonpost.com Favicon

lse.ac.uk

alaraby.co.uk Favicon

middleeasteye.net Favicon

tcf.org

Articles

It’s Time for a Ceasefire in Gaza-and Then a New Push for Peace

Nov 21, 2023 | tcf.org | Sam Heller |Safaa Khalaf |Thanassis Cambanis |Aron Lund

A growing number of people in the United States and around the world are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, including an expanding bloc in the U.S. Congress. Although too many lives have already been lost, President Biden can still do the right thing—which happens to be good politics, not just good policy—and call on Israel to stop its indiscriminate assault on Gaza.
Order from Ashes Podcast: Shia Power: What’s an Islamist?

Sep 25, 2023 | tcf.org | Thanassis Cambanis |Ali Al-Mawlawi |Husam Sobhi |Safaa Khalaf

On this episode of the Order From Ashes podcast, Sajad Jiyad plumbs the complex evolution of Shia Islamism during two decades at the center of Iraqi power. This episode of Order From Ashes is the first in “Shia Power,” a four-part series about the transformation of Shia politics in Iraq, and what Iraq’s experience teaches us about the role of religion in politics everywhere.
Iraq’s Sectarian Relapse: Lessons of the “Shia House”

Sep 12, 2023 | tcf.org | Husam Sobhi |Safaa Khalaf |Maha Yassin |Mac Skelton

After the U.S. invasion and the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, Iraqi politics coalesced around the identity groupings of the exile opposition: Shia Arabs, Sunni Arabs, Kurds, and smaller minority groups. As factions competed for power during the following two decades, rivals in each community never even tried to distinguish themselves by politics or ideology.
Satellite Monitoring Reveals the Startling Extent of Iraq’s Water Crisis

Sep 1, 2023 | tcf.org | Safaa Khalaf |Maha Yassin |Mac Skelton |Zeinab F. Shuker

Water resources in Iraq face critical challenges that threaten their sustainability and have a profound impact on the livelihoods of the population and the environment. In the past four years, the country has experienced a deeply concerning decline in water sources and a noticeable degradation in water quality, which have affected the viability of agriculture in certain areas. Iraq is at the epicenter of a global drought crisis.
The Space for Iraqi Climate Activism Is Dangerously Small, and Shrinking

Aug 30, 2023 | tcf.org | Mac Skelton |Zeinab F. Shuker |Thanassis Cambanis |Safaa Khalaf

Iraq is at the deadly intersection of multiple major climate and environmental crises. The government’s attempts to mitigate the impact of climate change are too feeble to match the scale of the climate crisis, particularly drought. For Iraq to find its way out of the grim status quo of poor governance and environmental catastrophe, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society will need to play a crucial role.
Shia Power Comes of Age: The Transformation of Islamist Politics in Iraq, 2003-2023

Aug 30, 2023 | tcf.org | Thanassis Cambanis |Husam Sobhi |Safaa Khalaf |Maha Yassin

Shia politics roared to the center of power in Iraq following the U.S. invasion in 2003, after decades of marginalization under Saddam Hussein. A new generation of clerics and politicians, self-described as Shia Islamists, promised a revolution in law and governance. The meaning of Shia Islamism today is murkier than ever.