Holding Hope Hostage

Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim is all thumbs navigating his way around his new iPhone. This modern device contrasts sharply with the traditional cassock he is wearing, but it helps him stay in touch with his community in Syria and the wider diaspora. After an impromptu hour-long interview in London during what was supposed to be a short coffee visit, he reminds me that I can email him if I need anything more. Then he mumbles that he is sleepy. Ibrahim is an ordinary man—an ordi...

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The Brotherhood’s Man in London

Out of all the places to meet Zuheir Salem, the number two man of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood (SMB), a David Brent-style office in Alperton, north London, is probably the least expected. The office of the SMB is so elusive that even the security guard does not know what the SMB are or what they do. According to him, it is some sort of charity where lots of Middle Eastern-looking types come in for meetings and leave late. “I don’t ask any questions, boss—if you know what I mean,” he say...

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