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Blog
This blog collects articles and ideas written or developed by Dr. Alaa Al-Tamimi, which he shares online in the hope of providing insight, knowledge, and in-depth thoughts on various topics.
Topics covered include personal writings, critical analyses, and intellectual exchanges, as well as reviews of works that marked his professional and personal life.
He discusses his experiences in Iraq and abroad, his public engagements, and his thoughts on reconstruction, urban planning, and education. He also reflects on key moments from his life in different countries and shares what he learned from the cultures he encountered along the way.
New York Elects a Muslim Mayor: When a City Triumphs for Its Idea, Not Its Identity
The election of Zohran Mamdani, a young Muslim, as the new Mayor of New York City was far more than a passing headline. It was a turning point in the story of a metropolis that has long represented the world in miniature — diverse, restless, and alive with contradiction. He is the first Muslim ever to hold this office and the youngest in nearly a century. Yet the deeper meaning lies not in the victory itself, but in what it says about a city’s maturity: that it can still choo
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Reading… the Elevation of Mind and Soul
💭 Friday Thought Dr. Alaa Al-Tamimi Reading is not a luxury, nor a pastime for those with idle hours. It is a command from Heaven — the very first word of revelation: Read. From that divine beginning, reading became the path to light, the gateway through which humanity ascends above instinct and ignorance. Do not say, I don’t like reading. The issue is not with reading itself, but that you have not yet discovered your field of passion. Seek it, and you will find that every p
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Strategy Is Always the Source of Strength
🧭 By Dr. Alaa Al-Tamimi October 2025 In international relations, strength does not lie solely in economic or military size, but rather in the ability to craft a coherent strategy that protects national interests and ensures sustainability. This truth is clearly reflected today in the ongoing tension between Canada and the United States over tariff policies, particularly on steel, aluminum, and electric vehicles. The United States, despite its enormous economic power, has rec
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Axioms and Interests: When Truth Bows to Utility
Axioms and Interests: When Truth Bows to Utility If geometric axioms were to clash with people’s interests, they would deny them. For “the people,” when spoken of in the abstract, dissolve into the mass — their diversity swallowed by number, and reason’s balance lost in the noise of advantage. Axioms cannot be refuted by experience, nor can intuition deny them. Yet, they may still bend before the will of utility, for interest holds a subtle power to shape both acceptance and
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Peace of Mind
Peace of Heart Between a Past Gone and a Future Yet to Come Do not carry the weight of yesterday on your shoulders, and do not race ahead...
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Baghdad:The Mirage City Between Promised Architecture and Deferred Urban Planning
In the mid-20th century, Baghdad became a global laboratory for modern architecture and urban planning. Between 1952 and 1982, renowned...
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Meeting the Giants in Alaska
Meeting the Giants in Alaska... A Reception Fit for a Tsar These weren't the usual cold moments we're used to at leaders' meetings. The...
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Baghdad Dar Al-Salam – A City Once Called the Abode of Peace.
I am pleased to announce that my new book, "Baghdad Dar Al-Salam – A City Once Called the Abode of Peace," will be published soon. In...
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The Doomsday Clock A Pendulum on the Edge
Sometimes, danger doesn't come in the form of an explosion, but rather approaches slowly, like a hand moving silently toward its end....
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Hiroshima, a Shadow will not Erase
On this day, August 6, 1945, at exactly 8:15 a.m., an American plane dropped a nuclear bomb over Hiroshima, dubbed "Little Boy," writing...
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When Iraq Chose to Stab Itself
On these days in the scorching month of August 1990, the Iraqi ruler lost his mind and rushed into a shocking decision to occupy a sister...
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In the Face of Tragedy: A Jewish Voice Reflects on Gaza
In my reading journey, I often seek books that represent perspectives different from my own. Understanding begins, I believe, with...
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Gaza: An Unbearable Human
In the heart of the world, under bombardment and siege, the children and women of Gaza, and all innocent civilians, live in a merciless...
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Unforgettable cities and friends that are irreplaceable
Travel is not just a transition from one place to another but an inner passage, reconciling with memory, and rejuvenating oneself with...
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In the Heart of the Balkans: A Journey Through Memory, Landscape, and People. New Roads on the Map of the Soul
Journeys are not merely journeys through geography; they are inner revelations, encounters with others, and recordings of the pulse of...
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Atatürk’s House in Trabzon: A Nation’s Memory Between Walls and Trees
I left Batumi early in the morning, heading toward the Georgian-Turkish border—barely twenty kilometers away. On the Turkish side, a car...
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Travel, a Mirror to the Soul and a Bridge Between Nations
From distant New Zealand to the Andes Mountains, from the alleys of Marrakech to the streets of Muhammad Bourgaba , from the timeless...
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The Statue of Ilia Chavchavadze in Batumi: On Symbols That Endure… and Others That Are Erased
During my recent visit to the coastal Georgian city of Batumi, I paused in reflection before a bronze bust of a figure whose features...
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Warsaw: A City Between the Ruins of the Past and the Splendor of the Present**
When I set foot on Warsaw's sidewalks after forty years of absence, it felt like stepping into a fragmented dream. The city I left in the...
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My visit to Gori, Georgia: In the shadow of Stalin
My travels have always been an opportunity to discover places with their natural beauty, but they are also a gateway to delving into...
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