A Watershed Year: The New Arab's Most Important Stories from 2020

Hosni Mubarak is dead, but the pharaoh state he helped build lives on
(Mubarak passes away on 25 February)
   

March: The Covid-19 pandemic invades the Middle East and the world

After wreaking havoc in China between December and January, the Covid-19 pandemic arrived in the Middle East in late February and early March. Iran, which maintains extensive travel and trade links with China, is hardest hit, but the virus quickly spreads to Iraq, Lebanon, the GCC and North Africa. Eventually, it spread to almost every country in the greater Middle East -- and the world. Iran, ruled by an authoritarian regime and hit hard by US sanctions, suffered high death tolls and was accused of mishandling the response, a story that then repeated itself across many countries in the region. Wealthy GCC countries fared better, but at the price of completely shuttering their borders. Meanwhile concerns grew for conflict-hit countries led by Syria, Yemen and Libya, where refugees fleeing war were already at risk from disease, including a cholera epidemic in Yemen.



Iran's mishandling of coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak is putting its people and the region at risk



For Middle East refugees, social distancing is a privilege few can afford
 

April: Ramadan under lockdown, and an oil price war

With the Muslim and wider worlds ravaged by Covid-19, worshipping and festivities were disrupted in a scene that will repeat itself later with Hindu, Jewish and Christian religious holidays. Muslims in many countries had to fast in Ramadan and celebrate Eid under lockdown, and for the first time in centuries, Islam's holiest site in Mecca was shuttered for most worshippers. Towards the end of the month, the oil cartel OPEC reached a deal over production cuts, ending a price war with Russia that had brought oil prices down to historic levels. 



How coronavirus has changed the way Muslims celebrate Ramadan



Oil price truce: The Russia-Saudi standoff is over. But at what cost?

May: Occupation in Palestine and racism in America

Palestinians commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the Nakba, the creation of Israel over their lands following the war of 1948, in the shadow of Israeli annexation plans for the West Bank, which threatens to kill what is left of the two-state solution. Near the end of May, police in Minneapolis kill George Floyd, an African American, in custody, sparking historic Black Lives Matter protests against racism and police violence in every major city in the continental United States. BLM quickly dominates the US election campaigns alongside the pandemic.



Annexation in the shadow of the Nakba



For the sake of George Floyd and Black lives everywhere, make this moment count
 

June: Racism and Covid-19 in Britain; and Libya's government secures Tripoli from rogue general

As BLM protests continued in America and spread to Europe, Covid-19 seemed to hit British ethnic minorities hardest including Black and Brown Britons due to historic inequality. Libya's internationally recognised government meanwhile secured Tripoli with Turkish help after a failed offensive by Russian-backed general Khalifa Haftar.



Covid-19 lays bare Britain's entrenched racial inequalities



After Haftar: What's next in Libya's conflict?

July: Hagia Sophia converted back to mosque and Srebrenica massacre commemorated

Turkey reconverts former Orthodox church-turned mosque-turned museum Hagia Sophia to a mosque once more, triggering both support from conservative Muslim supporters of President Erdogan and an outcry from seculars and Christian Orthodox nations led by Greece and Russia. In Bosnia, people commemorate 25 years since the Srebrenica genocide of Muslims.



'We must not forget': 25 years after the Srebrenica genocide



What will happen to Turkey's Hagia Sophia after controversial mosque conversion?
 

August: A cataclysmic explosion at the port of Beirut devastates the city, Israel and the UAE agree to normalise relations.

On August 4, a nuclear-like blast at the Port of Beirut devastates Lebanon's capital. Over 200 are killed and thousands injured. The explosion rips through historic quarters of Mar Mkhael and Gemmayzeh, bringing economic disasters to an already struggling city due to the ongoing banking crisis of 2019. Many blame the blast on government corruption and negligence. To date, investigations have led nowhere. Towards the end of August, the UAE and Israel sign a deal to normalise ties in a major coup for Donald Trump's administration. Palestinians are outraged, as yet another Arab nation throws their cause under the bus for closer relations with Tel Aviv and Washington.



Beirut: The feeling of being buried alive



UAE adds Israel to its coalition of anti-democratic allies
 

September: Bahrain and Israel agree to normalise relations, Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah dies at the age of 91

Bahrain, a close ally of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, follows suit and signs a normalisation deal with Israel. Later in the month, the monarch of Kuwait passes away. He was a beloved veteran diplomat who helped mediate several accords, and was instrumental in efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis that led to the blockade of Qatar.



Bahrain's normalisation deal with Israel is lots of risk for little gain



Arab world mouns death of Kuwait's 'peace-loving' emir

October: Armenia and Azerbaijan reach a ceasefire deal after a devastating war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Sudan normalises ties with Israel

After a Turkish-backed Azerbaijan achieved victory against Armenia, a ceasefire brokered by Russia is reached ending a month-long conflict in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The war consecrated Turkey as a new major player in the Caucasus, and was a setback for Russia and Iran. In the same month, Sudan follows the UAE and Bahrain and signs a normalisation deal with Israel, in return for the US lifting terror designation of the country in place since the 1990s and other American inducements.



How US blackmail pushed Sudan to normalise ties with Israel



Armenia, Azerbaijan agree on ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh
 

November: US elections are held, with Arab and Muslim Americans playing a crucial role in swing states. Trump refuses to recognise results citing fraud without evidence

Due to Donald Trump's belittling and mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, the US, the world's richest country, was the world's hardest hit, with hundreds of thousands killed by the disease. On November 3, Americans voted against Donald Trump, giving the White House keys to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The outcome was determined by so-called swing states, and in many of those, Arab and Muslim American communities were large enough to influence the final results, especially in places like Detroit and Dearborn, in Michigan. As some states were late to count mail-in votes, cast in record numbers due to social distancing advice, the final outcome was not known until days after the election, giving Trump an opening to claim voter fraud, without evidence. Although all his legal challenges failed, Trump has yet to concede the election, but it will all be officially over on January 6 when Congress is set to certify the votes.



How Arabs and Muslims helped flip Michigan blue for Biden



Voter suppression and intimidation are Arab American issues too
 

December: 10-year anniversary of the Arab Spring, Iran's top nuclear scientist assassinated

As a dramatic year approached its final days, the Iranian top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated in Tehran. Iran blamed the killing on Israel and the US, and once more, the world held its breath for escalation, just as it had done in January. Iran however has chosen to continue a policy of 'strategic patience', to avoid antagonising the incoming Biden administration, believing the killing was a trap set by the outgoing Trump administration, which is sparing nothing to create obstacles for its successors and going through a checklist of pardons, including of war criminals involved in massacres in Iraq during the US occupation.

Meanwhile, the Arab world began to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the Arab Spring wave of revolutions, marked on the day Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest state injustice. On a side note, Morocco concluded a normalisation deal with Israel, in return for US recognition of the disputed Western Sahara as Moroccan territory.



Tunisia's rocky path to democracy: Fighting to advance the hard-won freedoms of the revolution



Fakhrizadeh's assassination: A new diplomatic obstacle for Biden's Iran policy

Happy New Year! Come back in 2021 for more of our authentic journalism, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay connected