UNAPOLOGETIC with Ashfaaq Carim

What does the Saudi-Emirati cold war mean for Israel, Trump and Iran? | Andreas Krieg |

Andreas Krieg - a leading Gulf security expert - joined the UNAPOLOGETIC episode once again. This time, Andreas tried to unpack for us just how impactful the Saudi-UAE cold war is, why it is occurring and what and where are the fault lines of their differences. And what this cold war means for the USA, Israel, Iran and other actors in the region. UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:00 Iran Pressure Politics 11:00 Trump And Iran 21:00 Israel Chaos Strategy 30:00 Emirati Iran Calculus 39:00 Emirati Regional Project 49:00 Saudi Strategic Pushback 59:00 Cold War Fault lines 1:09:00 Israel Strategic Exposure 1:20:00 Regional Order Ahead

Episode 62 - Inside Israel’s detention of the Gaza flotilla activists | Thiago Avila | UNAPOLOGETIC

Brazilian activist and one of the organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla Thiago Avila joins UNAPOLOGETIC. He recounts his detention by Israeli forces after being aboard one of the flotilla boats intercepted by Israel in international waters while en route to break the siege of Gaza. Avila describes the moments leading up to the interception at sea and his arrest, and details the conditions he and other activists faced while held in Israeli detention. He reflects on nightly raids inside prison cells, the use of intimidation and fear, and the psychological tactics used against the activists. UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 02:10 The Gaza flotilla mission 06:45 Interception at sea and arrest 13:30 First hours in Israeli detention 20:10 Prison conditions & interrogations 28:40 Shotguns, lasers & psychological warfare 34:20 The moment fear broke 38:50 Solidarity & resistance inside prison 43:30 Chanting “Free Palestine” after raids 48:40 'Nothing compared to what Palestinians endure'

Episode 61 - The story of Omar Suleiman and why his faith compels him to speak out | UNAPOLOGETIC

In this conversation with UNAPOLOGETIC, Imam Omar Suleiman reflects on two decades of global politics, the Palestinian struggle, Islamophobia in America, and the meaning of justice in a collapsing world order. Through personal stories of exile, family history, racism, 9/11, and spiritual grounding, he offers a deeply human account of how identity, faith, and political reality have shaped his life. This episode moves between the intimate and the global - from his parents’ journey through displacement, to the trauma and resilience of Palestinians and Syrians, to the shifting political landscape in the US and the rising generational support for Palestine. Omar Suleiman argues that despite oppression, people power is growing, Zionist propaganda is weakening, and justice - while it may take a while - in his view remains inevitable. Chapters 0:00 Intro & Soundbites 2:03 Gaza & Global Indifference 8:11 Childhood & Exile 13:05 Media After 9/11 16:40 Family & Diaspora Roots 23:28 Homeland & Entry Denied 27:03 Syria’s Turning Point 36:42 U.S. Politics & Islamophobia 41:34 Final Reflections

Episode 60 - Ottoman exiles, a billionaire and the plot for an Indian caliphate | Imran Mulla | UNAPOLOGETIC

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak with journalist and historian Imran Mulla about his gripping new book The Indian Caliphate: Exiled Ottomans and the Billionaire Prince. The conversation uncovers a forgotten plot to relocate the Ottoman caliphate to India after its abolition in 1924 — a story involving exiled Ottoman royalty, the fabulously wealthy but austere Nizam of Hyderabad, British imperial paranoia, and an audacious vision for a modern, post-imperial caliphate rooted in the subcontinent. Imran walks us through the hidden alliances between Ottoman exiles and Indian Muslim thinkers, the astonishing marriage engineered to fuse two royal houses, the political stakes of Hyderabad’s autonomy under the British, and how the dream of an Indian-centred caliphate was ultimately crushed by partition and rising nationalism. This episode is a sweeping look at empire, modernity, loss, cosmopolitanism, and the forgotten place of India at the centre of the Islamic world — and why recovering this history matters today. UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim Chapters 0:00 Intro & Soundbites 2:00 Tomb in Rural India 9:00 How This Story Began 18:00 Reinventing the Caliphate 27:00 Hyderabad, Empire and Wealth 36:00 Archives, Travel and Tomb 45:00 Partition, Federation and Palestine 54:00 Empire, Freedom and Violence 1:03:00 Princes, Princesses and Exile 1:12:00 Modernist Pan-Islamic Politics 1:21:00 Anglicised Radicals at Oxford 1:30:00 What History Taught Imran 1:39:00 Writing the Book, Closing

Episode 59 - Israel commits genocide while demanding its neighbours demilitarise | Jeremy Scahill | UNAPOLOGETIC

In this UNAPOLOGETIC episode from the Doha Forum, investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill examines how Israel has carried out a campaign that many experts believe meets the legal and moral definitions of genocide in Gaza, while simultaneously insisting that Palestinians must not resist and that neighbouring states must demilitarise. Scahill situates Israel’s assault within a wider history of US militarism, privatised warfare, and the global security industry, showing how Gaza has become a testing ground for surveillance, weapons and siege tactics. We also discuss the collapse of the 2025 cease-fire, the regional implications of Syria’s political shift, and the contrasting strategies of Gulf states as the war reshapes regional power. Jeremy Scahill is co-founder of The Intercept and author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army and Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield.