This week we’re thrilled to bring our Conflicted Community an interview with a guest who we all at Conflicted are great fans of – British historian Simon Sebag Montefiore! Simon is an award winning historian of bestsellers including Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, Young Stalin, The Romanovs and his most recent work, The World: A Family History. But today we are here to talk with him about the newly updated version of his 2011 book, Jerusalem: The Biography. At the one year anniversary of October 7th, there has never been a better time to discuss the pivotal place of the city of Jerusalem in the story of Israel, Palestine and the current conflict. Thomas, Aimen and Simon discuss the contested nature of the city’s history from antiquity to the modern day – and where the city lives in the imaginarium of each of their religious faiths – Islam, Christianity and Judaism. To listen to more episodes like this one, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Go to https://surfshark.com/CONFLICTEDPOD and enter the code CONFLICTEDPOD for an extra four months free. Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thomas and Aimen are back with a vital Q&A as the Middle East enters its most dangerous and precarious moment in recent memory. Israel’s 12 day operation, beginning with an extraordinary operation that blew up thousands of Hezbollah pagers across Lebanon, then escalated this week with the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a huge strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Southern Lebanon. The head of the Hezbollah snake has been cut off, and the repercussions are already being felt. This week we answer your questions on what this watershed moment means for Lebanon, the wider Middle East and indeed the world, as Israel continues its operations. Will Iran and its nuclear programme be next in Israel’s crosshairs? And what next for the Lebanese state? To listen to the full episode, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Attention dear listeners – there’s been a small change in scheduling as Aimen has unfortunately been incapacitated and unable to record our fourth episode on Sudan. But don’t fret – Aimen is on the mend and will be back bringing us all more incredible insight and anecdotes about the Middle East very soon… So this week, we’re returning to an episode from Season 3 about our old friend, Colonel Gaddafi of Libya. If you’ve been listening closely to this season, you’ll remember that Gadaffi has been intimately involved in the 20th century story of Sudan, turning up to stir the pot and influence events there at every opportunity. So while you wait for our final episode on Sudan, we thought we’d bring you this episode as a brilliant refresher on another African country with vital links to Sudan, exploring how Gaddafi attempted to create his own revolutionary African Empire and the consequences across the region. New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you’ll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week for our Conflicted Community, we answer your listener questions! This week, it’s a grab bag of topics ranging from recent events like the thwarted Hezbollah attacks in northern Israel and the IS attack in Germany. Thomas and Aimen also speak about our recent series on Sudan, giving some updates on what is going on on the ground there, ahead for our final episode in the mini series next week. All this, plus thoughts about Hizb ut-Tahrir, anti-semitism and so much more… To listen to the full episode, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week for our Conflicted Community, we answer your questions about the recent events and escalation in the Middle East.  From Hezbollah bombing a Druze village in the Golan Heights, to the Israeli response of assassinating Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, and Hamas political leader Ismael Haniyeh, it looks like escalation into regional war could well be imminent. But how did Israel pull off these targeted killings? What next for Hezbollah and Hamas? And how will Iran respond? Thomas and Aimen are here to discuss all this and more, including questions from dearest listeners on terrorist financing, and the recent riots in the UK. To keep listening, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our very own Thomas Small has started a brand new podcast over on Substack called ‘Life Sentences’ – and we want to give Conflicted listeners a listen to the first episode… Life Sentences is Thomas’ attempt to introduce the world to the Church Fathers – the Christian writers, theologians, mystics and divines who wrote in the first 1000 years of Christianity. The podcast sees Thomas read out the texts of the Church Fathers and comment on them as he goes, making them relevant to today.  It’s a fascinating listen, and we know all fans of Conflicted listeners will enjoy it. The first episode is now live, and new episodes come out on Sundays, every two weeks. You can subscribe and find out more about the podcast through the website at: https://wisdomreadings.substack.com/  To listen to more bonus episodes like this one, subscribe to the Conflicted Community, where subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All Conflicted fans know Aimen’s life story – but what about that of his co-host, Thomas Small? Avid listeners will have heard Thomas talk about his Orthodox Christian faith and his time as a novice monk at a monastery on the Greek island of Mount Athos, but the story of how he got there, and why he decided to leave the brotherhood, is a fascinating tale… This week, Thomas and Aimen switch roles to find out more about Thomas’ spiritual journey. We’re putting out this episode to all of our dear listeners, because Thomas is releasing a new podcast over on Substack called ‘Life Sentences’. This is Thomas’ attempt to introduce to the world the Church Fathers – the Christian writers, theologians, mystics and divines who wrote in the first 1000 years of Christianity. The podcast sees Thomas read out the texts of the Church Fathers and comment on them as he goes, making them relevant to today. It’s a fascinating listen, and we hope all Conflicted listeners will tune in when the first episode goes live on Sunday July 14th. You can subscribe and find out more about the podcast through the website at: https://wisdomreadings.substack.com/  To listen to more bonus episodes like this one, subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  And finally – Conflicted season 5 goes live next Wednesday on July 17th! Thomas and Aimen have been cooking up a whole new season on… Africa. Tune in next Wednesday for the first episode. Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1860 ‘Damascus Events’ saw Syrian Christians murdered by their Sunni Muslim neighbours in a brutal genocidal moment that reshaped the late Ottoman Empire. It’s an example of how previously harmonious communities can descend into brutal violence in a very short time span. But in the Ottoman Empire’s response to the violence, it’s also an example of how hostile communities can be brought back from the brink. To learn more about this fascinating historical episode and its resonances today, Conflicted welcomes Eugene Rogan to our community! Eugene is a Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History and a Fellow of St. Anthony’s College at the University of Oxford. His recent book, ‘The Damascus Events: The 1860 Massacre and the Destruction of the Old Ottoman World’ is available now at all good bookshops and is very much recommended for the Conflicted Community as a must read to learn more about the late Ottoman Empire. To keep listening, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iran is rarely out of the news at the moment: from the death of President Raisi (which we covered in our last Conflicted Community episode), to the rumours of Supreme Leader Khamenei’s illness, and with unrest inside the country ever present, it feels like a country at the precipice. So this week, we again look to Persia to make sense of what Iran’s global strategy actually is. And this week, in a Conflicted Community first, we welcome a guest onto the show to help Thomas and Aimen on their way. Karim Sadjadpour is an Iranian-American who has focused on Iranian foreign policy and the region’s geopolitics throughout his career. After spending time in Iran (and evading arrest), he is now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and a contributing writer at the Atlantic and the New York Times, as well as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. In our first of two episodes with Karim, we discuss Iran’s global strategy towards foreign policy, how it intersects with the new multipolar world, and what they actually get from their axis with Russia and China. This first part is going out to all Conflicted listeners, but part two (coming out tomorrow on June 13th) is exclusively for Conflicted Community subscribers. To listen to part two, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community, where you will get bonus episodes like this one, alongside many other benefits, including our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  And finally: Conflicted Season 5 is coming soon on July 17th! Watch this space for more information… Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Enjoy another clip from a new episode for our Conflicted Community!  This week, Thomas and Aimen discuss the life and times of Iran’s President Raisi – ‘ The Butcher of Tehran’ – as well as doing a deep dive on the fascinating relationship between Iran and Azerbaijan, before Aimen gives us some intel on how Raisi might have died… To keep listening, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Enjoy a clip from the first exclusive Q&A episode for our Conflicted Community! Thanks so much to our supporters for sending in all these brilliant questions on our Discord chatroom. This week, Thomas and Aimen answer your burning questions, from Eurovision to Qatar, visiting corners of the world they’ve not touched on before…  To keep listening, you’ll need to subscribe. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can ask questions for future Q&As, interact with your fellow listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thomas introduces a whole hour of extra content, as Aimen gives evidence to the Foreign Affair Committee in the UK Parliament. To hear more about this trip to the palace of Westminster, as well as other bonus content, sign up to the Conflicted Community! Members also get access to our chatroom on Discord, where you can engage in riveting post-episode debates, and ask questions for upcoming exclusive Q&A episodes. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  This audio is available to the public on and taken from the Parliament TV website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second episode for our Conflicted Community is here!  This bonus episode is the final one going out to all of our dear listeners on this feed, so to keep listening, you’ll need to subscribe. Subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom on Discord, which is already brimming with conversation and analysis. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  For our second episode, Thomas and Aimen are returning to their bread and butter: jihadi terrorism. The attacks on a Moscow concert hall in March 2024, carried out by ISIS Khorasan Province, have revealed the return of a kind of terror not witnessed for a few years. But there’s a difference: could they have been jihadi mercenaries? Are they in fact jihadis for hire? Thomas and Aimen discuss how Afghanistan has once again become a hotbed of terror, and what this all means for the country and the rest of the world. Sign up to the Conflicted Community: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the first episode for our Conflicted Community!  We’ll be coming to you every two weeks with interactive episodes for our subscribers. We’re giving the first couple of episodes out for all of our dear listeners, but to keep listening, you’ll need to subscribe. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom on Discord, to discuss everything you hear, and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  In our first Conflicted Community episode, Thomas and Aimen discuss the unavoidable topic of war in Israel and Gaza, giving you an update on where things stand, what they’ve been hearing about the Hamas leadership and the threats posed by Iran and the wider axis of resistance. They also dig deep into Netanyahu and the ways in which Israel is prosecuting the war – does it legally constitute ethnic cleansing? Even a genocide? Sign up to the Conflicted Community: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Conflicted Community is now live!  Want to hear bonus episodes of Conflicted and chat with fellow Dear Listeners? Now you can! We’re going to be putting out new interactive episodes every two weeks for subscribers, as well as giving access to our Conflicted Community chatroom on Discord, where you can engage in riveting post-episode debates. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  This is a paid for community and these new episodes and access to the chatroom will be for subscribers only. We’ll be releasing the first couple of these episodes to all of our dear listeners on this normal Conflicted Feed, but you’ll have to join the Conflicted community to continue listening… Episode one for our Conflicted Community is coming next week on April 17th – so watch this space! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before the next episode, we have something a little different for your ears - an introduction to a whole new podcast - Behind the Sun. In Behind the Sun, Nadia, a young Syrian woman in the diaspora, struggles to come to terms with what the world knows about what’s happening in her country. She speaks with Riyad - her father's friend - whom she had first met in the strangest of circumstances. In episode 1, Nadia and Riyad explore the true meaning of "safety and justice" in Syria. He tells her the story of his disappearance in Syria for 21 years and how he formed a close friendship with Diab between the walls of the infamous prison Sednaya.  Behind the Sun is co-produced by Message Heard and The Syria Campaign, in collaboration with the Association of Detainees and the Missing (ADMSP) and the Syrian Center for Justice and Accountability (SJAC) under its project On the Margins No More. Subscribe to Behind the Sun wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes out weekly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year marks twenty years since 9/11 and the start of the war in Afghanistan. A war which is now reaching a tragic and extraordinary finale. In this special episode, Thomas and Aimen are back for a deep dive into the ancient and modern history of Afghanistan, Aimen's first hand experiences with the Taliban and an exploration of why the country has been in disarray for decades now. And we can also confirm that we are coming back for Season 3! Listen to exclusive bonus content and get all episodes ad-free by subscribing to Conflicted Extra on Apple Podcasts and Spotify for just 99p/month. Join the Conflicted fan community in our Facebook group at https://bit.ly/2WtL6J7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices