From Yemen to Iraq to Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran are competing for regional influence and control. In this week's episode Mike and Danny discuss what divides Saudi and Iran and how that rivalry is fueling conflicts throughout the region.

The Saudi - Iran Divide

In February 1982, the Asad regime in Syria unleashed a brutal campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood in city of Hama. After staving off an initial potent assault from the Brotherhood, Asad's forces unleashed his vengeance on the city and the group demolishing homes and butchering survivors. When the dust settled thousands were dead and Sunni Islamist militancy in Syria subsided. In this week's episode, Mike and Danny discuss the massacre at Hama and what insight it gives into the current conflict in Syria.

Hama 1982: Understanding the present through the past

On July 15th 2016, a faction of the Turkish military attempted to overthrow the Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. Erdogan's loyalists quickly rallied and squashed the attempted coup. In the aftermath, Erdogan blamed the reclusive U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gülen for the coup and demanded his extradition to Turkey. In this week's episode Mike and Danny discuss Gülen and his followers as well as the probability of him being behind the failed coup.

Fethullah Gulen And Turkeys Failed Coup

Dardasha Weekly is a podcast that explores the history, politics, and culture of the Middle East in effort to help make sense of the current events in the region. Each week Danny Stoker and Mike White discuss in detail a topic related to the biggest news coming out of the region as well as give a quick recap of important events from the previous week and attempt to put those events in perspective.

Dardasha Weekly: A Middle East Podcast