Epstein never cracked the Gulf. After death, he’s finally a player. | Semafor

A piece of the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and DP World chief Ahmed bin Sulayem that I missed earlier:

Beyond the vulgarities is an accusation that is inflaming Muslim passions: Epstein appears to have been in possession of a piece of the Kiswah, the cloth that covers the Kaaba. It’s impossible from the emails to verify the authenticity of the assertion, but the cloth looks close enough to the real thing that it’s been weaponized online, with accusations that the UAE supplied one of Islam’s holiest artifacts to a sex offender. An image of Epstein showing the cloth to bin Sulayem is being used as proof that the UAE’s elites are hostile not just to political Islam or the Palestinian cause, but to the religion itself. (DP World and bin Sulayem haven’t commented on the reports.)