Recent Riots Demand Change in Focus for Muslim Brotherhood
Sarah Jones* | 11 Mar 2013
Protesters chant slogans and hold a picture of a slain young man in Port Said, Egypt, February 1, 2013. Protests were held in cities around the country after a call for rallies by opponents of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi (Photo credit: AP/Aly Hazzaa, El Shorouk Newspaper). For a political movement defined from its earliest days as organized in opposition...Establishing Legitimacy: Challenges of Governance in Tunisia
Carolyn Barnett* | 5 Feb 2013
Members of the General Union of Tunisian Workers shout slogans in Kasserine in western Tunisia (Photo credit: AFP). The political transitions in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia over the last two years have been uneven. Those who are more skeptical, point to their governments and complain, “The revolution was for employment, liberty, and dignity. Today, we don’t...Moving Past the Movie: Understanding the U.S. Embassy Attack in Egypt
Sara M. Salem* | 13 Sep 2012
Egyptian protesters climb the walls of the U.S. Embassy during protests in Cairo on Sept. 11. (Photo credit: Canadian Press) On the 11th of September, a group of Egyptian protesters attacked the U.S. embassy in Cairo in response to an American movie that allegedly portrayed the Prophet Muhammad as a child molester, among other things. While it remains unclear...PODCAST Interview: Egyptian Filmmaker, Karim El-Shenawy, on His New Film “Salafi”
Muftah Editors | 8 Jun 2012
In this Muftah podcast, we speak to award-wining Egyptian filmmaker Karim El-Shenawy about his latest film “Salafi,” a documentary about two Egyptian Salafists with diametrically different views on the Salafist movement and the current state of Egyptian politics. Among other things, we talk to Karim about the rise of Salafism in Egypt and the increasing...Political Islam in Post-Revolutionary Egypt: Discussions and Debates
Nancy Elshami* | 5 Mar 2012
In Egypt’s post-revolutionary political scene, Islamist forces have predominated. These groups can roughly be split into two main factions: the Muslim Brotherhood, with its Freedom and Justice Party; and the Salafi factions with the Nour Party at the helm. In the country’s recent parliamentary elections, Egypt’s Islamist parties ran under two main alliances...“The Civil” and “the Secular” in Contemporary Arab Politics
Peter Hill* | 26 Feb 2013
A banner reading, “The people want the application of Islamic shari’a law” is seen during a protest in Tahrir Square in Cairo on November 9, 2012 (Photo credit: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters). The...Security in Libya
Thalia Beaty | 29 Sep 2012
Thousands of Libyans marched in Benghazi on September 21 in support of solidarity against Islamist militias (Photo credit: Reuters). The reaction in the United States to Ambassador Stevens’ killing during an...Salafis Resurgent?
Daniel Tavana | 4 Sep 2012
Men with bulldozers demolish a Sufi shrine in Tripoli (Photo credit: BBC) In Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, Salafism is on the rise. Last winter, Salafists in Egypt secured roughly 25% of seats in the Egyptian Parliament....A Little Off the Nose: The Nose Job Scandal and the Future of Islamist Politics in Egypt
Joseph Farag | 9 Mar 2012
Anwar al-Balkimy With ongoing slaughter in Syria and the many serious issues confronting Egypt’s difficult transitional period, it may seem glib, perverse even, to focus on the case of Anwar al-Balkimy. Al-Balkimy,...Yemen’s Diverse Islamists
Saleem Haddad | 31 Jan 2012
Tawakul Karman (Photo credit: AP) In a panel organised by the Project on Middle East Political Science entitled ‘Yemen’s Stalemate’, three panellists came together to discuss the impasse in elite-level politics...
