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Geopolitics

Qatar, The New Standard Of Soft Power Will Be Key To Middle East Peace

Qatar was crucial to the ceasefire negotiations in the Middle East. It proves that you don’t need a large army or nuclear weapons to play an important role in the world.

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Geopolitics

What Syria’s Future Means For Jordan

Amman and its allies, much like the skeptical secular Syrian opposition, await tangible actions on the ground to match the promises of pragmatist rhetoric from Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, who is marketing himself as a statesman committed to building an inclusive new Syria that’s a good neighbor after abandoning extremist ideologies.

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Israel-Palestine War

Two New Reasons Gaza Peace Is Farther Away Than Ever

Having played a precious though ultimately futile role as mediator, Qatar announced it will step back from Gaza talks as both sides remain uninterested in a ceasefire. And following Trump’s election victory, there’s a notable new appointment to represent Israel in Washington.

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Geopolitics

Why Arab Regimes Are So Weak In Defending Palestinians

The Arab front in favor of the Palestinian people is more feeble and ambiguous than ever, even as the people of Gaza are being killed by the thousands. Multiple factors explain this weakness, from fears of a repeat of the 2011 uprisings inside their own countries to longstanding competition with Iran.

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Geopolitics Israel-Palestine War

After Sinwar, Will Hamas Break From Iran — And Turn Back To Muslim Brotherhood?

The question of who will succeed Yahya Sinwar is essentially a question of whether Hamas will return from its “Iranian exile” and embrace the Muslim Brotherhood.

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Israel-Palestine War

Salafi Islamists And Gulf Leaders Agree: Iran Is More Dangerous Than Israel

The Salafis, along with Gulf States like Saudi Arabia, consider the Shias as a greater threat to Islam than Zionism.

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Geopolitics

The Muslim Brotherhood Is Allowed Back In Jordan’s Parliament: A Blunt Message To Israel

The Muslim Brotherhood is heading back into Jordanian politics, 30 years after being excluded following the 1994 peace deal with Israel. It’s a post-Oct. 7 sign from Amman about the specter of masses of Palestinians flooding into Jordan from Gaza and the West Bank is scary enough to play ball with the Islamist Brotherhood.

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Geopolitics

Why Egypt’s Government Isn’t Worried About Protests — Or The Muslim Brotherhood

The Muslim Brotherhood called for anti-government protests on July 12, yet again failing to understand what is really on Egyptians’ minds and overestimating their readiness of taking to the street against the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

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Geopolitics

Assad Aide’s Fatal Car Crash: Was She The Latest Target Of The Syrian Regime?

Luna al-Shibl, a media advisor to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was killed in a car crash in Damascus. But many didn’t believe the official account of her death given the Syrian regime’s long history of targeting opponents inside and outside Syria.

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Israel-Palestine War

Hamas, Hezbollah And The False Myth Of Victory In Bloodshed

The concept of “resistance” adopted by militants in the Middle East has a close relationship with oppression and “divine victory,” which Hamas and Hezbollah both embrace in a false interpretation of the Koran, despite the heavy human and material losses inflicted.

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Society

The Pious, Political And Musical Twists Of Egypt’s “Islamic Bands”

The Islamic Bands were especially popular in the early 2000s, then became a tool of the Muslim Brotherhood after their victory following the Arab Spring. Then they largely disappeared, until showing up more recently on social media.

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Geopolitics

Death Of A Controversial Yemeni Islamist, Linked To Bin Laden And A Bogus AIDS Cure

Abdul Majeed al-Zindani was one of the most prominent founders of what was known as the “Islamic Movement” – the Muslim Brotherhood affiliate in Yemen. He was sanctioned by the United States and United Nations’ Security Council over his links with al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.

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Israel-Palestine War

October 7 And The Gaza War: A Double Godsend For Political Islam

Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza have given Islamists new momentum and a new outlook on their recent political setbacks.

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Geopolitics Israel-Palestine War

Palestine As “The Great Arab Cause”: What’s Changed Since October 7

When Arab countries started normalizing relations with Israel, they did so disregarding the fate of Palestinians. It was a terrible error of judgment, and worse. Yet while the Palestinian cause remains a cornerstone of political legitimacy in the Arab world, few reasonable solutions are being brought forward, and radicalization continues to gain ground among the masses.

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This Happened

This Happened—January 25: Tahrir Square, Egyptian Revolution Begins

Updated Jan. 25, 2024 at 12:15 p.m. After the revolution in Tunisia, anti-regime protests spread to Egypt, sparking two weeks of deadly clashes. How did the Jan. 25 Revolution begin? As a statement against increasing police brutality during the last few years of Hosni Mubarak‘s presidency, young people in Egypt ran demonstrations, marches, occupations of […]

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Economy Geopolitics

Patronage Or Politics? What’s Driving Qatar And Egypt Grand Rapprochement

For Cairo, Qatar had been part of an “axis of evil,” with anger directed at Al Jazeera, the main Qatari outlet, and others critical of Egypt after the Muslim Brotherhood ouster. But the vitriol is now gone, with the first ever visit by Egyptian President al-Sisi to Doha.

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Geopolitics

Autopsy Of The Muslim Brotherhood’s Failed Political Project

A decade after the Arab Spring, the Islamist political movement driven by the Muslim Brotherhood, from Egypt to Morocco and beyond, continues to flirt with more extreme Salafist elements to build popular support — and continues to show its utter incapacity to properly run a national government.

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In The News

In Egypt, Signs Of Hope And Reasons To Despair

Changes are afoot, and yet writer Mohamed Naeem struggles to see light at the end of the dark tunnel into which Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has led the Egyptian people.

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In The News

Egypt And Israel: How Close Is Too Close?

They have their differences, of course, but the interests of Egypt and Israel have increasingly aligned since Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power in 2014.

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In The News

In Egypt, A Push To Give The Military Even More Domestic Muscle

Proposed changes to the Constitution could reshape the role of the Armed Forces, even giving them authority to annul unfavorable election results, experts warn.

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In The News

Why Al-Azhar Is Resisting Sisi’s Religious Reforms For Egypt

The president thinks it’s time to ‘revolutionize’ Islam. But to do so, he needs help from the country’s oldest, most prestigious Sunni university.

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blog

Olympic Paradox And Patriotism

The Olympic ideal is free of political conflict. But from Jesse Owens in Berlin to this year’s refugee team, some of the Games’ most striking images have sprung when sports and world affairs collide. So much so that the temptation is always great to think of the Olympics as a jersey-wearing reflection of current events. […]

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blog

Salafists In Parliament? Testing Morocco’s Terrorism Prevention Model

CASABLANCA — Morocco is no stranger to the jihadist violence afflicting other Muslim countries: In 2003, a suicide bombing killed 33 people in the country’s largest city, Casablanca, while a 2011 attack killed 17 in Marrakesh. But unlike most of its neighbors, Morocco has a detailed policy to reform rather than destroy followers of Salafism, […]

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Geopolitics Society

Mein Kampf And The Nazi Role In Arab Anti-Semitism

PARIS — For the first time since the end of the Third Reich, Mein Kampf has been republished in Germany. With copyrights having expired on Jan. 1, the Institute of Contemporary History of Munich has released a critical, annotated edition of the only book written by Adolf Hitler, first published in 1925. And it’s a […]

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Geopolitics

A Violent Turn, Conversion Of An Egyptian Radical

CAIRO — “I wanted to live through the military coup. Now, after all I’ve seen, I think I must have been mad.” Thus Youssef — not his real name — began our interview. For him, everything changed on the dawn of Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013, the day the Rabea al-Adaweyya sit-in was dispersed when several […]

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blog Geopolitics

Exclusive: Egypt Military Officers Convicted Of Muslim Brotherhood Coup

A military court has convicted 26 military officers with conspiring to overthrow the current regime in collaboration with two prominent Muslim Brotherhood leaders, according to a copy of the secret indictment obtained by Mada Masr.

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Geopolitics Society

What Is Killing Egypt’s Political Prisoners?

CAIRO — In the past two months, at least five people have died in Egyptian police custody after being arrested on politically related charges. Four of the detainees belonged to the conservative Jama’a al-Islamiya group, while another was accused of belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Three of those Jama’a al-Islamiya members died over just […]

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Geopolitics

Egypt’s Unsettled Military Role In Yemen

Though deep historical rivalries between Saudi Arabia and Yemen have little to do with Egypt, it has been drawn into the anti-Houthi confict. Having given initial support to the Saudi coalition, how far Cairo will go is the source of intense speculation.

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Geopolitics Society

A Visit To Cairo’s Hardline Islamist Neighborhood

In Ain Shams’ side streets and clandestine mosques, diehard members of the Muslim Brotherhood are ready to battle police.

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blog

German angst over Greece, Marine killer’s motive, Treemail

Photo: Arapahoe Co. Sheriff’s Department/ZUMAPRESS GREEK BAILOUT: NEW FUNDING, GERMAN ANGST The European Central Bank (ECB) is set to increase its aid to Greek banks by 900 million euros for a week, after the Greek parliament approved a new bailout program. MOTIVE UNCLEAR FOR KILLER OF 4 MARINES FBI officials said the motive of the […]

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Geopolitics Syria Crisis

People Of Palmyra, Where ISIS Puts Syrian History At Risk

Locals in the city of Palmyra speak out as ISIS threatens the treasured ancient ruins of their city, after destroying its notorious Assad regime prison that scarred so many.

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blog Geopolitics

Egyptian President Sisi, A Year Of Strong Words And Symbolism

In his first year as president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has shown surprising rhetorical flair, even as he consistently sends contrasting messages.

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Geopolitics Society

‘At War With ISIS’ – Sunni Islam’s Spiritual Leader El-Tayeb Speaks Out

La Stampa takes on big questions in Muslim world with Sunni Islam’s highest authority, who was at a conference in Italy, his first trip to Europe since taking his post in Cairo.

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Geopolitics

Egyptian Intrigue As State Security Tightens Grip On Power

The state security apparatus that secretly exerted control over much of Egyptian society during the Mubarak regime is firmly back in command.

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Geopolitics

Why A Morsi Execution Could Risk Civil War In Egypt

CAIRO — When the Egyptian regime carried out the hanging of six defendants last week in the Arab Sharkas case, it was sending a clear message to former President Mohamed Morsi a day after a Cairo court sentenced the former leader and another 106 people to death. Such is the interpretation of events in the […]

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blog

Balkan Genocide Ruling, Castro Resurfaces, Google-Uber War

HAGUE ISSUES GENOCIDE RULINGAfter years of investigation, the Hague’s International Court of Justice has ruled that Serbia did not commit genocide against the Croats during the Balkan wars in the 1990s. While acknowledging that crimes had been committed, the court argued that Croatia failed to prove that Serbia had intended to “destroy in whole or […]

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Geopolitics Society

Mother Of Al Jazeera Journalist Appeals To Al-Sisi

Editor’s Note: Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste, who was imprisoned in Cairo for 400 days with two of his colleagues, has been released by Egyptian authorities. The two other Al Jazeera journalists — Baher Mohamed, a producer, and the channel’s Cairo bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy — still remain imprisoned in Egypt. The three journalists were […]

Categories
Society

Cairo Shutters Cafe Charged With Serving Satan-Worshipping Atheists

Nicknamed the “atheists’ cafe,” police say there was evidence of devil worship at the shop. Twitter users are now mocking Cairo authorities, asking when the war on vampires begins.

Categories
Geopolitics

Rumblings Of A Deal Between Sisi And Muslim Brotherhood

Though both parties deny it, there have been rumors and a number of signs pointing to a possible reconciliation between the Egyptian government and the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Categories
blog Geopolitics

Desperate For Freedom, Egypt’s Hunger-Striking Political Prisoners

Tired of being denied basic rights, Egypt’s political prisoners are increasingly trying to break the cycle of helplessness with the one bit of control they still have over their lives. 

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