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The End of Taraf: The Liberals Have Outlived their Usefulness for the AKP

The mood among the few remaining, scattered liberal voices in the Turkish media landscape is gloomy as critical expression in Turkey is being systematically narrowed… Continue reading

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U.S. Policy is Making Syria into an Anti-Western, Antisemitic Islamist State

Western policy is now putting into power yet another anti-Western regime that will oppress its own people and put a high priority on trying to wipe out Israel… Continue reading

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Egypt “Democratically” Adopts an Anti-Western Dictatorship

What are the next steps for Mursi?… Continue reading

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Why Islamists Always Win “Fair” Elections

How politics work in the Arabic-speaking world today… Continue reading

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Analyzing Egypt

Whatever the outcome from the upcoming referendum to begin on Saturday in Egypt for the draft constitution, the superior position of the Islamist factions is unlikely to be overthrown in the near future… Continue reading

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Mishandling Mursi

Only a week after being praised by the Obama Administration for his supposed helpfulness in ending the fighting in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, Egyptian President Mursi apparently decided to cash in his praise “chips” early… Continue reading

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A Turning Point in Egypt: Not on Direction But on the Speed of Islamist Transformation

A critical moment has arrived for Egypt. But what does it mean?… Continue reading

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The Interview: “Explaining the Latest Middle East Developments” (No Satire)

Revised and updated version of an interview Barry Rubin gave recently… Continue reading

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Egypt’s New Constitution: Laying the Basis for an Islamist, Sharia State

Egypt’s population will be given two weeks to consider the Constitution, which has 236 articles, that will govern their lives for decades to come… Continue reading

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Revolutionary Islamism Overshadows the “New Egypt”

What are the early warning signs of an Islamist totalitarian state… Continue reading

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The Islamist Regime’s Game Plan for Egypt

What’s been happening in Egypt this week is as important as the revolution that overthrew the old regime almost two years ago… Continue reading

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The Sunni-Shia Conflict Will Be the Major Feature of Middle East Politics for Decades

We are not just talking here about theological differences but a battle between individual leaders, organizations, and states for power and primacy… Continue reading

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The Pro-Islamist Obama Administration: A Case Study in Syria

It is obvious that the Syrian National Council was a Muslim Brotherhood front group, yet the Obama Administration backed it any way… Continue reading

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Getting Priorities Wrong in Egypt and Syria: Three Media Case Studies

Focus is everything — knowing what the central problem is, and dealing with it… Continue reading

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Egypt: There Goes the Army; There Goes the Free Media; There Goes Egypt

So can you write “Arab Spring,” free elections, democracy in Egypt, and such things 100 times?… Continue reading

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Islamists Are Generally Winning But Not Everywhere and Not Inevitably

Hussein Ibish is one of the more interesting Arab writers on regional affairs. Ibish critiques the idea that assumes the inexorable rise of Islamist parties… Continue reading

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Yankee Go Home! Saith the Good Guys

The interesting news was not that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was pelted with stuff while visiting Cairo, the important issue was who was doing the pelting… Continue reading

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Rethinking Libya

Islamist factions have not emerged to dominate the Libyan election results… Continue reading

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A First Look at Egypt’s New Constitution Shows a Careful Ambiguity On Islamic Rule

Although it isn’t official, the first two articles of Egypt’s new Constitution have been reportedly drafted by the committee of parliamentarians charged with that task… Continue reading

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Calls to Destroy Egypt’s Great Pyramids Begin

According to several reports in the Arabic media, prominent Muslim clerics have begun to call for the demolition of Egypt’s Great Pyramids… Continue reading

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Does Power Moderate Radicals? Where’s the Proof?

An interesting and important question about the Middle East is whether being in power or running in an election inevitably moderates those who are radicals… Continue reading

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Egypt’s “Sex-Slave” Marriage

What is being dubbed as Egypt’s “first sex-slave marriage” took place mere days after the Muslim Brotherhood’s Muhammad Morsi was made president… Continue reading

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Tunisia: Goodbye Democracy? Islamists Start to Take Over Media

The much-touted, Islamist-led coalition government in Tunisia is showing how little has changed… Continue reading

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Erdogan’s Invitation to Gülen: Reconciliation or Power Play?

On June 14, 2012, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan publicly invited Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the powerful Gülen Movement, to return to Turkey from self-imposed exile in the United States… Continue reading

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The Evils of the Muslim Brotherhood

Egypt’s longtime banned Muslim Brotherhood has just won the nation’s presidency, in the name of its candidate, Muhammad Mursi… Continue reading