Posted on Sun, July 23, 2017 at 21:02 pm CEST
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Loving and Hating for the Sake of Allah: The al-Wala’ wal-Bara’ Doctrine

It is vital to understand the Islamic worldview concerning non-Muslims, as vividly illustrated in the al-Wala’ wal-Bara’ doctrine. Accordingly, Islam is superior, and to maintain its superiority Muslims are required to hate and fight ‘others’ who resist Islam’s domination of the world… Read more

Topics: Anti-Americanism • Anti-Christianism • Anti-Israelism • Anti-Westernism • Global Islam • Global Jihad • Islamic Terrorism • Religion • Salafism • Sunni Islam • Wahhabism 
Posted on Sun, September 13, 2015 at 17:42 pm CEST
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Why Lebanon’s Sunnis Support ISIS

What is happening in Syria and Iraq is a religious war with ethnic overtones. As a microcosm of the region’s religious and ethnic conflicts, it is difficult to imagine how Lebanon can be spared… Read more

Topics: Hezbollah • Islamic State • Lebanon • Religion • Sunni Islam • Sunni-Shia Conflict 
Posted on Wed, June 26, 2013 at 21:41 pm CEST
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The Sunni-Shi’ite Schism is One of the Most Influential Factors in Current Middle East Conflicts

The depth of the Sunni-Shi’ite schism can be seen in all the major arenas where regional conflicts are being waged… Continue reading

Topics: Global Islam • Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center • Religion • Shi'ism • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam • Sunni-Shia Conflict • The Middle East • Wahhabism 
Posted on Wed, June 26, 2013 at 21:34 pm CEST
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Yusuf al-Qaradawi Calls on Muslims to Support the Rebels in Syria

Al-Qaradawi’s remarks reflect the deepening Sunni-Shi’ite schism in the Middle East… Continue reading

Topics: Global Islam • Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center • Religion • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam • Sunni-Shia Conflict • Syrian Revolution 
Posted on Sat, January 26, 2013 at 12:33 pm CET
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Anti-Islamism in an Islamic Civil War

The notion of a Sunni-Shi’ite conflict is not the only perceived dichotomy at play in the Syrian civil war… Continue reading

Topics: Alawis • History • Religion • Shi'ism • Sunni-Shia Conflict • Syrian Revolution 
Posted on Mon, December 3, 2012 at 23:49 pm CET
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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

Topics: Egypt • Human Rights • International Law • Islamism • Politics • Sharia Law • Sunni Islam 
Posted on Sun, November 4, 2012 at 15:06 pm CET
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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

Topics: Arab World • Islamism • Politics • Religion • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam • Sunni-Shia Conflict 
Posted on Fri, July 13, 2012 at 21:59 pm CEST
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Israel is in Good Shape Because So Many Others Decided Not to Be

The more I think about Israel’s security situation at this moment, the better it looks… Continue reading

Topics: Arab Spring • Arab World • Israel • Politics • Security and Defense • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam 
Posted on Sat, July 7, 2012 at 21:00 pm CEST
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“And What Do You Want to Say to the Iraqi People?”

I’ve been interviewed a number of times, for example, by Iraqi journalists. But this time there was a different kind of question at the end of the interview… Continue reading

Topics: Iraq • Iraqi Kurdistan • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam • The Media • The Middle East 
Posted on Sun, June 17, 2012 at 18:35 pm CEST
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Clearest and Briefest Possible Summary of the Situation in Syria

There are three possible outcomes to the Syrian civil war… Continue reading

Topics: Arab Spring • Politics • Security and Defense • Syrian Revolution 
Posted on Sun, May 20, 2012 at 16:29 pm CEST
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The Middle East: Brave New World or Scary New Master?

If you want a sense of where the Middle East is going, consider this viewpoint from an unlikely source… Continue reading

Topics: Culture • Islamism • Religion • Shi'ism • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam • The Middle East • Wahhabism 
Posted on Thu, May 17, 2012 at 19:42 pm CEST
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Turkey’s Middle East Policy of Seeking To Gobble, Gobble Up the Middle East Makes Enemies of Everyone

Countries may vary, but civilization is one, and for a nation to progress, it must take part in this one civilization… Continue reading

Topics: Neo-Ottomanism • Politics • Religion • Turkey • U.S. Middle East Policy 
Posted on Thu, May 17, 2012 at 17:20 pm CEST
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Not a “Slip of the Tongue”: Only “One Religion” Is Recognized as the Basis of the Turkish State

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently expressed allegiance to “one nation, one flag, one religion, one state”… Continue reading

Topics: Religion • Sunni Islam • Turkey 
Posted on Mon, April 23, 2012 at 19:28 pm CEST
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The General who Staged the 1980 Coup is Put on Trial, But His Legacy Reigns Supreme

The trial of the two surviving members of the junta that seized power on September 12, 1980, in a coup that altered Turkey’s course, is an historic event, but… Continue reading

Topics: Democracy • History • Turkey 
Posted on Thu, April 19, 2012 at 21:41 pm CEST
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Who Gets to be the Caliph?

Who gets to be the caliph? After all, if you want to have a caliphate , as revolutionary Islamists do with much popular support among Muslims… Continue reading

Topics: Global Islam • History • Islamic Countries • Islamism • Ottoman Empire • Religion • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam • Wahhabism 
Posted on Tue, March 13, 2012 at 22:45 pm CET
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The Big Split: The Differences that led Erdoğan and the Gülenists to Part Ways

A power struggle between the AKP and the Gülen movement is unraveling… Continue reading

Topics: Politics • Religion • Sunni Islam • Turkey 
Posted on Fri, March 2, 2012 at 22:46 pm CET
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The New Middle East: Arab versus non-Arab Muslims; Sunni versus Shia

The new Middle East strategic battle is heating up and this is only the start… Continue reading

Topics: Politics • Religion • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam • The Middle East 
Posted on Sun, February 19, 2012 at 15:11 pm CET
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The Hamas Split and the Palestinian Political Mess

There’s a serious split in Hamas reflecting the growing civil war among Islamists along Sunni-Shia lines… Continue reading

Topics: Fatah • Hamas • Israeli–Palestinian Conflict • Palestinian Authority • Peace Process • Politics • Religion 
Posted on Tue, January 31, 2012 at 02:21 am CET
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Ankara and Baghdad: A Parting of Ways?

Until now, Turkey’s presence in Iraq has generally been encouraged by all major Iraqi groups… Continue reading

Topics: Economy • Iraq • Kurdish People • PKK • Politics • Security and Defense • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam • Turkey 
Posted on Wed, January 4, 2012 at 21:47 pm CET
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Sunni versus Shia: The Middle East’s New Strategic Conflict

Conflicts between Sunni and Shia Muslims are not at all new, but… Continue reading

Topics: Arab Spring • Egyptian Revolution • Iran • Iraq • Islamism • Jasmine Revolution • Lebanon • Libya War • Politics • Religion • Security and Defense • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam • Syrian Revolution • The Middle East 
Posted on Sat, December 24, 2011 at 21:39 pm CET
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Tactical Allies and Strategic Rivals: Turkey’s Changing Relations with Iran

General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, declared that, if Iran came under attack from the U.S. or Israel… Continue reading

Topics: Diplomacy • Iran • NATO • Politics • Security and Defense • Turkey 
Posted on Thu, December 22, 2011 at 19:55 pm CET
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Has Erdogan Reached His “Democratic Limits”?

Internal and external dynamics no longer compel Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to transcend his democratic limits… Continue reading

Topics: Islamism • Kurdish People • Politics • Sunni Islam • Turkey • Turkish Kurdistan 
Posted on Thu, December 15, 2011 at 19:22 pm CET
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Sunni Realignments

Despite threats from Iran to withdraw financial aid and training for militants… Continue reading

Topics: Arab League • Hamas • Palestine Papers • Qatar • Religion • Sunni Islam • Syria • Turkey 
Posted on Wed, December 14, 2011 at 20:03 pm CET
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Iranian speculations on Egypt’s Islamists: Shi’ite-style revolutionaries or Turkish-style democrats?

There have been various speculations in Iranian press on the significance of the Islamists’ victory and the nature of the Islamist faction in Egypt… Continue reading

Topics: Arab Spring • Egyptian Revolution • Iran • Islamism • Maghreb • Salafism • Saudi Arabia • Shi'ism • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam 
Posted on Sat, December 3, 2011 at 18:13 pm CET
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Overviewing Shi’a-Sunni Conflicts

As we approach the end of the first year of what has been called the Arab Spring… Continue reading

Topics: Alawis • Arab Spring • Bahrain • Culture • Iraq • Lebanon • Religion • Saudi Arabia • Security and Defense • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam • Syria • Yemen