Links of Interest

Be sure to check out our collection of useful links to blogs and websites from around the globe, ranging from US foreign policy, national security and politics to law, development, econo- and enviro-bloggers, and tech and media.

 

May 2013
S M T W T F S
« Jan    
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  

Nahda’s Caliphate Concept

This dispute over whether Tunisia’s Nahda party has a secret radical agenda briefly revealed in a leader’s comment about a caliphate is all about nothing:

“Talks on forming a coalition government halted briefly this week after a secular party questioned the motives of its moderate Islamist partner amid intense jockeying for power.

“The trouble [...]

Ghannouchi on Religion and State

Rashid Ghannouchi, leader of Tunisia’s Islamist al-Nahda group, on religion and the state:

“Tunisians agree on the constitutional text even when they deeply disagree about religion. For instance, a move to make the state a neutral religious actor has strong appeal for those who wish to move toward a French-style secularism that minimizes the [...]

Qaradawi in Egypt

As I’ve commented before, Yusuf al-Qaradawi matters, as a conservative Sunni Islamist who appeals to massive youth audiences through television even as the older generations remember his connection to Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna. On Friday, he gave a sermon in Midan Tahrir. I can’t find a complete English text, but here is some [...]

Egyptian Revolution and Islamic Revival

With the fall of long-time Egyptian President Husni Mubarak, many fear that Egypt will evolve into a theocracy under the control of the Muslim Brotherhood. In that light, this statement is significant:

“Preserving the people’s freedom is more important than setting up a system of Sharia (Islamic law), even though freedom remains part and [...]

Islamist Politics at MESA

Greetings from the 2009 annual meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, where I’ve had the pleasure of attending four panels so far, all of which were interesting. One which probably has some interest for readers was Islamist Parties and the Political Process, which examined Islamist political movements in Morocco, Kuwait, and Algeria with [...]

The Iranian Meaning of Hizbullah

Anyone interested in transnational Islamist political movements or the politics of the Gulf countries, especially the Arab ones, should read Laurence Louer’s Transnational Shia Politics: Religious and Political Networks in the Gulf. I won’t be able to finish it right away as I return it to the library tomorrow in advance of moving, but [...]