Category Archives: Politics

Three Questions for Tunisia’s Ennahda Party

Posted on June 3, 2016 by nervana111

Rachid Ghannouchi – Via AFP Last month, after a three-day party conference, Tunisia’s Ennahda party has re-elected its leader Rachid Al-Ghannouchi. The 74-year-old thinker and politician had tears in his eyes as he embraced his rival in the party vote, … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam, Middle East, Politics, Tunisia | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Can Tunisia’s Ghannouchi divorce political Islam?

Posted on May 31, 2016 by nervana111

  Leader of Tunisian political party Ennahda, Rachid al-Ghannouchi. (Photo: AFP) The rebranding of political Islam has just started. In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, Ennahda leader and founder, Rached Ghannouchi, announced that Ennahda would no longer … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam, Middle East, Politics, Tunisia | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Tunisia: On the Road to Nowhere

Posted on May 18, 2016 by nervana111

This post originally appeared at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR): Steven Cook’s From the Potomac to the Euphrates blog. Steven Cook is a Middle East’s expert and a senior fellow at CFR. He just visited and wrote this insightful. … Continue reading →

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The Plight of Non-Islamist Muslims

Posted on March 31, 2016 by nervana111

When it comes to Islam, terminologies can be baffling and hotly disputed. Muslims, Islam, Islamism, and radicalism can all be confusing labels. But with the escalating waves of terror flowing around the globe, it is paramount to demystify the fog … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Egypt, Islam, Politics, Terrorism | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Turkey’s road to tyranny__ a la Egypt

Posted on March 6, 2016 by nervana111

  Mount Nemrut in Turkey – via Discover Turkey The Turkish authorities have seized Zaman, the country’s most widely circulated newspaper after a Turkish court ordered its confiscation. Turkish police fired tear gas and plastic pellets to disperse protesters gathered … Continue reading →

Posted in Egypt, Middle East, Politics, Turkey | 2 Comments

Egypt in the Crosshairs

Posted on February 19, 2016 by nervana111

I wrote this long essay for the Winter 2016 edition of The Journal of the International Security Affairs ( subscription only), but for convenience I republish it here.   Egypt is now facing a complex asymmetrical war on various fronts. On November 10, 2014, … Continue reading →

Posted in Egypt, Islam, Libya, Middle East, Politics, Terrorism | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Italy’s shambolic appeasement of Islamism

Posted on January 27, 2016 by nervana111

Plywood boxes concealed the nude statues at the museum in Rome Photo via BBC   Iranian President Rouhani is in Europe seeking to boost economic ties after the implementation of the Iran deal and the lifting of sanctions on his … Continue reading →

Posted in Egypt, Iran, Islam, Middle East, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

The cultural elements of the Cologne attacks

Posted on January 18, 2016 by nervana111

Along with the new year, a new challenge has come to Germany—and the rest of Europe: coordinated group sexual harassment. On December 31, 2015, about 1,500 men, including some who had recently arrived to Europe as asylum seekers, sexually assaulted … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Middle East, Politics, women rights | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Few Thoughts on Syria’s Zahran Alloush

Posted on December 27, 2015 by nervana111

Zahran Alloush Credit Amer Almohibany/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Last Friday, Zahran Alloush, the powerful leader of the Army of Islam, one of the many rebel groups fighting the Assad regime in Syria, was killed in an air strike by … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Islam, Middle East, Politics, Syria | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

San Bernardino and Gun Control

Posted on December 8, 2015 by nervana111

Photograph of Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik- via  Breitbart.com The horrific massacre in San Bernardino, California, that killed 14 people and wounded 21, has now been officially labeled as a terrorism investigation. The New York Times (NYT) Editorial Board appealed … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Terrorism | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment