The dramatic electoral defeat of Morocco’s Islamist PJD party last fall signaled a major shift in the region’s politics: Islamist parties have become politically vulnerable and must deliver results or face the wrath of voters.
Middle East fellow A.Kadir Yildirim reviews the varied responses of Islamist groups in the Middle East to the Biden presidency and suggests that, in most cases, their reactions were crafted to further their political — not religious — objectives.
Despite near-universal identification with the Palestinian cause and a visceral opposition to Israel, religious and Islamist responses to the Arab normalization agreements have ranged from sharply critical to relatively measured. What's behind this variation? Middle East fellow A.Kadir Yildirim explains.
The Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris have turned public opinion against allowing Syrian refugees to resettle in other countries. But rejecting refugees based on their religion or assumptions that they may assist ISIS in launching acts of terrorism betray universal values of freedom and equality.
A deadly virus named MERS has spread from Saudi Arabia to over a dozen countries since 2012. While the chances for widespread infection are remote due to the virus's low human-to-human transmission rate, all governments should nevertheless support academic freedom and scientific collaboration to keep local outbreaks of viruses like MERS from becoming serious pandemics.
Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Monica M. Matsumoto, Jon FlynnJuly 25, 2014