Policy Analysis

The nuances of jurisprudential difference between Sunni and Shi’a concepts of jihad have been more or less shaped by the history of the Shi’a community and by the approach of the Shi’a religious scholars to politics. Though the Shi’a concept of jihad has not infrequently aligned with that of Sunnism

The concepts of jihad and the charge of unbelief on a Muslim or non-Muslim known as takfir have evoked mixed and dreaded reactions among many in Western countries, where the concepts often make headlines and are presented without context to those who may not have personal interactions with mainstream interpretations

Protesters in the Algerian province of Ouargla took unprecedented action late last month and boycotted a concert on July 27 by holding communal evening prayers at the concert venue. The protesters hoisted placards condemning the marginalization, exclusion, and discrimination practiced against them for decades. These developed into calls for broader

Saudi Arabia and Iran are not often presented as being ‘in dialogue.’ Yet on January 29, 2018, two former Saudi and Iranian diplomats discussed a host of key issues at the Joint Special Operations University in Tampa, Florida. Prince Turki al-Faisal Al-Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Ambassador

August 26, 2018 — Regional turmoil has forced the generally secretive Druze minority into the limelight. With its leaders losing the influence that has so far protected the community, the Druze must take seriously the threat of disappearing altogether.

On the night of August 11, tens of thousands of Arab-Israelis and Jewish-Israelis marched from Rabin Square to the plaza of the Tel Aviv Museum in central Tel Aviv, protesting the recently passed Nation State Law. The demonstrators held up placards demanding equality, justice, a repeal of the law, and

Although there is little official confirmation, reports have emerged that the Sisi government and Muslim Brotherhood representatives have begun attempting a type of reconciliation. Bloomberg first reported in February that the Egyptian government sought reconciliation in order to offset internal differences between the government and former members of the military

The nation-state system in the Middle East is almost a century old and has now witnessed the rise and fall of four “grand narratives”—Modernism, Arab Nationalism, Revolutionary Socialism, and Islamism. These were frameworks that shaped cultural and political understandings of current conditions, as well as the path towards the narratives’

From their establishment in 1957 up to the present time, Kurdish political movements in Syria have focused on demanding national rights for the Kurds, couching cultural rights within a package of political demands. With the outbreak of the Syrian revolt in 2011, the emergence of armed conflict, and the resulting

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Iraqi state has successfully weathered a series of security crises that united the public against a common enemy. For example, during the war with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Iraqis from different backgrounds joined forces and rallied behind the

The Saudi kingdom’s grinding proxy war against Iran and its allies in Yemen, its long-delayed decision to grant women the right to drive, and most recently its bizarre feud with Canada over arrested Saudi dissidents have all captured international attention and propelled much heated discussion about the country’s internal affairs

In mid-December 2016, a terrorist cell carried out an operation in southern Jordan that began in the desert town of Qatraneh and culminated at the historic site of the Kerak Castle. The attack left four terrorists, four police personnel, three gendarmes, two civilians, and one Canadian tourist dead and dozens

Iraqi media is currently reporting that the Basra protests—which have spread to Wasit, Maysan, Dhi Qar, and Karbala provinces—resulted solely from the energy crisis and rising unemployment. However, the truth is that these major economic and political crises emerged as a result of the increase of Iranian influence in Iraq

After its military defeat in Iraq, the Islamic State (IS) has transformed from a governing entity to a scattered organization. Nonetheless, due to the worldwide spread of extremism, it is still necessary to combat the group’s ideology, which can easily be developed and spread by other extremist organizations. Luckily, the

Demonstrations in Iraq have been ongoing since mid-June, both in Baghdad and in more than eight provinces in the south of Iraq. While the improvement of public services delivery is a key demand, protesters are asking for the government to combat corruption in public sector as well. Since 2003, when

Less than a month after Iraq’s May 12 national election, which was marred by allegations of fraud, the Iraqi Parliament announced that authorities would be recounting ballots in several provinces. Among the provinces where the recount was to be held was the embattled Kirkuk, whose ownership is disputed and where

On the anniversary of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, it is timely to explore an under-analyzed aspect to Kuwait’s recovery. Much research has examined the socioeconomic and sociopolitical shifts in post-war Kuwait, such as the increase of Islamists in parliament or the popularity of other religious and political movements. Others

At the height of the Arab Spring, King Mohammad VI revamped the constitution under indirect duress, giving up some of his extensive powers to the head of government. Moroccan people greeted this move with delight and saw in it a probable initiation of a real devolution of power and the

Israel’s downing of a Syrian plane this week has demonstrated that the Syria conflict, while stabilizing in some ways, is far from reaching a clear conclusion. Even as regime forces retake the Southern regions of Quneitra and Daraa, the issue of how to manage the Syrian-Israeli borders has prompted a

What would be the effect on the United States—politically, economically, socially—if the country accommodated 100 million refugees in the span of a few years? This is the situation that Lebanon now faces. At 4,000 square miles, tiny Lebanon has welcomed more Syrian refugees in absolute numbers than the entire European