All Policy Analysis by Aaron Y. Zelin

While most individuals involved in the rebellion are Syrian, foreign fighters now have a very real presence that should worry both the regime and the opposition.

One of Saudi Arabia's most popular hardline clerics just embraced democracy. Should we worry, or applaud?

The legalization and participation of Salafi parties in the democratic process is one of the recent trends to emerge from the Arab uprisings. Like Egypt, which legalized three Salafi parties for its elections, and Yemen, which recently legalized its own Salafi party, Tunisia licensed the Tunisian Islamic Reform Front (Hizb

Statements and a video released on an al-Qaeda website are disturbing evidence of the growing lawlessness in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

Foreign Islamists are beginning to play a role in the fight against Assad's forces, albeit a small one.

Amid the chaos in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusrah represents a spoiler in a conflict with no foreseeable end.

Damascus may be exaggerating the strength of the Syrian jihadi group Jabhat al-Nusra.

In the coming months, the new Tunisian government will need to begin the process of containing Salafism alongside the tasks of writing the new constitution and reviving the economy.

The following is an excerpt from an article that appeared in the 2012 Foreign Policy compilation Islamists in a Changing Middle East. To read the rest of the article, download the PDF. In addition, the full multiauthor compilation is available from the Foreign Policy website. On November 13, 2011, the