Gengler Study Contradicts Bahrain Government on Shi’a Radicalization

Justin Gengler, writing for Foreign Affairs, highlights his 2009 survey of political attitudes among Bahraini Shia in contradiction to King Hamd bin Isan al-Khalifa's recent op-ed in the Washington Times; in which the King claimed that the opposition had been "hijacked" by extremists with ties to foreign governments, namely Iran.  The claims of the Bahraini government, Gengler argues, try to enforce the notion that Baharain's Shi'a population support and desire ...

Protesters set fire to vehicles and throw rocks at Christian demonstrators

Egypt: Sectarian Clashes Continue

This weekend, 55 people were injured in clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians in Egypt.  According to officials, 33 of those wounded were Muslims, 22 were Christians. Varying reports state that between 28 and 50 people were arrested for ...

POMED Notes: “Human Rights in Bahrain”

On Friday, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hosted a hearing on the human rights situation in Bahrain.  The commission – chaired by James McGovern (D-MA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA) – requested the testimony of the following individuals: Joe Stork, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa programs at Human Rights Watch (HRW); Maryam Al-Khawaja, Head of Foreign Relations Office at the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR); ...

POMED Notes: “Lebanon and the Arab Spring A Congressional View of Lebanon’s Role Amidst Historic Change in the Region”

On Tuesday, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) held a panel entitled, “Lebanon and the Arab Spring: A Congressional View of Lebanon’s Roles Amidst Historic Change in the Region.” USIP President Richard Solomon gave introductory remarks.  Mona Yacoubian, Senior Program Officer for the Middle East and Director of the Lebanon Working Group, moderated the panel.  Congressman Charles Boustany (R-LA), the son of Lebanese immigrants, offered his perspective on how ...

POMED Notes: From Revolution to Democracy: Lessons for Political Transitions in the Middle East & North Africa

On Tuesday, the Conflict Prevention and Resolution Forum hosted a discussion on what lessons from South Africa and Indonesia can be applied to the political transitions in the Middle East and North Africa.  Leena El-Ali, Director of the Muslim-Western Relations and the Middle East and North Africa Programs at Search for Common Ground, who moderated the event, made opening remarks and introduced the following panelists: Endy Bayuni, Visiting Fellow at ...

Egypt: Abouel Foutouh Announces Candidacy For President

Prominent Muslim Brotherhood leader Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh has announced that he will run for president, defying the group’s previous decision not to field a candidate.  Abouel Fotouh has said that he will run as an independent in the December election.  Disagreements between Abouel Fotouh and other Brotherhood leaders led to his exclusion from the Guidance Bureau, however he still commands a strong following from the younger Brotherhood members.  Abouel ...

Military guards block access to the scorched Virgin Mary Church

Sectarian Relations in Egypt Remain Murky

In the wake of a Salafi attack on a Christian church in Imbaba, the future of Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt appears precarious. Colleen Gillard and Georgia Wells, writing for the Atlantic, chronicle reactions to the attack from local ...

Iraq Tribal Meeting

Iraq: Unity Government in Jeopardy

Infighting between Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his rival Iyad Allawi, of the secular Iraqiya bloc, has put the unity government deal in danger as U.S. troops prepare to complete withdrawal by the end of the year.  The ...

bahrain protesters

AI Urges Fair Trial for Bahraini Activists, Calls for U.S. to Monitor

Amnesty International(AI) called on the Bahraini government to ensure that the military trial of 21 prominent opposition leaders and human rights activists meets international standards.  Philip Luther, AI's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa stated that "Bahraini ...

mikati

Lebanon: Possible Breakthrough in Political Stalemate

Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati has reportedly come to an agreement on the interior ministry portfolio candidate after four months of wrangling between parties had held up the formation of the a new government.  Mikati is due to finalize the ...

Kepel and Kramer Discuss the Future of the Arab Spring

During a Policy Forum at the Washington Institute of Near East Policy, chair of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies at Sciences Po Giles Kepel and Dr. Martin Kramer, the Washington Institute's Wexler Fromer fellow discussed the future of the Arab uprisings.  Kepel pointed tothe Arab people's economic grievances, frustrations over rampant corruption and the expiration of the Islamist threat as reasons for the revolution.  He also noted the differences between the Tunisian ...

Copts

Egypt: Sectarian Issues Remain

Michael Wahid Hanna, writing at Foreign Policy, addresses the sectarian divide between Christians and Muslims following the violence in the Imbaba neighborhood in Cairo over the weekend. He asserts: "Egypt's latest descent into sectarian madness is ultimately a reflection ...

A car passes a pro-government billboard with pictures of jailed opposition leaders

Bahrain Update: King to Lift Emergency Law, Trial of 21 Activists

On Sunday, Bahraini King Hamad ibn Isa Khalifa announced plans to lift the emergency law on June 1st, two weeks earlier than the official end of the three-month rule.  He did not, however, elaborate on whether the suspension ...

Egypt: 12 Dead in Sectarian Clashes; Marches for Unity Today

Weekend sectarian clashes left 12 people dead and more than 200 injured. On Monday, Egyptian troops were patrolling the streets in Cairo. About 200 Egyptian Christians remain camped outside the state-owned television for a sit-in, some calling for the resignation of transitional military ruler Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, others calling for justice to be brought to those who attacked the churches in Imbaba. The riots began Saturday when a group of about 500 Salafis ...

Analyst Discusses Bahraini Government’s Vendetta Against Protesters

Writing at the Arab Reform Bulletin, Toby C. Jones highlights the Bahraini government's "vendetta against those who challenged the authority of the ruling Al-Khalifa."  Jones points to the siege of the country's hospitals; the arrests of medical personnel; checkpoints erected to harass the country's Shi'a citizens; and the government's intimidation campaigns perpetuated by the police and pro-regime supporters as examples.  He also highlights the crackdown on Shi'a opposition paper, al-Wasat, ...

Syria: Could the Military Break with The Regime?

In Foreign Affairs, Ahed Al Hendi breaks down the organization of Syria's security establishment. He shows that different branches of the military and internal security forces are led by Alawites and Sunnis, relatives and non-relatives of Assad and divisions that have and have not taken part in the daily repression. Based on these potential cleavages and the broad social character of the Syrian protesters, Al Hendi concludes that it may ...

Bahrain: Wefaq Leaders Detained, Opposition Paper Shut Down, Doctors And Nurses To Be Tried

Over the past day, the Bahraini government has detained two opposition leaders, shut down the only opposition newspaper and announced it will prosecute medical professionals for treating protesters. Jawad Ferooz, the vice-president of the party, and Mattar Ibrahim Mattar, who recently resigned as a member of parliament, were detained on Monday evening. Joe Stork, Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch noted a pattern of government critics being arrested by plain-clothed masked men and ...

Managing Sectarianism in Kuwait

A piece in Foreign Policy's Middle East Channel explores the management of sectarian relations in Kuwait. While the country's open media has been stoking tensions by portraying the country's Shia as foreigners, political and historical considerations have tempered passions.  In addition to the relatively high assimilimation of the country's Shia population (they constitute about half of the merchant class, 30 percent of the total population and hold almost a fifth ...

Analysts Review Pitfalls of Regime Change in Damascus

Several analysts offer realist assessments of the potential pitfalls of ousting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, called it a "doomsday scenario" which would exacerbate geopolitical and sectarian tensions. The article explains that on the Israeli front, the Assad regime has "reliably not attempted" to take back Golan in forty years. Turkey will be concerned about the unrest spreading to ...

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