The Republican Adoration of Egypt’s Sisi

by Derek Davison During Thursday night’s Fox News-sponsored Republican primary debate, moderator Megyn Kelly asked Texas Senator Ted Cruz whether he believes that the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) is an “ideological problem in addition to a military one.” This… Continue Reading

Reporting on the Disappeared in Egypt

by Zhai Yun Tan Muhammad Mansour is an Egyptian journalist who covered the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime president Hosni Mubarak. He briefly participated in the revolution before returning as a journalist and contributing numerous articles for the Egypt Independent, The… Continue Reading

Congress and Political Prisoners: Condemning Iran, Helping Egypt

by Ali Gharib On Tuesday morning, family members of three Americans held prisoner by the Iranian authorities and relatives of another, Robert Levinson, who disappeared there years ago, testified before Congress. These are the people who most miss Saeed Abedini,… Continue Reading

Hamas’ Options: Bad Or Worse

by Mitchell Plitnick The fighting in Gaza will continue for some time, as a ceasefire agreement brokered by Egypt fell apart. Despite the bellicose language Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has employed over the past week, it was Hamas and… Continue Reading

Book Review: Temptations of Power

by Emile Nakhleh Does repression force Islamic parties to moderate? This is the key question Shadi Hamid raises in his seminal book on political Islam, governance, and Islamist “illiberal” democratic ideology. Temptations of Power: Islamists & Illiberal Democracy In a New Middle… Continue Reading