Prospects for Democratization in the Arab World in Light of the Exclusion of Political Islam

May 01

The latest issue of al-Ruwaq al-`Arabi, a journal published by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, is dedicated to the question of the future of the Muslim Brotherhood.  The entire issue (in Arabic) can be downloaded as a pdf from here.

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Religion and the Arab Spring

Mar 11

The Islamic Monthly, the best news magazine published by Muslims in North America, recently published my essay on religion and the Arab Spring. It is now available on the web.

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Analysis of the Tunisian Election

Oct 24

For a terrific analysis of the results of the Tunisian election, read Malika Zeghal of Harvard and Khadija Mohsen-Finan of Université de Paris VIII.  I think the most interesting aspect of their analysis is that the two parties who made the strongest showing after the Nahda, the Takattul  and the Congress for the Republic, had each refused to engage in demonizing the Nahda.  The two authors conclude that, above all else, the Tunisian electorate voted for centrist parties that demonstrated independence from the dictatorship.  I hope that the success of the Tunisians will inspire the Egyptians to complete their transition successfully as well.

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August 5th Broadcast of The Agenda — Arab World Prospects

Aug 15

Earlier this summer, I appeared along with Muhammad Ali Khalidi, a professor of philosophy at York University, along with Maya Shatzmiller, a historian specializing in economic history of the Islamic Middle East, Janice Stein, a political scientist at the University of Toronto, and Clifford Orwin, a professor of political philosophy, to discuss the future of the Arab world in light of the region’s various revolutions.  Here is a link to the broadcast, which was aired on August 5, 2011.  Unlike other discussions of the Arab Spring, this focused more on long-term issues, such as questions of economic development and issues of political thought (Islam and democracy and the Arab world).

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