With increased monitoring of social media in the Middle East, there is a growing need for safe ways to communicate. As the Arab Uprisings showed, people across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have frequently used social media to mobilize and voice dissent. While characterizing the...
If Sisi does not stabilize the energy and power sector, the Egyptian street’s patience will not last forever. The Egyptian presidential election takes place between May 26-28, having been extended by one day due to low voter turnout. Former Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is poised to win by a...
Maliki treats the breakdown of order in Iraq as a challenge to his rule. Iraq, a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has large oil reserves which are unevenly spread across the country. As of January 2013, it also held...
Maliki treats the breakdown of order in Iraq as a challenge to his rule. Iraq has certainly experienced a turbulent decade. The US-led invasion in 2003 which culminated in the ouster of long-time ruler Saddam Hussein was a game-changer in Iraq's history. Subsequent efforts by the Coalition...
The nuclear deal has to be seen by its wider regional context. Background In the early hours of November 24, 2013, Iran and the P5+1 countries – the US, UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany – signed an interim agreement for six months on Iran’s nuclear program. Ever since the...
With hopeful signs coming from the Gulf, Israel and Congress promise a fight. The early hours of November 24, 2013, witnessed the signing of a new nuclear deal between the P5+1 and Iran in Geneva. After prolonged negotiations, both sides came to an agreement that would halt and even roll back...
In the absence of other alternatives, Islamists were elected by default. This is the last of a two part series. Read part one here. Fair Observer’s Middle East Editor, Manuel Langendorf, speaks to Mhamed Biygautane from the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government in Dubai — a renowned...
In the absence of other alternatives, Islamists were elected by default. This is the first of a two part series. Political Islam is among the most controversially discussed issues in the Middle East and North Africa. While modern Islamist political thought traces its origin back to a rejection of...
Does Hamas hold a unified position on the use of violence for resistance? A crucial player in the conundrum that is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Hamas has always been a controversial actor. It was founded in 1987 by late Sheikh Ahmed Yassin as one of the wings of the Muslim Brotherhood in...
Marina Nemat, Iranian activist and author of “Prisoner of Tehran” and “After Tehran,” speaks to Fair Observer's Manuel Langendorf about the situation of women and human rights issues in Iran. Nemat argues that women's rights cannot be improved unless there is...
After playing a major role in the Arab Spring and other regional reform movements, women are still fighting to ensure their rights and improve their societal status in the Middle East and North Africa. Background As we witness a pattern of sexual violence against women in the Middle East and...
