Egyptian Activist Ahmed Maher Released after Three-Year Sentence
Ahmed Maher, a co-founder of the April 6 movement, was scheduled to be released from Egyptian prison on January 2, 2017, after completing a three-year sentence for illegal protesting. He was finally...
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Austerity Measures Spark Algeria Protests
Photo Credit: YouTube/KabylieTimes A shopkeepers’ strike in Algeria’s eastern coastal wilaya of Béjaïa devolved into violent protests on January 3. An anonymous call for a general strike circulated...
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Libyan Official Resigns; Haftar Dismisses Unity Talks
Photo Credit: Al Hadass Online Moussa al-Kuni, the Deputy Head of the UN-backed government’s Presidential Council, announced his resignation from his post on January 2, 2017, citing failure to solve...
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Millions Turn Out for Rafsanjani’s Funeral in Tehran
Source: Xinhua Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, President of Iran from 1989 to 1997, and a leading figure in the Islamic Revolution of 1979, died on January 8 at the age of 82. Tuesday’s funeral was...
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Jordan Charges Eight with Incitement against the Government for Social Media...
Photo Credit: Getty Images Eight individuals have been charged with “insulting the King” and “incitement to spread chaos to undermine the political regime of Jordan using social media” in a...
View ArticleWhat Does Human Rights Watch Say About Tunisia?
January 19, 2017 by Finn Quigley Last week, Human Rights Watch released its annual World Report examining the state of human rights across the world. The chapter on Tunisia provides hope in an...
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Trump Refugee Ban Sparks Widespread Backlash
Photo Credit: Reuters/Carlos Barria Last week, the Trump administration issued an executive order to suspend refugee resettlement as well as immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries...
View ArticleAn MCC Compact for Tunisia
February 1, 2017 by Samantha Parks On December 13, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) announced it had selected Tunisia as eligible for significant funding to “encourage economic growth and...
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North African Leaders Plan Libyan Political Summit
Daily News Egypt North African diplomats are planning to hold a summit in the near future to try to find ways of reconciling Libya’s competing factions, and to stem the tide of violence and instability...
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Proposed Cuts to Foreign Affairs Budget Meet Resistance
AP On March 4, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney confirmed that the Trump administration will propose “fairly dramatic” cuts to the foreign aid budget in order to help...
View ArticleSen. Rubio Highlights Egypt Human Rights Abuses, Demands Aya Hijazi’s Release
In a speech on the floor of the Senate on April 4, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) highlighted Egypt’s troubling human rights record. Sen. Rubio met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ahead of the...
View ArticleA Quick Look at Egypt’s New State of Emergency Measures
By Jenna Amlani In the wake of the April 9 Palm Sunday bombings in Tanta and Alexandria, the Egyptian government responded with a number of legal measures aimed at strengthening the country’s ability...
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Turkey Approves Sweeping Presidential Powers, U.S. Policymakers Respond
AFP On April 16, amid contested balloting results and street demonstrations by opposition parties and voters, Turkey’s referendum vote came down in favor of expanding presidential powers for President...
View ArticleMembers of Congress Seek Answers from Tillerson about Egypt’s Detention of...
In a letter sent to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson this morning, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) express concern about 17-year-old Ahmed Hassan, a...
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Notes from Tunis: A Recent Trip Report
May 10, 2017 Amy Hawthorne The following are notes and impressions from my recent visit to Tunis, where I talked with many politically engaged younger Tunisians about how they see the situation in the...
View ArticleIran Prepares for Presidential Elections on May 19
On Friday, May 19, Iran will hold first-round election to choose its next president. Friday’s contest will feature candidates from both reformist and fundamentalist ends of Iran’s political spectrum....
View ArticlePresident Trump Visits Saudi Arabia, Announces $110 billion Arms Sale
During his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia beginning on May 20, President Donald Trump spoke to more than fifty leaders from Muslim-majority countries, addressing the need for unity in the fight...
View ArticleRouhani Wins Decisive Victory in Iran’s Presidential Election
On Friday, May 19, Iranians re-elected Hassan Rouhani with 57 percent of the vote, easily defeating his primary opponent, Ebrahim Raisi. The election drew a high turnout, with 73.5 percent of eligible...
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A Deeper Look at the Protests in Morocco
June 1, 2017 Isabel Paolini Renewed unrest in Morocco’s Rif region the past two weeks has received little coverage, but the roots of the protests appear deep and interesting. Here’s a brief look at...
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Egypt on the Hill: Criticism, Praise, and Policy
June 28, 2017 Christian Bischoff The issue of U.S. policy toward Egypt has come up in four congressional hearings held in the past two weeks.[1] Members of Congress and Trump administration officials...
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