by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* To preserve their rule, Arab leaders have relied on two arguments: they are needed to keep Islamism under control and their rule must be perpetually extended to preserve stability and prevent anarchy. The first was intended to secure the support of world leaders, especially the West. The second was meant to Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Inspired by the success of Libya’s NTC, some Syrian opposition groups chose Burhan Ghalyoun, a political sociologist at Sorbonne University, as chairman of the National Transition Council. The meeting in Ankara, Turkey, concluded Monday August 29, 2011. It must be noted that a similar meeting attended by representatives of a number Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia After months of fighting, the Libyan rebels entered Tripoli, the capital from which Muammar Qadhafi had ruled for more than 40 years. What will become of Libya is significant not only for the Libyan people but also for the world. The consensus among world leaders regarding the need for him to Read more
Continue ReadingEight months ago, while discussing the Arab revolutions with a friend and colleague, an expert in Jewish Studies, I told him that the Arab Spring will change the Middle East. He was very unconvinced when I predicted that within a year, Israel, too, will have its own uprising. Last week, he was of different mind. Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* by Ahmed E. Souaiaia I vividly remember the day of the Oklahoma bombing. Not because of the news reports—I was too busy working and with school to watch the news. Consequently, I was not aware of what had happened that day until late in the afternoon. But as I walked Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia The so-called Arab Spring is a watershed for learning for those interested in religion and politics. In no other modern uprisings has the relationship between religion and politics been put to the test as it has been during the Arab revolutions. In Western countries, generally, uprisings rebelled against religion. It has Read more
Continue ReadingIn another sign of nervousness resulting from the mounting pressure put by the Arab revolts on authoritarian rulers, members of the GCC (Cooperative Council for the Arab States of the Gulf) unexpectedly opened the door for considering the admission of Jordan and Morocco to this intergovernmental organization. In doing so, what used to be a Read more
Continue ReadingNearly six months after igniting the wave of protest across the Arab world, Tunisia is still struggling to schedule the first vote that would elect a Constituency Assembly (majlis ta’sisi). After the fall of the regime of Ben Ali, the interim president designated July 24, 2011 to be the date on which Tunisians would elect Read more
Continue Readingby Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Family members mourn during a funeral for slain anti-government protester Ali Ahmed al Muameen on February 18, 2011 in Sitra, Bahrain. Credit: Photo by John Moore/Getty Images by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* When the first demonstration took place in Sidi Bouzid after Tarek (Mohamed) Elbouazizi ignited the Arab revolutions by setting himself Read more
Continue ReadingBY JEFF CHARIS-CARLSON • IOWA CITYSCAPES • FEBRUARY 14, 2011 To help make sense of last week’s announced resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, I turned to Ahmed Souaiaia, a University of Iowa professor who teaches classes in Religious Studies, International Programs and Law. • Q: What do you think was the final straw to Read more
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