Michael J. Totten

Ex Brotherhood Members Speak Out

Ex Brotherhood Members Speak Out

MICHAEL J. TOTTEN: What exactly is the Muslim Brotherhood’s ‘game-plan’ for Egypt? One way of finding out is to talk to former loyalists…

 Common Ground News Service

Clash of Civilisations? Two Men Who Lived the Alternative

Clash of Civilisations? Two Men Who Lived the Alternative

LEWIS GROPP, CGNEWS: A recently released documentary highlights much that was little known about Muslim Spain. Its two ‘stars’ are a couple of Islamic and Jewish philosophers.

 Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

What Kind of Leader Do Young Arabs Want?

What Kind of Leader Do Young Arabs Want?

SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: Whether it’s Mubarak, ben Ali or bin Laden it’s clear what sort of leadership Arabs don’t want. It’s far less clear however what they are looking for in their leaders.

 Rob L. Wagner

Bin Laden’s Family Under ‘Islamaphobic’ Microscope

Bin Laden’s Family Under ‘Islamaphobic’ Microscope

ROB L. WAGNER: Most notable in pointless speculation, Islamophobia and conflating pop culture with the life, is Jezebel, the U.S.-based feminist website.

 Hisham Wyne

‘The “Sheikh” is Dead, Long Live the “Sheikh”‘

‘The “Sheikh” is Dead, Long Live the “Sheikh”‘

HISHAM WYNE: There is much speculation about who has replaced bin Laden. The fertile conditions for the organisation persist, particularly in Pakistan.

 Omar al-Issawi

The Rise and Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood

The Rise and Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood

OMAR AL-ISSAWI: The radical jihadist agenda seems to have been rejected and it’s clear whose star is rising throughout the Middle East…

 Common Ground News Service

Simplistic World View Quashed by Arab Spring

Simplistic World View Quashed by Arab Spring

KHALED HROUB, CGNEWS: Whether it was George Bush or Osama bin Laden we were presented for too many years too a simplistic a view of the Arab world.

 Common Ground News Service

Time for Muslims to Re-Discover their Voices

Time for Muslims to Re-Discover their Voices

SYDNEY SMITH: Most Muslims, it appears, are relieved that bin Laden is gone but how do they deal with the prejudice and suspicion engendered by his deeds?

 Omar al-Issawi

People of the Book: Damning the Exodus of Christians

People of the Book: Damning the Exodus of Christians

OMAR AL ISSAWI: The latest round of sectarian strife in Egypt is not about sectarian confrontation. It is about ignorance.

 Juan Cole

The Damage Bin Laden has Wrought on Islam

The Damage Bin Laden has Wrought on Islam

JUAN COLE: According to the Pakistani rock musician Salman Ahmad few individuals over the last 1,400 years have done as much damage to the standing of Islam as Osama bin Laden.

 James M. Dorsey

Arab Leaders Losing Battle to Control the News

Arab Leaders Losing Battle to Control the News

JAMES M. DORSEY: Embattled regimes have failed in their effort to choke off independent reporting to ensure that their version of events dominates the news.

 Andrew Mackay

Bin Laden: A Study in News Management

Bin Laden: A Study in News Management

ANDREW MACKAY: Even the BBC’s Washington correspondent noted how adroitly the US administration had trod the line between triumphalism and glee at bin Laden’s death.

 Steve Royston

Middle East Blogs – Ten Sites CNN Missed

Middle East Blogs – Ten Sites CNN Missed

STEVE ROYSTON: My only quibble about CNN’s list is that it picks up exclusively on Arab writers and – with the honourable exception of Mahmood the Bahraini Blogfather – most of the writers seem relatively young.

 Juan Cole

Not to Publish bin Laden Photo Wise and Decent

Not to Publish bin Laden Photo Wise and Decent

JUAN COLE: The United States has clearly learned from the propaganda disaster that resulted from the release of Saddam Hussein’s filmed execution.

 Common Ground News Service

Time is Ripe for Re-alignment of U.S/Pakistan Relations

Time is Ripe for Re-alignment of U.S/Pakistan Relations

HUMA YUSUF, CGNEWS: The way in which the United States summarily despatched Osama bin Laden on Pakistani territory has alarmed and upset many in the country. Unlikely as it seems there is, however, room for optimism.

 Rachel McArthur

Lebanon’s Hottest New Act… Mashrou Leila

Lebanon’s Hottest New Act… Mashrou Leila

RACHEL MCARTHUR: Remember the name Mashrou Leila (Leila’s Project), because we guarantee this band will become a household name very soon.

 Mondoweiss

Dangerous Bloodlust Bin Laden Has Unleashed

Dangerous Bloodlust Bin Laden Has Unleashed

BRIAN VAN SLYKE, MONDOWEISS: Far from drawing the curtain on the ‘War on Terror’ the assassination of bin Laden has given it a boost.

 Steve Royston

Bin Laden: “He Must Have Longed for Death…”

Bin Laden: “He Must Have Longed for Death…”

STEVE ROYSTON: For a man who so craved attention to spend his final years locked up in that villa must have felt like a living death.

 The Moor Next Door

The (In)Significance of Bin Laden’s Death

The (In)Significance of Bin Laden’s Death

TMND: Bin Laden’s death will have an important psychological affect on Americans (particularly given the popular and public response) and their overall view of the War on Terrorism.

 Juan Cole

Goodbye Bin Laden. Now It’s Time to Exit Iraq

Goodbye Bin Laden. Now It’s Time to Exit Iraq

JUAN COLE: Post Osama, President Obama should do us all a favour and now remove U.S. troops from Iraq.