Events

• Lebanon's Sheikhs Take on Assad and Hezbollah. Salafis are shaking up the fragile political balance among Muslims.
• Pew: Egyptians Favor Major Role for Islam in Politics. About 58 percent of Egyptians say laws should strictly follow Koranic teachings.
• Women Challenge the Muslim Brotherhood. Leading female activists charge that Islam actually guarantees women wide-ranging rights.
• Women on Saudi Appointment of Female Advisors. 15 women from 9 Arab countries said the appointment is an important milestone in the struggle for women's rights. But several stipulated that it would make little difference without additional reforms.
• Key Saudi Cleric Warns King in Open Letter. Sheikh Salman al Oudah warns that Saudi inaction on political prisoners, poverty and corruption could spark violence in the kingdom.
• Qatar Bets on Islamists. Qatar has seized the opportunity of the Arab uprisings to expand its influence across the region.
• Iran-Egypt: Prospects of a New Alliance. Joshua Stacher examines prospects for Morsi changing Cairo's relationship with Iran.
• In 2013, Rise of the Right in Elections Across the Mideast. The rise of the right or religious right will influence elections in eight Arab countries, Iran and Israel
• Middle East in 2013: Promise and (Lots of) Peril. The Arab uprisings have deepened the political divide, worsened economic woes and produced greater instability.
• Facebook Sheikhs: Egypt. Preachers and clerics use 21st century tools to spread their messages.

The Islamists Are Coming is the first book to survey the rise of Islamist groups in the wake of the Arab Spring.  Often lumped together, the more than 50 Islamist parties with millions of followers now constitute a whole new spectrum—separate from either militants or secular parties.  They will shape the new order in the world’s most volatile region more than any other political bloc. Yet they have diverse goals and different constituencies. Sometimes they are even rivals.

Christopher Alexander
Khalil al Anani
Nicholas Blanford
Nathan J. Brown
Leslie Campbell
Annika Folkeson
Abdeslam Maghraoui
Manal Omar
David B. Ottaway
Thomas Pierret
Olivier Roy
Jillian Schwedler
Samer Shehata
Ömer Taşpinar
Robin Wright