Last year the Muslim Brotherhood — an organization viewed with much skepticism both inside and outside Egypt, and especially in some Gulf quarters — ascended to power, first through Parliament and then the presidency. In the spring of 2012, I decided to take a leap of faith, open a channel of communication and visit the organization to preserve the then-strong relations between Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Read more »
Institutionalising the Arab Gulf Governments
For the Arab States of the Gulf there are two kinds of reforms, those that are acceptable and those that are off limits. Off limit calls for reform include calling for a constitutional monarchy. Acceptable calls for reform on the other hand include advocating for women’s rights and for the election of municipal councils. Is there a middle ground? Read more »
The Brothers and the Gulf
As tensions mount in Cairo over the Muslim Brotherhood’s erratic political decisions, the Brotherhood is also trying to navigate suspicion about its motives from oil-rich countries in the Gulf. In particular, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as one of the Brotherhood’s primary antagonists: Relations have deteriorated so much that a senior Brotherhood leader recently accused the UAE, home to more than 300,000 Egyptians, of “financing the opposition” in Egypt. The UAE is a small country, and it is understandably challenged by a transnational organization that uses religion as a means of attaining political power. Read more »
Journalist who used Twitter to chronicle the Arab Spring speaking at the IU School of Journalism
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, a respected commentator on Arab affairs who is widely recognized for his use of the popular social networking site Twitter during the Arab Spring, will speak Monday, Nov. 12 2012, at the Indiana University School of Journalism. Read more »
الإسلاميون في الإمارات ليسوا مدافعين عن حقوق الإنسان
يشير الغرب إلى الإسلاميين في الإمارات على أنهم ناشطون في مجال حقوق الإنسان. وفي الواقع أنهم فعلاً ناشطون ولديهم أجندة معينة، ولكن لا يوجد شك، في أنهم ليسوا النسخة الإماراتية لنيلسون مانديلا، كما أن نظرتهم إلى البلد ليست كتلك التي حملتها ماجنا كارتا.
Gulf Monarchies inside and outside
BloGlobal spoke to Sultan al-Qassemi about external and internal dimension of the Gulf Monarchies’ policies during the Festival of Internazionale 2012. Read more »