Arab & Islamic Politics

Although Saudi Arabia faces opposition from its Shi'i minority, the threat from its mainstream Sunni population is far more serious. While the Shi'i opposition is a problem, it also serves to divert attention from the more serious danger posed by discontented members of the Sunni majority, whose opposition threatens the

The nation-state is not a familiar concept in the Middle East. It has no equivalent in the political traditions of the region. In classical Islam the state is a theocracy, a community of God governed by the Prophet Muhammad and his immediate successors. Such a state was not constrained by

The results of the Algerian election suggest that about 80 percent of the Algerian people (at least those who voted) favor separating "mosque" and "state." This outcome is significant because it indicates that Algerians are successfully resisting "Islamic totalitarianism." Many Algerians have said that the vote wasn't as clean as

Iran's recent presidential elections constitute an impressive personal victory for Hojjat ol-Islam Seyed Mohammed Khatami and a significant endorsement of greater pragmatism inside Iran. They also signal considerable popular discontent with the Islamic regime. They indicate a desire for change in policy, within the framework of the Islamic system. The

Last Sunday, the small Gulf state of Qatar, host to the next Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Economic Conference in November, rebuffed an attempt by Syria to postpone the event, despite the March 31st Arab League Council resolution calling for the suspension of political, economic, and cultural normalization with

Today's murder of seven Israeli children by an apparently lone and deranged Jordanian soldier-the most recent outrage of Middle Eastern terrorism-ironically coincides with the first anniversary of the extraordinary "Summit of Peacemakers" in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The summit, which brought together 29 leaders from throughout the Arab world, Turkey

In the latter half of the 1990s, the Iranian economy faces horrendous problems: economic mismanagement, high inflation, declining living standards, a growing gap (much of it fueled by pervasive corruption) between a wealthy minority and vast impoverished majority, high rates of unemployment, an inability to significantly increase oil production (concurrent

In their seventeen years in power, the clerics who led the 1979 Iranian revolution have concentrated on consolidating their rule and implementing Ayatollah Khomeini's revolutionary ideology. Thus far, they have proven fairly successful in the former -- Khomeini's death in June 1989 was marked by stability and continuity, and presidential

King Fahd is seventy-five years old and feeling the effects of his age. He has been suffering from memory loss and limited powers of concentration for several years, and certainly since his stroke last year. After that stroke, he temporarily appointed Crown Prince Abdullah regent, but resumed his duties earlier