Democracy & Reform

On May 13, 2011, Dalia Ziada and Amr al-Azm addressed The Washington Institute's 2011 Soref Symposium. Ms. Ziada, an Egyptian activist and blogger, is director of the American Islamic Conference's North Africa bureau. Mr. al-Azm, a Syrian historian and archaeologist, is an associate professor of Middle Eastern history and anthropology

On May 4, 2011, Gilles Kepel and Martin Kramer addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Dr. Kepel is the chair of Middle East and Mediterranean studies at the Insitut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and author of Beyond Terror and Martyrdom: The Future of the Middle East

The following is a sampling of reactions from various Islamist leaders, commentators, and organizations following the death of Usama bin Laden. Lashkar-e-Taiba (Pakistani Militant Group) "Usama bin Laden was a great person who awakened the Muslim world...Martyrdoms are not losses, but are a matter of pride for Muslims...Usama bin Laden

Does the behavior of Iran's armed forces during and after the 1979 revolution hold relevant lessons for current unrest in the Middle East?

As they pay their respects to the House of Windsor, Arab royals may also catch a glimpse of their imperiled future.

On April 13, 2011, May Chidiac, Michael Young, Hisham Melhem, and Michael Doran addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Ms. Chidiac, president of MCF Media Institute, was for decades a news anchor and on-air personality for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation. Mr. Young is opinion editor for the Beirut

Washington should immediately warn the Asad regime that any resort to large-scale violent suppression of protestors will be met with immediate measures by the United States and the international community.

The key to dealing with the Assad regime is to always keep your options open and be prepared to walk away with no obligations. Only by making clear when it will do so, and what will be the consequences, will Washington ever have a hope of getting a straight answer out of the Syrian president.

On April 13, 2011, J. Scott Carpenter, Keston Family fellow and director of Project Fikra: Defeating Extremism through the Power of Ideas at The Washington Institute, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. The following is an excerpt