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Trump’s New Doctrine: Transforming the War on Drugs into a Front Against Iran

The string of U.S. strikes against alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean is not just a fresh phase in the war on drugs; it is a new operational theater in the proxy war against Iran. The attacks—nearly a dozen over the last month—are the sharp tip of the Trump administration’s doctrine that treats Latin ...

Francophone Europe and the Muslim Brotherhood: Between Myth and Reality

While the presence of Muslim Brotherhood members and sympathizers in France and, more broadly, across Francophone Europe has long been established, the issue only entered mainstream public debate recently, following the publication of a government report on the Brotherhood’s influence in France last May.  The report stirred widespread ...

The Maghreb: The Muslim Brotherhood and the Challenge of Power

As the Arab Spring unfolded, several political movements inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood sought to rise to power across the Maghreb. In Tunisia, it was Ennahda; in Morocco, the Justice and Development Party (PJD); and in Algeria, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP). The period proved favorable to the Muslim Brotherhood and its ideology, ...

Syria and Israel in Direct Talks, Sharaa Says Damascus Ready for ‘New Chapter’ With U.S.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa confirmed that Syria and Israel have begun direct negotiations for the first time in half a century, signaling a major diplomatic shift in the Middle East as Damascus also seeks to rebuild relations with the United States after decades of hostility. In an interview with The Washington Post after his meeting with ...

From Baghdad to Russia: A Deadly Bet

Smiling broadly and clad in military fatigues, young Iraqi Mohammed Imad's last TikTok post was in a field carved up with heavy vehicle tracks in what appeared to be Ukraine. Smoke was rising behind him. "Pray for me," read the caption next to a Russian flag. That was in May. Months went by without a word, only rumors. Mohammed had been taken ...

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Emirates: The Anti–Muslim Brotherhood Crusade

Among the major ideological fault lines in the Arab world, few are as decisive as the one between conservative authoritarian and self-proclaimed “secular” regimes and the Muslim Brotherhood. Today, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates form the core of a determined anti-Islamist front, seeking to neutralize the Brotherhood’s ...

Muslim Brotherhood, Salafists, and Jihadists: Shared Influences, Divergent Trajectories

In Western media and public discourse, the terms Muslim Brotherhood, Salafists, and Jihadists are often conflated—blurred together in a way that obscures their distinct origins, ideologies, and modes of action. While these movements share certain historical roots, they represent fundamentally different trajectories. To better understand their ...

Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood: Rivalry, Similarities, and Tactical Convergences

The relationship between Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood illustrates the paradoxes of political Islam in the Middle East. Temporary alliances, strategic interests, and deep sectarian divides intersect—from the war in Syria to Palestinian factions—producing a shifting balance between cooperation and antagonism. On June 19, 2025, amid the ...

The Origins of the Muslim Brotherhood: Hassan al-Banna and the Birth of Political Islam

Ismailia, 1928. In this city on the Suez Canal under British control, Hassan al-Banna, the 22-year-old schoolteacher and son of an imam, gathered six workers around a single pledge: to restore the greatness of Islam. From this modest circle would emerge a movement that would leave a profound mark on the Middle East throughout the twentieth ...

Sharaa in Washington: A Turning Point for Syria

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa visited the White House on Monday for a historic meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that capped a year in which Damascus has rapidly come in from the cold and reintegrated into the international community. Sharaa has helped steer Syria through this complex path, beginning with pushing the Assad regime out of ...

Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood: Between Ideological Lineage and National Adaptation

On April 23, 2025, Jordan’s Ministry of Interior formally banned Brotherhood-related activities in Jordan, citing  an alleged plot threatening national security, orchestrated by a group linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. The decision came amid heightened regional tensions. In the west of the kingdom, the Israel-Hamas war was raging, and public ...

No-State Zones in Lebanon: Hezbollah’s Parallel State in Southern Lebanon and Beirut’s Southern Suburbs (3/3)

Two flags still fly side by side on some hills in southern Lebanon: The Lebanese flag and Hezbollah’s yellow flag. The first symbolizes a weakened state, the second a parallel power that has filled the void left by the Republic. Here, official authority often ends where the Shia group’s control begins. A Fully Administered Territory From the ...

Turkey and Qatar: Key Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood?

The outbreak of the Arab Spring in many Middle Eastern countries gave the Muslim Brotherhood a major opportunity to assert itself within newly emerging governments, most notably in Egypt and Tunisia. Behind this rise, Qatar and Turkey were accused by critics of actively supporting and promoting the movement through financial backing, diplomatic ...

Revolution, Power, and Repression: The Political Downfall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

From the 2012 electoral victory to the upheavals that followed, the trajectory of the Muslim Brotherhood in contemporary Egypt reflects a decade of tensions, divisions, and radical transformation. On January 25, 2011, millions of Egyptians took to the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, and other major cities, demanding an end to Hosni Mubarak’s ...

Sayyid Qutb: From the Muslim Brotherhood to Global Influence

Born in 1906 into a devout family in a village of Upper Egypt, he studied educational sciences, much like Hassan al-Banna, the Muslim Brotherhood’s founder. Alongside his career as a teacher and civil servant in the Ministry of Education, Sayyid Qutb gained recognition as a literary figure, moving within Egypt’s intellectual circles, including ...

London: The Muslim Brotherhood’s “Rear Base”?

The United Kingdom has long served as a haven for many members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, often described as the movement’s “rear base in Europe.” The Brotherhood established itself in the UK during the 1960s. Most members settled in London and came from various national branches of the Muslim Brotherhood, including the ...

From Ribbons to Robots: Does AI Have a Role in Breast Cancer Screening

Breast cancer doesn’t behave the same way in every woman, and it certainly doesn’t behave the same way across borders. From access to screening technology to the age and frequency of recommended mammograms, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Can artificial intelligence (AI) help make breast cancer screening smarter, more personal, and ...

Syrian Refugees’ Healthcare: End of Coverage Announced, a Looming Health Shock and Economic Headache

Since the start of the Syrian crisis, UNHCR has supported in Lebanon a hospital referral scheme (Referral Healthcare) alongside a network of primary care, allowing the most vulnerable to access deliveries, surgeries, and intensive care with a controlled out-of-pocket cost. In May 2024, for lack of funding, coverage was tightened to emergencies ...

Closed Again: Jeita Grotto, a Victim of a Failing State

Jeita Grotto is temporarily closed. This was confirmed Thursday morning by Tourism Minister Laura Lahoud. Lebanon’s iconic karstic wonder is shutting its doors for the second time in less than a year. The first closure came after the death of Mapas-Lebanon CEO Nabil Haddad in November 2024, leaving the site without an official manager for eight ...

The Filibuster: A Key Tool of Obstruction in America’s Political Crisis

At the end of October, as the U.S. federal government entered its 30th day of shutdown, President Donald Trump made a forceful call to eliminate the filibuster, arguing that Republicans should be able to pass legislation without Democratic support. He claimed it was time to invoke the so-called “nuclear option” and revert to a simple majority ...

Western Sahara: The Diplomatic Battle Rages On

The resolution extends the mandate without resolving the dispute. On October 31, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2797, extending MINURSO’s mandate—the United Nations Mission for the Organization of a Referendum in Western Sahara established in 1991—for one year. The resolution passed with eleven votes in favor, none against, and ...

Lebanese Musician Follows her Faith to Israel

Like many Lebanese of her generation, Carine Bassili was traumatized by civil war, loss, and a patriarchal culture, hardships that forged her personality and shaped her journey from Lebanon to the U.S., where she would come to form a religious bond with Israel. Bassili’s journey—a spiritual one based on her faith and reading of the Bible—led ...

Hezbollah’s Resurgent Arsenal: Borders, Ports, and Clandestine Workshops

Warnings mount over Hezbollah’s rearmament. After years of focus on Iranian financial backing, Washington and Tel Aviv are increasingly concerned about how quickly Lebanon’s Shia movement is rebuilding its arsenal. A Wall Street Journal investigation published Thursday found that Hezbollah, far from adhering to the November 2024 ceasefire ...

No-State Zones in Lebanon: The Bekaa and the Shadow of the Clans (2/3)

Along the road from Zahleh to Hermel, portraits of former clan leaders, imams, and martyrs adorn the buildings, set among auto repair shops and fields of cannabis. In this fertile valley, crossed by the Orontes River and framed by the Anti-Lebanon mountains, the state’s presence gradually fades as the road stretches north. In the Bekaa, clan ...

Syria: From Pariah State to a Guest in Washington

This Monday, Donald Trump is hosting Ahmad al-Sharaa at the White House. It is a historic moment: never before has a Syrian president been officially received in Washington since the country gained independence in 1946. The event symbolizes the end of half a century of hostility between the two capitals. For a long time, Syria was one of the most ...

Kazakhstan Joins the Abraham Accords: A Symbolic Move with Strategic Implications

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Kazakhstan will join the Abraham Accords, a diplomatic framework launched in 2020 to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim states. The announcement came after a phone call between Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart ...

A Peacemaker Visits a Land of Perpetual War

Pope Leo XIV’s expected visit to Lebanon later this month comes at a moment of peril for the country. Lebanon’s most recent war, launched by Hezbollah on October 8, 2023, has barely ended, with Israel threatening to renew the conflict at any moment should Hezbollah not disarm. The Lebanese government has pledged to assert state power and ...

A Financial Gap Law That Writes Off Deposits and Submits to the IMF

In appearance, Finance Minister Yassin Jaber sought to present his meeting with the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) delegation at the Ministry of Finance as a broad, constructive session that projected an image of consensus. His public remarks reinforced this impression, suggesting that both sides—the ministry and the banks—were aligned ...