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Dr. Khalil al-Anani is a leading academic expert on Islamist movements, Egyptian politics, and democratization in the Middle East. He was a Resident Senior Fellow at The Middle East Institute, and also served as a scholar of Middle East politics at the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, UK, as a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and as a senior scholar at Al-Ahram Foundation in Cairo. He is the author of many books in both Arabic and English, including “Unpacking the Muslim Brotherhood: Religion, Identity, and Politics” (forthcoming), “Elections and Democratization in the Middle East” (co-editor, Palgrave MacMillan, forthcoming), “The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt: Gerontocracy Fighting against Time” (Cairo: Shorouk Press, 2007), and “Political Islam in the Middle East: Past, Present, and Future” (Cairo, International Center for Strategic and Future Studies, 2007). He also has published several journal articles, policy papers, and op-ed pieces in leading journals and newspapers. He writes a bi-monthly column in the pan Arab newspaper Al-Hayat and in the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Weekly and is a frequent commentator on Arab and international television channels, including Al Jazeera, BBC, Al Arabiya, and Alhurra.
The recent attacks against Egypt’s police and military have raised concerns over the return of the militant insurgency that plagued Egypt during the 1980s and 1990s. Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM), a Sinai-based militant group, has repeatedly and publicly claimed responsibility for the cascade of bombings.
Whereas many observers are lamenting the failure of the “Arab Spring,” Tunisia has proven once again that it is on a march toward democracy. On January 3, the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) began voting on the country’s new constitution. Lawmakers have approved many of the chapters and articles, and the final vote on the entire document should take place within a few days. Surprisingly, many of the controversial articles on state identity, the relationship between religion and politics, and gender equality have passed with a clear majority.
This article was first published on Al Jazeera on December 24, 2013.
The downfall of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood (MB) has put political Islam at a crossroads. Not only has it shown that ideology per se is not a guarantor of political success, but also that Islamists need to rethink their strategy and tactics in order to deal with the new environment following the Arab Spring.
On December 1, a 50-member panel given the task of amending Egypt’s constitution approved a draft of the document. It now goes to Interim President Adly Mansour for his approval and will then go to the public in a referendum. MEI spoke with its Senior Fellow, Khalil al-Anani, about the draft, how it differs from the 2012 constitution passed under Mohamed Morsi, and how the Muslim Brotherhood has reacted to it.
