Shahmahmood Miakhel

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Middle East Institute (MEI) is pleased to announce that Paul Salem will join the Institute as a vice president in October to direct the Arab Transitions initiative. Dr. Salem comes to MEI after having served as the founding director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, Lebanon since 2006. 

The sun is beating down and it isn’t even midday. Clutching the all-important paperwork that will get them coveted UN food vouchers, Syrian refugees look harried. The women pull at their children to hurry through the litter-filled yard of the sports club in the town of Bar Elias that serves as a distribution center for the UN’s hard-pressed World Food Program (WFP). Unlike their men, who head for the shade to smoke and exchange news, the women don’t dally, making for the snaking lines into a crowded hall where they will be called in groups by registration numbers.

A white bed sheet had been strung between two trees on a median just opposite the Sayeda Aisha mosque in a working class area of Cairo. Everything had been arranged by volunteers under the protection of Ahmed, a well-known personality in the neighborhood. He helped them pick a spot to set up the projector, screen, and speakers. All that was missing was a functioning street lamp to power the equipment, but those nearby had been disconnected. A generator that was usually rented out to street vendors was used instead.  

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Dr. Mona Makram-Ebeid for a discussion about the state of affairs in Egypt in the wake of the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi.  Dr. Makram-Ebeid is a prominent Egyptian academic and former member of the Shura Council, who recently resigned in support of the Tamarod movement.  She will provide a first-hand perspective on the challenges ahead for Egypt following the recent military takeover of the government and the ensuing violence and unrest.Bios:Dr.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Dr. Mona Makram-Ebeid for a discussion about the state of affairs in Egypt in the wake of the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi.  Dr. Makram-Ebeid is a prominent Egyptian academic and former member of the Shura Council, who recently resigned in support of the Tamarod movement.  She will provide a first-hand perspective on the challenges ahead for Egypt following the recent military takeover of the government and the ensuing violence and unrest.Bios:Dr.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Dr. Mona Makram-Ebeid for a discussion about the state of affairs in Egypt in the wake of the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi.  Dr. Makram-Ebeid is a prominent Egyptian academic and former member of the Shura Council, who recently resigned in support of the Tamarod movement.  She will provide a first-hand perspective on the challenges ahead for Egypt following the recent military takeover of the government and the ensuing violence and unrest.Bios:Dr.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Dr. Mona Makram-Ebeid for a discussion about the state of affairs in Egypt in the wake of the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi.  Dr. Makram-Ebeid is a prominent Egyptian academic and former member of the Shura Council, who recently resigned in support of the Tamarod movement.  She will provide a first-hand perspective on the challenges ahead for Egypt following the recent military takeover of the government and the ensuing violence and unrest.Bios:Dr.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Dr. Mona Makram-Ebeid for a discussion about the state of affairs in Egypt in the wake of the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi.  Dr. Makram-Ebeid is a prominent Egyptian academic and former member of the Shura Council, who recently resigned in support of the Tamarod movement.  She will provide a first-hand perspective on the challenges ahead for Egypt following the recent military takeover of the government and the ensuing violence and unrest.Bios:Dr.

Originally published July 10, 2013 in U.S. News and World Report

Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy.

The Iranian diaspora in Malaysia is incredibly diverse. Supporters of the Green Movement, students, individuals who fast and pray and those who do not know the direction of the qibla, clerics who promote secularism and those who promote the authority of the vilayat-i faqih, Iranian Kurds, Turks, and Arabs, journalists, artists, and environmentalists: all these—and more—constitute the community of Iranians who have fled or quietly moved to Malaysia.

The dramatic events of July 3, which saw the unseating of Egypt’s first and only democratically-elected government by a military coup stimulated by enormous popular demonstrations, has created a huge question mark as to the future governance of the Arab world’s largest and most important country. The ramifications and repercussions will be playing out for months and years, whatever steps are taken in the next days and weeks. However, two parties acutely affected by these events are watching with particular concern.

Amid last week’s uproar, now deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi issued a statement in English via top aide and advisor on foreign relations Essam el-Haddad, citing cases of sexual assault in or around Tahrir Square as evidence that “Tahrir crowds are out of control.”[1] Essam el-Haddad’s son, Gehad, took to Twitter, also in English, to stand up for the “protection of women.” With these moves, the Muslim Brotherhood sunk to a new low in its propaganda war against its detractors.