North Africa

MENASource Discussions: A Conversation with Dr. Mustafa Abushagur

By MENASource

Karim Mezran, senior fellow with the Rafik Hariri Center, sat down with Dr. Mustafa Abushagur, former interim Libyan deputy prime minister, to ask him questions on September 12 regarding the most pertinent issues facing Libya’s transition to democracy.

Can Europe Play a Decisive Role in the Middle East?

By Charlemagne, Economist

The Arab world is where the EU should make its influence felt.

Government Regulations to Place Mosques under Azhar Control

By Amir Beshay and Nancy Messieh

The Egyptian Ministry of Endowments recently announced that it will stop granting licenses to imams who are not affiliated with al-Azhar. In an unprecedented move, the measure will be applied retroactively, with over 55,000 imams losing their licenses in the process, while all other imam licenses will be revoked if they are not renewed within […]

Libya: Divided They Fail

By Karim Mezran and Lara Talverdian

Attention in Washington to the one-year anniversary of the Benghazi attack that took the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans gives reason to believe that a commitment still exists to assist Libya as it faces grave challenges in trying to achieve the goals of its revolution.

Echoes of 2011: Media Freedom in Egypt

With former president Mohamed Morsi’s ouster on July 3, Egyptians who took to the streets have bristled at the description of the events as a military coup. They argue that millions called for Morsi’s removal, so it should be described as a popular revolution. The definition of July 3, however, cannot be limited to one […]

Tunisia’s Questionable War on Terror

By Bassem Bouguerra

Tunisia’s democratic transition has been facing numerous obstacles such as a failing economy and the lack of a transitional justice system, but security has been its main impediment.