A recent study by the Pew Research Centre has revealed that there exists a considerable Muslim-Christian education gap in sub-Saharan Africa. Whilst Christians average six years of formal schooling, for Muslims the figure is fewer than three years[i]. Much of the reason for this gap lay in the colonial past on the part of the Read More >
North Africa
The particular role of religion in Islamic State
Religion, specifically Islam, is central to the identity of Islamic State (IS). It was on the basis of religious doctrine that IS separated from Al Qaeda. It is on the basis of his belonging to the same tribe as the Prophet Muhammed that Al-Baghdadi has legitimised his claims of leadership of the Muslim ummah. Moreover Read More >
Recruitment of Foreign Male and Female Fighters To Jihad
This article is divided into three major sections. Section one deals with the incursion of foreign fighters traveling to Syria and Iraq; section two explores the issue of the recruitment of young girls and women to Jihad. Section three discusses the preemptive strategy of North African countries, especially in Morocco to combat terror. The ‘Islamic Read More >
Women, Gender, and Politics in Morocco
This article analyzes the intersection of gender, women’s activism, and political participation in Morocco in a socio-political approach. The emergence of women’s activism is an answer to the gender-based discrimination in the country. Women’s non-government organizations (NGOs) struggle for women’s rights and participate actively in the feminization and democratization of the public sphere to ensure Read More >
The American Tradition of Orderly Political Transition
In the early morning hours of Wednesday, November 9, Donald J. Trump crossed the necessary threshold of 270 electoral votes and became the President-elect of the United States of America. At noon on Friday, 20 January 2017, Mr. Trump will take the oath administered by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on the west Read More >
Do African Lives Matter for African Leaders?
Africans have grown accustomed to the West ignoring their suffering. This is hardly a new phenomenon. Consider the fact that Belgian King Leopold II’s atrocities were historically ignored in Europe at the time and barely get a footnote in recent European books on its African colonies. To be clear, 15 million Congolese were murdered and Read More >
Counter-Terrorism Policies in Egypt: Effectiveness and Challenges
This paper attempts to provide a comprehensive analysis of the national policies adopted by the Egyptian government to counter domestic terrorism since the election of president el-Sisi in June 2014. It argues that the dispersal of the Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins in Raba’a square and al-Nahda square in August 2013 unleashed a more complex wave of Read More >
The Tumultuous Transition
As Tunisia nears the sixth year of its 2011 popular revolution, the most challenging question is whether these massive protests led to a real change in the lives of the people. Although democratization could not come overnight, the unique successful transition in the Arab World, as it is thought of by many leaders in the Read More >
China is Diving into the Gulf, But For How Long?
It’s getting harder for Beijing to sell the story of non-interference in affairs of sovereign states.Like most other major global powers that have preceded it, China is becoming entangled in the Middle East. A friendlier region to its interests than its own neighborhood in East Asia, China found in the Middle East an attractive zone Read More >
Media and Governance of The Security Sector in Tunisia
The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces(DCAF) launched the 2nd edition of Media and security sector governance in Tunisia. This edition contains the new relevant texts regarding the regulation of media activity in Tunisia adopted since the launch of the first edition at the end 2014. The most important texts focus on: the organic Read More >