Political Islam

Saudi's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh (C) leads prayer at the funeral on Feb. 6, 2008, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia, Muslim world mourn passing of grand mufti

Leaders from Muslim nations and other countries across the world offered their condolences to Saudi Arabia on the death of Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh, who served for more than 20 years during a period of major political and social change in the kingdom.

Flags of Jordan and the Muslim Brotherhood are waved with other protest signs denouncing the US-led Middle East economic conference in Bahrain, in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on June 21, 2019.

Jordan summons suspects accused of holding Muslim Brotherhood assets: What to know

The Hashemite Kingdom has taken a number of legal actions against the Islamist organization since banning them in April.

Supporters of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood take part in a protest in the village of Sweimeh.

Jordan targets charities for alleged Muslim Brotherhood ties: What to know

Jordan banned the Muslim Brotherhood in April and arrested some senior members of the related Islamic Action Front last month.

UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today received His Excellency Ahmad Al-Sharaa, President of the Syrian Arab Republic, who is on a working visit to the country.

Syria’s Sharaa in UAE seeking investments amid Israel talks push

The UAE has concerns about Syria’s new Islamist government, said one expert, but is nonetheless seeking to engage with Damascus politically and economically.

United Arab Emirates

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Rebuking 5-year sentence, France urges Algeria to pardon Sansal: What to know

RICCARDO MILANI/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's Erdogan vows justice amid rage over alleged Prophet Muhammad cartoon

Protesters hold placards as they demonstrate against cartoonists of a satirical magazine following allegations that it had published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, outside Taksim mosque in Istanbul on July 1, 2025.

Syria mandates burkinis for women at public beaches: What to know

A Tunisian woman wearing a "burkini", a full-body swimsuit designed for Muslim women, walks in the water with a child on August 16, 2016 at Ghar El Melh beach near Bizerte, north-east of the capital Tunis. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP) (Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria’s top Islamic body issues decree against honor killings: What to know

A large Syrian flag flutters above Tishreen Park in Damascus, on June 4, 2025.

What canceling of 'Crimson Buds' TV series says about Turkey's religious split

Turkey’s television series and films, once heralded as Turkey’s top exports and a symbol of its soft power abroad, have become a political battlefield at home throughout 2023.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Istanbul mayor announces reelection bid in Turkey’s upcoming local polls

Ending a heated public debate, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said he would not seek Turkey’s main opposition leadership, but he implicitly linked the success of his reelection bid as mayor in the local polls to main opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu’s resignation.

Iranian women walk in the street on a rainy day in the capital Tehran, on December 4, 2022. - Iran has scrapped its morality police after more than two months of protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest for allegedly violating the country's strict female dress code, local media said Sunday.women (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

11 Baluchi men executed in Iran as morality police returns to streets

The executions are seen as a way to intimidate the public, while the morality police resumed its work to enforce Iran’s strict Islamic dress code.

A Shiite Muslim man raises a Koran as he takes part in a mourning ritual in the city of Nasiriyah in Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province eraly on July 22, 2023, during the Muslim month of Muharram in the lead-up to Ashura. Ashura is a 10-day mourning period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein. (Photo by Asaad NIAZI / AFP) (Photo by ASAAD NIAZI/AFP via Getty Images)

Quran burning in Denmark as Egypt, Bahrain summon Sweden diplomats

The Middle East is fuming following a series of Quran burnings in Denmark and Sweden.

Jordanian parliament members are separated during an altercation in the parliament in the capital Amman on December 28, 2021. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Jordan’s LGBTQ community faces increased attacks, including from Islamists

Jordan’s LGBTQ community is increasingly under attack, leaving them with few options and spaces for safety.

Women take part in a rally in support of Iranian women in Pristina on Oct. 12, 2022.

Iran's Raisi blames 'enemies' for hijab violations, urges action against women defying

The Iranian president's order for action came in response to fast-growing defiance from a new generation of women challenging the strict dress code, which has been a fundamental pillar of the ruling theocracy.

An undated image of the exhibition at Feshane.

Turkey Islamist group calls for art expo's closure for 'blasphemy,' LGBTQ 'propaganda'

Islamist media and AKP members attacked Istanbul Municipality’s inaugural exhibition of top Turkish artists at Feshane, a recently renovated 19th-century factory.

KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

UAE, Qatar reopen embassies after years of political rift

The Emirati and Qatari foreign ministers held a phone call ahead of the two embassies restarting their diplomatic functions on Monday.

United Arab Emirates

Women walk along a mural painting behind which appears a giant billboard bearing a picture of the 'Fattah' hypersonic missile, in Tehran on July 7, 2023. Iran's Revolutionary Guards unveiled an intermediate range ballistic missile on June 6 capable of travelling at hypersonic speeds of up to 15 times the speed of sound, state television reported. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

In new purge, Iran expels independent, Reformist professors

Iran's hard-line government is forcing its own critics out of universities.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcomes Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on November 24, 2021. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Turkey-UAE honeymoon on horizon after Erdogan's win, economic deals

The UAE-Turkey $40 billion trade agreement ratified in May is an expression of the friendship between the two countries’ leaders, according to experts.

By Salim A. Essaid

Erdogan Qurashi

Analysis

From political Islam to illiberal nationalism: the MENA states' war for hearts and minds

Islamist parties are falling out of favor across the region, as leaders hope to offer economic benefits combined with authoritarianism.

Gilles Kepel

By Gilles Kepel

A man walks inside a liquor shop in Baghdad on February 23, 2023. (Photo by MURTAJA LATEEF/AFP via Getty Images)

'Iraq is not an Islamic country': Minorities protest Baghdad's alcohol ban as unconstitutional

The Iraqi government's renewed effort to prohibit alcohol is not only worrisome for Christian and Yazidi minorities, but also raises constitutionality questions.