Middle East Forum Podcast

Investigative reporting by Dexter Van Zile has uncovered hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars given to a collection of radical organizations in Massachusetts, controlled by an imam accused of radicalizing Al Qaeda operative Aafia Siddiqui. How did this happen? And how widespread is this problem of government-subsidized extremism across the rest of America?

Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is taking steps to repair his relationship with the West, hoping in return to acquire upgraded F-16 fighter aircraft and other benefits. Will he succeed, or is it too little, too late? What are the ramifications of Erdogan’s efforts for Sweden and Greece? Does Ankara have a realistic chance to join the European Union? Endy Zemenides is the executive director...

U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters organized in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fight both ISIS and Turkish-backed Islamist groups. What function do the 900-strong American troops serve in backing them? What is the US interest in Syria? How is the long-running civil war evolving? Sirwan Kajjo is a Syrian-born, Washington-based journalist and researcher. Since 2012 he has worked as a broadcaster at th...

As China’s influence extends far and wide across the globe, it presents a growing challenge to the United States and the West. What are the specifics of its presence, especially in Egypt? How does China’s activities contribute to conflicts in the Middle East? From an Egyptian perspective, what steps should Washington take? Mohamed Farid has been a member of the Egyptian Senate since 2020 with a sp...

Leaders of both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas pursue genocidal ambitions to destroy Israel. Israel and Western governments should give up on them and instead shift focus to their subjects. What are the priorities of West Bank and Gaza residents? Is statehood really their goal? What policies would be most effective toward them? Edward N. Luttwak is a much-published strategist with extensive U...

In university and other settings, “Land Acknowledgements” affirming the “traditional stewardship” of North America by earlier inhabitants have become obligatory rituals intended to delegitimize the U.S. and Canadian political orders. Anti-Zionists have copied this procedure as a new tactic to delegitimize Israel. How widely has the latter effort been adopted? How successful is it? How can it be co...

The streets of cities across France are currently aflame following the police shooting and killing of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old Muslim with a long criminal history. Islamist groups have emerged to lead the insurrection; for example, they reportedly burned down the main library in Marseilles while chanting “Allahu Akbar.” How have Islamists exploited the violence? Where are the anti-Islamist Mus...

When large-scale demonstrations erupted in Iran last September, calls demanded the end of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Protests continued for months but have now largely subsided. The U.S. government responded by expanding internet access and adding new sanctions on the regime. Was this enough or did the Biden administration miss the moment to bring down the mullahs? What lessons should be learne...

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emerged as victor in Turkey’s presidential elections last month, though many Turks had expected him to lose due to the poor state of the economy, a massive refugee problem, and twenty years of growing dictatorship. Some analysts believe this outcome was inevitable because the president controls every lever of power, including the parliament, military, police, intelligence agen...

Islamists are skilled at obtaining positions of influence in local communities in many parts of the United States. Taking South Florida as a test case, Joe Kaufman explains the problems there and recounts his efforts to expose and combat them. How serious is the situation? What can local activists do to counter Islamist influence in their communities? How can the general public help? Joe Kaufman i...

Moscow’s growing alliance with Tehran – which pursues a policy of annihilation versus the Jewish state – is prompting Israelis to re-evaluate their very cautious stance toward helping Ukraine. Given the large Jewish population in Russia and Israeli need to coordinate with Russian forces in Syria, how far can Jerusalem move toward Kyiv? What options does Vladimir Putin have to slow down this rappro...

Partly fueled by the conflict in Sudan and chaos in Libya, illegal migrants are again reaching in Europe in record numbers. And again, Europeans deeply disagree on how to confront the crisis: Willkommenskultur or Fortress Europe? What drives this argument? How will the new wave impact Islamism in Europe? Will civilizationist parties win new support? Soeren Kern, an MEF Writing Fellow, is a Spain-b...

The U.S. Congress firmly opposes normalizing relations with the Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which has murdered about half a million of its subjects. In contrast, Joe Biden seems ready to join with the Arab League, which recently reinstated Syria after a 12-year suspension. What’s his motivation? What would this mean for the United States and Israel? How can this step effectively be opposed? David Ad...

Islamists say that peace between Muslim states and the Jewish State is illegitimate because Islam will always remain at war with Jews. But this is a retrograde and false reading of Islamic scriptures. In fact the various peace treaties – Egypt’s, Jordan’s, and the four in the Abraham Accords – are religiously legitimate and desirable. Imam Mohammad Tawhidi is an Islamic scholar and educator. He is...

Lebanon is afflicted by three major problems: political sectarianism – which has produced a system of patronage and corruption, Islamist parties such as Hizballah, which are today in many ways stronger than the state itself, and Syrian refugees. All three work to undermine security and national identity, and have turned Lebanon into a shell of its former self. How can Lebanon navigate these unprec...

Fully to understand the two-state solution in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict means going back to its origins in the 1930s, and specifically to the Arab Revolt and the Peel Commission Report. How did that pivotal moment shape the region's trajectory? What continuities exist? What lessons can we learn today from the debates then? Oren Kessler is the author of Palestine 1936: The Gre...

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas ubiquitously spew murderous hatred of Israel: in the media, sermons, posters, and schools. How influential are these beliefs in coming generations? What are the implications? What can Israel do in response? Itamar Marcus, founder and director of Palestinian Media Watch, writes on PA education, ideology, and media. He has presented PMW's findings to government of...

Americans and Israelis routinely pledge not to interfere in each other’s internal affairs. Almost as routinely, they do interfere – whether in elections, legislation, or personnel. Indeed, this is a special feature of U.S.-Israel relations, dubbed by Mitchell Bard and Daniel Pipes “in this most family-like of [diplomatic] relationships” in their joint 1997 Middle East Quarterly article. Why does t...

From Al Jazeera to Al Aqsa TV, state- or organization-run media outlets dominate Middle Eastern news, with the effect of promoting extremism, denying press freedoms, compromising journalistic objectivity, and covering up human rights abuses. More, they have expanded their operations beyond the region, finding receptivity to their messages around the world. What is the trend of these media conglome...

Congress has long required universities to disclose foreign-funded gifts and contracts to the Department of Education and the American public. Universities have mostly ignored the law as regulators turned a blind eye to an ever-increasing flow of foreign money. Why did the federal government refuse to enforce the law? Where is the money coming from? How deep is foreign influence on U.S. college ca...

Collin May was director of the Alberta Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in Alberta, Canada until his positive review of a book by MEF's Efraim Karsh caused him to be ousted in September 2022 on the grounds of “Islamophobia.” He is now suing the province of Alberta, charging that his ouster had nothing to do with the book review but with his intent to investigate “a culture of pervasive sexual harass...

After several weeks off, the Knesset is back. Will the government push through legislation on judicial reform or will it compromise with the opposition?

With 9/11 over two decades behind us, many Americans have concluded that Islamism is no longer a pressing issue of concern. Newspapers and television networks rarely cover the topic. Legislators on both sides of the aisle work with Islamist groups previously deemed beyond the pale. In Europe, by contrast, major media outlets still regularly publish investigations into Islamist networks and governm...

Today marks Israel's 75th Independence Day. The country remains as politically divided as ever, but it is a domestic issue, not foreign policy, that has become the central issue of contention. What does this signify? Is a compromise in sight? How would that look?

The Islamic Republic has promoted Islamism in the West for decades. Of late, two counter developments are underway. First, the Iranian diaspora has organized against regime efforts. Second, it works to strengthen and encourage the regime’s internal opposition. What has changed in the diaspora? What are its leading figures and institutions? How effective might they be?