Links 23-31 March 2017

Recent posts on the blog:

• NPR's profile of Amgad Naguib
• Does Egypt Still Matter?
• In Translation: A butterfly in Fayoum

And the links:

• How two U.S. Marxists wound up on the front lines against ISIS
  A florist and a Georgetown graduate didn’t intend to fight, but they were sent into battle against the Islamic State in Syria.
• GUEST POST: Jihadist Groups In The Sahel Region Formalize Merger
  Great piece.
• Egypt: the deep state’s war on journalism | openDemocracy
• Turkey and the Headscarf Ban | n+1
  Basharat Peer
• On the Breadline in Sisi's Egypt | MERIP
• Egypt’s swing between extremism and autocracy
  David Gardner
• A Revolution Undone by HA Hellyer – life after protest
  Review of @hahellyer's book by Stone Jenkins.
• "Terrorism in North Africa: An Examination of the Threat”
  House Committee on Homeland Security
• NYTimes: Rex Tillerson to Lift Human Rights Conditions on Arms Sale to Bahrain
• NYTimes: U.S. War Footprint Grows in Middle East, With No Endgame in Sight
• At Site of Deaths, Our Reporters Find Cost of U.S.-ISIS Battle - The New York Times
• The Arabia Foundation
  New outfit feat. Ali Shihabi, Bernard Haykel, Chas Freeman, Greg Cause etc - Saudi-friendly, Iran-critical views.
• Affaiblis aujourd'hui, l'EI et AQMI misent sur l'Algérie de demain | Middle East Eye
• Arab Politics Beyond The Uprisings
  Many good essays on political activity, dissent & governance around the region, amid return to authoritarianism
• What the war on terror looks like
  Must-read by Loulouwa al-Rashid for Synaps
• Deux ans de destructions et d'impasse au Yémen
  Laurent Bonnefoix, one of the best Yemen experts.
• Al-Qaeda, on the rise again, hits Assad where it hurts
• US and allies talk of post-ISIS future, but have no plan
• Two years on, Saudi intervention in Yemen leaves trail of death | News | DW
• Drought and War Heighten Threat of Not Just 1 Famine, but 4 - The New York Times
• Can Extremism Be Fought In the Classroom?
  Fascinating descriptions in book by Moroccan reporter of the way Islamic studies are taught
• Hosni Mubarak Is Freed, to Dismay of Many in Egypt - The New York Times
• Bill Maher makes us dumber: How ignorance, fear and stupid pop-culture clichés shape Americans’ view of the Middle East - Salon
  Steven Cook and Michael Brooks.
• Interview with Asma Lamrabet
  Moroccan feminist who argues for a progressive, ethical reading of the Koran