“The real genesis of Al Qaeda violence has more to do with a Western tradition of individual and pessimistic revolt for an elusive ideal world than with the Koranic conception of martyrdom.”

A source at state-owned paper al-Gomhouriyya reports that editor Samir Ragab, one of the regime’s most loyal toadies, has been sacked. No official confirmation yet…
Update
A list of major changes at Egyptian newspapers, including Ragab’s departure, is found here

The campaign’s
near-total focus on senior officials in President Mubarak’s NDP has been
concurrent with the political rise of his son, leading to speculation that
the crackdown is simply clearing a path for an increasing public role for
Gamal.

Ahmedinejad’s victory brings to an end 15 years of factional squabbling inside the Iranian regime. The leadership now controls all of the key institutions of state, and the reformers will have to regroup and plot outside the government, trying to build grassroots support. However, Ahmadinejad’s policies may do more damage to the regime over the next five years than the previous 15 years of inaction.

Iran appears to be another of Iraq’s neighbours to suffer from an overflow of violence from Iraq. Bombings in Ahvaz and Tehran earlier this week, the worst Iran has suffered in several years, have been blamed by Iranians on al-Qaeda style groups, the US, or even on their own government (the argument being that the [...]

President Mubarak will name a vice-president after he wins presidential elections in September, according to his spokesman cited in the FT on 14 June. This confirms everyone’s expectations that Mubarak will run and win in September. Naming a successor also means that Mubarak will have to come off the fence on talk of succession; until [...]

A couple of social scientists at Harvard have put the received wisdom to the test and found that only a small proportion of Pakistani children receive a full-time education in religious schools

The LA Times has a well-researched story on an American arms dealer who was killed in Iraq after he warned US officials of corruption involving a contract to rapidly supply the Iraqi army with tanks ahead of January 2005’s Iraqi elections. The story adds another dimension to reports in January this year that Hazem Shaalan, [...]

You will find below the first post by Simon Kitchen, a new occasional contributor to arabist.net. Simon comes from an economic and risk analysis background, a perspective that I am sure will enrich the debate. [issandr]
In all the current discussion of political reform in the Middle East, and a possible dynastic succession in Egypt, the [...]