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  • Islam in America
    Opinion: Jon Stewart made us more Muslim-ish

    It's not like Jon Stewart intentionally wanted us to become more Muslim. Aasif didn't come to work one day and find Jon sitting in his office holding up the Quran, saying, "Mandvi, its time you start boning up on your Islam." No, it was much more organic. In Aasif's case, covering Muslim topics for "The Daily Show" was the cause. You can read all about the experiences in hilarious detail in Aasif's new book of personal essays titled, "No Land's Man." (And yes, that was a shameless plug for the book.)

  • NCB
    Saudi bank NCB to start trading on Weds after $6 billion share sale

    Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank IPO-NACO.SE 1180.SE will make its Riyadh bourse debut on Wednesday, a statement from the exchange said, having completed a $6 billion initial share sale last week.

  • ISIS Strategy
    War, Interrupted, Part II: From Prisoners to Rulers

    The life of a jihadist usually means serving extended periods of time in the various prisons of the “apostate” regimes, interspersed with well-meaning releases or paroles. It is a rite of passage for many jihadist leaders. Abu Musab al Zarqawi spent many years in Jordanian prisons, and Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the most famous alum of the American detention system, was released in 2004 after a recommendation by a combined board felt he did not pose a threat. Islamic State messaging frequently remembers “brothers” incarcerated by the Iraqi government, and often complains (missing a sense of irony of course) about their mistreatment. They have also proclaimed to both their prisoners and the Iraqi government that their highest priority is to break them out of prison. As part of the Islamic State’s military campaign to return to relevance, introduced in the first part of this series, they constructed a multi-layered plan to free their members in Iraqi prisons.

  • U.S. State Department
    Obama Taps Senior Aide for No. 2 State Department Job

    After months of intense debate between the White House and the State Department, President Barack Obama nominated Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken for the position of deputy secretary of State, the No. 2 job in Foggy Bottom on Friday. The president came to that view despite the opinion of Secretary of State John Kerry, who advocated for Wendy Sherman, the under secretary of state for political affairs and chief U.S. negotiator on the Iran nuclear talks.

  • 'Little Sparta'
    In the UAE, the United States has a quiet, potent ally nicknamed ‘Little Sparta’

    The American presence at Al-Dhafra, which the Pentagon has not publicly acknowledged, is a vital part of the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State militants: The base’s twin runways have launched more strike aircraft — including the Air Force’s most-sophisticated warplane, the F-22 Raptor — than any other military facility in the region.

  • ISIS Strategy
    War, Interrupted, Part I: The Roots of the Jihadist Resurgence in Iraq

    In the Sunni areas where the Iraqi government had little control, it did not take long for the Islamic State to slowly and methodically eliminate resistance one person at a time. For example, in the small but strategic town of Jurf ah Sakhar south of Baghdad, and on the Sunni-Shia fault line, there were 46 Awakening members reported killed between 2009 and 2013, in 27 different incidents. Most were shot singly or in pairs in the first three years of the campaign, and four were Sheiks from the local Janabi tribe and leaders of the council. By my count, 1,345 Awakening members across Iraq have been killed since the beginning of 2009, and this is a massive undercount as the data is only based on confirmed media reports of killings. More importantly, there are obvious patterns of activity that focus on the contested areas that the Islamic State wants to control.

  • Investment
    Why Foreign investment is elusive for MENA startups

    But why can’t they raise funds while remaining in the Middle East? “In the hierarchy of  Silicon Valley venture firms,” says Nasr, “the focus is generally on the Bay Area first, California second, and the rest of the US after that. Most US VCs don’t have a presence or much awareness outside North America. When you’re investing, one of the most important things is the market; so other than very big markets such as China, India or Brazil, there is not much interest or appetite.”

  • MENA Startups
    What do investors in the MENA want from startups?

    While most of the funders surveyed currently have a presence in either Jordan, the UAE, or Lebanon, 83% plan to expand and increase their activity in the next two years, and most of them are seeking to become more involved in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. While challenges in obtaining investment differ from one market to the other, there are some similarities across the region. Thirty-six percent of entrepreneurs surveyed said that the supply of venture funding in their countries was small, and 24% thought that investors are not offering enough value beyond cash.

  • Tunisian Elections
    Secularist Nidaa Tounes party wins Tunisia election

    Tunisia's secularist party Nidaa Tounes has won 85 seats in the country's parliament following Sunday's elections, official results show. The governing Islamist Ennahda party won 69 seats in the 217-seat chamber. The official results confirm earlier predictions and Ennahda officials have already urged Nidaa Tounes to form an inclusive government.

  • Saudi Economy
    Saudi Economy: Quarterly GDP Update 2014Q2 – Jadwa

    At annual growth rate of 4.7 percent, the non-oil private sector remained the main contributor to overall economic growth. The growth rate was marginally higher than the 4.6 percent recorded in Q1 2014, but lower than the 6.1 percent recorded in the same period last year. We calculate that the sector contributed to 73 percent of overall growth in the second quarter of this year. We expect the private sector to maintain a robust level of growth supported by strong domestic demand, rising bank lending and public sector investment.