What has become increasingly clear is that Islamists themselves are engaged in a fierce political battle to determine their own identity

The Egyptian modern state has since its conception been suspicious of the public organizing themselves

A state of general — yet perhaps less articulated — dissatisfaction and frustration with Egyptian foreign policy over the last two decades has certainly been one of the causes for the accumulated popular fury that sparked the 25 January revolution. Foreign policy took a backseat to demands reflecting more pressing socio-economic and internal political grievances during the uprising and in the dominant discourse which followed the epic downfall of former President Hosni Mubarak. So much so in fact, that — regrettably — much attention was drawn away from foreign policy issues, especially US and Israeli intervention and desperate attempts to influence political outcomes during the height of the crisis in January and February 2011.

As the dust settles following the “Arab Spring,” which unseated some of the Middle East’s longest surviving dictators, elected governments have formally entered a tough race against time to meet the wide range of expectations of their people. This places a large burden on the extremely exhausted finances of these countries.

Hassan El-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, built a strong organisation that spread throughout the Islamic world, but he failed to turn Egypt into a state that reflected his vision.

LONDON — The Muslim world cannot have it both ways. It cannot place Islam at the center of political life — and in extreme cases political violence — while at the same time declaring that the religion is off-limits to contestation and ridicule.

The lesson is: freedom of speech does not exist in Islam.

"The president has to balance between his domestic alliances with ultraconservative Islamists and Egypt's relations with the US"

'Take care America, we have 1.5 billion ‘Bin Ladens.’

The formation of the Constituent Assembly has been described using largely the same term; haphazard

If thuggery were a profession, it would make little sense for thugs to do business in hospitals over other places

The sales tax in the 1990s, income tax reform in 2005, and proposed property tax in 2010: while Mubarak’s regime was politically stagnant

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I strongly sense conspiracy in the whole sordid "film maligning the Prophet" fracas

On one of the last pieces he published at Salon before moving to The Guardian, the American columnist Glenn Greenwald mounted a devastating critique of what he labeled, in the article’s title, “The Sham ‘Terrorism Expert’ Industry.” In his inimitable style, Greenwald proceeded to discuss the work of several so-called terrorism experts — among them, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross,

In Egypt, no one dismissed Morsi because of race or colour, but because the Brotherhood had historically always been politically scorned

Prejudice towards businessmen is apparent in the separation of production and distribution

I would suggest, by way of contrast, that Islamists could not have adopted a better strategy than to focus on that social and cultural realm.

“We are all brothers, but it seems impossible to live side by side in peace,”

Groups of fanatical, desperate and poorly-educated adolescents can hold a nation's future hostage is outrageous

Most trends in political Islam stipulate that the Islamic state protects freedom of creed. “So let whoever wishes believe and whoever wishes reject,” says the Quran. Several, however, consider those who disbelieve after accepting Islam an exception to this rule (apostates), even if the convert in question has inherited the religion.

I am no wordsmith, but I have a fascination with language. I am no grumpy grammarian, but I admire clean prose. I am no adherent to structure, but I appreciate good form.