Toward a New “Solution”? Islamic Ideologies in the Middle East a Decade after the Uprisings (original) (raw)

In an area riven by a decade of war, political shockwaves, and identity crises, it appears that the dominant Islamic factions operating in the Middle East—Sunni and Shiite, moderate and extremist, establishment and revolutionary—have reached a physical and ideological nadir. This downturn is evident despite the fact that at some point or another since the upheaval of the Arab Spring, each of these strands identified an opportunity to leverage its vision and translate it into political, military, economic, and cognitive gains. This paper analyzes key developments affecting four particular streams of Islamic thought from the upheaval up to the eve of the coronavirus outbreak: Sunni political Islam (mainly the Muslim Brotherhood and its proxies), establishment Sunni Islam, Salafijihadism, and Shiite Islam. The paper concludes with a discussion of possible future scenarios.