Egyptian, Muslim, American | Episode 68

My friend Angie Gad joins me for episode 68 of Covert Contact to discuss growing up as a first generation Egyptian-American Muslim. We cover a lot of ground in this episode including her family’s struggle to maintain and establish roots in two very different worlds, her own challenges doing the same, her efforts to find common ground and acceptance from the sometimes suspicious or fearful communities she bridges, and how this has informed her work as a Middle East and terrorism analyst.

Angie has managed to navigate contradictory social, family, and religious pressures and then leverage that experience to serve her community and country. It is in many ways a quintessentially American story. It’s certainly a story that many first generation Americans, and immigrants, can relate to. But it’s also a story that Americans seem to be increasingly turning their backs on and that is why I decided to share it here.

Islamism and Democracy: Finding Models for the Middle East and Preserving Our Own | Episode 29

Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East

In episode 29 Brookings Institution senior fellow and author of Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East joins me to discuss the difficult relationship Islamist movements have with democracy and power at the state level in general. Years of research, and deep contacts, led Shadi to some unexpected findings about how Islamist movements navigate through political systems. We also discuss the state of affairs in the United States – primarily the apparent increase in, and acceptance of, anti-Muslim bigotry in the 2016 presidential campaign. It is a fascinating discussion that reflects the challenges inherent in democracy and serves as a reminder that the tensions balanced by democracy could also destroy it if society rejects or loses the shared value system that makes it all possible.

Related Links
Follow @shadihamid on Twitter
Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East
Brookings Institution: Shadi Hamid