Build Bridges not Walls... Dealing with Political Islamists

Since the terrorist events of September 2001, there has been a huge interest in political Islam in the Middle East and North Africa. Until recently, analysts have focused on those actors that belong to the category of the most violent in the Islamic spectrum, including al Qaeda, the Taliban and sectarian parties in Iraq, or political parties with military wings, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. However, that may obscure the fact that contemporary politics in the Middle East and North Africa is guided by a variety of main Islamic movements.