Jawad I. Ali, a lawyer who helps corporations structure sharia-compliant finance deals, discusses the boom in Islamic banking and the industry’s future.

The Arab Spring severely weakened the narrative of Islamist extremists but they are now stirring anti-U.S. sentiments in fragile new democracies, says Mideast expert Ali Soufan.

"Engagement doesn’t preclude criticism," says Iranian historian Ali M. Ansari, so the West should be more forthright in speaking out against Iran’s human rights record.

The Egyptian and Libyan publics are the two most likely to be inspired by the ouster of Tunisia’s Ben Ali, and the United States should be pressing Egypt especially to open up politics and allow for …

Juan Cole, an expert on Iran, says Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used the capture of British military personnel “to whip up Iranian nationalistic sentiments” to garner support for his…

A leading Iranian expert, Shaul Bakhash, says a speech by former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and a call for a referendum by former President Mohammad Khatami have given new life to the opp…

Following massive protests over Iran’s presidential election results, Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert, says Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have to sacrifice President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad …

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who addresses the UN in New York this week, is facing domestic challenges from an angry public, an assertive legislature, and conflicts with Supreme Leader Ali …

Post-Qaddafi Libya is riven along regional, economic, and religious lines, and may descend into civil war despite a recent flurry of international diplomacy, says journalist Mary Fitzgerald.

It’s doubtful that radical Sunni militants will be able to overrun Baghdad and southern Iraq, but the crisis is likely to further splinter governing authority in the country, says expert F. Gregory G…