ISLAMIST IDEOLOGY

Uriya Shavit, Al-Qaeda's Saudi Origins
Saudi conspiracy theorists laid the ground for Osama bin Laden

Denis MacEoin, Why Do Muslims Execute Innocent People?
Shari'a law can be more flexible than the Islamists who apply it

David Bukay, The Religious Foundations of Suicide Bombings
Suicide bombers find instruction and inspiration in the Qur'an

David Verbeeten, How Important Is the Israel Lobby?
U.S. policymakers learned that Israel was a better friend than its neighbors

Harsh V. Pant, Saudi Arabia Woos China and India
Riyadh's approach to the east won't save it from tough choices on internal reform

Bilal A. Wahab, How Iraqi Oil Smuggling Greases Violence
Black gold finances more than Iraq's reconstruction

Eyal Zisser, Bashar al-Assad's Gamble
The Syrian leader believes he can outlast both internal enemies and Washington

DOCUMENTS

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: "I Will Continue to Ask Uncomfortable Questions"
A leading anti-Islamist activist explains her decision to leave the Netherlands

Henry Kissinger to Iraq in 1975: "We Can Reduce Israel's Size"
The godfather of U.S. realism offers to sell out Israel

REVIEWS

Al-Qaeda in Europe ... Female suicide bombers ... Hebrew Orientalism ... Lebanese Shi'ites

COMMENTARY

Jeffrey Azarva, Dissident Watch: Muhammad al-Sharqawi
An Egyptian crackdown against democracy activists claims another victim