In this episode of The Middle East Breakdown, Hayvi Bouzo sits down with Hussain Abdul-Hussain, Research Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, for a clear and urgent conversation about the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamist ideology, Iran, and Hezbollah—and why these forces matter far beyond the Middle East.

Hussain explains how the Muslim Brotherhood operates not just as an organization, but as a global ideology that adapts, rebrands, and embeds itself inside democratic systems. He breaks down why targeting individual groups misses the bigger picture, how state sponsors like Qatar and Turkey fuel Islamist influence, and why Western societies often misunderstand the threat.

The discussion also examines Hezbollah’s role as Iran’s most powerful proxy, Lebanon’s fragile moment of transition, and how Israel’s post–October 7 strategy has reshaped the regional balance. Throughout, Hussain draws a sharp distinction between Islam as a faith and Islamism as a political project built on rejecting liberty, democracy, and individual rights.

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In this episode of The Middle East Breakdown, Hayvi Bouzo and Dan Feferman sit down with Mariam Wahba, research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, for an in-depth conversation about the Muslim Brotherhood, the US executive order launching investigations into its branches in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, and what these moves could mean for US policy and global security.

Mariam Wahba is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Egypt, Arab politics, and Middle East minorities. Previously she worked in FDD’s communications team and served as associate director of advocacy with the Philos Project. Mariam holds a BA in Middle East studies, Arabic, and Jewish studies from Fordham University and is a vocal commentator on Middle East affairs.

Follow her on X: https://x.com/themariamwahba

They discuss:
🕌 What the Muslim Brotherhood is and why it is not a single centralized organization
📜 The new US executive order and why it directs investigations rather than immediate designations
🇪🇬 🇯🇴 🇱🇧 Why Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon were named first
💣 Links between Brotherhood branches, Hamas, and regional militant activity
🧠 Patient extremism and how the Brotherhood’s long game works
📺 How Brotherhood aligned media narratives spread influence
🌍 Why the West should pay attention to these developments
🧾 What FTO and SDGT designations mean in practice
🔍 What could come next if investigations meet legal standards

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In this episode of The Middle East Breakdown, Hayvi Bouzo and Dan Feferman sit down with Dr. Einat Wilf and Samer Sinijlawi for one of the most direct, detailed conversations yet about what Israelis and Palestinians actually want and what a real path forward could look like after two years of war and upheaval.

About the guests:
Dr. Einat Wilf: Former Member of Knesset, author, political thinker and one of the clearest voices on Zionism, antisemitism, and the roots of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. She holds degrees from Harvard and Cambridge, has authored several best-selling books including The War of Return, and recently launched a new political movement focused on Zionism, democratic strength and long-term regional peace.

Samer Sinijlawi:Palestinian political activist, reform advocate, and Chairman of the Jerusalem Development Fund. A former Fatah leader for Israeli and international relations, he is one of the most prominent Palestinian voices calling for internal reform, democratic elections, and coexistence. He studied conflict resolution at Hebrew University and is widely published, with op-eds in the NYT, Newsweek, Haaretz, Le Figaro, and more. He was the only high-profile Palestinian figure to visit the Gaza Envelope after October 7 and publicly condemn Hamas.

They discuss:
🇮🇱 How October 7 reshaped Israeli society and why many Israelis now see the conflict through an ideological rather than territorial lens
🇵🇸 How Gaza, the West Bank, and the diaspora think differently, and why support for Hamas inside Gaza is far lower than assumed
📚 UNRWA and the refugee narrative, and why Wilf describes it as the institutional engine sustaining rejectionism
🗳️ Palestinian elections: why Sinijlawi says the first real change must start at the ballot box
🧭 A viable two-state framework: redefining “right of return,” safeguarding minorities, and securing mutual recognition
🌍 Arab public opinion after the Abraham Accords and how the region is shifting toward integration over rejectionism
🏛️ Why past peace efforts failed, and Wilf’s call for “constructive specificity” instead of diplomatic shortcuts
🤝 Can Israelis and Palestinians imagine a shared future? Sinijlawi outlines why persuasion, not pressure, must drive progress
🔍 Identity, trust, and leadership failures on both sides, and why both guests argue the real battleground is ideological, not geographic

A rare, unsentimental conversation between two thinkers who disagree on key issues but share a commitment to clarity, honesty, and new political imagination.

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