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CONFLICTED

CONFLICTED

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An ex-Al Qaeda jihadi turned MI6 spy and a former monk turned filmmaker, have been embedded at the heart of conflicts in the Middle East. Together Aimen Dean and Thomas Small unpack the realities of war, fundamentalism and their global implications through first-hand experience.

94 Episodes
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Conflicted’s tour of Africa takes another turn, this time to the East, as we head to the horn of Africa to learn about that most ancient of lands… Ethiopia! Ethiopia is the cradle of humanity – the place where some of the oldest remains of homo sapiens have been found, and its history through antiquity is equally rich. In this episode Thomas and Aimen are going way back in time to tel us about great African civilizations like the Aksumite Kingdom, and all the fascinating stories that intersect with so many Biblical and Quranic tales from the period. In a sweeping history, we move on to discuss the ‘King of Kings’ in Ethiopia who formed the Solomonic Dynasty – one which is still revered by the country today. And finally, we’ll hear how this proud African country got its reputation for standing up to Imperialism, as they attempt to withstand attacks from Mahdists, the British and especially Italians, who sought to conquer and oppress it. But who would come out on top? And how would this all set Ethiopia up for the 20th century, when a new ruler would come in to take up the Solomonic mantle? New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you’ll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Conflicted is back, continuing our trip across La Françafrique this week, with a survey of the last 10 years in Francophone West Africa, and yes, you guessed it: it’s insurgencies, jihadi movements and coups galore! Thomas and Aimen open up with a discussion of the anti-jihadist activities being carried out by the French in the Sahel since 2013, including the infamous operations Serval and Barkhane. But as jihadi movements grew, the French found themselves in hot water, which got even hotter as a new player entered the fray: the Russians, in the guise of the Wagner Group. We then discuss how the Wagner Group operates in the area, coming in after a coups across the region to cause France’s influence to dwindle, and making instability become the plat du jour for many West African countries. Will the region ever get out of it? New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you’ll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Bonjour tout le monde! In this week’s Conflicted, Thomas and Aimen are going continental as they continue their survey of Africa, with the first of a two part series on French West Africa, aka La Françafrique! France’s West African colonial possessions are relatively unknown in the English speaking world, but from Chad to Senegal, their histories are fascinating, and remind us of the disturbing continued tentacles of colonialism on the continent… In this first episode, Thomas and Aimen take us back to the precursors to colonial West Africa, from the Ghana Empire of antiquity, to the resplendent reign of Mansa Musa and his Malian empire renowned as the richest in the world… They then look to the arrival of the French and the ‘civilising mission’, before examining how France have continued to subjugate and exploit many West African countries through a neo-imperial control of their monetary policies. New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you’ll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Thomas and Aimen are back to bring you the final episode in our four part survey of the history and modern conflict in Sudan. In this episode, the pair first take us through the battles between Hasan Al-Turabi and Omar Al-Bashir in the 1990s, with Aimen revealing some fascinating anecdotes about the way Sudan incubated worldwide terror, including Osama Bin Laden, prior to 9/11. And next, we hear about the roots of the conflict raging in Sudan today, from the development of an Arab Spring style revolution in Khartoum, to the brutal response to it, the fall of Bashir, numerous coups and now the battles between the RSF and SAF. And what does the future hold for Sudan? Is peace on the horizon? And how could it be maintained? Here is the only place to find out. New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you’ll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Surfshark VPN: Go to https://surfshark.com/CONFLICTEDPOD and enter the code CONFLICTEDPOD for an extra four months free. Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on Conflicted, Thomas and Aimen continue their exploration into the history of Sudan, focusing on two areas of the country which we’ve left off so far – but which have been hugely influential to the country’s story: Darfur and South Sudan. Both these areas were brutalised during Sudan’s 20th century history, and for remarkably different reasons. But it all comes back to the hegemony of Sudan’s ruling Three Arab Tribes – the tribes who have fixed the country’s course to conflict and caused the separatism which has long abounded in the country. In this third part of our Sudan mini-series, Thomas and Aimen take us through how these two regions faired as they tried to cut their own path against the ruling Arab elite, and the destruction they were met with, from forced Islamisation in the South, to the horrific genocide perpetrated in Darfur in the early 2000s. These events proved the brutal nature of the Sudanese ruling elite, and can tell us a huge amount about the conflict going on there today. New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you’ll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The second episode of our four part series on the history of Sudan is here! As the British Empire loses its hold on the country, new nationalistic movements in Sudan began to develop. With the help of revolutionary Islamic thinkers like Hasan Al Turabi, various movements would vie for supremacy, with those calling for Liberal democracy, communism and Islamism all attempting to gain a foothold of power in the new reality for the country in the 20th century. But what would these tensions lead to? A happy independence, or the mire of conflict? And could Sudan overcome the ethnic and religious tensions between its North and South in the process? In this episode, Thomas and Aimen traverse across Sudan to explore how the modern state came to be, going through independence, power struggles and civil war, with a fascinating character profile of perhaps the country’s most significant political and religious personality of the 20th century: Hasan Al Turabi.  New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you’ll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sudan Pt.1: The First Mahdi

Sudan Pt.1: The First Mahdi

2024-07-3101:07:18

This week on Conflicted we embark on a four episode exploration of the history of Sudan, to explain the context of the conflict raging there today. In our first episode, we tackle a huge span of history – beginning with the country’s ancient Christian roots, before explaining the period of Islamification and various conquests by the Egyptians and of course the British. But who would rise in defiance of them all? Sudan’s Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad, a self-styled revolutionary religious messiah who came to unite the Sudanese and fight against the foreign invaders he claimed were desecrating Islamic traditions in Sudan. The fascinating, thrilling story of his rule, and the consequences of it, will inform Sudanese politics throughout the 20th century and even to this day. New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you’ll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Season 5 of Conflicted is here! In this season, we’re delving deep into a continent whose Islamic heritage is often overlooked, but which is one of the most consequential and politically significant places in the world of geopolitics today. That’s right – in Season 5, Conflicted does Africa! In our opening episode, Thomas and Aimen are giving you an introductory overview of the continent, and we really are covering a lot. From the Islamisation of North Africa, to the ISIS cells forming on the East African coast, to the reasons why there are so many redheads in the Levant, we want to use this episode to explain just why Africa is so important and consequential, both in terms of Islamic history and beyond. We’ll cover themes that will return across this season to welcome you into this truly fascinating world that we haven’t covered in any real depth across our previous four seasons. New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you’ll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The state of Yemen in 2023 is precarious. After the Arab Spring revolution descended into civil war, the Houthis have cemented their power over large swathes of Northern Yemen, while the traditional ruling parties have fractured and, in many cases, disintegrated. In this final episode of our mammoth exploration of the history of Yemen - and indeed season 4 of Conflicted - we bring things up to the modern day, stepping back from historical narrative to try and make sense of what has happened and what it means for the country and the region. Over the course of this season, we've taken listeners through all the historical antecedents to modern Salafi Jihadism from Ahmad Bin Hanbal in the eighth century to Sayyid Qutb in the 1960s. We've looked at the Muslim Brotherhood, President Erdogan of Turkey, Iran, and their proxies across the region like Hezbollah. And now, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza continues, we can see so many of the themes and ideas that we've talked about this series playing out in real time. This final episode, which sees us joined for the final time by Yemeni political activist Baraa Shaiban, attempts to make sense of current events in Yemen and beyond in the context of  Salafi and Shia jihadism. We ask what the future holds for the Middle East, and what we can learn from the tumultuous history of the region as the world attempts to bring peace to the geopolitical situation of today. Join our FB Discussion group to get exclusive updates:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/450486135832418 Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Join the Conflicted Community hub on Discord to discuss all things Conflicted with fellow dear listeners, get exclusive content, bonus episodes and ad-free listening. Register your interest through the link: http://www.levellr.com/conflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Arab Spring of 2011 may have brought with it hope for a new dawn in Yemen, one of democracy and liberal reforms outside the rule of strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh. But the years that followed saw this quickly undone. The GCC Initiative brokered by Gulf States quickly broke down due to an intense culture of mistrust between all the parties within it. And with the insurgent Houthis growing ever more confident in the north, their malign influence ensured that this move for democracy was doomed to failure. In this penultimate episode of our Yemen series, and indeed season 4 of Conflicted, we look at Yemen’s road from revolution to civil war. It’s something that our returning guest, Yemeni political activist Baraa Shaiban, witnessed first hand as a member of the GCC initiative. He tells us about the role he played in trying to keep the peace as his country fell into conflict, and how the delicate art of Yemeni politics - dancing on the heads of snakes - was one which soon became too difficult for all involved. Join our FB Discussion group to get exclusive updates:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/450486135832418 Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Join the Conflicted Community hub on Discord to discuss all things Conflicted with fellow dear listeners, get exclusive content, bonus episodes and ad-free listening. Register your interest through the link: http://www.levellr.com/conflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2011 was a pivotal year for Yemen, and indeed the entire Middle East. After years of wars against the insurgent Houthis in the North, and with years of protests against President Ali Abdullah Selah’s attempts at radical constitutional changes, the Arab Spring which engulfed so many Muslim countries came to Yemen, too. It saw a bottom up revolution take hold in Sanaa, quickly filtering out across the country. It was a cry for democracy from a people fed up with their strongman ruler’s increasingly authoritarian rule. But would it lead to a new constitution for the Yemeni people, or political chaos which radical groups could exploit for their own gains? In this episode of Conflicted, the third part of our series on Yemen, we welcome back Yemeni journalist and political activist, Baraa Shaiban. He wasn’t just there during the Arab Spring, he played a really significant part in leading it. He tells us his story of leading protests in Sanaa, and all the hope he and his fellow liberal activists had for a new dawn in their country. But was it a dream that could ever be fulfilled? Or would the many other complex factions in Yemeni politics have other ideas? Join our FB Discussion group to get exclusive updates:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/450486135832418 Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Join the Conflicted Community hub on Discord to discuss all things Conflicted with fellow dear listeners, get exclusive content, bonus episodes and ad-free listening. Register your interest through the link: http://www.levellr.com/conflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president of Yemen from 1990 - 2012, described the process of governing Yemen as akin to “Dancing on the heads of snakes”. Such were the profound splits in Yemeni society, and with other strongmen, tribes and insurgent groups vying for their own power, Saleh knew that to keep his newly unified country together from the 1990s onwards would take a dance of real precision. In this second episode of our five part series on the history of Yemen, we find out if Saleh was nimble enough to hold onto power as the vipers beneath him began to show their force. From the civil war of the 1990s to the rise of the insurgent Houthis in the 2000s, we cover the period from 1990-2010, to see how these divisions in Yemeni society would ultimately lead to the civil war which continues to ravage the country today. And to help us on our way, we welcome back our first ever guest Baraa Shaiban, a Yemeni journalist and political activist, who this week tells us about his extraordinary first hand account of growing up alongside the growing Houthi insurgency in northern Yemen. Join our FB Discussion group to get exclusive updates:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/450486135832418 Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Join the Conflicted Community hub on Discord to discuss all things Conflicted with fellow dear listeners, get exclusive content, bonus episodes and ad-free listening. Register your interest through the link: http://www.levellr.com/conflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ask anyone from the Middle East about Yemen, that country on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula, and they’ll tell you tales about the Queen of Sheba, Frankincense and Myrrh. It’s a place steeped in ancient history and paints a vivid picture in the imagination. But it’s also a place currently riven by conflict, engulfed in a civil war which has now been raging since 2014. But how did it get there? And what can the country’s history tell us about the bleak current state of affairs? For the next five episodes, Conflicted tells the country’s story. We begin in the 20th century, with two Yemeni states - one in the North and one in the South - at odds with each other. With chaos caused by interventions from Nasser in the North, and the British Empire usurped by a Marxist regime in the South, for decades it seemed they could never be united. But with the rise of a certain strongman, Ali Abdullah Saleh, by the late 20th century this seemed possible. To help Thomas and Aimen find out more about this quest for unification, today Conflicted welcomes our first ever guest, Baraa Shaiban. Baraa is a Yemeni journalist and political activist who was previously the advisor to the Yemeni Embassy London and has done some amazing work in bringing the crisis of the past decade to the world. He’ll be bringing his extraordinary first hand account of many of the recent events in Yemen’s political history to the table as we seek to unwrap this riddle of a country. Join our FB Discussion group to get exclusive updates:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/450486135832418 Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Join the Conflicted Community hub on Discord to discuss all things Conflicted with fellow dear listeners, get exclusive content, bonus episodes and ad-free listening. Register your interest through the link: http://www.levellr.com/conflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the last episode of Conflicted, we saw Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia terror group, grow in power in the midst of the brutal Lebanese civil war of the 1980s. But after a precarious peace came to the country, an Israeli occupation of the south remained throughout the 1990s. This allowed Hezbollah to remain an active and armed militia, a fact which would come to haunt the country over the following decades until today. In this second part of our two episode exploration of Hezbollah, we look at the destabilising effect the group have had on the politics of Lebanon and the security of their southern neighbour, Israel. We’ll see how Hezbollah’s leader, Hasan Nasrallah, has held the country to ransom in the never ending game of political poker Lebanon is stuck playing. And with Hezbollah now poised to join the 2023 Israel-Gaza conflict from the north, we’ll take you through what their long term motivations for such a move would be, and why their Iranian puppet masters would be keen for them to do so. Join our FB Discussion group to get exclusive updates:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/450486135832418 Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Join the Conflicted Community hub on Discord to discuss all things Conflicted with fellow dear listeners, get exclusive content, bonus episodes and ad-free listening. Register your interest through the link: http://www.levellr.com/conflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What Was Hamas Thinking?

What Was Hamas Thinking?

2023-10-1101:03:324

Emergency Episode: On Saturday October 7th 2023, Hamas terrorists broke through the border of the Gaza Strip and carried out a brutal assault on Southern Israel. As of publication, the death toll stands at some 1,200 Israelis, 900 citizens in Gaza, and some 1,500 Hamas fighters have been found dead inside Israel. It is the most deadly attack on Jewish civilians since the holocaust. As the world reels from these horrific events, we recorded an emergency episode to explain how this happened, the motivations of Hamas and what the likely repercussions will be from Israel, and for the region as a whole. It ties together many of the larger forces we’ve described across this season and previous ones. Be sure to listen to previous episodes on the Israel/Palestine conflict to discover more about how we got here. Join our FB Discussion group to get exclusive updates:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/450486135832418 Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Join the Conflicted Community hub on Discord to discuss all things Conflicted with fellow dear listeners, get exclusive content, bonus episodes and ad-free listening. Register your interest through the link: http://www.levellr.com/conflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How Iran Works

How Iran Works

2023-10-0457:171

It’s always difficult to know exactly what is going on in Iran - that isolated, Shia theocracy that dominates so much of the Middle Eastern land mass. It's a diverse and divisive state, ruled with an iron fist by Ayatollah Khamenei, whose supreme power means he can dictate what the country does and how it is run, at home and abroad. But in recent years, protests against the regime have been growing, leading to many people hoping that an end to the Islamic Republic and its Islamic Revolution could be on the horizon. In this episode of Conflicted, we move away from looking at the world of Sunni Islam to focus again on the Shia minority, who still retain a real influence over the region’s geopolitics. After getting the state of play in Persia, we’ll try to analyse how the Iranian system actually works, before looking ahead to what a future outside of Khamenei’s despotic regime could look like.  Join our FB Discussion group to get exclusive updates:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/450486135832418 Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Join the Conflicted Community hub on Discord to discuss all things Conflicted with fellow dear listeners, get exclusive content, bonus episodes and ad-free listening. Register your interest through the link: http://www.levellr.com/conflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
President Erdogan’s time in power has been a fascinating period for Turkey - at once nodding to the liberal West, while simultaneously winking at the more Conservative East. It’s his country in a nutshell, and his policies in economics, social welfare, secularisation and his relationship with the EU all prove it. But one thing has always haunted him: the army, and their historical proclivity towards coups. In this second episode on the life and times of Erdogan, we analyse his time at the top of Turkish politics. We’ll see him saying one thing while doing another, and securing Turkey’s status as one of the globe’s most significant geopolitical players. And finally, we’ll show how he overcame an underground opposition that tried to force him from power, allowing him to consolidate his own. Could this be the thing which let his mask slip, revealing his Muslim Brotherhood credentials? Join our FB Discussion group to get exclusive updates:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/450486135832418 Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Join the Conflicted Community hub on Discord to discuss all things Conflicted with fellow dear listeners, get exclusive content, bonus episodes and ad-free listening. Register your interest through the link: http://www.levellr.com/conflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Over the past couple of episodes we explained the inner workings of the Muslim Brotherhood - that mysterious organisation based in Cairo who have their sights set on a new Caliphate for the Muslim world. But who are their allies across the region? Is there a figure who is simultaneously working to further their aims? Well, many people point to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey, as just that figure. In this first of our two episode exploration of Erdoğan life we focus on his rise to power - one filled with genius politics and classic Islamist moves to cement his hold on the country. We’ll follow him from a poor boy growing up in Istanbul, to eventually becoming the city’s mayor, and after that, the country’s leader. But how did this enigma of a man gain such control over the geostrategically vital country of Turkey? And could he be a kind of Muslim Brotherhood sleeper agent in disguise? Join our FB Discussion group to get exclusive updates:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/450486135832418 Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Join the Conflicted Community hub on Discord to discuss all things Conflicted with fellow dear listeners, get exclusive content, bonus episodes and ad-free listening. Register your interest through the link: http://www.levellr.com/conflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In last week’s discussion of the Muslim Brotherhood, we told you how this clandestine group are structured - headed in Egypt, but with chapters across the globe. But we tip-toed around their ideology, and we didn’t discover what the Muslim Brotherhood actually want. On the one hand, people claim they are an organisation promising peace and charity across the Muslim World. On the other, they are seen as the sinister puppet masters of various Islamic governments. So what are they trying to achieve with their international organisation? In this second part of two episodes on the Muslim Brotherhood we’ll dig deep into the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology, attempting to get to the bottom of the question: are the Muslim Brotherhood radical, or moderate? Join our FB Discussion group to get exclusive updates:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/450486135832418 Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Join the Conflicted Community hub on Discord to discuss all things Conflicted with fellow dear listeners, get exclusive content, bonus episodes and ad-free listening. Register your interest through the link: http://www.levellr.com/conflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
After finishing our extensive exploration into some of the most colourful and fascinating characters in Islamic History - figures who influenced modern Salafi jihadism as we know it today - Conflicted aims its sights on a modern group with an equally significant position in the Muslim world. This is a group whose nebulous, clandestine structure makes them tricky to unravel. A group based in Egypt but with tentacles across the Middle East and beyond. A group who once boasted our previous subject, Sayyid Qutb, as a member. The Muslim Brotherhood. But who are they really? How are they structured? And are they the radical Islamists that many claim, or in fact a moderate group with relatively modest aims? In this first of two episodes on the Muslim Brotherhood, we try to unlock their structure, discovering how they function in countries across the Muslim world, to answer these questions and more. Join our FB Discussion group to get exclusive updates:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/450486135832418 Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Join the Conflicted Community hub on Discord to discuss all things Conflicted with fellow dear listeners, get exclusive content, bonus episodes and ad-free listening. Register your interest through the link: http://www.levellr.com/conflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Comments (21)

Rock78 Rock78

Amazing conversation guys. So sorry for Aimeen's experience in UK.

Oct 12th
Reply

Andrew Browne

Presbyterian racists, situation normal.

Oct 12th
Reply

Paresh Khushal

I was recently recommended this by a friend. Wow, what a story! Aimen is impressive and humble and brave all at the same time. Somebody needs to make a film about his story. The next James Bond, perhaps, but with a definite Eastern angle...?

Feb 1st
Reply

Shaaheen Shahi

One of the best podcasts cover arts I’ve ever seen. Full of meaning just with a glance. Great.

Jan 31st
Reply

Watt sapp

El kyders top 😂😁😋 ( funny guys) Honestly, listening to this whole podcast has been immensely intriguing and educational. Wish the World's leaders would listen to this.

Sep 5th
Reply

Omar Alalshaykh

I'm from the Middle East and I tell you, no one can give you more unbiased view of the area. It actually opened my eyes to strategic probabilities in regard to the Yemeni conflict, it is really a problem for the world and not for Saudi. The Saudis should've let the world collapse by the Houthies and Iranies, let them destroy all ships, haha. mind boggling!!

Feb 3rd
Reply

ID20232703

S

Nov 7th
Reply

Ishmael

I love how Aimen puts Thomas in his place when he tries to blame everything wrong with the world on Trump, i.e. Pompeo put the hit out on Soleimani not Trump.

Aug 13th
Reply (7)

Nigel Smith

I'm checking everyday for new episoses... when are you going back to the middle East?? Those ones were the best !

May 13th
Reply

Tom Saunders

I think this series is excellent. I've learnt a lot about the conflicts in the middle east

Mar 26th
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Suzanne Albrecht

thank you so thankful you did this x

Feb 29th
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J R

Brilliant

Feb 29th
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Charlie Nikolai Gallienne-Schmidt

epic podcast!

Apr 24th
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Kevin

This is great, but there appear to be parts that are repeated.

Apr 11th
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