• Research
  • Diwan
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Middle East logoCarnegie lettermark logo
LebanonIran
{
  "authors": [
    "Frederic Wehrey",
    "Anouar Boukhars"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North Africa",
    "Libya",
    "Maghreb"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Democracy",
    "Security",
    "Military",
    "Global Governance"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

As Their Influence Grows, the Maghreb’s ‘Quietist’ Salafists Are Anything but Quiet

The growth of counterterrorism allies and quietists is one result of the political trends throughout North Africa since the Arab uprisings.

Link Copied
By Frederic Wehrey and Anouar Boukhars
Published on Dec 11, 2018

Source: World Politics Review

The young fighters huddled on lawn chairs in the nighttime shadows of the militia camp, smoking and drinking coffee. Around them in a courtyard sat the machinery of war: howitzers, tanks and truck-mounted recoilless rifles. Artillery and rockets boomed in the distance.

It was the late fall of 2015—the height of a fierce, multiyear battle for this troubled eastern Libyan city. The fighting was often described in the media as pitting Islamists against “secularists.” The men at the camp were lumped together with the so-called secularists, led by a former Libyan army general named Khalifa Hiftar.

Read Full Text

This article was originally published in World Politics Review.

About the Authors

Frederic Wehrey

Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

Frederic Wehrey is a senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where his research focuses on governance, conflict, and security in Libya, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf.

Anouar Boukhars

Former Nonresident Fellow, Middle East Program

Boukhars was a nonresident fellow in Carnegie’s Middle East Program. He is a professor of countering violent extremism and counter-terrorism at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University.

Authors

Frederic Wehrey
Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Frederic Wehrey
Anouar Boukhars
Former Nonresident Fellow, Middle East Program
Political ReformDemocracySecurityMilitaryGlobal GovernanceNorth AfricaLibyaMaghreb

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

  • people watching smoke rising at sunrise from rooftops
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Bombing Campaigns Do Not Bring About Democracy. Nor Does Regime Change Without a Plan.

    Just look at Iraq in 1991.

      Marwan Muasher

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    When Football Is More Than Football

    The recent African Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco touched on issues that largely transcended the sport.

      Issam Kayssi, Yasmine Zarhloule

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Baku Proceeds With Caution as Ethnic Azeris Join Protests in Neighboring Iran

    Baku may allow radical nationalists to publicly discuss “reunification” with Azeri Iranians, but the president and key officials prefer not to comment publicly on the protests in Iran.

      Bashir Kitachaev

  • Article
    Rethinking Power-Sharing Agreements in Libya

    The UN Support Mission in the country should reassess its approach so that consensus between the warring parties becomes the eventual goal, rather than a procedural matter that dogs the negotiating process at every turn.

      Soraya Rahem

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Has Sisi Found a Competent Military Entrepreneur?

    Mustaqbal Misr has expanded its portfolio with remarkable speed, but a lack of transparency remains.

      Yezid Sayigh

Get more news and analysis from
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
Carnegie Middle East logo, white
  • Research
  • Diwan
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.