{
"authors": [
"Mohanad Hage Ali",
"Ali al-Mawlawi ",
"Alia Ibrahim",
"Geneive Abdo"
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"Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
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Arab Shiites Between Sect and State
Thu, November 19th, 2026
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM (GMT+2)
Virtual
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The war pitting the United States and Israel against Iran has brought renewed attention to the position of Shiite communities in Arab countries. Debates on the disarmament of Iran-affiliated Shiite factions in Iraq and Lebanon often revolve around these groups’ political loyalties and their relationship with Tehran. Yet the assumption that religious affiliation determines political allegiance among Shiites in general overlooks the diversity of these communities, which have developed distinct political, social, and cultural identities shaped by their respective national contexts and historical experiences.
How do Shiite communities navigate the relationship between religious identity, national belonging, and political allegiance? How has the war with Iran affected their position within their respective states, and what are the implications for regional stability?
To address these issues, the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center will host a virtual panel discussion on Thursday, November 19, at 4:30 PM Beirut Time / 9:30 AM EDT. The panel will consist of Ali Al-Mawlawi, El-Erian Fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center and director of Horizon Advisory Group; Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center; and Geneive Abdo, Middle East expert and author of several books on the Islamic world.
The event will be in English and moderated by Alia Ibrahim, co-founder and CEO of Daraj.com.
Viewers are invited to submit questions via the live chat feature on Facebook and YouTube.
For more information, please contact Najwa Yassine at najwa.yassine@carnegie-mec.org.
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.
Event Speakers
Deputy Director for Research, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
Mohanad Hage Ali is the deputy director for research at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center.
El-Erian Fellow, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
Ali al-Mawlawi is the El-Erian Fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center and director of Horizon Advisory Group.
Alia Ibrahim
Co-founder and CEO of Daraj.com, an independent digital media platform.
Alia Ibrahim is co-founder and CEO of Daraj.com, an independent digital media platform launched in November 2017. Before that, Ibrahim was Senior Correspondent at Al-Arabiya News Channel. Since 2015, she has produced and directed investigative reports for the network's Special Mission program.
Geneive Abdo
Seasoned Middle East expert
Geneive Abdo is a seasoned Middle East expert. She is the author of four books, including No God but God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam (2000) and The New Sectarianism: The Arab Uprisings and the Rebirth of the Shi‘a-Sunni Divide (2017), and thousands of articles on Islam. She has held positions at the United Nations, the Brookings Institution, and several other think tanks in Washington DC.