Farag Foda: A Secular Voice & Martyr of Free Speech / A conversation with Dr. Ana Soage

Egypt, like most of the Muslim world, has faced great upheaval and change from the 20th century onwards. In this episode, Muslimish is joined by academic expert on Islamism, Dr. Ana Soage, who is intimately familiar with this history. She discusses the rise of Islamist groups in Egypt and focuses on the counter-Islamist Farag Foda. A secular Egyptian thinker and writer, Foda took on the Islamists in Egypt and was assassinated 26 years ago by the group al Gam'ayya al Islamiyya. This episode provides historical context of Egypt’s current state of affairs and potential ways forward by looking back at intellectuals like Foda.

Ana Belén Soage is currently based in Madrid, where she teaches Politics of the Middle East at Suffolk University. She also serves as a Senior Analyst in Wikistrat's analytic community. Dr. Soage holds a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Studies. She has studied and worked in several Western European and Arab countries and is fluent in Spanish, English, Arabic and French. Dr. Soage has published multiple articles, book reviews and book chapters on issues related to Political Islam, both in the Muslim world and in the West, and International Relations with a focus on the Middle East. In addition, she is a member of the editorial board of Politics, Religion & Ideology and Religion Compass.

This episode was recorded on June 13, 2018. 

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