Author Archives: Mehrunisa

About Mehrunisa

Mehrunisa Qayyum is the founder of PITAPOLICY Consulting & Blog. PITAPOLICY Blog is listed on Muftah.Org. As @PITAPOLICY she tweets about politics, interests, technology and analysis in the "pita-consuming" region and contributes to the Huffington Post Blog, A Better People, and Triple Pundit. Regarding international affairs and trade issues, she worked at the United States’ Government Accountability Office for four years. Prior to that, she earned her MPP and Certificate in Contemporary Arab Studies from Georgetown University and a BA in both Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations and Public Policy from the University of Chicago. Her recent writing experiences include analytical pieces on civil society, transparency & governance, human rights, political economy of Syria, and social media forums' impact. She enjoys watching the Colbert Report in her free time.

Shar’iah Finance Part 2A: Articles of Interest on Islamic Banking

1) Source: Global Finance By Gordon Platt Islamic Bank Awards 2011~Annual Survey: Islamic Finance The Islamic finance industry is benefiting from a lack of confidence in the conventional banking sector and is expanding rapidly in emerging markets. 2) Source: MENAF.com … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Analysis, Interests, PIDE (Policy, International Development & Economics)

Shari’ ah Finance Part 2: Ramadan Provides Opportunities to Leverage Social Capital

by: Mehrunisa Qayyum In this month, PITAPOLICY is highlighting Shar’iah Finance and its related Islamic components. The August 4th post identified the purpose and reasons for increased interest in Shari’ah finance. Also this month, the world’s 2 billion-ish Muslims engage … Continue reading

8 Comments

Filed under Analysis, Interests, PIDE (Policy, International Development & Economics)

Galloping Forward With Gallup Findings

by: Mehrunisa Qayyum On August 2nd, Abu Dhabi Gallup released Muslim Americans: Faith, Freedom, and the Future, which is its follow up report to Muslim Americans: A National Portrait. Gallup launched this report in Washington, DC because their research examined … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Analysis, Interests, Politics

Brazil: Arab Immigration Yields Cultural and Economic Gains-Huh?

by Andre Carletto As a kid growing up in Brazil during the 1970s, there was no Middle East. No, that is not completely true. As a matter of fact, when some place was rather far away, Brazilians used to say … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Analysis, Interests, Uncategorized

High Level Foreign Policy Versus Grass Roots Level Outreach

by Ramah Kudaimi The uprisings which have taken place across the Arab region have prompted many to ask what role Arab Americans can- or should- play in supporting those demanding the fall of their authoritarian regimes. In particular Syrian Americans … Continue reading

3 Comments

Filed under Analysis, PIDE (Policy, International Development & Economics), Politics

Islamic Banking Part 1: Shar’iah Finance

Since this is the month of Ramadan in much of the Middle East & North Africa, or “pita-consuming”, region, PITAPOLICY will kick off Ramadan by looking at the topics of Islamic Banking and Diaspora communities in business. A finance degree … Continue reading

2 Comments

Filed under Analysis, PIDE (Policy, International Development & Economics)

The Politics of Faith

By Younes Abouyoub From the 5th to 7th of June 2011, a seventh round of negotiations started between Morocco and the Polisario Front in Manhasset, a suburb of New York. These talks are held at the invitation of the UN … Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under Analysis, Interests, PIDE (Policy, International Development & Economics), Politics

Europe & the Arab Spring: EU Policy for the Mediterranean Arab States (Part 3 of 3)

By Alec Simantov Part 3~Abstract: In light of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions in 2011 and the spread of the ‘Arab Spring’ across the Middle East, the European Commission and the European Parliament have fundamentally called into question the effectiveness … Continue reading

5 Comments

Filed under Analysis, PIDE (Policy, International Development & Economics), Politics

Europe & the Arab Spring: EU Policy for the Mediterranean Arab States (Part 2 of 3)

By Alec Simantov Part 2~ Abstract: In light of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions in 2011 and the spread of the ‘Arab Spring’ across the Middle East, the European Commission and the European Parliament have fundamentally called into question the … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Analysis, PIDE (Policy, International Development & Economics), Politics

Europe & the Arab Spring: EU Policy for Mediterranean Arab States (Part 1 of 3)

By Alec Simantov Part 1~ I. ‘Southern Neighborhood’ The self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi in Tunisia on December 17th 2010, sparked popular protests that eventually led to the ouster of the Tunisian dictator Zine el-Abedine Ben-Ali on January 14th, 2011. (Source: … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Analysis, PIDE (Policy, International Development & Economics), Politics