As demonstrators voice their frustration with the Iraqi political system, they are also targeting Tehran, which has increasingly tightened its grip on the country and exerts an almost unfettered influence.

The country is no stranger to demonstrations, but this time the mass action appears to be more widespread and less coordinated, making it harder to contain. The cause of the unrest is, however, a long and familiar list of grievances.

The international community has been urged to put pressure on Bahrain to respect freedom of expression. However, many believe that the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) have not done enough to criticize the Bahraini government, which remains a key ally, and continue to approve arms sales to the country. At the same time, the Bahraini embassy in Washington noted the America’s use of capital punishment, and analysts saw the resumption of federal executions by the US as a de facto green light for Bahrain.

No religious authority in Iraq has made an official statement about Mahdawi rap so far, indicating that it is more a cultural trend than a ‘deviant’ means of expression. It may, however, serve as a reminder that as forms of expression evolve constantly, religion does too.

The Ismailis are scattered across some 25 countries, mainly in Central and South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North America and Australia, and number approximately 20 million. Although they rarely make the headlines, several attacks against them have shed light on their existence.

Yet Salafi views of politics and relations with the ruling authorities differ widely, ranging from a strict ‘quietist’ perspective to Salafi jihadism. Of course, many Salafi actors like the al-Nour Party in Egypt fall somewhere between these two extremes.

One of the first regionally significant missions was to help to establish Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1982 after Israeli invasion. The Quds Force provided essential assistance for the creation Hezbollah which developed into the most powerful organization in Lebanon and a powerful ally of Iran. In recent years, the Quds Force has operated in many other countries like Syria and worked with other sub-state actors such Houthis in Yemen and Hamas in Palestine.

Not everybody in Egypt is fan of the moulids. Salafists and the Muslim Brotherhood consider it haram (forbidden) in Islam, as they reject venerating ‘saints’ and pilgrimages to any other place than Mecca. While Al-Sayed considers Ibrahim El Desouki to be something like a mediator who makes his prayers heard, other Muslims would say that in Islam the relation to God is a direct one, with no place for someone in between.

About 70 percent of the group identifies as Shi’a and the rest as Sunni. However, the Shabak religious practice is a fusion of elements from various Islamic sects and local beliefs. Hence, their rituals differ from most of their orthodox Shia or Sunni neighbors: Shabaki religion includes elements of Christianity, namely the confession, which is an important feature of Catholicism. Moreover, the Shabak religion incorporates some Yazidi elements.

Observers nonetheless hope that MBS will succeed in curtailing the influence of Wahhabi clerics. Then again, his foreign policy does not appear to offer an effective means to combat terrorism. Saudi Arabia’s devastating bombing campaign in Yemen is a case in point. With the country now completely fragmented, extremists have thrived.