The Heat: Arab Spring 5 years on

The Heat

The Heat: Arab Spring 5 years on

Just over five years ago waves of unrest erupted across North Africa and the Middle East. The so-called Arab Spring began in Tunisia and soon mass protests, like those in Cairo’s Tahrir square, spread across the region.

The revolt led to the fall of longtime leaders – President Mubarak of Egypt, Colonel Gaddafi of Libya, President Ben Ali of Tunisia and President Saleh of Yemen. The uprisings promised much, but some of countries that experienced Arab Spring protests, like Syria and Yemen, are now mired in war.

CCTV America’s Yasser Hakim reports.

The Heat was joined by the following guests:

  • From Oxford is Tariq Ramadan. He is professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University. And, he’s the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.
  • From London is Abdel Bari Atwan. He is the editor-in-chief of the Arab opinion website, Rai Al-Youm, and he’s the founder and former editor of Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper.
  • From Washington, DC is Sahar Khamis. She is an expert on Arab media. And she’s an associate professor of communication at the University of Maryland.