And MbS was probably using the term “extremist” conveniently; the Saudis have since designated as terrorist organizations certain religious groups, such as the International Union of Muslim Scholars, broadly perceived as mainstream. […] Elites, secular nationalists, and ordinary people exhausted by or fearful of wars were euphoric following the rise of leaders such as Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Egypt and MbS. 2018 November 3, Hassan Hassan, “The Arab Winter Is Coming”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2018: