Middle Eastern, North African music these days?

Don't know if you would include Turkey in your area of interest, but I have been enjoying Mercan Dede lately, especially 800 and the second disc of Sufi Traveler.

Hugh Masekela,{Hope}, is excelent,
great sonics, and very powerfull,
a must have CD,

cheers:

I'm sure everyone else has been listening to him for a very long time but he was new to me and I've lately been spending a lot of time with the music of Hamza El Din, the Nubian oud player.

It's the most interesting mix of unaffected, intuitive musicality and sophistication I've run across in a long time. His album "A Wish" is the most accessible I have but all the others are wonderful, too.

I play Anouar Brahem a lot, as well. Definitely a modern mix of North African and European influences but good listening.