58 Articles
Former Editor-in-Chief of The Daily News Egypt, and currently Media Politics Analyst. He can be followed on Twitter @MaherHamoud1, his public page on Facebook, or email: maher.hamoud1@gmail.com
Exactly one year ago, I tried to take a break from my intense news production life style and daily stress. I headed to Southern Spain, with the intention of staying for a couple of weeks or maybe months, a break from big and overcrowded cities full of politicians and daily insanities. Only after a few …
Some of us might consider the acquittal of Mubarak, the failure of state-building in Libya, the civil war in Syria, the sectarian war in Yemen, or the international silence and approval of crushing protesters in Bahrain the death of the so-called Arab Spring. We might also say Lucky Tunisia, the only survivor of such a …
Unlike most Europeans, Belgians are shy to ask for better services, not only in public institutions, but even in the private sector. If a Belgian has trouble getting service, or buying a product, he or she won’t make a fuss. They’re polite. The service provider will apologise and everyone will go off on their way. …
In 2007, mid-production of a documentary film of mine called Back in a Coffin discussing the phenomenon of illegal migration from Egypt to Italy on what is tragically called death boats, I learned about real human beings, not just a media exaggeration to sell a story to the public. In a village called Tatoon in …
How many times did we hear the term “good Muslim” either within the Muslim communities or others in Europe? I assume many. But have we ever thought of the scale of differences and miscommunication due to the misuse of this label? To start with, being a good Muslim is nothing but a myth, which applies …
A few weeks ago I called an old friend to say goodbye before heading to Brussels after winning an EU award for my work in the past couple of years. I briefly explained what I would be doing in the capital of Europe and the fact that I would be having a series of meetings …
Since the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi on 3 July this year by the military with support of the masses, Egypt is witnessing a unique example of governance models: all-in-one leadership style. Officially, we have Mr Adly Mansour as the interim president of the country until the so-called roadmap is accomplished sometime hopefully this coming …
The accumulation of poverty and anger made Egypt seem like a nation left on the back burner that Mubarak and his business elite thought would never have to face. They believed, and even the people themselves did, that passivity is a dominant characteristic of Egyptians. Living in their fancy palaces and luxurious lifestyles within their …
Mubarak’s propaganda machine had the habit of spreading false optimistic information about his “economic achievements” on an almost daily basis. Several governments appointed by the ousted president got used to the practice of faking reports about the country’s economic performance, or at least show or hide the data based on what would fix the government’s …
Ousted president Hosni Mubarak had his own economic model that can be described as an incoherent blend combining the disadvantages of both capitalism and socialism in one entity. We can easily call it Mubarakonomics. A pro-rich neoliberal model in a fat nonfunctioning extremely centralised state. Under such a model, the middle and lower income groups …
Bread, freedom and social justice! A slogan and a statement that simply explains why Egyptians had to head to Tahrir Square on 25 January, 2011 and what their aspirations were. But have they reached what they sacrificed for? Or has the revolution crashed? There are two difficult questions for observers to provide consistent and quick …
The Daily News Egypt is not only Egypt’s sole and last locally produced independent newspaper in English. It has also always been a school for young Egyptian journalists, a place where one generation after the other learn from older colleagues how to produce local news with a global reach. Since DNE’s founding in 2005, every …
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Hosni Mubarak is out of Tora prison and placed under “house arrest” in a military hospital in Cairo. Some Egyptians take this development to the extreme and pessimistically claim Mubarak is back to power, which is definitely more of a desperate joke than anything else. Simply, both politically and physically it is unfeasible to even …
People are stuck with the short-sighted dilemma of choosing between two conflicting labels: legitimacy or military coup, writes Maher Hamoud
Fascism is a political philosophy, movement or regime that exalts nation or race above the individual and stands for a centralised government headed by a leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition. Such practices characterised the Egyptian state since the 1952 military coup with slight differences before and other differences following …
A few days ago while walking in Tahrir Square, I heard a young man shouting at two bearded men: “Out, out.” It was not clear to me, nor to anyone else, what they had actually done wrong. The poor bearded men, one in his early twenties and the other in his mid-forties, did not have …
Almost a year ago, in an article called Brothers and generals, a phase of coexistence, I argued that the dramatic decision by ousted president Mohamed Morsi to “sack” Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi and his deputy General Sami Anan was actually a subtle internal military coup made with the blessing of the Muslim Brotherhood. I believed, …
Three months ago I wrote my weekly editor’s letter and named it “The real countdown to the Brotherhood’s fall.” I think I was too conservative in my analysis, basing my argument on an assumed progression of negative attitudes held by average citizens against President Mohamed Morsi and the ruling Muslim Brotherhood. I should have found …
Since the launch of the Tamarod campaign about two months ago, the term “civil war” has been used frequently by both mainstream and social media, the political elite and various other segments of society. I’ve been wondering if this was a natural overreaction by a society that has a history of rejecting internal violence, where …
During a disastrous meeting at the Presidential Palace on Monday with the objective of handling the threat of Ethiopia’s project building a massive dam on one of the Nile’s main tributaries the Blue Nile, some of Egypt’s “top politicians” came out with a number of solutions, hysterical enough to start a war that can easily …
Tamarod (Rebel) is a campaign aiming at collecting the biggest number possible of signatures by Egyptians, who agree to withdraw confidence from President Mohamed Morsi. The campaign caught significant attention in the media, local and international, and in the daily political arguments among ordinary Egyptians. Rebel as a non-traditional tactic of opposition, or as some …
Our very professional Bedouin driver takes us across the desert in South Sinai. Whenever he sees a vehicle passing by smuggling subsidised fuel for the informal black market, he gets very angry. At the first police checkpoint we approach, he stops, opens his window and immediately directs an angry question to the police officer, “Why …
A countdown to the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood’s rule started over two years ago, when they first turned against the revolution by siding with the military in manipulating the people for a yes vote in the March 2011 referendum for the constitutional declaration. It was accelerated when they openly turned against the revolutionary youth …
On the second anniversary of the military-Islamist orchestrated referendum of 19 March 2011, deliberately putting the cart in front of the horse in post-Mubarak’s state rebuilding, one should always remember that Egypt is choosing the long path to meet the demand of the revolution and will suffer the consequences. It is clearly one of those …
A few days ago I had conversation with my Turkish friend, a Middle East researcher, about the Egyptian revolution and how a “Turkish model” is overrated in the eyes of Egyptians. It is often suggested that Egypt should follow Turkey’s “successful” path. Those who argue this often base their case on selective facts and simplistic …
In Egypt’s post-Mubarak first parliament, which lasted for a few months in 2012, it was the first time for the Salafi Islamists (primarily Al Nour Party) to have such political representation. It was very messy though, as many Egyptians found it entertaining and liked to call it the “circus”. The parliament channel Soot Al Shaab …
A few months before the revolution’s spark ignited, I had two Palestinian friends working in the media visiting me in Cairo. The last time I had seen them before this was during an Arab summit in 2007 (we were working together back then). So, the three of us met at a fancy Mohandiseen flat they …
In 2010 I was invited to a lecture by Amr Khaled, organised by Regents College in London, while I was there for some media mission. The lecture was considered very important, as it was to discuss coexistence in Islam, in a city that has one of the most visible Muslim minorities in Europe. For those …
Happy revolution day, labour movements