Latest in Opinion Highlight
Latest in Opinion
Notes from America: My dad was an average man
By Ahmed Tharwat In checking out the history of “Father’s Day”, the date 5 July 1908 is often mentioned when a West Virginia church sponsored the nation’s first event explicitly honouring several hundred fathers who had died in a coal mine explosion six months previously. But it was a one-time commemoration and not an annual holiday. It …
Layers of conflict: Syria between history and geology
By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD Things just keep getting worse in Syria. The Sunni Jabhat Al-Nusra recently killed 23 Druze clan members in Idlib in an apparently unsanctioned raid. This, as James M. Dorsey warns, could drag in the Israelis as self-styled protectors of the Druze. Not to mention that the attack could prompt the …
The redeeming power of love
By Dr Cesar Chelala She was a mentally challenged woman yelling and cursing at passersby. We were a group of children, teasing and yelling at her. Fortunately, she didn’t pay any attention to our bad behaviour. That we were children being silly or that the incident happened decades ago, however, doesn’t diminish my responsibility, or …
Druze mount next flashpoint in Syrian conflict: Implications for Israel
By James M. Dorsey Syrian Druze have become the next potential flashpoint in a proxy war between Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel that is exacerbating the Middle East’s multiple conflicts. With rebel forces advancing towards the mountainous Druze stronghold in north-western Syria, this month’s killing by Jabhat Al-Nusra jihadists of 23 members of a Druze …
It is our disease and we must cure it
By Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor Enough sitting around hoping for miracles! Enough waiting for the United States or its Western allies to cleanse the Arab world from the growing cancer of terrorism! Are Arab countries waiting until ‘Islamic State’ fighters knock down their citizens’ doors in what still remains of Arab-controlled territories before acting in a …
Arab Spring and the rise of non-state actors
By Fadi Elhusseini In the past four years, Arabs have been living an endless Sisyphean ordeal, an unexpected nightmare after rising for what they called “the Arab Spring”. A very similar scenario was cloned in most of the Arab Spring countries. Alas, a hopeful revolution turned into belligerence, then into strife followed by a war, …
The President in Berlin: Reductio ad absurdum
By Mohamed Selim Whoever scheduled the President of Egypt’s visit to Berlin from 2 June to 4 June must be a political genius. That person/entity must be so perceptive that in order for the President’s visit to occur without any undesirable media frenzy, and thus achieve all its goals, it should take place in the …
Ideas to boost productivity among government employees
By Mohammed Nosseir Egypt is widely known for its vast government bureaucracy. Inefficiency, low productivity and over-employment are noticeable characteristics of this bureaucracy that negatively affect the implementation and progress of all government initiatives and projects. Not only are these drawbacks recognised by economic institutions and citizens; they are also acknowledged by cabinet members themselves. …
Notes from America: The usual suspects
By Ahmed Tharwat I live in a northern state in the US called Minnesota, which is also considered the “ice box” of the US for its long, brutal winters, where even the lakes and rivers freeze over. The state is a lot smaller than Egypt, with a population of just 5 million people. According to …
The Brezhnev Option: How to dissolve ‘Islamic State’
By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD Steve Jobs said that creativity was connecting things. Here are two connections that will help us creatively destroy “Islamic State” (IS). First, an old talk by Bertrand Badie at the American University in Cairo (AUC) on 31 October 2001, entitled “September 11th and the Powerlessness of Power”. Badie actually argued …
How much longer can Al-Sisi play solo?
“You told me you were going to be like a bulldozer which paves the way…where is that bulldozer?” This figure of speech was used by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, aimed at Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb in a Sunday public speech. “President kids PM”, newspapers headlines read the next morning. But anybody who followed …
Why does Al-Sisi not sacrifice?
A year has passed and another year is starting with the same questions in people’s minds since Al-Sisi’s rule in Egypt started. Where is Al-Sisi leading us? What is his plan for the economic recovery of Egypt? When will corruption be abolished? Because I was like the rest, immersed in Al-Sisi’s speeches and dreams, …
Iran’s writing on the wall: Ethnic minorities and others assert themselves
By James M. Dorsey Recent months have witnessed a series of unrelated, nationwide protests in Iran by teachers demanding salary hikes as well as ethnic groups decrying government abuse and calling for greater rights. With the exception of the teachers, most of the protests erupted spontaneously sparked by incidents as well as pent-up anger and …
Relying on the US for security is a mistake
By Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor At a passing glance, President Barack Obama’s meetings with the leaders of the Arab Gulf states have borne fruit in terms of furthering mutual respect and as a building block to closer cooperation. But when one digs beneath the flimflam and the verbal pledges – with the exception of a joint …
New data show that years of efforts are paying off in fighting FGM
By Ignacio Artaza I was recently in Aswan to meet with the local government, partner NGOs, and people working together to fight against female genital mutilation (FGM), a widespread practice in Egypt that predates both Christianity and Islam and was criminalised by Egyptian law in 2008. What a refreshing experience! The commitment and dedication I …
Cyber jihad and cyber terrorism: A real threat to governments
By Karim Sahyoun When it comes to cryptography, it is important to understand that it is the practice of writing and solving codes. It has been around for centuries. It has decided wars, and it is at the heart of worldwide communication networks today. Imagine two people want to share important information they do not …
Messi’s secret
After the extraordinary performance of Barcelona against Juventus –where Messi was again a key player, we now know the real truth about Messi: He not only is the best football player of this era, but probably of all time. Although Barcelona fans consider him almost like a God, he has reached a point in which no adjectives are enough …
Egypt gains momentum in ICT outsourcing
By Oxford Business Group Egypt has long been a cost-competitive destination for offshore services, such as business process outsourcing (BPO), but a spate of new agreements with a number of large investors has given the ICT sector a further boost, with thousands of potential new jobs in the offing. Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency …
Reforming football governance: Tackling political corruption alongside financial wrongdoing
By James M. Dorsey The mushrooming governance scandal in world football body FIFA increasingly spotlights political, in addition to financial, corruption in global football. Revelations about government and corporate deals made to secure Germany’s hosting of the 2006 World Cup alongside the prominence of political figures in sports governance, frequently aligned with autocratic regimes, emphasises …
Selling lingerie on the Egyptian street
By Ahmed Tharwat Cairo’s Tahrir Square is the global symbol of the 25 January Revolution, where millions of Egyptians, including women, went to demand the toppling of the regime. Lately, Tahrir Square has witnessed the courting of the Egyptian population by General Al-Sisi and his propaganda machine, as well as a “Million Woman March” demanding …
The case against manifest destiny
By Dr Cesar Chelala The disastrous consequences of the recent aggressions against Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and Ukraine, to name just a few, show the urgent need to revive the principle of non-intervention into another state. This principle of international law includes, but is not limited to, the prohibition of the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or …
A different perspective on German-Egyptian relations
By Franziska Brantner and Omid Nouripour When Egyptian President [Abdel Fattah] Al-Sisi arrives in Berlin today, the German government will have given up an important principle in its dealings with post-revolutionary Egypt: Chancellor Merkel had repeatedly conditioned her invitation to the Egyptian president on the completion of parliamentary elections. She scrapped this condition after the …
Merkel’s realpolitik and Egypt’s lost revolutions
By Mohamed Selim “Germany’s government believes that Egypt ought to maintain the basic values of human rights for all its citizens, engage in a dialogue with all the opposing political factions and respect the religious freedoms of all Egyptians.” Those were the words of Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in her 30 January 2013 presser with …
The need to reform Islam
By Moha Ennaji With the escalation of violence in the Middle East and North Africa, and in the wake of the deplorable terrorism in Paris, Muslims all over the world reacted almost unanimously to condemn the odious attacks, describing them as opposing the teachings of Islam. The heinous jihadists’ attacks are reminiscent of the history of the Catholic …
In Egypt: Human rights lawyer Azza Soliman persecuted for witnessing a crime
By Semanur Karaman and Sara Katrine Brandt This has to stop. Ever since the regime change on 3 July 2013, the international community has been watching the preposterous persecution of active citizens, merely for expressing dissent or calling for political reform in the country. The level of absurdity in criminalising voices of dissent reached a …
Notes from America: General Al-Sisi brought out the worst of Egyptians
By Ahmed Tharwat French political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) said: “In democracy we get the government we deserve.” He was, of course, talking about true representative democracy that produces leaders the people want and choose. The assumption here, however, is that people know what is good for them and they chose freely. The French philosopher was right …
Egypt’s tourism challenges are internal, not external
By Mohammed Nosseir ‘Have you been to Egypt?’ is a question I ask most people I meet abroad, after introducing myself as an Egyptian. In response to my question, I usually receive one of two sets of replies: ‘No, I haven’t been there yet, but Egypt is on my dream list of countries that …
A visit to Egypt before Tahrir
By Amr Khalifa Speaking of tyrants Nael Shama said: “A typical consequence of such a distorted mind set is the equation between personal criticism and disloyalty.” Though that particular article was penned in the summer of 2008, two and half years before the [25 January] revolution, it is such a penetrating deconstruction that will draw …
A shrewd financial investor, Qatar boasts dismal return on investment in soft power
By James M. Dorsey Widely viewed as a shrewd financial investor, Qatar’s return on investment in soft power designed to position it as a progressive ally of world powers in the hope that they will come to the aid of the wealthy Gulf state in times of emergency is proving to be abysmal. Qatar has …
A jihadi in the making
We used to work together in the same company during the 25 January Revolution, a genius upper-middle class young man in his mid-twenties and I was his manager. We would run into each other in Tahrir Square chanting the same slogans of “bread, freedom and social justice”, and carrying the same banners demanding change. After …