Latest in Opinion Highlight
Latest in Opinion
The turning point
Deep inside, one must feel it even if one hesitates to admit it: the whole 25 January hoopla is long gone. The only thing left of 25 January is its largely undisputed international allure, which is ironically the only legitimising factor that both former President Morsi and the now ruling military paid lip service to. …
Europe’s chances in the Arab world
By Fadi Elhusseini When revolts sneaked into the Arab world, a number of regimes were toppled while other thrones were shaken. Among others, Europe was quick in its response and adopted a new approach to relations with its southern neighbours. Nonetheless, despite the great efforts and numerous investments and projects in the region, the perception …
Bahrain detains soccer teams and scores of players and athletes
By James M. Dorsey Bahrain has detained a soccer team as well as scores of other players and athletes since security forces squashed a popular uprising almost three years ago, according to human rights activists, journalists and officials. In one of the latest rounds of detentions, authorities last month arrested three soccer and two handball …
Working on the ground-part 2
At the beginning one has to explain the difference between working on the ground and connecting with the people. The first is quite broad and includes any human activity that depends on communicating with the people be it political or social. In that case, the people are always the object and the target for the …
Happy New Year
2014 is only one week old and so far it has not delivered on the implicit promise that a new year supposedly holds.
The New Year
On New Year’s Day, the Dar al-Ifta’ al-Misriyyah declared that 13 January would be the anniversary of the Prophet’s birthday in Egypt. It seems awfully fitting that at the dawn of 2014, this official government body would be in the fortuitous position of making that declaration – particularly as it means that the Prophet’s birthday …
Op-ed review: The story of Egyptian constitutions
Ammar Ali Hassan Al Watan Newspaper Columnist Ammar Ali Hassan surveys several books written on the different Egyptian constitutions starting from the time of Mohamed Ali and lists ten points on why these books are relevant in contemporary Egypt. The books he reviewed include a book written by journalist Mohamed Hammad, Albert Shoqeir’s “Egyptian constitution …
Englishman in New York
Would you like this delivered? It was a normal question in Cairo. But in Brooklyn, New York, my friend was a little surprised. New York City residents do boast about being able to have anything delivered. But, if McDonald’s doesn’t have 24-hour delivery, how much can they really boast? After a trip to the other place he calls home, an Egyptian-American friend was talking about the conveniences he enjoyed while being back in New York and how they compare to Cairo. …
Mohamed Ibrahim, an unsolved mystery
Today marks the anniversary of the appointment of Mohamed Ibrahim as Egypt’s Minister of Interior. And so another year begins with the man who survived it all, whose forces killed indiscriminately under his command and proved to all the people of Egypt that the Ministry of Interior is the regime’s tool to oppress; any regime …
The curious case of Egypt’s economy
According to economists, any country that experiences a revolution should have an economic recession within six months. For anyone who has followed our news, this was not the case in Egypt, and curiously, still isn’t. One of the strangest economic facts that very few people cite about this country is that it hasn’t suffered a …
White House sees a partner in Assad
By Tony Badran, Now. As 2013 drew to a close, the Wall Street Journal published a lengthy and damning chronicle of President Obama’s handling of Syria. And while 2013 was a particularly catastrophic year for US policy in Syria, 2014 promises to be even worse. For if last year marked Washington’s official abandonment of the Syrian opposition, this …
Traitors and the exercise in futility
By Wael Eskandar The 29th of December marks Jika’s birthday. Gaber Salah, or “Jika” would have turned 19 in late 2013 had he not been killed by the Ministry of Interior under the then president Morsi. His birthday was celebrated by a few valiant friends and protesters who defied the new Protest Law by marching …
Amr, Esraa and the Travolta Predicament
No doubt, current events in Egypt are testing our understanding as well as the practice of the freedom of speech and the concept of liberties at large. Two articles that I have come across in the past 6 months have paid homage to the concept of liberties in two distinct fashions. Last July, Dr. Amr …
Nuremberg is valid precedent for Iraq War Trials
By Dr Cesar Chelala As the number of deaths continues unabated in Iraq –the worst since 2008—so do calls for the prosecution of those that led both the United States and Great Britain into war, former US president George W. Bush and former prime minister Tony Blair. In December alone there were 44 deaths in just one day, over 766 …
Gulf states draw sharpening criticism from trade unions and human rights groups
With major events and developments looming, conditions in the Gulf states will be illuminated under the international spotlight
Setting the records straight
The year 2013 has not been kind to Egyptians or history books. Twisting facts has become the mantra highlighting this year in Egypt. Between the voices of Hosni Mubarak supporters getting louder and pro-Morsi team chanting “legitimacy”, accusations of 30 June protesters of being “army lovers” while others prodding Al-Sisi to run for presidency, the …
The monster that won’t die
Al-Qaeda is making yet another appalling comeback
Op-ed review: Egypt between a rock and a hard place
Ayman Al-Sayad Al-Shorouk Newspaper According to Al-Sayad, Egypt is experiencing two main battles, the first one is with terrorism, and the second is with the security apparatus’ violence and oppression. He believes that the latter is a 25 January Revolution demand and the former a 30 June protests demand. This leaves Egypt in a precarious …
Between Idealism and Terrorism
In March 2002, while coming back to the US from a weekend in Mexico, I was stopped and heavily interrogated at the US border. My only mistake appeared to be simple birthrights: name, age and religious affiliations. The incident has passed calmly but the learning was immense. The question I asked myself then was: When …
Fighting lies with lies
False narratives continue to play a dangerous role in the turmoil in Egypt. No group knows that better than the Muslim Brotherhood. Unsubstantiated claims of the group’s role in violence in Sinai and other parts of the country, along with rumours surrounding the Brotherhood’s links to foreign and domestic actors have made their way to …
Op-Ed review: The Muslim Brotherhood
On Wednesday 25 December 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood organization has been declared a terrorist group by the government. Columnists have been debating the announcement and how it affects the political scene and the Muslim Brotherhood. Terrorism-creating government Bilal Fadl Al-Shorouk Newspaper Fadl begins his column in a sarcastic tone, congratulating the Brotherhood on returning to …
Gulf states line up as targets of trade unions and human rights groups
By James M Dorsey Gulf states are lining up as targets for criticism by international trade unions and human rights groups for their treatment of foreign workers. Qatar, long in the firing line following its winning three years ago of the right to host a World Cup, was joined this week by Abu Dhabi as …
‘Tis the season for predictions…..
As the new year approaches, consumers are bombarded by predictions from companies, analysts and opinion leaders on the newest trends
Working on the ground
During the seventies, our generation fought some glorious battles under the slogan “Absolute democracy for all, absolute dedication for the nation”. Those battles occurred when we were in college. They started with a wave of student and worker protests against what was known at the time as “aviation verdicts” which resulted in the innocence of …
Egypt has to learn the lesson
It’s almost boring. Earlier this week, Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohammed Adel, three veteran activists, were each sentenced to three years in jail and fined EGP 50,000. Two thoughts occurred to me: one, if the fine was multiplied by 10,000, then that would be the only way such sentences could possibly have any sort …
Will you vote this year?
This will be the third year in a row that Egyptians will vote on a constitution. Yet another referendum with yet another Yes campaign. Vote Yes for stability , they said in 2011. Vote Yes for Islam, they said in 2012. Vote Yes for your country, they are saying in 2013. Never are there campaigns …
The Weak State
As the months have trudged by since 30 June, there has been a myriad of talk in the media regarding the creation of the new Egyptian state. The 3 July press conference, showing Al-Sisi with ElBaradei (representing the NSF), Sheikh Al-Azhar, Pope Tawadros, and the Head of Al-Nour Salafi Party, showed the outline of what …
Iran’s government should stop human rights abuses
By Dr. Cesar Chelala The election of Hassan Rouhani’s as Iran’s President seemed to signal a dramatic change in policies regarding the previous government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, while portraying an image of moderation overseas, serious human rights abuses continue in Iran, despite protests from human rights groups inside and outside the country. Rouhani’s government had achieved …
The truth about the constitution
So it is finally out. The date is finally set, the wheels are in motion and things are happening for the post 30 June ruling coalition. The very first product has been finalised and is merely being marketed at the moment. In fact, the idea of being able to deliver what has been promised in …
Speaking of double-speak…
Just how genuine is Michele Bachmann’s support for Egypt?