Latest in Opinion Highlight
Latest in Opinion
Erdoğan Needs to stand with Egypt, not the Muslim Brotherhood
By Adel El-Adawy The Egyptian-Turkish relationship has reached a low point and can be considered severed, because of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s full-fledged support for the Muslim Brotherhood at the expense of the majority of Egyptians and the Egyptian state. As Egyptian Ambassador to Turkey, Abdel Rahman Salah explained: “The fear of Erdoğan’s government …
The politics of remembering death
A group of peaceful protesters marched, and were set upon by official state forces – at the end of the violence, 28 people were dead, and more than 200 people were injured. At the time, human rights activists insisted that not only should an investigation take place into the killings: but that it should be …
The Way of the Revolution Front: A critique
On 24 September The Way of the Revolution Front -a new group made of old faces that include Alaa AbdelFatah, Ahmed Maher, the socialist revolutionaries and various ex-MB activists– was created, in an effort to create a political “revolutionary” third option that rejects both the MB and the military, and aims to focus on achieving …
Getting in the way: politics and doing business in Egypt
“If it bleeds, it leads.” That news industry fundamental is Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou’s October 7 morning business challenge. The leading stories by news agencies all over the world about the clashes that erupted in Cairo and other parts of Egypt on 6 October, Armed Forces Day, make his job more difficult. The repeated …
Colonial Middle East strategy: Another complete fiasco
By Fadi Elhusseini In a region that has been described for long time as idle, sluggish and even immune towards transformations, revolts sneaked in, toppling some regimes and shaking the thrones of others. However, with the bloody course of events, doubt started to creep and uncertainty began to haunt hope, especially with the explicit and …
Does Egypt Need Affirmative Action?
As the debates rage regarding Egypt’s electoral system, the notion of affirmative action and quota often surfaces as an area of great contention. The legacy resulting from years of discrimination based on age, gender, and religion has not been eliminated. Despite strides made during recent times, some still view that affirmative action is much needed …
Have a cheesy 6 October
I am almost 34 years old. Out of those 34 years, I have lived 32 in Egypt. Throughout these 32 years I never told anyone or was told by anyone “kol sana wenta tayeb” on 6 October, which is what we usually say to each other on special occasions, whether they’re religious, like Ramadan, civic, …
The dirty word
By Nesreen Salem On behalf of the Egyptian Women’s Union, I flew to Sweden to give a speech about Egyptian women’s plight in Egypt after the “spring”. I was a keynote speaker on a panel in the very heart of Swedish parliament. My audience included representatives from every political party in Sweden as well as …
Harsh Qatari labour conditions move centre stage as FIFA debates World Cup
By James M. Dorsey Controversy over conditions for unskilled and semi-skilled workers in Qatar involved in the construction of World Cup-related infrastructure as well as for flight attendants of Qatar Airways, the 2022 tournament’s likely official carrier, has moved centre stage as world soccer body FIFA prepares to debate next week the Gulf state’s hosting …
Where are they?
“Where are they? Where have they all gone? Where are all those young activists from the 25 January revolution?” It is a question that I get asked almost every time I engage with non-Egyptians; those based in Egypt or those who live in other capitals. The cynical among them reckon those activists ‘sold out’, and …
On Egyptian women after the Arab Spring
Nesreen Salem’s speech for the Swedish Parliament on the state of Egyptian women
November 19th
For many Egyptians, 19 November is a black stain on our history, since it’s the anniversary of the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes of 2011. With over 40 dead and thousands other injured in four days of clashes with the MOI, there has been no accountability or justice for the victims’ families. In a post-30 June world, …
The Egyptian and Californian tomato farmers and the galabaya mafia
“I am a farmer. My father was a farmer. My grandfather was a farmer. But I only now learned how to farm.” These are the proud words of an Egyptian small farmer whose tomato yields topped those of a typical Californian farmer. And proud he should be. He produced 82 tons of tomatoes per feddan …
Flip flop fibs
By Philip Whitfield You may fool all the people some of the time. You can even fool some of the people all of the time. But you cannot fool all of the people all the time (Abraham Lincoln). Who’s starting World War III? Mohamed Bouaziz ablaze in Tunisia? Egypt’s Tahrir Square? Qatar gushing gas to …
Roadmap to nowhere
Tenuous alliances and complacency have led to little more than bloodshed and obstruction of what really afflicts Egypt “I trust that the international community, which has long rejected terrorism, will firmly stand by the Egyptian people in the fight against violence and its advocates, and will not accept any attempt to justify it, or tolerate …
A tragic legacy of Afghanistan’s war
By Dr. César Chelala The revelation that the number of opium-addicted Afghan children has reached new highs is a sad, unintended consequence of the war in that country. It dramatically illustrates how adult war games can doom generations of children to a miserable life. It is one of the tragic legacies of a disastrous war. …
Bloody September
September has been a month that has witnessed heinous crimes against humanity that claimed scores of lives in many dispersed parts of the world. From the All Saints church bomb in Peshawar to the roadside attacks in Northeast Nigeria, to the suicide bombings in Baghdad, to the atrocious Westgate Mall siege in Kenya to the …
The land of few men
This is what I have dubbed Egypt years ago, to the chagrin of some of my guy friends and agreement of others. Egypt-mostly- is not a very healthy society with regards to interaction between women and men. A clear example is simply walking down the street; cat-calls, sexual insinuation and at times groping are the …
Decision to change date of Qatari World Cup risks political and legal rows
By James M. Dorsey A pending decision in early October by world football body FIFA on whether to move the Qatar 2022 World Cup from summer to winter threatens to open debate on whether to deprive the Gulf state of its right to host one of the world’s two largest sporting events and could spark …
Hard-fought silence
I have slowly, but surely, reached the end of my tether
What are the inner makings of Egypt’s democracy movement? (Part 1 of 2)
In order to answer this question regarding the future of Egypt’s democracy movement, we must first stop and look at the parties that make up its internal structure. This will require that we analyse in detail each party within the movement, in order to evaluate their performance and measure their strength in comparison to other …
Why did the Muslim Brotherhood survive in London?
By Hesham Shafick “The Brotherhood back to jails” might be the theme of the universal attack against the group – led by the Egyptian protesters and military. Being an MB research specialist, I have developed relationships with MB leaders of all levels and ages. Some of those relationships had grown to be personal, which …
Is a US-Iranian nuclear deal suddenly possible?
By Hussein Ibish, Now Lebanon Anyone eagerly awaiting an Iran-US “great game” had better brace themselves for a potential long-term match postponement. American President Barack Obama was elected to end and avoid future Middle East conflicts, not begin them, as demonstrated by the Syrian chemical weapons crisis and the American-Russian “diplomatic solution.” The only Middle …
The ‘minimum wage’ defeat for ten million
There have been mixed reactions to this week’s announcement of a new public sector minimum total income of EGP1,200 per month to come into effect in January of 2014. Many are unsatisfied – unsatisfied with the EGP1,200 figure, the target of total income and not wage, or the meeting of the social justice objective. Some …
The Brotherhood’s new strategy
By Nervana Mahmoud A month has passed since the forced ending of the pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo. The widespread security crackdown and the arrest of the Brotherhood’s most senior cadres have had a huge impact by paralyzing the main skeleton of the group and limiting their ability to function. How has the Muslim Brotherhood coped with this? …
Sanctions have worked; time to act on Iran is now
By Dr César Chelala As Iran economy’s is reeling and Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani is showing every sign of interest in reaching an agreement with the West on its nuclear program, it seems high time to reach an agreement with Iran. Such an agreement would eliminate one of the most troubling hot spots in the Middle East and will serve as an example …
From January to June: Egypt’s ‘elite’ question
By virtue of my studies, my work and my own individual perversions, I happen to be one of those who enjoy reading political theory. However, I do not intend to actually write about political or social theory. I simply wanted to point out to how in different political and social theories from different times, perspectives …
Rent boys
By Philip Whitfield Who’d be in the president’s shoes? Adly schleps in the shadows. Morsi shuffles round prison in his. Mubarak hobbles in hospital pumps. Sadat died with his on. Nasser wore his out on socialism’s slippery slope. Who’s got the courage to give the old ways a kicking? The economist Felix Inmonti says rent-funded …
Egypt left vulnerable after Qatari snub
By Farah Halime It was bound to happen sooner or later. Egypt has returned to Qatar the $2bn the Gulf state deposited in Egypt’s central bank after negotiations to convert the money into three-year bonds failed. Though this represents only a quarter of the total funds Qatar has lent or given to Egypt, the decision …
Animal rights in Egypt
Two days ago, a young lady in Port Said posted photos of a horse in the said governorate with a severely broken leg, eating from garbage bins. She implored the online community of animal activists to help the poor creature. She has tried to get in touch with the veterinary services, the police and other …