Latest in Opinion Highlight
Latest in Opinion
One-hit wonders
In a country that has become infatuated with political talk, the lack of sustainable political actions never ceases to amaze me. Despite their instantaneous impact, several movements that have surfaced on the Egyptian political scene in the past 10 years never took off or accomplished the form of continuity which brings about significant structural change. …
Religious leaders and Syrian refugees meet in Lebanon
By Isabella Eisenberg Here, in the northern Lebanese district of Akkar, Catholic-Maronite, Sunni, Greek-Orthodox and Alawite villages are scattered all over the landscape. The Syrian border is a 15 minute drive to the north of the northern Lebanese town of Halba, and residents can hear shelling in Syria at night and episodes of sectarian strife …
Waiting in the Queue…
We’ve been fighting for fifty years the same war, we can’t forget And the country is like a waiting room, And the queue reaches the airport “From the Queue”, By Mashrou’ Leila ……….. A picture of a wedding, where the bridesmaids are all wearing army fatigues, appears on your timeline. Another picture of a different …
State of the union
As President Morsi walked into Al-Azhar conference hall on the “Night of Power” in Ramadan of 2013, the room rose. The last time he had spoken on such an occasion, General Sisi had replaced Field Marshal Tantawi, and Mr. Morsi had taken full control of the presidential office. Tonight was different, however; he addressed not …
Obama’s Syria Debacle
By Dr. Alon Ben-Meir I am not a war monger; I know the meaning of war, the death toll, the suffering, and the destruction of property along with the spirit of innocent men, women and children. That said, regardless of how appalling the use of force is to achieve any objective, there is a time …
There will be no progress
There will be no progress, as long as we keep repeating the same mistakes, as long as hypocrisy and lies are the name of the game, as long as no real change happens. There will be no progress in the Tourism industry, as long as our government continues to believe that it is a “marketing” …
Education, a waste of money?
“Zahma moot, (it is very crowded) and it’s not yet 9 AM.” The taxi driver is complaining. Traffic is already gridlocked early in the morning (yes, Egyptians consider 9 AM early). And then he asks, “how bad is it going to be when schools open?” It got me thinking; maybe schools should be cancelled all …
Bartered bride
Philip Whitfield Brave reporting by Hamza Hendawi. His Associated Press copy from Dalga makes your blood boil. Morsi supporters are ethnically cleansing Christians in a town a hop skip and a jump from Tahrir Square. The police stand idly by while 20,000 Christian homes and businesses are torched. An Orthodox priest’s house is burned down. …
Sisi come, Sisi go!
If somehow we managed to research the words used most frequently by Egyptians in the past three months, I’m sure “Al-Sisi” would come high up on that list. You can easily recognise the kind of political atmosphere you’re caught in the middle of simply by noticing the reactions of people to the General’s name. Al-Sisi …
JUSTICE IN INDIA
By Dr Cesar Chelala The conviction of four men in India, accused of gang rape and the murder of a young Indian woman was widely celebrated throughout the country. Although the conviction is seen as a just and necessary punishment of the young rapists, many women are sceptical that it will lead to a new era in …
Pro-Israel Group Lobbies for a US Attack on Syria
By Linda Gradstein/The Media Line Syrian officials are rushing to accept a Russian proposal for international oversight of Syria’s chemical weapons that would forestall a possible US strike on Syria. At the same time, pro-Israel lobbyists are fanning out in Congressional offices to convince Congress to back an attack against Syria after its apparent use of chemical weapons. On its …
Musical Chairs
You have to admit that despite all the heartaches that we have come to encounter in Egypt, the place is becoming quite the rollercoaster ride. It is interesting to watch how roles are being exchanged at dizzying velocity. A once villain is now considered prince charming, a once prince charming is now seen as a …
Editor’s letter: You and the future of independent news
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 …
Saudi Arabia mulls granting women access to stadia
By James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia’s secretive ruling family is mulling over allowing women to attend football matches. No Saudi official has suggested that the controversial issue is under discussion but if past experience is any indication, a series of statements and denials suggests that a debate is underway. The debate would be a revival …
Strategy
There are three schools utilised by the state facing strategic Political Violence, also known as terrorism: 1) The Justice System model, where the police and the judiciary pursue such acts as civilian criminal offenses (the most effective model and takes place in civilised democratic countries; but to be fair, it usually takes a really long …
Has the police state returned?
In the previous article, we discussed the secret conflict raging between supporters of the old regime and advocates of a democratic state. We discussed in detail the nature of the supporters of the old regime, and the different fault lines which exist within this group, in addition to the propensity of those from the the …
Stop the battle cries, people need hope
The gas bill collector cried at my door. He is not a young man but an Egyptian man in his mid-forties, who is a husband and a father. Culturally, men are not supposed to cry, but nevertheless, he did. He fought the tears in his eyes and the lump in his throat and lost. He …
Making the most of Gulf aid to Egypt
By Farah Halime, Rebel Economy We may not like it, but Egypt desperately needs Gulf money. So why not change the way the Gulf lends money to Egypt to make it count. It won’t be just about wasting away cash to address a symptom without resolving the underlying problem. Indeed, without Gulf aid, the government would have …
In Syria, the punishment must fit the crime
By Ammar Abdulhamid, Now News If the purpose of the looming US-intervention in Syria is to restore America’s credibility, and more specifically President Obama’s, which has suffered measurably on the international scene as a result of his foot-dragging over the last two and a half years, then a limited intervention will prove insufficient and will …
Manufacturing Fear
There was a taste lost between bitterness, anger and shock last Thursday when the news about the attempt to assassinate the Minister of Interior was out. I don’t know how many of you lived in Egypt in the early 90s, but there was a time that I most clearly remember where such acts of terror …
A big question mark on the Islamic finance industry
By Muhammad Zubair Mughal Apparently, it is a matter of pleasure that global volume of Islamic finance industry has crossed $1.3tn approximately, which is, definitely, providing the best and compatible sources of finance with interest free modes. According to a careful estimate, there are more than 2000 Islamic Financial Institutions offering Islamic Banking, Islamic Insurance …
Why comparisons between Tunisia and Egypt aren’t helpful
By Maria Glenna Tunis – The suspension of Tunisia’s National Constituent Assembly on 7 August once again prompted comparisons between Tunisia and Egypt by political analysts and the media, asking if Tunisia will devolve into the violence we have recently seen in Egypt. It is true that there are similarities between Egypt and Tunisia. Both …
Fighting talk
By Philip Whitfield A just war? Or just a war? Martyrdom versus military might? How far is Syria’s Assad willing to go? Or will he go willingly? Who wins? Does everyone lose? Apparently you can be at both ends and in the middle at the same time. Bashar the Beast fights bantamweight: bare-knuckle with the …
President Obama Should Heed World Leaders’ Opinion
By Dr Cesar Chelala At the St. Petersburg meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) of developed and developing economies, President Barak Obama faced growing opposition on his decision to go to war with Syria by almost all world leaders, with the exception of France’s President. At a critical moment in that conflict, President Obama would be wise to follow the …
Egypt’s underground sisterhood
What the post-revolutionary Islamist and conservative onslaught against Egyptian women distorts is the growing strength of Egypt’s feminist counter-culture and grassroots female emancipation. Surveying Egypt’s political landscape, you might be excused for thinking that women are a minority. Only five members of the Committee of 50 tasked with revising the constitution are women. Unsurprisingly, this …
Squandered Opportunities
Over the past 3 years, there may have been numerous instances when Egypt has taken the wrong turn. Some of those wasted chances are indeed lamentable. The bitter irony is that 32 months following 25 Jan, there isn’t a single concrete aspect in Egypt that justifies the soaring death tolls, the economic stalemate, the degradation …
Qatar 2022 – A mixed blessing
By James M. Dorsey Winning the 2022 World Cup hosting rights has proven to be a mixed blessing for Qatar. The wealthy Gulf emirate, more than two years after world football body FIFA voted in Qatar’s favor, is under greater scrutiny than it ever has been and that it originally had bargained for. Qatar’s suitability …
Cairo’s cultural dearth
After months of death and destruction Adel Heine is looking forward to the artistic expressions that will hopefully give a voice to the experiences of a nation in turmoil
Education, the spy-duck and threats to Egypt
“The police had confiscated a spy-duck.” This was how my reporters greeted me five days ago. At first I thought it was another pun by DNE’s wily reporters until they showed me the links in Arabic; the police confiscated a duck carrying a “strange” device. Two days later, after the intervention of animal activists, the …
Where will the hidden struggle lead between Egypt’s democracy supporters and members of the old regime?
It is no longer a secret that the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood came as the result of an unannounced, strategic partnership between Egypt’s democracy forces and supporters of the old regime, (i.e. supporters of Hosni Mubarak, Gamal Abd el-Nasser and Muhammed Ali). This partnership did not possess long term goals, as those from the …