Latest in Opinion Highlight
Latest in Opinion
Next generation Brotherhood
It is no secret that the current political events in Egypt are dealing the Muslim Brotherhood perhaps the biggest blow in their 85 year history. I would dare say that this is much more severe than the assassination of Hassan Al-Banna or the execution of Sayyid Qutb. The organisation, which has historically endured oppression from …
2.6 million babies and counting
A week ago on state-owned MENA, this horrifying number was the title of one of their articles: 2.6 million newborns in 2012 in Egypt. This is the official number according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS). These are just the documented new babies, however. The number does not include those who …
Egypt’s clash of freedoms
What is happening in Egypt cannot be reduced to a simple conflict between Islamists, secularists and the military. It is a fundamental clash over conflicting concepts of “freedom”. The millions of anti-Morsi protesters who flooded the streets across the country were out to oppose what they saw as a dictator-in-the-making who was robbing them of …
Obama the Africapitalist: Creating a private sector development model for the world to follow
By Tony O. Elumelu Last week was the first time, in my memory, that a US president came to Africa with investment at the top of his agenda and prioritised meeting with the continent’s business leaders, who are the true drivers of development. President Obama should be congratulated for his vision, and for providing the …
Editor’s letter: Crucifying the Muslim Brotherhood
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 …
FIFA reaffirms its role as a pillar of established order
By James M Dorsey A recent visit by world football body FIFA president SeppBlatter to the Middle East spotlighted the group’s role as a pillar of the existing political and football governance order under the guise of a fictional separation between sports and politics, rather than a force for greater transparency and accountability. To be …
What happened on 30 June?
I would have liked to answer the question: “where is Egypt going after 30 June?” but I discovered that I have to first explain what happened on 30 June. We have to put aside what is being said about a military coup, since facts confirm the size of public participation on 30 June. The second …
Miracle in Cairo
By Dr. Cesar Chelala Those who don’t believe in miracles should go to Cairo today. Blocks-long gas lines have disappeared, there are no more power cuts, and police are no longer absent from the streets. It is a scene eerily reminiscent of the weeks before Chilean president Salvador Allende was ousted from power. Although the …
Op-ed review:
Legitimacy and traffic terror Mamdouh Al-Sheikh Al-Watan Newspaper Columnist Mamdouh Al-Sheikh recalls the traffic mayhem last Friday, when the Muslim Brotherhood protesters took to the streets and blocked several streets around Cairo and Giza. He mentions that the effects were not felt by any state apparatus or leader, but by the regular citizen. He explains …
Political change in Egypt: A chance for the people, but also for wildlife
By Bradnee Chambers Political instability brings economic hardship, social upheaval and human suffering in its wake, with sometimes devastating impacts on the environment. The excessive trapping of migratory birds is an example of history repeating itself as political instability leads to increased damage to nature. Collaborative and workable solutions are needed. Nets to catch birds …
Egypt’s Second Transition and the World
By Ronald Meinardus To understand the unfolding politics of post 30 June Egypt, it is useful to follow developments on three distinct policy levels. First, there is the level of the implementation of the new order’s roadmap. This is an extremely ambitious, I would even say unrealistic, timetable to get Egypt back to democratically legitimised …
The isolated tent city of Rabaa
A friend had to go to the police station by the Rabaa Al-Adaweya sit-in for some documents, and there was no escape but to go through the thousands of protesters stationed in front of the Nasr City police station. My friend said: “it is a city of a parallel world”; posters of ousted president Morsi …
The murky waters of 30 June part 2: On revolutionary depression
The June 30 revolutionary alliance is made of very strange bedfellows and its reaction to the events that have transpired since reflects its inherent contradictions. The newbie revolutionaries (Independents) are more than ecstatic due their success and are acquiring an ego that rivals those of the Jan 25’s; the social conservatives are jubilant for the …
First the push, then the pull
Economies, like relationships, require a good feeling. The best relationships draw you in, and you really enjoy the happiness and value you get from them. Less good ones can drive you away, and while you get something out of them, you are not very drawn into them. Economies are kind of like that. Some pull …
Part two: A test of democracy for Egypt or a test of democracy for the west?
By Sinem Tezyapar Absence of democratic culture When Morsi came to power, it was at a time when a long-term dictatorship had just ended; there existed in Egypt no democratic constitution, no democratic culture and no democratic experience whatsoever. Even for countries where democracy is well-rooted, when a new government is formed, it is …
The ballot box and the banks
In the wake of the contentious ousting, debate over the nature of what has past must come to an end in time to move successfully into the future. In the meantime, the west waffles over Egypt while the Gulf has wasted no time making its position clear.
Mob rule
By Philip Whitfield I don’t have to be here. Shouldn’t be, according to some who brand the likes of me Peeping Toms. They say we’re voyeurs reporting naughtiness we’re not supposed to see. They’d rather we skulk around Northern Ireland counting the bandaged heads of police and politicians bashed up during their marching season. Egypt’s …
The Cabinet dilemma
The newly appointed Egyptian prime minister is currently undergoing the most difficult part of his job: forming the Cabinet. Hazem El-Beblawi was not the choice of the Egyptian youth. Close to 77 years old, he is far from the young visionary or the “revolutionary” that the predominantly youthful nation yearned for. When state-owned agencies broke …
Egypt in another transition, what to expect this time?
Indeed, Egyptian people together with the Egyptian state have proved to be much more interesting than the majority would have thought. What happened in the beginning of July was surprising to so many people around the world and once more, to Egyptians themselves. A week ago we were busy debating terminology and whether what happened …
“Revollusion”
By Dr Mohamed Fouad The following is not for the faint hearted, the revolutionary buffs, the hopeless romantics and the easily agitated ones. You need to “marinate” on these thoughts a bit in order for them to sink in, or not. During the famed 18 days in 2011, I sat with a tenured and experienced …
Tactical retreat: Ultras absent from protests in Egypt and Turkey
By James M. Dorsey Militant, highly politicised football fans who played key roles in the toppling of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, opposition to post-Mubarak military rule and last month’s mass protests against Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have been, as organisations, conspicuously absent from the dramatic scenes in Cairo with the overthrow of President …
Part One: A test of democracy for Egypt or a test of democracy for the west?
By Sinem Tezyapar “No system of government can or should be imposed by one nation on any other… Each nation gives life to this principle [democracy] in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone.” These statements belong to President Obama, …
From the heart of Egypt: When media betrays history
By Dr Dalia A Kader As history is being shaped yet again in the land of the Nile, politicians and their international media machines are hijacking western public opinion. Both have long ago mastered misrepresentation of facts. The result has been a disconnection and a dire miscommunication among societies; so grave that humanity at large …
UEFA decision highlights murky Turkish football politics
By James M. Dorsey A decision by European football body UEFA to ban two top Turkish clubs from competing in European championships for match-fixing has highlighted potentially murky politics underlying the worst scandal in Turkish sporting history. The decision in response to the Turkish Football Federation’s failure to impose penalties and in advance of an …
New SCAF v Old Islamists
By Nervana Mahmoud It’s hard to absorb all of the events that took place last week in Egypt. Many details have yet to be digested. What is certain, though, is that this was the year’s most crucial week, with far-reaching ramifications. Thus far, we only have disputed assessments from inside and outside of Egypt. Last …
How not to write about Egypt
By Hussein Ibish, Now News The upheaval in Egypt inevitably produced a torrent of American commentary, a great deal of which was cliched, glib or simply banal. But four articles stand out as particularly instructive examples of how not to write or think about change in Egypt and the broader Arab world. The most insidious …
Is the military good for Egypt’s economy?
By Farah Halime, Rebel Economy That’s a question I put to around a dozen Egyptian businessmen over the weekend, all of whom responded with a resounding “Yes”. Here are some snippets of conversations I had with a few of Egypt’s business community over the weekend (some appeared in this story for The National newspaper): Nassef Sawiris, billionaire …
The start of Ramadan
This year Cairo looks and feels very different at the start of the month of Ramadan.
Editor’s letter: Brothers and generals; the end of coexistence
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, …
The Murky waters of 30 June – part 1: Regarding the legitimacy issue
As the world now knows, 30 June was a success. Millions went out to the streets, and we ended up with a mixture of scenario 2 and scenario 3 from my previous article: Morsi did get deposed, but this time by the military to avoid open civil war and an eventual bloody revolution. Credit must …