Latest in Opinion Highlight
Latest in Opinion
The wall of rejected classics
I love The Shining. I’ve probably seen it more times than any other film. Watching Jack Nicholson go totally unheimlich and attempt to murder his family in an eerie, empty hotel in the middle of nowhere just seems to have a calming effect on me. Greatest horror movie ever made? I’m still going for The …
War or jaw
By Philip Whitfield What did Obama mean? You can read as well as me. “We think it would take over a year or so for Iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon, but obviously we don’t want to cut it too close.” Obama was being interviewed on Israeli TV prior to visiting Israel for the …
Review: Commentaries debate Press Syndicate elections
After the electoral victory of Diaa Rashwan as the new chairman of the Press Syndicate, several writers in major Egyptian newspapers dissected the elections. Many have stated that Rashwan’s success has proven the failure of the Muslim Brotherhood, which partially supported his rival, Abdel Mohsen Salama. Journalists and the change Mohamed Salmawi Al-Masry Al-Youm …
The West and shopping for a new president
On Thursday night, the European parliament, after heated discussions, passed a resolution recommending the withholding of budget support to Egypt and tying financial aid to “significant progress” in areas of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The MEPs criticised Hesham Qandil’s government and Morsi, whom they accused of making decisions that oppose the …
Europe and the Arab Spring
In January 2011, those who were protesting in Tahrir Square kept a careful eye on world leaders, hoping to hear a message of support for the revolution or a message of pressure to the Mubarak regime. The United States and Western Europe found themselves in a very difficult position. On one hand, their long-time ally …
Review: Op-Eds criticise attacks on Egyptians in Libya, Islamist militias
Commentaries in major Egyptian newspapers have discussed the latest attacks on Coptic Egyptian expatriates in Libya and condemn the passive reactions of authorities in the presidential palace. Some other writers explore the recently debated idea of forming Islamist militias to replace Egypt’s vanishing police force. Between Egypt and Libya Mohamed Salmawi Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper …
In Egypt, it helps to have the ‘right’ parents
By Farah Halime, Rebel Economy Circumstances beyond our control, including our parents’ job titles, have become more important in deciding the fate of young Egyptians in the job market, World Bank data shows. The type of job a young person ends up with is heavily influenced by the occupations of their parents, underscoring the inequality …
The not-so-black market
Adel Heine’s weekly column
Egyptian police strike as football verdict sparks riots
Army urged to topple Morsi regime
Review: Commentaries explore new revolutionary bloc and IMF loan
Writers in different newspapers have praised the newly established national revolutionary bloc and its objectives to protect the 25 January Revolution demands. On another level some commentators called upon Egyptians to decide their own destiny, rather than waiting for a devoted leader to come save the country. The national revolutionary movement bloc Mohamed Salmawi …
Islam’s enemy!
It goes without saying that the Egyptian crisis is now beyond repair. None of the parties involved, including the military, have the power to resolve the conflict that the country seems destined to engage in. At some point there was hope for such a solution, but it now all seems that we are heading to …
Will the army administer our country once again?
It’s no secret that some in Egypt who seek to bring the army back into power have once again descended onto the nation’s streets, not for the purpose of restoring peace and security as some claim, but rather to rule and administer the country from anew. This position enjoys widespread support within a certain sector …
Rebel Economy Wrap
IMF has it wrong on Egypt
Samira Ibrahim and the plaque of courage
Samira Ibrahim is a young Egyptian woman, fed up with Hosni Mubarak and his regime; fed up with the life she hopes for and knows she will never get in a country infested by corruption and favouritism; fed up with an education she earned and is unlikely to use. She probably knew as little politics …
An Arab pope?
By George Richards The surprising resignation by Pope Benedict XVI triggered feverish speculation among bookmakers and Vatican-watchers as to who will succeed to the Papacy. As with the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, Pope Benedict’s resignation could, in theory, allow for the election of a pope from the developing world. Catholic congregations in …
Review: Columnists explore the presence of armed forces in Port Said
After the recent strikes in several police stations, commentators across almost all Egyptian newspapers discussed the consequences of the move. Many writers debated the extent of danger resulting from the presence of the armed forces in the Mediterranean city of Port Said, whereas some believe it reminds people of 28 January, when police disappeared from …
Rape, burn and pillage
Violence. Sheer, unadulterated brute force. From the Ultras, to the Brotherhood’s ‘militias’ (can you believe that our president is a member of a group that has ‘militias’? Doesn’t that sound utterly ludicrous; does it not strain credulity to breaking point when you say it out loud?), to the MOI, to SCAF, to the mysterious (and …
Brothers in alarums
By Philip Whitfield Morsi’s durability dips daily. After losing any goodwill he had among democrats, his powerbase is crumbling. He’s no use to the Muslim Brotherhood now that he can’t dictate election outcomes. On the street, former MB youth fight it out with MB holdouts in the canal cities, the Delta and, more recently, in …
Rioting ultras and striking police officers may ease security reform
By James M. Dorsey The fallout of last year’s death of more than 70 football fans in a politically-loaded stadium riot has brought the need for reform of Egypt’s Mubarak-era law enforcement and judiciary to a head with football supporters in Egyptian cities protesting the verdicts of those accused of inciting the incident, and security …
The value of an Egyptian’s life
Egyptians satirically now refer to the country as “the big morgue”.
Short Messages
Sometimes short and straightforward messages are more understandable and effective than long analytical ones. It can’t hurt if we try. President Mohamed Morsi: It is not a matter of who you are; we oppose you because of what you have become. There are millions who did not vote for you and even more millions who …
Rebel Economy Wrap
Egypt steel tycoon jailed, but company lives on
Review: Commentaries discuss holding parliamentary elections
Writers in different newspapers have discussed the Administrative Court’s decision to halt the parliamentary elections, which was initially planned to take place on 22 April, praising the move and stating that it might be a good chance for all conflicting political groups to reach consensus and find a way out of the current political maze. …
City of sinners
Adel Heine’s weekly column
Editor’s letter: Is a Turkish model what we really want?
A few days ago I had conversation with my Turkish friend, a Middle East researcher, about the Egyptian revolution and how a “Turkish model” is overrated in the eyes of Egyptians. It is often suggested that Egypt should follow Turkey’s “successful” path. Those who argue this often base their case on selective facts and simplistic …
Egypt and Turkey are the key countries to ease tensions in Syria
By Aylin Kocaman In watching the disorder on Syria that has lasted for two years and cost 70,000 lives, people have always asked, “What is Assad doing?” They believed the problem could be resolved with a single decision from Bashar Al-Assad. They imagined he was alone in his character of dictator. Assad is not alone. …
Review: Egyptian commentators debate how to end the political crisis
As protests continue to shake the streets of a number of Egyptian cities, writers are proposing suggestions to end the current political plight by calling for the delay of the upcoming parliamentary elections and forming a new government that is allowed time until 2016 to perform its duties. A suggestion to exit the crisis …
Rebel economy wrap
Lost in translation: energy subsidies
“The Revolution continues”: No longer a slogan
When the crowds swelled in the Square of Liberation in January 2011, the chant of al-sha’ab yurid isqat al-nidham (‘the people demand the fall of the regime’) was a pithy slogan. By the time Hosni Mubarak was pushed out of power eighteen days later, Tahrir Square had become much more than simply a place where …
On the youth and the revolution
For many, the early days of the revolution served as a political coming-out for a number of underground organisations, some weak, others strong, and individuals, all out to prove their revolutionary worth and zeal. Hailing almost exclusively from the country’s middle and upper middle class youth, from within the ranks of these revolutionaries quickly emerged …