Latest in Opinion Highlight
Latest in Opinion
The referendum of shame
It is finally here, the big event the Muslim Brotherhood has been eagerly waiting for. The constitutional referendum is finally taking place as this column is being written. There is no question that this referendum is indeed a historic moment that will be remembered. However, while I confess to the referendum being a historic event, …
Review: Columnists weigh in on referendum
As Egyptians lined up to cast their vote on the constitution Saturday, columnists were divided. Although some argued that voting for the constitution would lead to more stability and would grant citizens more state support, the majority considered the constitution and the referendum unsatisfactory. Mohamed Amin Do you want to go to heaven? Al-Masry …
I tweet therefore I am
Adel Heine’s weekly column
Editor’s letter: Voting for God
On a 40 minute Metro ride from New Marg station to Saad Zaghloul, trying to avoid the traffic jams across the city caused by anti- and pro-Morsy protests, the political discussions among the passengers are revealing. In Cairo’s underground system, in which every carriage is always stuffed with hundreds of average Egyptians, people are constantly …
Crisis over constitution shows no sign of easing
Egyptians living abroad headed to polling stations on Wednesday to vote in a popular referendum over the country’s first post revolution constitution. In Egypt meanwhile, controversy over the proposed constitution deepened. Rival mass protests were held nationwide on Tuesday ahead of next Saturday’s vote on the draft document. Tensions have been running high since President …
Review: Commentaries fuelled against the constitution
As the constitution referendum is getting closer, columnists have analysed the extent to which Islamist groups strive to pass the constitution. Several writers have condemned the idea of moving forward with the referendum encouraging Egyptians to vote ‘No’ rather than boycotting. Vote ‘No’ but do not boycott Emad Al-Din Hussein Al-Shorouk newspaper Looking forward …
Rebel Economy Wrap
Egypt Delays IMF Loan Deal – The Big Impact
When will the west pay the price for its support of political Islam in the Arab world?
History confirms that the relationship between the west and the Muslim Brotherhood is not a recent phenomenon, but rather has existed since the organisation was created. During the British Occupation, the Suez Canal Company provided financial support to Hassan Al-Banna and other local parties in an attempt to counter the influence of the Wafd, who …
To hell with the dictatorship of the majority
My new Egyptian friend is very excited about the recent developments in Egypt. She hates President Mohamed Morsy to pieces and wants a liberal to replace him. She considers herself a liberal Egyptian and a great women’s rights advocate. She supports a constitution that would guarantee equality and preserve human rights. She is veiled, but …
Review: Columnists ask who makes decisions in the palace?
After President Morsy withdrew the decision to raise the taxes on all luxurious commodities, columnists ask, who influences the president in making such decisions? Many writers have accused him of not being able to differentiate between ruling a nation and obeying his Islamist group. Ibrahim Eissa Tahrir Newspaper Failure Reveals its President With a …
A very bad joke
In reality, here in Egypt, the independence of Al Mahalla is only a punch line.
In the lap of the gods
By Philip Whitfield The hounds have the fox in their sights. Unleashed, the dogged gird for affray. Morsy is forced to flee his palatial, besieged lair. Across town the Muslim Brotherhood HQ is embattled. The overseer of the referendum calls it quits. Shakespeare: We would not seek a battle, as we are, yet as we …
Imagine
Imagine sitting at a friend’s house, watching the president address the nation after a week long crisis, with his supporters just the night before opening fire on civilian protesters in Heliopolis in horrifying clashes that spanned the whole day. Imagine finding out that he issued the illegal constitutional declaration that enflamed and divided the entire …
Review: Columnists condemn presidential manoeuvres
Amid Morsy’s recent decisions, columnists criticise how the president blindly follows instructions from his Islamist group. Although the results of the national dialogue meeting were deemed successful by many, some columnists argue it rather marked a new presidential failure. It is not a state Ibrahim Eissa Tahrir Newspaper Eissa examines the policy “blunders” the …
From the other side
Overthrow La vache qui rit cheese
Contesting Egypt and de-contextualising narratives
Watch western TV news features on Egypt; you will find an almost identical discourse that de-contextualises current events. It always emphasises President Morsy’s declaration that gave him unmatched powers and fomented outrage, and that’s it. Morsy’s constitutional declaration was obviously met with some reservations from his closest people, which include his deputy, assistants, consultants and …
Review: Millioneya marches and Morsy’s (old) declaration
Before President Mohamed Morsy had issued a new constitutional declaration to repeal his old one, columnists continued to analyse the “million-man” marches that were organised in front of the presidential palace. Other writers denounced Morsy’s authoritarian approach in curtailing the judiciary. A president for the whole group Amr Al-Shobaki Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper President Morsy’s …
Public trust in public servants
Looking at how the presidency chose to deal with last week’s turmoil, it has become increasingly difficult to find a silver lining. The dreadful sight of Egyptians killing one another over political beliefs with such conviction is unprecedented, and it makes me sick to see politicians use that to further their agendas with absolute disregard …
Fighting for internet freedom
By Vinton Cerf The internet empowers each one of us to speak, create, learn, and share. Today, more than two billion people are online — about a third of the planet. The internet has become one of the motors of the 21st century economy, allowing all of us to reach a global audience at a …
Review: Columnists debate Morsy’s speech
As President Mohamed Morsy met with over 40 political and legal experts to reach national accord over the constitutional crisis columnists explored his invitation for dialogue. Emad Al-Din Hussein Al-Shorouk Newspsper Morsy’s speech and the blood curse Hussein analyses Morsy’s first speech following the violence near the Presidential Palace. He rejects speculation that the …
The growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood
Last week cannot be called anything other than a big mess. Ever since the Brotherhood took office, we have been reaping one misfortune after the other. From political exclusion to cracking down on freedom of speech, regular power cuts to tragic train accidents, blatant lies about achievements to outright hate speech and from false electoral …
Revolution revisited
Adel Heine’s weekly column
Fasten your seat belts please
The mood was tense last Thursday as anti-Islamist protesters continued their sit-in in Tahrir Square, demanding that President Mohammed Morsy annul the constitutional declaration he had issued a week before. Liberals and leftists had all come together to adopt a common stance: “No to absolute powers for the president.”They vowed to continue their sit-in until …
Is the Muslim Brotherhood’s sowing the seeds of its own destruction?
It is not an exaggeration or act of slander to say that the Muslim Brotherhood has always been the fascist alternative to what has been a reactionary regime. In the beginning of the 20th century, it entered into alliances with Egypt’s minor parties against the Wafd, who ruled the country and represented the people’s desire …
Morsy’s stepchildren
By Nervana Mahmoud They went out in the thousands; Egyptians from every walk of life and almost all political affiliations protested in Tahrir against President Morsy’s latest decree and the draft of the new constitution. However, they were not the only ones protesting. Islamist groups, mainly the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis, protested too, but …
Tuesday is the New Friday!
In light of yesterday’s events, we urge you to convince your president to withdraw the constitutional declaration and cancel the referendum
Sometimes, I am not sure whose shenanigans are worse
Egypt does not stand at a crossroads – it stands on quicksand.
The path of fear
Fear is what has made the apolitical stability-junkie stick his head above the parapet.
Middle East and the global chess game
The aftermath of the Arab Spring has not ceased. It is not clear what the region will settle for or how long this process will take. Many academic scholars prior to the outbreak of the Arab Spring questioned if there was a “democratic transition” at all. They assumed that these “survivalist” regimes were in a …
Embrace each other ya Egyptians
By Hussein Abdrabbu The political scene in Egypt has become increasingly hazy since President Morsy’s recent constitutional declaration, as both liberals and Islamists have been competing on the national stage, drawing millions of supporters to Tahrir Square and near Cairo University. All the while any form of meaningful dialogue between the two sides has yet …