Abu Ismail supporter handed life sentence
Ahmed Arafa sentenced for possessing machinegun and ammunition
Latest in Tag: Ahmed Arafa Highlight
Latest in Tag: Ahmed Arafa
Obsessive-compulsive morality disorder
On Friday, Islamists surrounded the St George church in Beni Suef demanding the return of a 21 year-old Muslim woman whom they alleged was kidnapped and converted last November by the church in order to allow her to marry her Christian boyfriend. Well, it turns out she did run away with her boyfriendâonly he wasnât …
The Protocols of the Elders of Moqattam
The dust had barely settled in Boston last week when, like virulent microorganisms, conspiracy theories began to multiply exponentially on cyberspace in an attempt to ascertain who was responsible for the bombingsâand, in keeping with the genre, some of the answers were typically atypical. The human mind is a pattern-finder par excellence, like no other …
The others
Two events have prompted this weekâs column: the unprecedented attack on St. Markâs Cathedral last week, and my recently watching  the Jews of Egypt documentary. Both got me thinking about the concept of âthe otherâ. A predefined group of people which another group or culture or society will use to distance itself from. “The other” …
Thatâs not your mother, itâs a MAN, baby!
(Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, in case youâre wondering about the title.) In our patriarchal, unfortunately chauvinistic, society, many of the words or phrases used to denote positive qualities have a distinctly male flavour: gadaâ or dakkar, for example. The brilliant Cairokee, right at the end of their song Matloob Zaâeem (Wanted: A leader), …
The wall of rejected classics
I love The Shining. Iâve 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? Iâm still going for The …
Rape, burn and pillage
Violence. Sheer, unadulterated brute force. From the Ultras, to the Brotherhoodâs âmilitiasâ (can you believe that our president is a member of a group that has âmilitiasâ? Doesnât 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 …
Under pressure
Working at a newspaper is tough stuff. Iâve likened it somewhat to the songs on Nirvanaâs Nevermind album. The day starts off quietly and melodiously as I saunter into the office, everything strumming along nicely at first, lulling you into a false sense of security: âToday should be an easy day,â I think to myself. …
Quo vadis, baby?
When I was but a wee lad, I spent my summers in Alexandria, and most of that time at the Alexandria Sporting Club (womenâs and menâs basketball champions of Egypt, incidentally). Back then I was active and physically fit; nowadays, my only form of exercise is trying to catch the cats as they dart out …
Riding the revolution
Ever since reading Khaled Al Khamissiâs Taxi a few years ago, Iâve been striking up conversations with taxi drivers in Egypt at almost any chance I get. One of my cousins, also a fan of the book, has a neat trick: Go for a random topic, x, and simply ask the driver: âWhat is your view on x, yasta?â Then …