Politics ‘nearly dead’ in Egypt, general situation frustrates everyone: Zahran
The current regime deliberately closed the door for political parties
Latest in Tag: Farid Zahran Highlight
Latest in Tag: Farid Zahran
Will the parliamentary elections be held?
Some people may not remember that the parliamentary elections were supposed to take place in October 2014, but were postponed more than once, and we are now in May 2015. The new promise is that the elections will be held after Eid Al-Fitr, roughly three months from now. These continuous postponements have raised many questions …
Can the Arab League answer critical questions?
At first, the notion of Arabism appeared to liberate the Levant from the Ottoman Empire. However, after the 1952 revolution, [Gamal] Abdel Nasser re-defined the Arab nationalism to fight traditional colonialism following its retreat after the two great powers (UK and France) fell back as a result of World War II. The national ideologies presented …
Can the security strategy performance for confronting extremism be improved?
The higher strata of the middle class, with society’s higher authority, insist on supporting the security strategy for confronting terrorism and extremism. On the one hand, they fear that using any other strategy may detract from the luxury they enjoy. On the other hand, they do not feel any direct harm from the security’s subjugation …
What do strategies fighting terrorism and extremism rely on?
In light of the strategy of fighting terrorism and extremism, regardless of whether you support or oppose this strategy, we all notice that terrorism is expanding. The strategy was widened to include not only armed terrorists but also any one holding the “Rabaa” sign, even if they do not participate in or provoke direct violence. …
What are the existing strategies in the face of terrorism and extremism?
The terrorist events that took place in Sinai on 29 January 2015 have raised major concerns and debates. Concerns were very obvious on TV screens, in newspapers, within political forces, and perhaps also ruling circles. These concerns, in my opinion, are justified. A year and a half after the first Rafah incident which targeted a …
Why do politicians keep fighting despite common goals?
Most projected electoral coalitions describe their goals as representing the 25 January and 30 June revolutions, rejecting terrorism and extremism, and safeguard the national identity
We are all Shaimaa Al-Sabbagh
Martyr Shaimaa Al-Sabbagh was not, of course, the first victim after 30 June. We do not know exactly how many innocent Egyptians have been killed since 30 June. By that, we mean unarmed and peaceful citizens killed, without any use of direct violence in clashing with the authorities, which would, only in this case, result …
Who supports terrorist forces in the ongoing wars?
There is a war, or rather wars, taking place in the Middle East between political Islam and ruling regimes, and most observers note that on one side of these wars stands a group of states and governments while the other includes religious, extremist, and militant groups and organisations. The current scene may bring to mind …
What about Al-Sisi’s relations with politicians? (3)
Leaders of the 1952 family start taking power through alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood. Naguib, Nasser and El-Sadat did this. Finally, the Supreme Council – Al-Sisi followed. Even Mubarak, who began to clash with political Islam because it came to power – and the trend that was found guilty for the assassination of El-Sadat, allied …
Once again, what about Al-Sisi’s relations with politicians?
A week after dissolving political parties, particularly on 16 January 1953, Abdel Nasser announced the establishment of the “Freedom Authority”, making it a direct subsidiary of the ruling “revolution council” at the time. It was purposely called “authority” rather than “party” or “front”. The expression makes it sound like one of the state’s authorities like …
What about Al-Sisi’s relationship with politicians?
In order to discuss Al-Sisi’s relationship with politicians and get to the root causes of this apparent acrimony between the president and those working in politics in Egypt, we must review how the heads of the 1952 family changed their relationships with politicians and the political process, in order to understand the constants of the …
Will Mubarak’s acquittal push Al-Sisi in a specific direction?
The vast majority of people were struck with the impression that the judgment acquitting Mubarak was not simply a court ruling issued by an independent judge acquitting Mubarak from specific crimes, but instead served to acquit the personality of Mubarak and his regime in general. We all witnessed how Mubarak’s supporters celebrated the ruling, while …
Will Al-Sisi reproduce the Mubarak regime?
Mubarak’s regime entered into decline when contradiction and conflict reached their peak among the ruling class and junta, as with what happened previously within the 1952 family. The contradictions and conflicts were the main motivation behind the transition from one president to another. This issue reflected primarily on the ruling class’ movement toward saving their …
Does Sisi have a political vision?
We have explained more than once that Sisi’s rule was founded on two main forces: first, the army, and the second, strong public support. Before moving on from this point, we must make it clear that the army does not provide exclusive security or control for Sisi in particular or the regime in general, despite …
How does Al-Sisi expand the scope of his supporters?
In our previous article, we explained how President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi began his journey to power, claiming that his rise was based on two main forces: first, the armed forces, and second, the pro-Al-Sisi mood that has considered him to be the most capable person to provide security and stability after removing the Muslim Brotherhood. …
What are the forces that underpin Al-Sisi’s management of the country?
It is now clear, to all those concerned, that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi does not depend on political parties or forces in his administration of the country’s affairs. He has been clear and careful in emphasising this since he was elected into the presidency. Although he was trying to win support from various factions during …
What are the socio-cultural dimensions behind the phenomenon of harassment? (Part 6)
Through the last five articles we noted what we call the characteristics of slums and determined that there are four main attributes of these neighbourhoods. The most important of these characteristics are that the residents of slums are poor and marginalised, the area lacks prior planning and services and is newly constructed. We clarified how …
What are the socio-cultural dimensions behind the phenomenon of harassment? (5)
Slums, according to our definition as outlined in the four previous articles, are characterised by a largely poor and marginalised population, a lack of services and the absence of prior planning. The neighbourhoods are often newly built and also have a newer social composition. This has resulted in an inundation of the slums on one …
What are the social and cultural dimensions behind the phenomenon of harassment? (2)
To start, we affirm our rejection of the perspective that sexual harassment is a result of our failing to teach religion in schools, or that a solid moral compass is now absent thanks to the disintegration of the family, or any other interpretations that attempt to evade the socio-cultural reasons behind this phenomenon. In the …
What are the four social and cultural factors behind the phenomenon of harassment?
Many observers, analysts, and those working in the realm of politics argue that we are unable to address the current economic crisis, to which they may also add that we are incapable of achieving social justice as well. The country will witness what is called “the hunger revolution” which they describe as leading to unprecedented …
Copts and political action before the 1919 revolution
In our previous article, we attempted an overview the Copts’ role in the public and political spheres before the 25 January Revolution. Many friends reminded me that I did not touch upon what happened before 1952. For this article, I had decided on discussing the role of the Copts from 1952 through January 2011, but …
Coptic Christians and political activism before 25 January
Coptic Christians have, since 1952, lived according to what might be considered a tacit agreement between the church and the state, one whereby the state committed itself to the protection of Copts, the principles and rules of equality before the law, and equal opportunity, and the church reciprocated by absorbing the activities of Coptic Christians …
Who is responsible for the disbanding of the national partnership?
I have no problem with replacing the 30 June alliance term with the national partnership. Recently, I have used the term 30 June alliance to refer to the alliance formed between the old state supporters, the democratic entities and the army. This alliance went through many stages and attacks leading me to believe that it …
Without political support? (Part two)
In the previous article, I highlighted the importance of belonging to a political party or movement when it comes to presidential candidates. The presidential candidate that emerges from a party has a certain framework within which he works along with thousands of other members and volunteers. However, a presidential candidate who does not belong to …
The cabinet’s resignation: A step in which direction?
A few hours before starting to write this article, Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi’s cabinet resigned. This was expected even if the government was pushed into the resignation. However, El-Beblawi’s — even if it was delayed — was a much better option than being dismissed from his position. It is believed that the cabinet’s resignation and …
What do the democratic entities want from the next president?
During recent weeks, different democratic entities have insisted that a presidential candidate must have clear programmes and political directions so that voters have sufficient information regarding their experience in office or public administration or civil societies. This is especially important if the candidate is not a known political figure with a known public history. We …
What happens after the presidential elections?
This article’s title was supposed to be “What happens after electing Al-Sisi?” but I changed my mind, and hence the current title. That is because I still have hope that Al-Sisi will choose the third scenario, which includes cooperating with democratic entities to support a certain candidate for presidency. This candidate will also be accepted …
Is Al-Sisi’s nomination settled?
I write this on the evening of Monday, 27 January and I still believe that Al-Sisi has not made up his mind on nominating himself for presidency. I wondered if this thought was due to what I read from the current political scene or is it what I am hoping for based on an accurate …
What are the challenges facing the democratic project?
Egypt is going through many conflicts due to more than just one division. These divisions stem from a need to identify the different social components so as to predict their political and social variables. These divisions seem to clash and intersect sometimes, since they usually champion different interests, yet people usually focus on one while …