In the previous article, I explored some of the Egyptian Social Democratic Partyâs attempts at working on the ground. In this article, I will discuss some of the partyâs promotional activities for the constitution. The party discussed voting in the constitutional referendum for about a month, and after both groups (pro and against the new …
At the beginning one has to explain the difference between working on the ground and connecting with the people. The first is quite broad and includes any human activity that depends on communicating with the people be it political or social. In that case, the people are always the object and the target for the …
During the seventies, our generation fought some glorious battles under the slogan âAbsolute democracy for all, absolute dedication for the nationâ. Those battles occurred when we were in college. They started with a wave of student and worker protests against what was known at the time as âaviation verdictsâ which resulted in the innocence of …
I do not want to spread panic amongst people especially those who are enemies of the Brotherhood, but I am beginning to think that there is a possibility that the Brotherhood will return to the forefront of the political scene. The main reason for the resurgence of the Brotherhood is the aggressive methods employed by …
In the Middle East and Egypt, people have gotten used to utilising the words âshoeâ and âslipperâ in verbal insults. Of course, the physical usage of the items exists, as demonstrated by the Iraqi journalist with the former President George Bush junior. We have also witnessed women living in low-class neighbourhoods use slippers to beat …
Since 30 June and until now, there has been a struggle between those who have united over the fall of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. They are comprised of the hegemonic state movement and the democratic movement. This conflict manifests inside the cabinet, as well as different state apparatus, leading to a noticeable state of …
In previous articles, I went over the economic-social map and explained how there is a case of fluidity between socio-economic classes, leading to an overlap of interests. Therefore, what is needed is a political initiative that bypasses socio-economic classes or one that unites them. One of the reasons behind the strength of the Islamist project …
In previous articles, I explored the different political parties and movements, along with the conflicts between them. The reason for the confusion among political parties and their inability to define their social standing is not only due to their membersâ inexperience, but also due to the social variation of the Egyptian society. Often, one person …
Most people count the following parties as social democratic ones: the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Justice Party and Al Dostour Party. Other people describe them as liberal rather than social democratic, which is a description used for the Nasserite and Leftist parties. Other descriptions include secular, civil or even parties against a religious state. …
In the previous two articles, we surveyed the map of parties and groups inside the Egyptian democratic movement. There were four major directions inside the movement, three of which were already established: liberals, national Nasserites, and leftists. The fourth group is newly-established: the social democrats. Beginning with the Nasserites: the National Conciliation Party and the …
In our previous article on the inner workings of Egyptâs democratic movement, we discussed the countryâs Nasserist and leftist political camps. Here, we will seek to do the same with Egyptâs social democratic and liberal movements. The largest and most important party within the former, and perhaps even the larger civil democratic movement as a …
In order to answer this question regarding the future of Egyptâs democracy movement, we must first stop and look at the parties that make up its internal structure. This will require that we analyse in detail each party within the movement, in order to evaluate their performance and measure their strength in comparison to other …
It is no longer a secret that the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood came as the result of an unannounced, strategic partnership between Egyptâs democracy forces and supporters of the old regime, (i.e. supporters of Hosni Mubarak, Gamal Abd el-Nasser and Muhammed Ali). This partnership did not possess long term goals, as those from the …
All political systems throughout the world must include large, dominant political parties, and small, opposition parties. These parties must be rooted in legitimacy and capable of engaging in dialogue regarding the foundations of political life and the relationship that exists between citizens and the state. Such dialogue is successful when it is rooted in specific …
Before the dispersal of the sit-ins at Rabaa Al-Adaweya and Al-Nahda squares, something resembling a consensus was being reached amongst Egyptâs democratic forces, which acknowledged that neither of the two was peaceful. This consensus was based off a series of clues and supporting evidence received from human rights organisations pointing to the fact that torture …
The goals of the US appear extremely vague from within Egypt, Farid Zahran writes
In the last article we discussed Egyptâs elite, and in particular those supporters of the nationalist, or âdeepâ state, who are largely in line with American strategic directives regarding the administration of the region and the world at large. None of their adopted polices clash with American interests, either in Egypt or in the region …
Those who say that what happened on 30 June was a popular revolution supported by the army do not deny that it was the main reason behind the achievement of their goal in overthrowing Morsi, just like it was on 25 January in overthrowing Mubarak. Like Mubarak, Morsi has supporters who believe that he is …
I would have liked to answer the question: âwhere is Egypt going after 30 June?â 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 …
In the loud conversations that occurred before and after the removal of Morsi, some stressed the importance of explaining the truth about what is going on in Egypt to political and media circles in the west. The conversations were directed specifically to the United States, on the basis that the information reaching those circles is …
Analysing the current political scene is quite difficult, because things are happening very fast, and predictions that are to be published in two-days time might turn out to be far from reality. Despite the difficulty, I am bound to present an analytic reading of the situation, hoping that this reading would succeed in presenting an …
In previous articles, I went into detail regarding the three groups of the Islamist political movement: the political Islamist parties, at the heart of which is the Muslim Brotherhood; the religion-based political Islamist parties, at the heart of which is the Al-Nour party; and the radical Islamist parties, at the heart of which is the …
Last article, I explained the social background of the second group of the political Islamist movement, which was the religion-based Islamist parties. This time, I will explain that of the third group of the Islamist political movement, the radical Islamist group. By radical, I mean the Islamist groups that are officially active in the political …
In the previous article, I covered the first segment of the Islamist movements in Egypt, which was the political Islamist parties, and it centred on the Muslim Brotherhood. Now, I will go into detail regarding the second segment, the religion-based Islamist parties. The religion-based Islamist parties are what we call Salafis. We call them the …
I have mentioned before that the political life in Egypt can be divided in many ways. In an attempt to analyse the political map, I divided it into three major movements: the political Islamist group, the democratic group and the supporters of a hegemonic state. I went into detail regarding the third group, which is …
Sunday night, during a late night call to the âAl-Hafezâ television channel, I took part in a discussion with a prominent Egyptian political analyst regarding the countryâs rampant political polarisation. For those who donât know, Al-Hafez is a relatively extremist channel that plays host to a number of far right personalities, including a sheikh who …
It should be clear, as pointed out in several of my previous articles, that Egyptâs political circuit consists of three primary forces. The first of these is the countryâs Islamist movement, made up primarily of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the second is those forces that seek to revive Egyptâs âoldâ hegemonic state, with the army, …
Before answering this question, ask yourself: Has the Muslim Brotherhood succeeded in running the country? I ask this as someone who considers himself relatively involved in the countryâs political circuit, who does not seek to judge the Muslim Brotherhood based on his own political convictions; however at the same time I do not pretend to …
It has been repeated many times in recent months that there exists no alternative to the Muslim Brotherhood in terms of selecting a group capable and organised enough to rule Egypt. Other organisations, it has been claimed, lack unity, do not have enough popular political support, or have no clear vision for a political platform. …
I have attempted over the last several articles, to shed light on the fault lines of the various political and socio-economic divisions that exist within Egyptian society, in addition to the ideologies of those who seek during elections to secure their place within the countryâs political system. Traditional left wing theory tells us that social …