Latest in Tag: maher hamoud Highlight
Latest in Tag: maher hamoud
Book Review: Chocolate Filling.. an incisive journey through Belgium and more from the eyes of the Other
Maher Hamoud has spent much of his professional life as a journalist.
Remembering Camille Lepage: The lady with no redlines
Exactly one year ago, I tried to take a break from my intense news production life style and daily stress. I headed to Southern Spain, with the intention of staying for a couple of weeks or maybe months, a break from big and overcrowded cities full of politicians and daily insanities. Only after a few …
Europe and those Arabs (4): The EU and the Belgian syndrome
Unlike most Europeans, Belgians are shy to ask for better services, not only in public institutions, but even in the private sector. If a Belgian has trouble getting service, or buying a product, he or she won’t make a fuss. They’re polite. The service provider will apologise and everyone will go off on their way. …
Europe and those Arabs (3): Migrating for a lonely death
In 2007, mid-production of a documentary film of mine called Back in a Coffin discussing the phenomenon of illegal migration from Egypt to Italy on what is tragically called death boats, I learned about real human beings, not just a media exaggeration to sell a story to the public. In a village called Tatoon in …
Editor’s letter: Europe and those Arabs (2): The good Muslim citizen
How many times did we hear the term “good Muslim” either within the Muslim communities or others in Europe? I assume many. But have we ever thought of the scale of differences and miscommunication due to the misuse of this label? To start with, being a good Muslim is nothing but a myth, which applies …
Editor’s letter: Europe and those Arabs (1): Is the EU having an affair with The Muslim Brotherhood?
A few weeks ago I called an old friend to say goodbye before heading to Brussels after winning an EU award for my work in the past couple of years. I briefly explained what I would be doing in the capital of Europe and the fact that I would be having a series of meetings …
Editor’s Letter: Egyptians between the two Gamals (5 of 5): Sisi in Nasser’s suit, Sadat’s tongue and Mubarak’s fist
Since the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi on 3 July this year by the military with support of the masses, Egypt is witnessing a unique example of governance models: all-in-one leadership style. Officially, we have Mr Adly Mansour as the interim president of the country until the so-called roadmap is accomplished sometime hopefully this coming …
Editor’s letter: Egyptians between the two Gamals (4 of 5): Mubarak’s fall, just a beginning
The accumulation of poverty and anger made Egypt seem like a nation left on the back burner that Mubarak and his business elite thought would never have to face. They believed, and even the people themselves did, that passivity is a dominant characteristic of Egyptians. Living in their fancy palaces and luxurious lifestyles within their …
Editor’s letter: Egyptians between the two Gamals (3 of 5): A nation on the back burner
Mubarak’s propaganda machine had the habit of spreading false optimistic information about his “economic achievements” on an almost daily basis. Several governments appointed by the ousted president got used to the practice of faking reports about the country’s economic performance, or at least show or hide the data based on what would fix the government’s …
Editor’s letter: Egyptians between the two Gamals (2 of 5): The Mubarakonomics of dismantling Nasser’s state
Ousted president Hosni Mubarak had his own economic model that can be described as an incoherent blend combining the disadvantages of both capitalism and socialism in one entity. We can easily call it Mubarakonomics. A pro-rich neoliberal model in a fat nonfunctioning extremely centralised state. Under such a model, the middle and lower income groups …
Editor’s letter: Egyptians between the two Gamals (1 of 5)
Bread, freedom and social justice! A slogan and a statement that simply explains why Egyptians had to head to Tahrir Square on 25 January, 2011 and what their aspirations were. But have they reached what they sacrificed for? Or has the revolution crashed? There are two difficult questions for observers to provide consistent and quick …
Editor’s letter: You and the future of independent news
The Daily News Egypt is not only Egypt’s sole and last locally produced independent newspaper in English. It has also always been a school for young Egyptian journalists, a place where one generation after the other learn from older colleagues how to produce local news with a global reach. Since DNE’s founding in 2005, every …
Editor’s letter: Unsustainable return of Mubarak’s state
Hosni Mubarak is out of Tora prison and placed under “house arrest” in a military hospital in Cairo. Some Egyptians take this development to the extreme and pessimistically claim Mubarak is back to power, which is definitely more of a desperate joke than anything else. Simply, both politically and physically it is unfeasible to even …
Editor’s letter: War of the misnomers
People are stuck with the short-sighted dilemma of choosing between two conflicting labels: legitimacy or military coup, writes Maher Hamoud
Editor’s letter: Crucifying the Muslim Brotherhood
A few days ago while walking in Tahrir Square, I heard a young man shouting at two bearded men: “Out, out.” It was not clear to me, nor to anyone else, what they had actually done wrong. The poor bearded men, one in his early twenties and the other in his mid-forties, did not have …
Editor’s letter: Morsi in free fall
Three months ago I wrote my weekly editor’s letter and named it “The real countdown to the Brotherhood’s fall.” I think I was too conservative in my analysis, basing my argument on an assumed progression of negative attitudes held by average citizens against President Mohamed Morsi and the ruling Muslim Brotherhood. I should have found …
Editor’s letter: Is Egypt on the verge of a civil war?
Since the launch of the Tamarod campaign about two months ago, the term “civil war” has been used frequently by both mainstream and social media, the political elite and various other segments of society. I’ve been wondering if this was a natural overreaction by a society that has a history of rejecting internal violence, where …
Editor’s letter: Rebel Campaign, beyond legalities
Tamarod (Rebel) is a campaign aiming at collecting the biggest number possible of signatures by Egyptians, who agree to withdraw confidence from President Mohamed Morsi. The campaign caught significant attention in the media, local and international, and in the daily political arguments among ordinary Egyptians. Rebel as a non-traditional tactic of opposition, or as some …
Editor’s letter: The real countdown to the brotherhood’s fall
A countdown to the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood’s rule started over two years ago, when they first turned against the revolution by siding with the military in manipulating the people for a yes vote in the March 2011 referendum for the constitutional declaration. It was accelerated when they openly turned against the revolutionary youth …
Editor’s letter: Revolution level II: Waiting for the right spark
On the second anniversary of the military-Islamist orchestrated referendum of 19 March 2011, deliberately putting the cart in front of the horse in post-Mubarak’s state rebuilding, one should always remember that Egypt is choosing the long path to meet the demand of the revolution and will suffer the consequences. It is clearly one of those …
EMEF hosts series on Arab Spring
Euro Middle East Forum in Brussels began their lecture series ‘Arab Transitions: Two Years On’ on Tuesday
Editor’s letter: Chapeau to Al Nour Party
In Egypt’s post-Mubarak first parliament, which lasted for a few months in 2012, it was the first time for the Salafi Islamists (primarily Al Nour Party) to have such political representation. It was very messy though, as many Egyptians found it entertaining and liked to call it the “circus”. The parliament channel Soot Al Shaab …
Editor’s letter: On the interior and stability nonsense
A few months before the revolution’s spark ignited, I had two Palestinian friends working in the media visiting me in Cairo. The last time I had seen them before this was during an Arab summit in 2007 (we were working together back then). So, the three of us met at a fancy Mohandiseen flat they …
Editor’s letter: Time for the cool sheikhs
In 2010 I was invited to a lecture by Amr Khaled, organised by Regents College in London, while I was there for some media mission. The lecture was considered very important, as it was to discuss coexistence in Islam, in a city that has one of the most visible Muslim minorities in Europe. For those …
Editor’s letter: Happy revolution day, labour movements
Happy revolution day, labour movements
Editor’s letter: Worshipping and whipping on Nasser’s birth anniversary
Two days ago was the 95th anniversary of President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s birth (1918 – 1970). The man who said, “He who cannot support himself, cannot make his own decision,” in his historical attempt to grant Egypt complete independence in its decision making. At any occasion, or even without an occasion, lovers and worshippers of …
Editor’s letter: Egyptian economy: Fixing a mud house in the rainy season
Fixing a mud house in the rainy season
Editor’s letter: Egyptian naive hopes for 2013
For some reason, towards the end of every year I feel emotionally detached from the many wishes and hopes of a happy New Year. I always wonder what difference it would make waking up the following day in a year that has a different digit to the right. However, I still like these good wishes …
Editor’s letter: On the revolutionary and fighting for square one
The revolutionary have wisely recognised that they have lost the constitution’s battle for the Muslim Brotherhood and it seems that they understand that it is only one of many still ahead. However, they keep blaming it on the voting process manipulation, which is negligible of a deeper failure they have. The talk is so much …
Editor’s letter: Tamkeen At-Tamkeen and the Islamists’ escalations
DNE chief editor’s weekly column