Street art goes highbrow
New downtown Cairo art space, Heytan, seeks to celebrate and propagate street art
Latest in Tag: Mahmoud salem Highlight
Latest in Tag: Mahmoud salem
And a toast to you all…
On 22 January 2012, two days before the then MB-controlled parliament convened for the first time, I hosted a party at my house. The moment you enter the door of the apartment, you face a big banner that said: “The Muslim Brotherhood are coming… quickly grab a drink or two”. Needless to say, the guests …
An unnecessary, yet much needed explanation
Dear Mahmoud, I have been following your writings, and I must say that I’ve been a bit disappointed by the shift in your views lately. While you were a big supporter of 30 June and the end of the unfortunate episode of Egyptian history called “The Morsi Presidency”, it seems that you have started to …
Your Weekly News
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this week’s news from the fair land of Egypt, the place so magical that the state’s institutions spend all of their effort in putting a smile and a chuckle on its citizens’ faces. We start our broadcast with the latest update regarding the military’s miracle cure, the CCD, by General …
Leadership and Spin
In an interview two years ago, a French journalist asked me the tired question of whether the pitfall of the 25 January Revolution was the lack of a clear unifying leader. With exasperated breath, I explained to her that this was impossible for two very logical reasons: (1) If such a leader existed, he would …
Al-Sisi’s dwindling options
The Media momentum was there: the constitutional referendum had passed without “major incidents” (which is code for polling stations not getting blown up), the presidential elections law was issued, Adly Mansour promoted Al-Sisi to the rank of field marshal, and even the military published its semi-endorsment for him to run for president. All the man …
Stuck
On 24 January Egypt was rocked by a number of explosions all over. Al-Qaeda offshoot “Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis”, claimed responsibility, and the Ministry of Interior acted accordingly went and ambushed leftist activist Nazly Hussein at the Maadi Metro station on the 25th and charged her of being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Nazly, she …
Consequences
So, the constitutional referendum, as expected, has passed with flying colours. Official results cite a turn out that’s over 20 million people who voted Yes for the constitution by 98%. It is again worth noting that the supreme majority of those who voted for the constitution didn’t bother reading it or care what was in …
On means and ends
On Tuesday, Egypt votes on the new constitution, which aims to show the world that 30 June has electoral legitimacy, and thus undermine the Muslim Brotherhood’s legitimacy as well. Given that the Yes campaign is on the streets, on TV, in the newspapers, all over the social media and in targeted text messages to phones, …
The curious case of Egypt’s economy
According to economists, any country that experiences a revolution should have an economic recession within six months. For anyone who has followed our news, this was not the case in Egypt, and curiously, still isn’t. One of the strangest economic facts that very few people cite about this country is that it hasn’t suffered a …
2013 Winner and Losers
With the year winding down, it’s time to count this year’s winners and losers. Winners: 1)     The Nour Party: Hands down 2013’s biggest winner is the Salafi Nour Party. It played its hand perfectly after 30 June, recognising its symbolic importance to the 3 July coalition on both national and international levels. The party managed …
Egypt’s others
“Old Regime Remnants”, “The traditional forces”, “The ruling elite”, “Mubarak supporters” and “Army Boot-lickers” are all names used to describe what some people believe to be Egypt’s strongest political force, the felool. They are the fourth player in post-revolution’s Egypt political field after the Islamists, liberals and revolutionaries; yet, there is very little written about …
Interests
Our dear military, we have a problem, and one that needs to be addressed immediately. We seem to have conflicting interests, and I fear that those interests, or rather your interests, will destroy this country for years to come, against the wishes of all of your supporters. Allow me to break it down for you, …
Thy will be done
In this column we have often discussed the past and the present, so let’s for a minute discuss the future. Make no mistake, this is not a column about hopes and aspirations and dreams of an unlikely future if we all did this or stopped doing that. This is about reality, and how despite everything …
Beyond Definitions
A couple of weeks ago, on a beautiful sunny Friday, I was having breakfast with a young and brilliant economist, who is a friend of mine. I asked for her opinion on how Egypt is doing economically, and if there was a term that actually defined our economic state. She laughed hysterically, then told me …
Eight things the interim government can do
The Egyptian interim government’s performance has been rather disappointing to the population. The current Prime Minister, Hazem El-Beblawi, seems to be only focused on getting more money from Gulf nations to sustain the current dysfunctional government, rather than actually lead on, well, anything. His government has operated so far to serve one objective: spend money …
The trial
Last Monday was the trial of ex-President Morsi, and as expected, it was a circus. The deposed president looked healthy in a grey suit, walking into a cage of senior MB members dressed in prison whites, who were cheering him as president and holding up the Rabaa sign. As expected, he repeatedly shouted that he …
The selfish heartless argument for keeping Syrians in Egypt
Dear Egyptian readers: This article will not try to garner your sympathy over the plight and horror that Syrian refugees face in Egypt. It will not try to appeal to your humanity by informing you of the horrible conditions under which they live here, the random arrests they face or the horror that awaits them …
On popularity and bubbles
Stories by foreign journalists on Egypt usually come in themes. One period it’s all about sexual harassment, the other it’s all about Egypt’s very bad liberals, and currently it’s all about the Sisi Personality cult. Articles probing all sides of the “story”, from the cult’s prevalence to what it means to the role of the …
The Way of the Revolution Front: A critique
On 24 September The Way of the Revolution Front -a new group made of old faces that include Alaa AbdelFatah, Ahmed Maher, the socialist revolutionaries and various ex-MB activists– was created, in an effort to create a political “revolutionary” third option that rejects both the MB and the military, and aims to focus on achieving …
November 19th
For many Egyptians, 19 November is a black stain on our history, since it’s the anniversary of the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes of 2011. With over 40 dead and thousands other injured in four days of clashes with the MOI, there has been no accountability or justice for the victims’ families. In a post-30 June world, …
Waiting in the Queue…
We’ve been fighting for fifty years the same war, we can’t forget And the country is like a waiting room, And the queue reaches the airport “From the Queue”, By Mashrou’ Leila ……….. A picture of a wedding, where the bridesmaids are all wearing army fatigues, appears on your timeline. Another picture of a different …
Strategy
There are three schools utilised by the state facing strategic Political Violence, also known as terrorism: 1) The Justice System model, where the police and the judiciary pursue such acts as civilian criminal offenses (the most effective model  and takes place in civilised democratic countries; but to be fair, it usually takes a really long …
Snippets from a fun society
On June 26th, four days before June 30th, I was driving home to Heliopolis passing by Ghamra, when the following took place in 60 seconds: The driver of the car in front of me suddenly got his arm out, which had a gun, and proceeded to shoot three times in the air, before swerving and …
Here to inform…
When the television was invented back in the early 20th century, many people believed that they had finally found an effective method to eradicate ignorance all over the world. Enthusiasts believed that children would learn from their homes, and the public would become better informed about the issues that governed their lives. While most people …
For Mohamed Ibrahim, the clock is ticking for his removal…
In case you are not familiar with who Mohamed Ibrahim is, he is the current Minister of Interior in Egypt, and a disgrace. He was appointed by former President Mohamed Morsi in the middle of the constitutional crisis in order to turn a blind eye when the Muslim Brotherhood’s thugs were sent to attack and …
Our catastrophic voting system
Let’s talk about voting, Mahmoud Salem writes
State of play
Upon returning from a two-week trip abroad, the level of hatred towards the Muslim Brotherhood that I found in every person I spoke to is unprecedented and shocking. From the moment I boarded the plane in New York until I left the airport in Cairo there was a constant theme to every small talk conversation …
The murky waters of June 30, part 3:Old players and new games
As we move ahead as a nation with a new transition plan, it’s important to note who is and who isn’t a player in this new phase, and where they fall in this new state order. People who are out of the stage of influence are both the Muslim Brotherhood and the independent Jan 25 …
The murky waters of 30 June part 2: On revolutionary depression
The June 30 revolutionary alliance is made of very strange bedfellows and its reaction to the events that have transpired since reflects its inherent contradictions. The newbie revolutionaries (Independents) are more than ecstatic due their success and are acquiring an ego that rivals those of the Jan 25’s; the social conservatives are jubilant for the …