Latest in Tag: opinion Highlight
Latest in Tag: opinion
Editor’s letter: Beneath the Belgian chocolate crust
Beneath the Belgian chocolate crust
Human rights corner: Let’s not forget activists in Bahrain
Bahrain highlights the use of double standards when defending human rights.
Review: Constituent Assembly and relative court decision
As many Egyptians awaited the Supreme Administrative Court decision regarding the second Constituent Assembly, almost all opinion writers have dissected the draft constitution, while attempting to relate the constitution to the long-awaited court ruling.
Review: Columnists ask why the army is angry?
Many writers have focused on a recent public debate over false news that ex-military generals were banned from travelling. In another note, some writers have criticised Morsy for his groundless decisions.
The Angry “Liberal”?
In any ideological struggle or clash of discourses original ideas may not necessarily hold water.
An Authoritarian Relapse?
The current circumstances under which the constitution is being drafted does not represent the ideals nor values embodied by the January 25th Revolution.
The good Muslim
Religion has become the newest weapon of choice turning religious practice from a private habit into to a show of power.
Review: Authority, legitimacy and the rule of law
The failed ouster of Abdel Meguid Mahmoud and the violence in Tahrir Sqaure dominate the Arabic opinion columns. The office of the president takes a bashing, as more than one writer wonders who is really in control.
Inside political Islam: the borders between moderates and extremists
Over the last few weeks, the Muslim Brotherhood has aligned with the Salafis in the Constitutional Assembly in order to pass articles that establish Al-Azhar as a religious authority above any elected institution.
The untouchable old guard
Some keep saying that the “third hand” has disappeared with the ascendency of the Muslim Brotherhood to power. I find it funny when people say that.
Review: Political incompetence, falling investment and the revolution’s conclusion
Columnists discuss the political failings of the new regime and how to overcome them, as well as the necessity of a new constitution for the success of the revolution and the deteriorating investment climate in Egypt.
The circle
Didn’t we have a revolution to make everything better?
Editor’s letter: Mohamed Morsy Mubarak
It seems that Morsy has stumbled upon Mubarak’s governance manual somewhere in the presidential palace
Within the Islamist movement who is moderate…and who is extremist?
What degree of disagreement can be reached between those calling for the immediate enforcement of Islamic law and those calling for gradualism?
Review: Secular dictatorships, enslaved conscripts, and the struggle within the Brotherhood
 Columnists look to the coming period, addressing misconceptions regarding secularism and its link to democracy, the inhumane treatment central security forces are subjected to, and the convoluted internal politics of the Muslim Brotherhood.  Falsification and accusation Fahmy Houaidy Al-Shorouk Attempting to dismantle what he views as false assumptions and claims regarding secularism and its …
President…but not yet for all Egyptians
It would be a mistake for the presidency and its allies to consider that all the country is neatly divided into people who love the president and those who hate him.
Review: The president under fire
 Columnists find much to criticise in President Mohamed Morsy during the past period. Much concerns lingering thoughts regarding the Cairo Stadium celebration and its alleged shortcomings, while some are a result of his Muslim Brotherhood affiliation. The bulk of it, however, relates to the 100-day plan and its perceived failures, and what many columnists view …
Morsy’s “men of the Interior”
Remember that the trigger for the revolution was police brutality
On defeatism, division and diversity
Our past two winters have been insane with action, and something tells me that this winter will not be different; that it’s time for things to heat up once more around here.
Review: The speech at the stadium
 Following the high-profile celebration of the 6 October victory in Cairo Stadium, at which President Morsy gave a lengthy speech, columnists discussed, analysed and critiqued the speech and the indications it relays. Reactions varied from praise, to admiration of political astuteness, to outright attack.  The stadium speech… a provisional analysis Nader Bakkar Al-Watan Judging …
From the other side: The issue of the civil society is a different story
In Mid-March of 2011, 60 civil society organisations submitted a draft law pertaining to the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) under then Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, while Dr Gouda Abdul Khaleq was in charge of the ministry of social solidarity. They waited for a date for a discussion of the new law, which included protecting …
The Future of Egyptian American Relations ?
Egypt still remains the cornerstone of American foreign policy in the Middle East. The relationship now seems to be going through somewhat turbulent and tense times, however the overall relations have not seriously departed from the previous norms of the Mubarak era. Though this is the case now, the future is still unclear. Currently the …
Review: Learning politics and dreading the future
Columnists tackled various issues indicative of the nascent and provisional state of Egyptian democracy, as well as the tentative and at times apprehensive attitude the country holds towards the future. They relay fears of both internal and external transformations, and discuss the Egyptian political arena and its struggles to learn the rights and wrongs of …
100 days of Morsy
One hundred days have passed since that afternoon when the official result of the presidential election was out. On that day, it took me 20 minutes to drive from New Cairo to Mohandseen, a trip that usually takes me 90 minutes. The streets of Cairo were as empty as a Friday early morning. After days …
Review: The past, present and future
On the 39th anniversary of the 6th of October War, columnists have given in to the temptations of history. While the prevailing opinion is that the war retains an honourable position in Egypt’s past, concerns are raised for the future. The significance of the current crisis in the Sinai is not lost on Egyptian pundits, …
The struggles of the Mubarak-era asset recovery process
By Waleed Nassar Egypt’s post-revolution efforts to repatriate Mubarak-era assets have garnered widespread international attention since his ouster in 2011.There are serious questions concerning what progress has been made over the past year and a half, however, as the international recovery process has not yielded the results many had hoped. For instance, only three countries …
Egyptian women struggle for equality and freedom
Nearly twenty months after last year’s mass uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s women are again taking to the streets, demanding “bread, freedom and social justice,” the same demands made by pro-democracy activists protesting in Tahrir Square during the 25 January revolution. A women’s rally outside the Shura (Consultative) Council headquarters on Qasr Al-Eini …
Human rights corner: Torture continues as Morsy approaches his 100 days
By Sally Sami A friend of mine and former colleague keeps reminding me how I woke him up one morning in June 2010 when pictures of Khaled Saeed were posted on Facebook, telling him that this case would be a ground-breaking case. True, the Khaled Saeed case, the movement that followed, and his family’s determination …
Displacing Copts from Rafah or from Egypt?
A terrorist group demanded that Christian families leave the North Sinai town of Rafah. The government quickly carried out these orders sending all Christian employees of Rafah to work in Al-Arish and relocating their children to Al-Arish schools. The incident could have ended there, but fate decreed that the story be leaked to political circles. …
Morsy tweets from Mars
President Mohamed Morsy recently said on Twitter, “respect for human rights in all dimensions: faith, culture, social, economic, and political must be a key component in all our work”. In another, he said, “we do not have minorities; all Egyptian citizens are treated equally.” I wonder if Mr President has read the news lately or …