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In Pictures: Pro-Syria protest in Cairo
CAIRO: Following a fiery sermon by controversial Saudi Arabian cleric Sheikh Mohamed Al-Arifi on Friday June 14 at Amr Ibn El Aas mosque, thousands of Mulsim worshippers chanted against the murderous regime of Bashaar Al-Asad. The protest ended in a charity drive to support Syrian refugees in Egypt. (Photos by Hassan Ibrahim) Click here to open the gallery.
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In Pictures: Culture Ministry protest continues
CAIRO – For over a week, a motley crew of writers, filmmakers, activists and anti-Muslim Brotherhood protesters have been occupying the Culture Ministry and the area surrounding it in Zamalek, barring the recently-appointed Minister Alaa Abdel Aziz from entry. Their sit-in was triggered by the dismissal of five senior ministry officials last month, which protesters claim is part of a bigger “conspiracy” to “Brotherhoodize” the institution and change the face of Egyptian culture. Abdel Aziz denies the accusations and says that he is purging the ministry from corrupt officials and decades of mismanagement. On Tuesday, supporters of the minister staged…
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Op-ed: How Egypt conviction has changed my life
BY NATASHA TYNES Washington, DC – It’s not easy being a convicted felon. The fact that if I ever step foot in Egypt, or visit any of the countries with which it has extradition treaties (a long list by the way), I might be shoved in prison for five years is daunting, to say the least. What was my crime? Teaching Egyptian journalists and citizen journalists how to use social media as part of my job as a program director for the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), a non-profit organisation (NGO) that focuses on media development around the world. Most of…
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Op-ed: Democracy in Arabia?
BY SAMI MAHROUM Paris – In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville argued that the public’s trust alleviates pressure on the state, allowing it to function more effectively. This should give some comfort to governments in the Arab world, where a 2012 survey of young people showed 72% of the respondents expressing greater trust in their governments. But what, then, accounts for the continuing civil turmoil and government paralysis in the Arab-Spring countries? A more recent version of the survey provides some clues. A large majority of Arab youths, around 70%, say that they are most influenced by parents, family,…
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Ethiopia dam fears exaggerated, say experts
BY LEYLA DOSS Cairo – In a fiery speech Monday night by Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi capping weeks of tension between Egypt and Ethiopia over the latter’s Renaissance Dam mega project, Morsi said that all options were open, implying that a military solution was on the table to defend Egypt’s water supply. While Morsi stopped short of waging war, he sent a clear message to Egypt’s “neighbors” and to Ethiopia that Egyptians were ready to safeguard the country’s water security “with their blood”. Oscillating between dove and hawk, Morsi’s grandstanding was criticized as a tactic to thwart protests aiming to…
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In Pictures: Pro-Syria protest in Cairo
Jun 14, 2013
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In Pictures: Culture Ministry protest continues
Jun 13, 2013
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Op-ed: How Egypt conviction has changed my life
Jun 13, 2013
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Op-ed: Democracy in Arabia?
Jun 12, 2013
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Ethiopia dam fears exaggerated, say experts
Jun 12, 2013
Opinion
Op-ed: How Egypt conviction has changed my life
BY NATASHA TYNES Washington, DC – It’s not easy being a convicted felon. The fact that if I ever step foot in Egypt, or visit any of the countries with which it has extradition treaties (a long list by the way), I might be shoved in prison for five years is daunting, to say the least. What was my crime? Teaching Egyptian journalists and citizen journalists how to use social media as part of my job as a program director for the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), a non-profit organisation (NGO) that focuses on media development around the world. Most of…
Op-ed: Democracy in Arabia?
BY SAMI MAHROUM Paris – In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville argued that the public’s trust alleviates pressure on the state, allowing it to function more effectively. This should give some comfort to governments in the Arab world, where a 2012 survey of young people showed 72% of the respondents expressing greater trust in their governments. But what, then, accounts for the continuing civil turmoil and government paralysis in the Arab-Spring countries? A more recent version of the survey provides some clues. A large majority of Arab youths, around 70%, say that they are most influenced by parents, family,…
The Egypt-Israel peace test
BY ITAMAR RABINOVICH and TAMARA WITTES Washington, DC – The rocket strikes that a militant Islamist group recently fired from the Egyptian Sinai into the Israeli city of Eilat served as yet another reminder of how delicate bilateral relations remain two years after Egypt’s revolution. Terrorist activity could easily cause a crisis on the border, with the potential to trigger an unwanted confrontation that would threaten the peace treaty that normalized bilateral relations in 1979. To avoid such an outcome, Israel and Egypt must take convincing action now to uphold the treaty. Last November, when hostilities erupted in Gaza, Egyptian…
Culture
Follow your heart at The Workshops
BY LEYLA DOSS Cairo – “Pursue your Passion,” reads a banner in bright rainbow colours as it welcomes guests into a small garden filled with luscious trees and cushioned wooden chairs. The Workshop, a cultural center established last October in Cairo’s Maadi district, offers workshops and practical training to broaden your horizons. “As a writer, I have always loved arts and culture, but constantly felt that there is an absence of high quality skills in Egypt,” says Rasha Abo El-Soud, one of the founders. “Many are taught to pursue financial stability over their interests.” Abo El-Soud believes that The Workshops…
‘Les Miserables’ links revolutionary France, Egypt
BY DALIA BASIOUNY Cairo – Few performances can move their audience emotionally, while engaging them artistically and intellectually. But some very lucky Cairenes had the opportunity this week, watching highlights from the renowned musical “Les Miserable” at The American University in Cairo (AUC). The remarkable performance was presented in Arabic for the first time late last week at the Malak Gabr theater. The successful Broadway musical “Les Miserable” by Claude-Michel Schoenberg and Alain Boublil is based on Victor Hugo’s powerful novel about poverty, injustice and the struggle against oppression, set during the 1932 student revolt against the French monarchy. The…
‘Alice’ but no wonderland
BY DALIA BASIOUNY Cairo – In its second edition, the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF) which closed on April 28, presented a mixed fare of theater performances with a focus on works never seen in Egypt before. The world premiere of Lebanese performance “Alice”, created by Sawsan Bou Khaled in collaboration with Hussein Baydoun, is a case in point. This one-woman show was directed, authored and performed by Bou Khaled, a theater veteran who made her directorial debut in 2006. The exceptionally talented Hussein Baydoun, is an architect by training, but is known in the Arab world and beyond as…
Theater techies find the ‘Alternative Solution’
BY DALIA BASIOUNY Cairo Stunned by news that Rawabet Theater, the only affordable independent performance space in downtown Cairo was shut down, two theatre technicians decided to take matters into their own hands. As technicians Saber El Sayed and Mido Sadeq knew how to turn empty, unequipped spaces into full-fledged performance venues. Rawabet’s abrupt closure in February for lack of funding triggered the ingenious idea to transform The Factory, a space run by the TownHouse Gallery, and debut an arts festival they dubbed “Alternative Solution”. Click here to open the gallery. Converting this huge empty white-walled hall into an equipped…
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In Pictures: Pro-Syria protest in Cairo
CAIRO: Following a fiery sermon by controversial Saudi Arabian cleric Sheikh Mohamed Al-Arifi on Friday June 14 at Amr Ibn El Aas mosque, thousands of Mulsim worshippers chanted against the murderous regime of Bashaar Al-Asad. The protest ended in a charity drive to support Syrian refugees in Egypt. (Photos by Hassan Ibrahim) Click here to open the gallery.
In Pictures: Culture Ministry protest continues
CAIRO – For over a week, a motley crew of writers, filmmakers, activists and anti-Muslim Brotherhood protesters have been occupying the Culture Ministry and the area surrounding it in Zamalek, barring the recently-appointed Minister Alaa Abdel Aziz from entry. Their sit-in was triggered by the dismissal of five senior ministry officials last month, which protesters claim is part of a bigger “conspiracy” to “Brotherhoodize” the institution and change the face of Egyptian culture. Abdel Aziz denies the accusations and says that he is purging the ministry from corrupt officials and decades of mismanagement. On Tuesday, supporters of the minister staged…
In Pictures: Protesters call for early elections
Cairo – Several thousand protesters converged in marches to Tahrir Square on May 17 spurred by the ‘Tamarod’ (Rebellion) campaign. The grassroots movement aims to withdraw confidence from Egypt’s elected President Mursi and bring about early elections. They have claimed to have collected 2 million signatures so far, but are targeting 15 million by the end of June to mark one year of Mursi’s term in office. Islamist leaders have criticized the campaign as “illogical”. According to several news reports, former Freedom and Justice Party MP and leading member of the party Mohamed El-Beltagy said : “I call on the…
