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…
Egypt’s Salafyo Costa bring Christians, Muslims together
BY SOPHIE ANMUTH and MARWA NASSER Cairo Clashes in Egypt between Muslims and Copts earlier this month have sparked fears of further sectarian violence for the Egyptian Copt minority, which makes up approximately 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 90 million. As a foreigner and a native Egyptian living in Cairo, we have both heard first-hand the stereotypes about faith relations in Egypt. For example, the one of us who grew up here remembers being five, in a middle-class neighbourhood in Cairo, and overhearing two schoolmates whispering and pointing at another girl: “She’s Christian”. They probably didn’t even understand what…
The decline of knowledge in Egypt
BY NAEL M. SHAMA Cairo Scant budgets, fanaticism, encroachments on freedom of expression and a growing isolationist, inward-looking attitude to the world have undermined the quality and reach of Egypt’s cultural production. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. The real misfortune is that knowledge in Egypt has been deformed and commodified. Like a Pepsi can or a bag of chips, products with fine packaging and generous marketing campaigns win the race, leaving little room to any real transmission of knowledge. From a historical perspective, the “commodification of culture” is certainly not a new phenomenon, but lately it has…
Op-ed: Egyptian Democracy’s Last Chance?
BY ALVARO DE VASCONCELOS Cairo Egypt’s upcoming general election could help to consolidate its nascent democracy and provide legitimacy to the government’s efforts to address the social, political, economic, and security challenges facing the country. But no election, however successfully conducted, will be enough: Unless Egypt overcomes its current political polarization and builds a broad consensus that includes ruling Islamists and the secular opposition, its problems will persist, jeopardizing the prospect of a democratic future. Egypt’s lack of strong democratic institutions and its ongoing economic crisis are fueling social unrest and crisis, division, and hostility within the political system. At…
Op-ed: Egypt’s economic siren
BY MOHAMED A. EL-ERIAN Newport Beach Facing a turbulent political situation and recurrent street protests, Egypt’s political elite would be well advised to focus on the economic implications of the current turmoil, whether they are in government or in opposition. Doing so would lead them to recognize seven compelling reasons why a more collaborative approach to solving Egypt’s problems is in the country’s collective interest, as well as in their own individual interests. First, if the social and political disorder persists, Egypt’s economy will end up with crippling inflation, severe balance-of-payments problems, and a budgetary crisis. The risk of a…
Op-ed: Rape of a nation
BY REHAM BARAKAT Last December India witnessed a horrifying gang rape crime in Delhi. A 23-year-old woman was raped by five men on a bus. I won’t get into the morbid details, but suffice it to say that the victim of this barbaric act has died of her injuries. We have been brought up naively and falsely to believe that incidents of this kind do not happen in Egypt. But I remember thinking that when news of the Delhi rape broke that surely similar crimes are committed in our nation but are hardly ever reported or covered by the media….
Op-ed: Listen to the women, Morsi
BY WAFAA WALI I volunteered as a civil proctor in the second round of the referendum on Egypt’s new constitution. I had been part of the revolution since the beginning, have done the walks, cheering, dangerous bits and pieces, contributions, distribution of flyers and collection of data. But I have not become a member of any political or social group. I still somehow value my position as an officially non-aligned member of the community. I attended the crash training session on the rights and role of a civil proctor the night before the event. Early next day, a bus drove…
Op-ed: The absurdity of ideology
BY REHAM BARAKAT One of the most common phrases I’ve been hearing recently is “Egypt has plunged into chaos” followed by a nod by everybody around the table. Next comes the unanimous admission that “the country is now polarized,” substantiated by a statement that “the Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters are pitted against everyone else.” Again everyone nods their head. The grand finale is “Mubarak was right when he said it is either me or chaos,” which is when the nodding of head actually stops and very bitter arguments ensue. There are those who agree with the fact that Mubarak…
The Arab Spring’s crowd psychology
BY SAMI MAHROUM Abu Dhabi In 1896, the social psychologist Gustave Le Bon warned his contemporaries of the dangers of crowds, writing that, “It is necessary to arrive at a solution to the problems offered by [crowds’] psychology, or to resign ourselves to being devoured by them.” As spontaneous protest overtakes organized political movements across the Arab world, the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya’s nascent democracies should heed Le Bon’s warning. Since crowds took to the streets of Tunis, Cairo, Benghazi, and other Arab cities, toppling decades-old regimes, spectators and analysts have wondered where the Arab world is headed….
Op-ed: Egypt’s democratic dictator?
BY OMAR ASHOUR CAIRO Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first-ever elected civilian president, recently granted himself sweeping temporary powers in order, he claims, to attain the objectives of the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship. But the decrees incited strong opposition from many of the revolutionary forces that helped to overthrow Mubarak (as well as from forces loyal to him), with protests erupting anew in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Morsi has thus been put in the odd position of having to defend his decision against the protesters while simultaneously making common cause with them. “I share your dream of a constitution for all…
