Global Voices » Egypt

Palestine: PalFest Literature Festival in Gaza for First Time

Ola Anan — Fri, 18 May 2012 06:19:29 +0000

This year for the first time the Palestinian Festival of Literature, or PalFest, was held in Gaza. Since it was founded in 2008, the festival's aim has been to bring together Palestinian and international authors, and it organises public events in the evenings and creative writing workshops for Palestinian students during the day.

According to the festival's founder, Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif, having the festival in Gaza has been the ultimate goal of the event since it began, but it has always faced tremendous difficulties in getting permits for the participating authors to come through the Rafah Crossing. This year they were successful at last, and a group of about forty Egyptian, Tunisian, Sudanese and Palestinian authors, artists and activists were granted permission to visit Gaza and participate in PalFest 2012 from May 5 to 10.

Books donated to PalFest Gaza. Image by PalFest on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

Workshops

The first day of the event, May 6, was dedicated to workshops at three universities: Al Aqsa University, Al Azhar University and the Islamic Univeristy. As blogger Nader ElKhuzundar described:

The events kicked off by holding two workshops at both Al Azhar and the Islamic University of Gaza on writing and blogging in both Arabic and English. PalFest 2012 authors were astonished by the fact that many students attended the workshops. They were more astonished by the fact that most of the attendees were females.

Palestinian bloggers and tweeps attending PalFest. Image by @tamer_ps and posted by @olanan.

Music and poetry

The next day, May 7, was for a lot of the Palestinians the highlight of the PalFest activities. A four-hour concert took place at Rashad Al Shawa Cultural Theatre, with three Palestinian groups and the Egyptian group Eskenderella.

Palestinian Roba Salibi wrote:

@RobaSalibi: فرقة اسكندريلا اشي خيالي وفوق الوصف. كتير انبسطت باغانيهم وكل اشي فيهم في غزة اليوم . نفسي اروح احضنهم كلهم

Eskenderella is amazing and beyond description. I've enjoyed all of their songs and everything they've done in Gaza today. I just want to hug them all.

In the following video uploaded by PalFest, Egyptian poet Amin Haddad recites a poem, and Eskenderella performs “Ya Falisteeniya” (O Palestinian):

Egypt and Palestine together

Throughout PalFest there was a strong sense of solidarity between the Palestinians and Egyptians. Palestinian Tamer Hamam commented:

@tamer_ps: نفس الأشخاص .. نفس الحناجر .. نفس الأصوات .. نفس القوة .. نفس الإيمان .. هتفت غزة مبارح .. يسقط حكم العسكر .. يسقط الإحتلال

The same people, the same throats, the same voices, the same power, the same conviction. Gaza chanted yesterday, “Down with military rule, down with the occupation”

Nour Abed wrote:

@NourGaza: الحماس مش راضي يهدى! ومع الهتاف لمصر وفلسطين الواحد وكأنو احنا بميدان التحرير!

The enthusiasm is not calming down! And with us chanting for Egypt and Palestine, you feel as if you're in Tahrir Square!

#PalHunger

A mass hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners was not forgotten by the participants. Egyptian Samia Jaheen tweeted:

@samjaheen: رحنا اعتصام أهالي الأسرى المضربين عن الطعام. واحدة منهم حكيتلنا انها متبنية أسير مصري في سجون الصهاينة. غزة رمز العزة فعلا

We visited the prisoners families' sit-in. One of them told us that she is sponsoring an Egyptian prisoner in a Zionist [Israeli] jail. Gaza is truly the symbol of dignity.

Palestinian blogger Matar wrote:

“زار غزة قبل أيام وفد بالفست تحت عنوان “احتفالية فلسطين للأدب”، كنتُ مشغولاً ومنهمكاً بقضية الأسرى، وعندما قالت ليّ صديقتي أنهم آتون، قلتُ لها: ربما الوقت ليس مناسباً، قضية الأسرى هي أولويتنا. اليوم حين ودّعناهم أدركتُ كم كنتُ مخطئاً ، كيف كنتُ أفكر بهذه الطريقة؟”

A few days ago, the PalFest delegation visited Gaza for the Palestinian Festival of Literature. I was busy with the prisoners' cause, and when a friend of mine told me about their visit, I said, “Maybe this is not an appropriate time; our priority now is the prisoners' cause. Today, as we were exchanging goodbyes, I realized how mistaken I was. What was I thinking?

Palestinian Mahmoud Omar echoed the sentiment:

@_Mahmoud: NOTE: #PalfestGaza is totally consistent with #PalHunger , don't think otherwise.

Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif at the #PalHunger sit-in. Image by PalFest on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

Shutdown

Despite having permission for its events, PalFest attracted the attention of members of the Hamas government. Nader ElKhuzundar described what happened:

In the last day of PalFest, a session was held in Qasr Al-Basha in the old part of Gaza City. The session included a goodbye performance by Eskenderella as well as speeches, presentations and readings by PalFest authors. The event drifted into [a discussion of] politics and suddenly, the electricity was cut. Everybody thought it was the electricity schedule under which Gaza has been living for years now so they continued the event. Five minutes later, a suspicious movement was noticed by the hall’s entrance then suddenly, the police stormed the hall, confiscated a woman’s camera as she was filming the event and called the event off claiming that there’s no official permit. […] Three hours later, the Chief of Police, his deputy and a colonel in the Interior Ministry visited the hotel. They officially apologized, stating it was an “individual error” and that they have opened an investigation into what happened. They stated that PalFest would always be welcome in Gaza.

However, a member of Hamas security admitted that the authorities had been reading the PalFest delegation's tweets and press statements, and were angered by the accusations that Hamas suppresses freedom of speech in Gaza.

Palestinian Saif Al Yazori wrote:

@SaifYazori: رغم اسفي من الي حصل في دار الباشا ولكني سعيد لان الوفد المصري ﻻمس الامر على حقيقته ولربما تكون بذرة تغيير ‎‪

Although I am sorry for what happened in Dar El Basha, I'm glad that the Egyptian delegation has experienced things as they really are. Maybe this will be a seed for change.

Blogger Nalan Sarraj wrote:

I want to apologize to the Palfest crew, but it's not my fault my government authority [Hamas] forgot how to love Palestine.

Dr Haidar Eid introducing the closing night of PalFest. Image by PalFest on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

Goodbyes

Palestinian Ebaa Rezeq was sad to see PalFest end:

@Gazanism: مش مستوعبة إني ودّعت الوفد من شوي!!! يا ريت في كلمة أحسن وأبلغ من كلمة شكراً تنحكى إلهم..شكراً من القلب.

I can't believe that I've just said goodbye to the delegation! I wish there were a better word than “thank you”… Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Egyptian Nariman wrote:

@nariology: بعد شهور من الاحساس بالعجز، يوم واحد في غزة أعاد لي ضرورة الإيمان بالمستحيل..

After months of feeling helpless, one day in Gaza has given me back the sense of needing to believe in the impossible.

Egypt: The Questions Missing from the Presidential Debates

Mohamed Adel — Wed, 16 May 2012 03:43:07 +0000

Following Egypt's first ever presidential debate, and with interviews being held every day with presidential candidates, political analyst Mohamed Seif Eldawla has written on his blog Zakerat Aloma about the questions missing from the presidential debates [ar].

Egypt: How do the Presidential Candidates' Posters Compare?

Tarek Amr — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:03:40 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Elections 2011/12.

About ten days remain before the presidential elections in Egypt. A few days ago we witnessed the first presidential debate in the country's history, but the candidates' posters also play a big role in the final decision of the voters.

In an earlier post we saw how Abou Ismail - he's out of the race now - tried to influence people by the sheer number of his posters, but shouldn't the posters' design, colours and slogans play a role too?

Bloggers Mariam Saleh (@Mariam_Slh) and Mohamed Hussein have tried to analyse the posters of the different candidates.

Abdel-Monem Aboul-Fotoh

Aboul-Fotoh

Mariam Saleh wrote an analysis of Abdel-Monem Aboul-Fotoh'sposter, its colours, font, and so on:

Having the sky and the shining sun in the poster, makes you think that the sky is his limit. Choosing a scene from the revolution to say that he is a revolutionary candidate was not really needed, it's his actions, slogan and program that should say that. Plus, not every person who took part in the revolution will always be a revolutionary. He needs proof other than photos that he is still a revolutionary, that is if he is. The font is a nice and friendly one. Also the fact that his logo has the pyramids gives a feeling of belonging to Egypt as a country and not just to the Islamic Ummah. This is comforts those who want to think that he is different from the rest of the Islamists who don't care about Egypt as much as the Islamic Ummah [nation].

She added:

His father-like look gives a feeling of fondness and comfort. His tiny smile makes me feel his serious but kind to us. Again the fact that he is sitting down and not standing tall is sort of comfortable.

Mohamed Hussein also wrote about the candidates' posters [ar], and this is what he had to say about Aboul-Fotoh's:

اللون المسيطر: البرتقالي، أتذكر اختيار أيمن نور لحزب الغد اللون البرتقالي بعد شهور قليلة من الثورة “البرتقالية” في أوكرانيا، وهو ما اعتبره البعض جرأة منه، لكني أعتقد أن شهرة ثورتنا تجاوزت أوروبا الشرقية كلها، والجرأة هنا هي الخروج عن الألوان المعتادة واختيار لون يبرز في شوارعنا الرمادية الكئيبة.
الصورة الشخصية: بدون زوايا، فقط أبو الفتوح في مواجهتك بابتسامة هادئة، وهو ما يمنحه حميمية، والمصمم استخدم درجة ألوان تلائم شعره الأبيض وترك التجاعيد لحالها.

The dominant colour: orange. I remember Ayman Nour's choice of orange for El Ghad party a few months after the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, and people then considered it a bold move from him. But I think the fame of our revolution now is bigger that those of Eastern Europe, so the boldness here comes from choosing a colour people are not used to, which also shines in our grey, dull streets.
His photo: no angles, just a front view of Aboul-Fotouh with a calm smile that gives you a sense of intimacy. The designer used colours that suit his white hair and left the wrinkles untouched.

Mariam commented on Aboul-Fotoh's slogan, “The Powerful Egypt”:

A nice slogan that gives a shot of hope. His explanation of a powerful Egypt is one that is economically, politically, scientifically and militarily powerful. One that will give power and dignity to every Egyptian. The fact that his program makes it sound like an impossible dream is not the slogan's problem. The one problem with the slogan is actually a problem within us; the minute I read it I remember the old regime that only showed its power on its people. Of course he means a strong country and definitely not a government that kills its own people.

Hamdeen Sabahy

Hamdeen Sabahy

As for Hamdeen Sabahy, Mariam wrote:

The fact that the part below is black and the part above is white gives a feeling that he'll take us from the dark ages to a better one. The font used for his name and the Qur'anic verse is also a very nice one that says so much about him being connected to the Arab and Islamic world and heritage. The other font that is used for the rest of the sentences is also a friendly and comforting one, and the three sentences summarize his program very well. Focusing on his smiling face rather than his body and his suit again gives the same kind of comfort.

Mariam then added that Hamdeen is a moderate leftist who believes in a secular government, so the use of a Qur'anic verse in his poster can be interpreted in different ways. She moved to the candidate's slogan, “One of us”:

Although it makes us feel that he's closer to us than any other candidate, it doesn't say much. It does mean that he'd feel our pains because he's one of us though, which of course gives his campaign some sort intimacy. Yet, I keep thinking how a taxi driver is one of us, but would probably not make a good president.

Khaled Ali

Khaled Ali

Mariam commented on one of Khaled Ali'sposters:

Very simple with the flag colors. He has a look of a dreamer, this is a problem. I'd rather he looks straight to us, not down and not up. We want a realistic person, yes someone who can make dreams come true, but not a dreamer who looks to the sky and forgets to look ahead

Mohamed Hussein criticised another of Khaled Ali's posters, where he again doesn't look straight to the camera, and added:

يظهر بقميص عادي ولا يحاول إخفاء كرشه الناشئ، وصورته في البوستر الثاني (تصوير خارجي بالبدلة) أفضل بكثير رغم أنه الأقل انتشارا. بشكل عام تُظهر الصور انفتاحا وصدقا

He is shown with an ordinary shirt, and he doesn't try to hide his belly; his photo in the other poster (taken outside with a suit on) is much better though it hasn't been used as much. Generally, it reflects openness and honesty.

Mariam noted that Khaled Ali's slogans are taken from people's chants during the revolution:

Bread, freedom, social justice and We'll make their dream a reality: Khaled Ali's campaign is very poor unfortunately, so the advertising is not very professional. So I found two slogans both are revolution's chants… Sort of lack of creativity, but this is their way of proving that he's one of the revolutionary candidates. Both are nice and revolutionary and since these chants are the revolution's demands they make sense. But they could've done better with creating a new revolutionary slogan.

There are officially 13 candidates in the Egyptian presidential elections [ar]. Mariam has commented on two other candidates, Mohamed Salim El-Awwa and Mohamed Morsy, and Mohamed Hussein has written about [ar] candidates such as Ahmed Shafiq and Amr Moussa.

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Elections 2011/12.

Egypt: Historical Arabic Manuscripts Put Online

Mohamed Adel — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:15:37 +0000

Egypt's Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Wellcome Library and King’s College London Digital Humanities Department have recently launched the Wellcome Arabic Manuscript Cataloguing Partnership (WAMCP). The manuscripts collection comprises around 1000 manuscript books and fragments relating to the history of medicine. All content is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Egypt: Disappointment at First Presidential Debate

Noon Arabia — Sat, 12 May 2012 05:38:14 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Elections 2011/12.

On May 10, 2012, people around the region and beyond were pinned to their screens following Egypt's first ever presidential debate, which was between the top two presidential candidates, Amr Moussa and Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh.

However, this was not the first presidential debate in the Arab world, as in Mauritania in 2007 a televised presidential debate took place between Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and Ahmed Ould Daddah.

The debate was three hours long, moderated by TV anchors Yosri Fouda and Mona El Shazly and aired on Egyptian private channels ONTV and Dream TV - ironically not on Egypt's state TV. Twitters users tweeted about the debate under the hashtag #monazarat.

The two candidates shaking hands. Image by @SultanAlQassemi

The start of the debate was delayed due to traffic. Ben Wedeman, CNN anchor and reporter, tweeted sarcastically:

‏@bencnn: Aboulfotouh arrival at debate delayed by #cairotraffic? No matter who is running, #cairotraffic always wins. #monazarat #Egypt

Many commented on the long series of commercials which were shown before the debate and during the breaks. Robert Mackey reporter and editor of the New York Times tweeted:

‏@RobertMackey: Don't know if this #monazarat has inspired Egypt to buy into democracy, but the barrage of ads did just motivate me to buy a Twix.

The candidates were asked questions on various topics such as human rights, health plans, the economy, foreign relations, sharia law, and the role of the military. They were even asked about their financial status and health.

Both Egyptians and Arabs around the region were tweeting the candidates' replies.

The first question was regarding their vision for Egypt; their replies were tweeted by Emirati commentator Sultan Al Qassemi, and Egyptian Dalia Ezzat:

@SultanAlQassemi: On vision for Egypt - Amr Moussa: A constitutional state that leads the region & serves expectations of its people + Sharia #monazarat

@DaliaEzzat_: Abuel Fottouh : bread, freedom, dignity and social justice. He's basically repeating the slogans of the revolution #Monazarat

Blogger Iyad El-Baghdadi summarized their priorities:

@iyad_elbaghdadi: Abulfutouh vs. Mousa: The first puts democracy, sharia and then security; Mousa puts security, democracy, Islam. #Monazarat

Regarding how they would have managed the Abbassiya events, Amr Moussa's reply was tweeted by Sultan Al Qassemi:

@SultanAlQassemi: On Abbaseya events - Amr Moussa: I didn't wait until I become president, I made calls & demanded police intervene #monazarat

Yet Aboul Fotouh had a more powerful reply, tweeted by Egyptian blogger Bassem Sabry:

@Bassem_Sabry: Fotouh: If I were president, the Abbasiyya events would not have happened at all, would protect right to protests and sit ins - #Monazarat

Regarding Israel, AboulFotouh had a clear and straightforward reply, tweeted by Egyptian professor Rasha Abdullah:

@RashaAbdulla Aboul Fotouh: Israel is an enemy, with 200 nuclear heads and history of occupation and violations #monazarat

Moussa on the other hand had a less confrontational and more diplomatic reply, refusing to answer whether he considered Israel an enemy:

@iyad_elbaghdadi: Mousa: I call for reviewing our treaty with Israel, but insist on a two-state solution. #Monazarat

Finally when asked why voters should elect them, their replies were as follows:

@SultanAlQassemi: AF: elect me because: I bring people from all backgrounds together. Don't elect Moussa because: he didn't stand by the revolution #Monazarat

@ahauslohner: Moussa: Elect me because I'm experienced and I've proven myself. #Egypt is in crisis & it needs an experienced statesman. #monazarat

Both candidates focused on each other's controversial points. Moussa, who was Mubarak's foreign minister and former Secretary General of the Arab League, referred to Aboul Fotoh having been a longtime member of the Muslim Brotherhood, while Abou el Fotouh countered with commenting on Moussa being part of the former toppled regime.

Iyad El-Baghdadi and Dalia Ezzat summarized the candidates strengths and arguments:

@iyad_elbaghdadi: Abdulfutouh playing on his ability to unite everyone behind the revolution; Mousa playing on his past experience. #Monazarat

@DaliaEzzat_: The debate in a nutshell : you're Ikhwani! [member of the Muslim Brotherhood] Is that right? Well you're felool [a remnant of the former regime] and part of the regime that the people revolted against. #Fail

Amr Moussa's answers were vague and came across as arrogant and hostile while Aboul El Fotouh's answers were more transparent, and he was more calm and collected. Jenan Moussa, a reporter for Al Aan TV, tweeted:

@jenanmoussa: Moussa is very dismissive of Abu El Fotouh. He feels he is better or sth. I dont like the attitude. #Monazarat

Twitter user The Ess summarized their performance:

@Nadesque: #Moussa : weak answers, strong attacks. #AbulFutouh : good answers, weak attacks. #Monazarat

Many voters had hoped that this debate would help them learn more about their candidates and their plans and vision. Menatallah Essam tweeted her disappointment, and that of many, of how the debate turned out:

@mentos_391: what i really hoped is that each one says his positive plans for the future not mentioning each one's negative points. #monazarat

Some voters changed their opinion regarding the candidate they might have voted for before viewing the debate, and some even considered other candidates. AbdEl-Rahman Khaled tweeted:

‏@3bd2lr7man5aled:
اللي هيطلع كسبان من ال ‎‫#مناظرة_الرئاسة‬‏ دي هو ‎‫#حمدين_صباحي‬‏

The winner of this presidential debate will be Hamdeen Sabahi

Blogger Ruwayda Mustafah compiled the presidential debate tweets: part 1, part 2 and a factcheck. Blogger Mostafa Hussein made a transcript of the debate. The debate can be seen in full on YouTube.

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Elections 2011/12.

May Day Videos: Marches, Demonstrations and Protests Around The World

Juliana Rincón Parra — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:08:19 +0000

Through cities around the globe, people took to the streets to march and commemorate the International Workers' Day. Videos by The Real News take us on a tour of how the day was observed throughout the world.

May Day March in Venezuela

While some places saw peaceful marches, others had violent encounters between armed forces and the protesters. On the first part of the video, an overview of workers in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. For example, Malaysian activists protested against the growing inequality. In the Philippines were for job security and higher wages. Indonesians protested low wages and rough conditions. Cambodians asked for higher wages. People in Bahrein asked for workers to be reinstated to their positions of which they were removed by the government crackdowns. In Egypt protests were on behalf of including workers rights in the constitution that is being drafted. In Europe, workers protested austerity measures that seem to target them. In Russia, both the ruling party and the opposition had their own rallies. The French left marched against the past of fiscal austerity. And in the London, where May Day is not a holiday, workers went on strike.

On the second part, protests in North and South America. Demonstrations throughout Canada protesting budget cuts and rises in college tuition. In the USA, banks were targeted in many major cities including clashes with riot police, calls to strikes, and blockades. In Mexico workers marched to ask the government to do a better job in the face of violence. Honduras saw protests against the privatization of public services as well as corruption. In Cuba, massive parades commemorated the Cuban Revolution and in Venezuela both the government supporters and opposition marched, either for or against the recent reforms. In Colombia there were arrests during the protests and the Chilean student movement also marched.

Egypt: Anger at Arrest of Lawyer in Saudi Arabia

Tarek Amr — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:20:39 +0000

A lot has been going on in Egypt in the past few weeks, such as the preparation for the presidential elections, and the clashes in Abbassiya. On top of that, diplomatic relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been under pressure because of the arrest of the Egyptian lawyer Ahmed El Gizawy in Saudi Arabia.

El Gizawy was arrested as soon as he arrived in Saudi Arabia on April 17 for pilgrimage. News reports stated that he was sentenced to 20 lashes for “defaming the Saudi king”, referring to El Gizawy's criticism made on television of Saudi Arabia's imprisonment of a number of Egyptian citizens.

Ahmed El Gizawy. Image taken from Egyptian Chronicles blog.

Egyptians received the news with rage both online and offline. A special hashtag was created for tweets attacking the Saudi king; it can loosely be translated as “Screw You, Royal Highness” [ar]. In addition, protesters gathered in front of the Saudi embassy in Cairo to condemn the arrest of the Egyptian lawyer.

Saudi officials later denied that El Gizawy was arrested for defaming the king, and they claimed instead he was arrested after being found in possession of more than 21,000 pills of the anti-depressant drug, Xanax.

Egyptians don't buy this claim; they wondered how El Gizawy was able to smuggle such a huge number of pills, and why the Saudi authorities did not announce that the arrest was because of drug trafficking from day one. In addition the authorities at Cairo airport said that they did not notice anything illegal in his luggage [ar] when leaving the country.

Writer Alaa Al Aswany said:

Al-Gizawi is a brave revolutionary lawyer who defended many of the rebels before military courts. He then took the cases of Egyptian workers in Saudi Arabia who were detained without trial, thus finding himself in litigation with the Saudi king himself. When al-Gizawi and his wife went to perform umrah (pilgrimage to Mecca), he was assured that the Saudi regime would not be able to punish him for his political positions, as under Islamic law, all those who go on a pilgrimage are untouchable. Unfortunately, al-Gizawi was arrested as soon as he landed in Saudi Arabia. Those who asked about him were told that he would be whipped and imprisoned for insulting the king of Saudi Arabia. Two days later, Saudi authorities announced that they found more than 21,000 drug tablets on al-Gizawi. This silly accusation is not worth discussion. Al-Gizawi is a brave fighter who got arrested several times in defense of his principles. What made him suddenly turn into a drug dealer? Is he stupid enough to travel with such a high amount of drugs through the Cairo airport, where baggage X-rays make it impossible to transfer that many drugs? Moreover, the quantity of that many tablets weighs more than 60 kilos, and the baggage weight limit is only 30 kilos. According to the records of the Cairo airport, the weight of al-Gizawi and his wife’s bag did not exceed the limit.

Zeinobia commented:

Young Egyptians on social networks do not buy the Saudi statement as it reminded them of the case of Khaled Said and how the ministry of interior in Egypt fabricated the drug story about him.

Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm reported [ar] that El Gizawy had previously filed a lawsuit in Egypt against the Saudi ambassador regarding the detention of torture of a number of Egyptian citizens in Saudi Arabia.

Zeinobia referred to another Egyptian detainee:

Now it is not only the case of Gizawy that we should follow and work on , I think we should work on the case of other Egyptians allegedly arrested and detained for years in the Kingdom for no reason like for instance the case of Abdullah Mamdouh [ar]. Mamdouh was detained from four years ago for no reason according to his wife Israa Kamal [ar] who is campaigning online and offline for him.

The Saudi government closed its embassy in Cairo in response to the protests there, in the worst diplomatic rift in years between the two countries. However the Saudi ambassador returned to Egypt a week later, after a high-level Egyptian delegation went to Riyadh led by Saad El Katatny, Muslim Brotherhood member and the current speaker of Egypt’s parliament.

As'ad Abou-Khalil wrote about the visit in a post entitled, “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood bows down to House of Saud“:

Such an opportunity to meet with the Saudi king would likely not have arisen in the short to medium term had Gizawy's case not been escalated by Egyptian activists. During the visit, Katatny clearly stated, “We will not interfere in Gizawy's case,” adding that “the Saudi justice system is fair.” Katatny stressed the “historic relations” between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and said that Saudi has “white hands” (Arabic for “a shining track record”) in backing Egypt. Katatny again remarked that Egypt and Saudi Arabia, “the two greatest powers in the region,” could lead the region into a bright future.

Ahmed El Gizawy remains in detention in Saudi Arabia, awaiting trial.

Egypt: Eyewitness Account of Abbassiya Clashes

Mohamed ElGohary — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:21:27 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Elections 2011/12.

Eleven people were killed and more than 160 injured near Egypt's Ministry of Defence (MOD) on May 2, 2012, after protesters demanding an end to military rule were attacked by armed men. The protestors had been conducting a sit-in over a period of days outside the MOD in the Abbassiya area of Cairo, and included many supporters of Salafi politician Hazem Salah Abu Ismail who were protesting his exclusion from the forthcoming presidential elections.

The following is an eye-witness account [ar] by blogger Bassem Zakaria El-Samragy, who was at the sit-in. Bassem writes:

امبارح بالليل طبعا زي معظم الناس معرفتش أنام وصحيت الصبح مقدرتش أعمل أي حاجة غير إني أروح على الاعتصام. نزلت محطة مترو كوبري القبة ومشيت الخليفة المأمون كله الدنيا أمان والمواصلات ماشية ومفيش أي حاجة لحد ما وصلت للاعتصام عند ميدان العباسية برضه الدنيا أمان والعدد قليل جدا في الاعتصام، وأنا ضعيف في تقدير الأعداد لكن ما أظنّش إنهم يعدّوا مئات .. وصحيح مشفتش ولا يافطة لحازم أبو إسماعيل لكن أغلب المعتصمين سلفيين وده طبعا مش معناه إنهم يُعتدى عليهم أو يُسلبوا حق من حقوقهم بأي شكل من الأشكال.

Last night, like most people, I wasn't able to sleep, and when I woke up I couldn't do anything apart from go to the sit-in. I took the metro to Kobry El-Qobba station, and walked along El-Khalifa El-Ma'moon St [intersecting with MOD]. Everything was fine and traffic was flowing normally. There was nothing until I reached the sit-in in Abbassiya Square; everything was still fine with very few people at the sit-in. I'm not that good at estimating numbers but I don't think they were more than a few hundred. I didn't see a single Hazem Abo Ismael banner but most of the protestors were Salafists. Of course this doesn't mean they deserve to be assaulted or their rights violated by any means.

Clashes between thugs and protesters, by Abbassiya metro station. Image by Twitter user @adamakary.

المهم، عديت الاعتصام ولاقيت ناس من ناحيتنا محتلة الكوبري مأمّناه (وأنا مش هاقول ثوار وبلطجية .. هاقول من ناحيتنا ومن ناحيتهم) وساحة المعركة الأساسية هي موقف أوتوبيس العباسية .. الملاحظة الأساسية هي إن الناس اللي من ناحيتنا والناس اللي من ناحيتهم شبه بعض، الفرق بس إن ناحيتنا في سلفيين كتير .. السلاح الأساسي في المعركة الطوب والمولوتوف، وشفت اتنين من الناحية التانية معاهم فِرَد خرطوش .. واللي بيحصل كالآتي: احنا محتلين ساحة موقف الأوتوبيسات كله تقريبا معظم الوقت وهم واخدين البيوت في ضهرهم والطوب والمولوتوف شغال، وفي كذا فرشة خضار اتحرقت في الموقف من المولوتوف بتاعنا، وكل شوية العيلين اللي معاهم خرطوش يضربوا علينا فنرجع لنص الموقف أو نرجع لحد ما نجيبهم عند الكوبري فالناس اللي واقفة فوق الكوبري تحدف عليهم من فوق فيرجعوا ونتقدم تاني .. وهكذا، يتقدموا فنرجع ونتقدم فيرجعوا، في معركة متكافئة لأقصى حد .. مشفتش إصابات عندهم لكن شفت عندنا إصابات أغلبها من الطوب

Anyway, I passed through the sit-in, and I found people from our side occupying and guarding the bridge (I won't say “revolutionaries” and “thugs”, I will say “from our side” and “from their side”). The main battlefield was the Abbassiya bus station. My chief remark is that people from both sides were very much alike; the only difference was more Salafists on our side. The main weapons were bricks and Molotov cocktails. I saw two people on the other side with shotguns. This is what was happening: we were occupying the bus station most of the time while the other side had the houses behind their backs as the bricks and molotovs were in the air. A vegetable stall was burnt in the bus station by one of our molotovs. Every so often one of the two guys with shotguns aimed at us so we retreated to the rear half of the station or to the bridge, until the people standing on the bridge threw bricks at them so we could move forward again. This attacking and retreating went on in a very equal battle. No injuries on their side, but I saw injuries on our side, mostly from bricks.

الناس اللي بيضربوا علينا قلت إنهم شبهنا، وفيهم حتى عيال صغيرة وناس تانية بتحدف طوب حتى بطريقة ماتدلّش على إنهم محترفين إجرام .. لكن في ناس منهم شكلهم فعلا محترفين إجرام، وفي ناس من عندنا شكلهم برضه محترفين إجرام والسلاح الوحيد اللي شفته من ناحيتنا واحد معاه مطواة كان عايز يدخل الناحية التانية يجيب واد كده كان بيحاول يستفزّنا .. (بالمناسبة، أرجوكم محدش يزايد عليا في حوار الناس اللي شكلهم محترفين إجرام ده، أنا ولا شاب برجوازي ولا طبقى وسطى ولا كل الكليشيهات دي)

I mentioned earlier that the attackers were similar to us; there were even small kids, and other people throwing bricks at us in a way that proved they were not professionals thugs. But there were also people among them who really looked like criminals, and there were some people on our side too who looked like criminals. The only weapon I saw on our side was a guy with a knife who wanted to go over to capture a guy who was trying to provoke us. (By the way, please don't start going on at me about people looking like criminals or not; I'm not bourgeois or middle class and have nothing to do with all those cliches.)

Wounded and bloodied being carried away from Abbassiya. Image by Twitter user @sharifkouddous.

في ميدان العباسية العربيات بتعدّي عادي .. وشفت حالتين مرة عربية تاكسي ومرة عربية سوزوكي صغيرة معدية والناس حدفت عليها طوب لسبب مش فاهمه في حالة السوزوكي لكن في حالة التاكسي على حسب ما فهمت إن الراجل كان بيزمّر لهم علشان يعدّي .. وشفت حالة تانية لواحد كان ماشي وبيقول كلام من نوعية خربتوا البلد فواحد من ناحيتنا قلع له الحزام وكان هيدبّ فيه لولا الناس حاشته .. سمعت من أكتر من حد كلام عن الإحباط وعن إنها شكلها كده مش هتخلص إلا لو جبنا سلاح .. أنا مشفتش سلاح بعيني لكن كان في ناس بتتكلم عن “رغبة” مش “نية” في إنهم يجيبوا سلاح وذخيرة
الخلاصة: أنا أول مرة أبقى متلخبط لأن اللي بيدبّوا من الناحيتين زي ما قلت شبه بعض .. شكلهم مدني وماستبعدش يكون في بلطجية في الناحيتين فالموقف الأخلاقي فعلا صعب

In Abbassiya Square the cars were passing by normally; in only two cases I saw people throwing bricks at a taxi and a small Suzuki car as they passed. I didn't understand why for the Suzuki, but with the taxi from what I understood the driver was honking hard in order to pass. In another case a passing pedestrian was shouting some words like “They destroyed the country”, so someone from our side took off his belt to attack that guy, but people stopped him. Several times I heard frustrated comments that it wouldn't end without weapons. I didn't see weapons but there were people talking about a desire, not just an intention, to bring arms and ammunition.
In short: for the first time ever I felt confused because the two sides really looked alike, as I said. They looked like civilians, but I'm not saying there weren't thugs on both sides. Morally speaking the situation is really complicated.

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Elections 2011/12.

May Day Marked Around the Arab World

Ayesha Saldanha — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:25:02 +0000

May Day, or Labour Day, or International Workers' Day is recognised as a public holiday in many Arab countries, and demonstrations and rallies are held by unions and political parties to pay tribute to the role of workers and to call for workers' rights.

The National Transitional Council of Libya has declared [ar] International Workers' Day to be a national public holiday starting this year. Hamid tweeted from Tripoli:

@2011feb17: #Libya's first #MayDay (Worker's Day) holiday since 42 years ago! HAPPY HOLIDAY EVERYONE Yup #Libya has changed ;)

Demonstration on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, Tunis. Image by Amine Ghrabi on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Bahraini activist Maryam Alkhawaja remembered the migrant workers of the Gulf:

@MARYAMALKHAWAJA: On labor day we pay tribute to all the migrant workers who r treated like modern day slaves in #gulf countries

Demonstration in Barbar, Bahrain. Image by Twitter user @bahrainiac14.

Demonstrations were held all over Bahrain demanding the reinstatement of the hundreds of workers who were fired last year for taking part in protests. Many of the demonstrations were attacked by riot police with tear gas. Journalist Mazen Mahdi reported from Manama's souq (market):

@MazenMahdi: Despite tear-gasing #Manama souq labor day protest still on-going #Bahrain

Demonstration in Khouribga, Morocco. Image by Twitter user @__Hisham.

Imad Bazzi tweeted about the hacking of the Lebanese Ministry of Labour's website:

@TrellaLB: special delivery for the Ministry of Labor in #Lebanon on Labor day, a total makeover :D loooool http://www.labor.gov.lb/ thanks to #RYV

The website was changed to say the following:

We are RYV, short for Raise Your Voice, and we are simply a group of people who could not bare sitting in silence, watching all the crimes and injustice going on in Lebanon. We will not be silenced and brainwashed by your media. We will not stop until the Lebanese people mobilize, demand their rights, and earn them. We will not stop until the standards of living are raised to where they should be in Lebanon. We will not stop until this government's self-made problems are solved, like the power shortage, water shortage, rise in gas prices and rise in food product prices. We are RYV, expect us to break the silence, whether in the streets or on the Internet.
Silence is a crime

Demonstration in Cairo. Image by Hossam el-Hamalawy on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

Do Arab Men Hate Women? Mona Eltahawy Faces Firestorm

Solana Larsen — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:22:27 +0000

Egyptian-American columnist Mona Eltahawy has once again sparked controversy with an article in Foreign Policy magazine on April 23, 2012, entitled “Why Do They Hate Us?” about discrimination against women in the Middle East. Eltahawy argues that Arab societies are fundamentally misogynistic and that endless abuses against women, “fueled by a toxic mix of culture and religion” take place.

Many Arab journalists, bloggers and activists have criticized the way Eltahawy frames her arguments, and expressed anger at the images accompanying the article of a nude woman in black body-paint resembling a niqab, arguing these are stereotypical depictions of Arab women.

Foreign Policy has since published responses by five commentators.

Mona Eltahawy. Photo by personaldemocracy Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Eltahawy writes in the article:

Some may ask why I'm bringing this up now, at a time when the region has risen up, fueled not by the usual hatred of America and Israel but by a common demand for freedom. After all, shouldn't everyone get basic rights first, before women demand special treatment? And what does gender, or for that matter, sex, have to do with the Arab Spring? But I'm not talking about sex hidden away in dark corners and closed bedrooms. An entire political and economic system - one that treats half of humanity like animals - must be destroyed along with the other more obvious tyrannies choking off the region from its future. Until the rage shifts from the oppressors in our presidential palaces to the oppressors on our streets and in our homes, our revolution has not even begun.

In a post entitled “Mona: Why Do You Hate Us?”, Egyptian activist and blogger Gigi Ibrahim writes:

The fundamental problem of Mona’s essay is the context and framework of how she analyzes why women in the Middle East are oppressed and the only reason she could give is because men and Arab societies (culturally and religiously) hate women. This is offensive to most women I know, who read the article and shared the same view. Women in the Middle East are not oppressed by men out of male dominance, they are oppressed by regimes (who happened to be men in power) and systems of exploitation (which exploit based on class not gender). Having women in power in a flawed system will not “fix” the problem either. We had a women’s quota in Mubarak’s parliament, did that change anything for women in reality? It was all ink on paper. Even after revolution, women are consistently used for political grounds by crony political parties. Explaining why women are oppressed without touching on any of the historical, political, or economical aspects of Arab countries, which are not all the same as she tends to generalize in her article, couldn’t be more delusional than this piece.

Hafsa Halawa in Egypt is not completely against the article:

@Hhafoos: Whilst I disagree w her tone & I certainly don't agree w pictures used, there are facts in Mona Eltahawy's article we can't ignore anymore

Syrian-born Palestinian journalist Dima Khatib also takes issue in a post in her blog, “Love, Not Hatred, Dear Mona!”:

We are not weak, Mona, and the Arab revolutions have proved to us that we are stronger than we thought, and the heroines of the Arab revolutions don’t need to be pointed out. I don’t think we need saviors from the hatred and vengeance of our men, especially since the revolutions have proved that we are more than able to stand shoulder to shoulder with men to achieve progress for our societies. Your article paints a picture of the Arab society that matches the images of the article: black, bleak, depressing, a painted black body. You have reduced the problem of the Arab woman to the feelings of men; while she was reduced to pathetic images which perfectly represent the images the West have of her. […] Arab society is not as barbaric as you present it in the article, which enhances the stereotype of us in the reader's mind, and it is a stereotype which is frighteningly widespread, and contributes to the widening cultural rift between our society and other societies, and the increase of racism towards us.

Lebanese-American journalist and blogger Roqayah Chamseddine commented in a post entitled “Us and Them: On Helpless Women and Orientalist Imagery”:

Not only has Eltahawy demonized the men of the Middle East and confined them into one role, that of eternal tormentors, as her Western audience claps and cheers, she has not provided a way forward for these men. Are they eternally damned? Is this their own manifest destiny, one which has been predetermined at the point of conception? Do they have no way out of the sweeping accusation which brands them as natural haters of women? What of male feminists, are they forever struggling against their innate urge to hate women? Mona Eltahawy has penned both men and women into a non-negotiable situation, charging men with hatred and women with helplessness; and as a woman of colour, of Middle Eastern origin, I will not allow my voice to be co-opted. Mona Eltahawy may be one of us, but she is not “us” nor does she define us.

Egyptian human rights activist Hossam Bahgat tweeted:

@hossambahgat: “Muslims hate their women” is no different from “Muslims are essentially violent”. what a great disservice to our fight

In a post called “I don't really think they hate us!”, assistant professor of journalism Nahed Eltantawy referred to “the empowered Arab women of the Arab Spring”:

When I look at these Arab heroines, who have made their people proud, I don't see hate. I see love, compassion and understanding between young men and women who are willing to work together to create better lives, more freedoms and more just governments for everyone. So, to Eltahawy, I say that your column does not represent me as I don't feel hated. I do have concerns, which might be similar or different to my sisters in Egypt. But I'm confident that whatever social, cultural, political and economic problems I personally face, these are challenges that can be fought instead of simply blaming them on misogyny.

Ayesha Kazmi, who blogs as American Paki, was disappointed at the way Eltahawy's article “spectacularly splintered feminism”:

To claim that the “real war on women is in the Middle East” stakes the legitimacy of Arab women in the war against women, that I view as a global phenomenon not unique to Arab women, while leaving millions of non-Arab women, also victims of systemic misogyny, to fend for themselves. Mona has dangerously isolated non-Arab women from a war that is global. If Mona wanted to specifically address the plight of Arab women, she should have done so without appropriating the entire war as uniquely her own. Take the greater Muslim world for example, could she honestly look an Afghani or Pakistani woman in the eyes and read the title of this piece to them without recoiling?

US-based Middle East scholar Shadi Hamid ‏commented:

@shadihamid: Whatever you think abt @monaeltahawy's piece, says a lot that the very ppl she's trying to “liberate” seem to mostly disagree w her.

This post was written with input from the Global Voices Middle East and North Africa team.

Egypt: Time for Televised Presidential Debates?

Salah Almhamdi — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:19:50 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Elections 2011/12.

As the time approaches for the Egyptian presidential election, there have been calls not only in Egypt but also around the Arab world for televised presidential debates. During the 2005 presidential election Mubarak rebuffed calls for such debates, but now with a genuine presidential race for the first time, Egyptian voters are keen to see the kind of debates they have watched taking place in the United States and elsewhere.

On April 22, Twitter users discussed the idea of “Monazarat” (”Debates”), and called for televised presidential debates in Egypt.

Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon during the first televised U.S. presidential debate in 1960. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Bassem Sabry introduced the campaign to demand televised presidential debates, and the Twitter hashtag to use (#Monazarat).

Safwat Safi ‏tweeted [ar]:

@Safwat_Safi: أعتقد أول مناظرة متلفزة كانت في الستينات بين كنيدي ونيكسون، من الجميل أن نرى ذلك في العالم العربي بعد 50 عاما

@Safwat_Safi: I think the first televised debate was in the sixties between Kennedy and Nixon; it's nice to see it in the Arab world 50 years later

Journalist Mohamed Abdel Kodos wrote on his blog [ar]:

أتمنى رؤية مناظرات على الهواء مباشرة بين المرشحين لمنصب رئاسة الجمهورية كما يحدث فى الدول المتقدمة، فهل ستجد تلك الأمنية طريقها إلى أرض الواقع أم تظل حلماً فى المشمش؟

I hope to see live debates between the candidates for the presidency of the republic just like in developed countries. Will that become reality, or will it simply remain a dream?

Blogger Sara Labib expressed her amazement [ar]:

@SaraLabib: دى اول مرة يبقى قدامنا اكتر من مرشح حقيقى و مش عارفين مين اللى هيكسب، خلينا نرسخ ثقافة الحوار و المناقشة و المناظرات بين المرشحين ‎‪‬‏

@SaraLabib: For the first time we have in front of us more than one real candidate, and we don't know who will win; let's strengthen the culture of dialogue, discussion and debate between candidates

Twitter user ta7riro ‏suggested some debate topics:

@khelaly: healthcare, slums, street children, cultural heritage, innovation

Writer Marwa Elnaggar criticised the presidential elections' poster frenzy and tweeted [ar]:

@marwame: الشعارات والبوسترات مش هتقوللي حاجة عن المرشحين ولكن المناظرات هتوضح كل واحد بيفكر ازاي وبرنامجه مبني على تخطيط سليم ولا لا

@marwame: Slogans and posters won't tell me anything about the candidates, but debates will clarify what each candidate thinks and whether his programme is based on solid planning or not

Iyad Elbaghdadi joked:

@iyad_elbaghdadi: At the very least, presidential debates in #Egypt will give our stand-up comedians some new material!

Hesham Alquraini believes such debates would be highly significant [ar]:

@heshamq: لو فعلاً تمت هذه المناظرات بين مرشحي الرئاسة المصرية ستكون نقلة نوعية مهمة في التاريخ السياسي العربي يظهر للمرة الأولى ‎‪

@heshamq: If the debates between the Egyptian presidential candidates really happen, it will be an unprecedented leap in Arab political history

This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Elections 2011/12.

Egypt: Should the Grand Mufti Have Gone to Jerusalem?

Tarek Amr — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 08:12:47 +0000

On April 18 Ali Gomaa, the Egyptian Grand Mufti and one of the highest religious authorities in the Islamic world, visited Jerusalem for the first time. The visit was controversial since it was seen by many as a step towards normalised relations with Israel, which captured the western part of the city during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and later on occupied the eastern part of it during the 1967 Six-Day War. According to Ahram Online, Osama Yassin, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, called the visit “a total disaster and a blow to the national fight against normalisation with Israel that has been going on for years”.

Many in Egypt have criticised the Grand Mufti for his visit. Zeinobia commented on the fact that people from different political backgrounds in Egypt have finally agreed on something:

You can imagine the uproar in the Egyptian political scene after few hours of knowing about this visit. The nationalists, leftists and Islamists suddenly found something to agree upon at last.

Zeinobia also quoted presidential candidates such as Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh [ar] and Hamdeen Sabahi [ar], as well as MP Essam Sultan [ar] of Al Wasat Party, who all criticised Ali Gomaa.

Grand Mufti in Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Photo shared by Twitter user @alhabibali

Some of the criticism focuses on the point that acquiring a visa from Israel is considered a form of normalisation and recognition of the state of Israel. But Gomaa said, “I did not go on an Israeli visa. It was all organized by the Jordanian authorities.”

Zeinobia elaborated:

Sheikh Ali Gomaa was invited to visit the Holy places in East Jerusalem by the Royal Jordanian family which till this day is supervising the Islamic Holy sites in Jerusalem. (A piece of information I had not known before that day.) He was accompanied by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, King Abdullah’s cousin and his chief religious advisor. They were inaugurating the renovation of the Mughrabi Bridge, which leads into the courtyard of al-Aqsa mosque as well the Ghazli seat.

Khaled El-Baramawy tweeted:

@EgyPress: حتى الان لم استطع ان افهم اسباب زيارة المفتى للقدس.. صحيح لم تكن بتاشيرة اسرائيلية.. بس لازم يكون لها منطق اهداف.. لم اكون راي حتى الان !!

@EgyPress: Until now I cannot understand the reason behind the Mufti's visit to Jerusalem… It's true he didn't take a visa from Israel, but there should still be goals for the visit… I haven't formed a point of view so far!!

Tunisian Twitter user Tounsia Hourra mocked the Mufti's denial that he took an Israeli visa:
‏

@tounsiahourra: وهنا يقولك مفتي مصر زار القدس دون تأشيرة إسرائيلية لكن تحت اشراف السلطات الأردنية . يعني اسرائيل تنحت وسلمت الأمور للأردن ,إنه لفتح عظيم

@tounsiahourra: And there are those who say that the Egyptian Mufti visited Jerusalem without an Israeli visa as the visit was under Jordanian supervision. So Israel kept to one side and handed over authority to Jordan; what a great achievement!

Aboul Maali Faek still regards the visit as recognition of Israel:

فحينما تعترف إحدى مؤسسات الدولة الرسمية بما يسمى بدولة إسرائيل فهذا يعنى أن مؤسسة الإفتاء فى مصر قد أعطت شيكا على بياض للصهاينة بأن دولة إسرائيل لها الحق فى اغتصاب واحتلال دولة فلسطين،هذا الموضوع لا يحب أن يترك دون محاسبة سياسية.

When one of the official state inistitutions recognises the so-called state of Israel, then this means that Egypt's fatwa-issuing body has given a blank cheque to the Zionists, that Israel has the right to occupy Palestine. This is a subject that shouldn't be left without political accountability.

Ahmad Esseily, on the other hand, had a point concerning recognition:

@ahmadesseily: إعتراف إيه! همّ مستنيين إعترافنا؟ ماهم قاعدين في الأرض بقالهم 64 سنة! حيطلعوا يعني لمّا المفتي مايزورش القدس والمسيحيين مايحجّوش؟

@ahmadesseily: What kind of recognition are you talking about! Are they waiting for our recognition? They have already been sitting on that land for 64 years! Are they going to leave if the Mufti didn't visit Jerusalem, and Copts didn't go?

This brings us to the fact that Pope Shenouda III, the Pope and Patriarch of the Church of Alexandria, who passed away a few weeks ago, requested Copts not to visit Jerusalem until peace was established in the region. Aly Elshafei ‏asked people to compare the two stances:

@Ali2awi: علل ما يلي و فيما لا يزيد عن حدود الادب: البابا شنودة رفض يروح القدس، و جه المفتي هو اللي راح

@Ali2awi: One comment, keeping within the limits of good manners: Pope Shenouda refused to go to Jerusalem while the Mufti is the one who went there.

Nawara Negm joked in one of her tweets [ar] that the Mufti was waiting for the Pope to pass away before going there. According to Reem Al-Ashry things have changed for Copts since the Pope's death:

@MeeMMaa: بمناسبة زيارة المفتي للقدس.. أصدقاء مسيحيين لأول مرة سافروا القدس السنة دي بعد وفاة البابا.. وبيقولوا العدد اللي سافر معاهم كبير

@MeeMMaa: Regarding the visit of the Mufti to Jerusalem… Many of my Christian friends visited Jerusalem for the first time this year after the Pope passed away, and they said that a large number travelled with them.

Mahmoud Hussien tweeted [ar] that the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists were waiting for something like this, since they want to replace the Mufti with one of their own. Issandr El Amrani also expects they will call for him to be sacked:

He might also have known that the Islamist-dominated parliament would not be happy with this, and indeed there is now a move by Salafi and Muslim Brotherhood MPs to question him and possibly sack him (something that in theory is the prerogative of the president, or for now SCAF).

Emad Arab [ar] and Samar Ali [ar] both called for the Mufti to be sacked. Mourid El-Barghouti, Palestinian poet and author living in Egypt tweeted:

@MouridBarghouti: بهدوء شديد: لو كان المفتي مؤمناً أن زيارة القدس أمر جيد فلماذا امتنع عن زيارتها منذ احتلالها؟ ولو كان جاهلاً بعواقبها فهولا يستحق منصبه

@MouridBarghouti: Let's think about it calmly: if the Mufti believed that his visit to Jerusalem was a good thing, why did he decline to visit it since it was occupied? If he's not aware of the consequences of his visit then he doesn't deserve his position.

Al-Habib Ali Algafry is a Sufi scholar who also visited Jerusalem recently, and he congratulated [ar] the Mufti on his visit and on praying in Al-Aqsa mosque. The Saudi Islamic scholar Abdulrahman Al-Harfi attacked them both:

@aalharfi: زيارة الجفري ثم علي جمعة لإسرائيل هل هو تنسيق جديد بين “الصوفية الامريكية” و “الصهيونية”؟

@aalharfi: The visit of Algafry followed by that of Ali Gomaa to Israel; is it a new coordination between “American Sufism” and “Zionism”?

Monmon Salah commented [ar] that paying a visit to a prisoner is always useful to him and not to his jailers. As if she predicted this visit, Palestinian blogger Hanadi wrote a couple of months ago:

أدعو كل العرب والمسلمين الذين يحملون جوازات أميركية وبريطانية وأوروبية وغيرها من الجوازات التي لا تواجه مشاكل في دخول “إسرائيل”، أن يضعوا جوازاتهم في جيوبهم ويحزموا حقائبهم ويزورونا، أدعو المصريين والأردنيين إلى زيارتنا، أرجوكم لا تسموه تطبيعاً، أرجوكم، أنا وأنتم نكره اتفاقيات “السلام”، نعرف كلنا كذبة ووهم اتفاقية وادي عربة واتفاقية كامب ديفيد، لكن يا إخوان .. نحن نشتاق إليكم .. قاطعوا المنتجات الإسرائيلية.. قاطعوا الجامعات الإسرائيلية .. ولكن لا تقاطعونا.. نحن عرب مثلكم

I call on all Arabs and Muslims who hold American, British, European or any other passports that have no problem entering “Israel” to put their passports in their pockets, pack their bags, and pay us a visit. I call on Egyptians and Jordanians to visit us. Please don't call it normalisation. Please! You and I both hate the “peace” treaties, and we know the lies and the illusions of Wadi Araba and the Camp David accords, but brothers and sisters, we miss you. Boycott Israeli products, boycott Israeli universities, but don't boycott us; we are Arabs like you.

Egypt: “Blog About Nubia” Day

Ahmed Awadalla — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:26:10 +0000

In an attempt to highlight the situation of the Nubian community and to challenge stereotypes about them, on April 18 the Nubian Democratic Youth Federation [ar] organized a day of blogging and tweeting [ar] about their cause. The event took place on the occasion of the last forced migration of the Nubians before their land was submerged in April 1964 when the High Dam was built in Aswan.

The Nubians are an ethnic minority that live in southern Egypt and northern Sudan, and they were forced to migrate from their land several times between 1902 and 1964. Apart from losing their land, their language and culture has been marginalized.

Nubian activist and blogger Fatma Emam, one of the day’s organizers, wrote on her blog:

The Nubian issue in Egypt raises many questions, about race, class, democracy, citizenship and human rights. Nubians in Egypt suffered for long time from racism, alienation and neglection for their basic rights. Sadly the Nubian issue is not on the political agenda of almost all the political factions in Egypt, we might hear of Nubian issue only because of the demographic mass of Nubian voters, which was crystal clear the presidential race after the revolution. One of the main obstacles Nubians are facing while fighting for rights is the ignorance of the public opinion about their cause, that the “ordinary” Egyptian associate Nubia with folkloric dancing and music and they deny the pain which prevails in the Nubian history. […] The Nubians faced harsh discrimination and racism when they inhabited the cities, and they worked in the low profile jobs. Although Nubians proved in many times that they belong to Egypt and they are willing to sacrifice for a better tomorrow, Egypt as a government neglected Nubians and as a population discriminated against them. One might ask what are the demands of Nubians now? Full citizenship, where their history is celebrated and taught in schools as part of Egyptian history, going back to the land around the lake, naming the lake Lake Nubia [instead of Lake Nasser] and having a say in the development plans in their region. Nubia is not a homeland we live in, it is an identity, and cause we live for.

Women at Nubian centre in Cairo. Image by Flickr user Maria Johnson (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Blogger Saqr Helal reflected on the forced migration of the Nubians, and having to see the name of the person responsible everywhere:

التهجير هي العملية التي تمت وهي اسم المكان الذي ولدت فيه. وتزداد المفارقة بان يلتصق اسم الوطن الجديد بالشخص الذي تسبب فى هجرتنا “مركز ناصر” كما قلت فانت محاصر بذكري عملية التهجير وبشخص المهجر فى كل مكان بموطنك الجديد وبكل اوراقك ففي كل مرة اضطر ان اسجل محل اقامتي او اتفحص بطاقتي واوراقي استعيد كل ما مضي: الهجرة, التهجير وعبدالناصر. الذي لم يسمي باسمه فقط المركز الذي سكنه المهاجرين ولكن ايضا البحيرة التي يرقد تحتها رفات أجدادي. المفارقة ان البحيرة التي يقع ثلثيها فى اسوان وثلثها الاخر بالسودان, يسمي ثلثها السوداني ببحيرة النوبة في حين ثلثيها المصري ببحيرة ناصر

“Forced migration” is the name of what I experienced and the place I was born in! It's even more ironic that the name of our new home, Nasser City [near Aswan] was associated with the name of the person who caused our migration. You are surrounded by the memory of migration, and by that person, everywhere in your new home and in all your papers. Each time I register my place of residence or use my ID, I am reminded of it all (migration, expulsion and President Nasser). His name was not only used for the new city where migrants lived, but also the lake under which my grandfathers' bodies lie. It's also ironic that two thirds of the lake is in Egypt and the other third is in Sudan, and while the Sudanese part is called Lake Nubia, the Egyptian part is called Lake of Nasser!

Lake Nasser / Lake Nubia. Image by Flickr user Rita Willaert (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Tweets for the day can be found on the hashtag #نوبة (”Nubia” in Arabic).

Marwa Zaky said:

@MarwaZaky2005: حمى الحنين و الانتماء للنوبة مرض لن نشفى منه و سنعدى به أولادنا و أحفادنا ‎‫#نوبة‬‏

The fever of nostalgia and belonging to Nubia is a disease we'll never recover from and we'll infect our children and grandchildren with it.

Yahia Zaied warned:

@Yo7ia: دائما تذكروا ‎‫#النوبة‬‏ ليس اغانى ورقص فقط النوبة شعب يعانى وحضارة وتاريخ يضيعان ولغة وترلث انسانى سيختفى

Always remember that Nubia is not only music and dance. Nubia is a community that is suffering; a civilization and history that are being lost; and a language and human heritage that will disappear.

Eslam Salheen wrote:

@EslamSalheen: لما بنقول ان فئات من ابناء هذا الوطن بيتعرضوا لاشكال عدة من العنصرية ده مش معناه اننا رافضين وطننا لكن اننا عاوزينه وطن افضل للجميع ‎‫#نوبة‬‏

When we say that certain communities in our country are subject to various forms of racism, it doesn't mean that we reject our country, but that we want it a better country for all.

Azza Matar added:

@AzzaMatar: شئ مؤلم ان ترى جزءا هاما من تاريخ البشرية غارقا تحت بحيرة السد العالى والاكثر ايلاما ان يكون العالم كله مشتركا فى هذه الجريمة ‎‫#نوبة‬‏

It's painful to see a significant part of human history drowned under the High Dam Lake, and more painful to know that the whole world was complicit in that crime.

Blogger Mohamed Mahmoud Moqbel discussed the lack of Nubian representation in media:

خلاصة القول أنك إن أحببت أن ترى النوبة فلا يمكنك أن تراها عبر الشاشة التى لم تقدم الواقع اليومى الذى يعيشه أهل النوبة البقعة الجميلة من جنوب الوطن ، و ما زال هناك الكثير من الكنوز التى يمكن تقديمها عن هذا العالم بما له من خصائص فقط تنتظر الفنان الحقيقى الذى يقترب منها

To sum it up, if you would like to see Nubia, you won't be able to see it via the media because it doesn't represent the daily realities lived by the people from the beautiful southern part of our nation. There are treasures to be presented about this world with its special features, but it is still waiting for a true artist to do so.

Mohamed Aly Talibab ‏shared a link to photos of Nubia taken by John A. Larson between 1905 and 1907.

While many Twitter users shared Nubian music and songs, other shared videos highlighting the Nubian cause, such as this video in which filmmaker Nada Zatouna shares her experience as a Nubian woman who participated in the revolution [ar, for subtitles click cc]:

The day led to many blog posts and Twitter discussions. Blog posts were collected at the Nubian Democratic Youth Federation blog. The initiative also managed to get mainstream media attention, such as this article, and this TV interview [ar], in which Fatma Emam was interviewed.

Egypt: Country's First Research University At Risk

Salah Almhamdi — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:35:22 +0000

Since last year the fate of Nile University, Egypt's first research university, has been uncertain. Its purpose-built campus has been “conceded” to the Zewail City of Science and Technology, an initiative of renowned Egyptian-American scientist and 1999 Nobel Chemistry Prize winner Ahmed Zewail.

Nile University had been scheduled to move to the campus at the beginning of 2011, but when Mubarak was toppled from power, it was announced that the land and buildings would instead be allocatd to the Zewail City of Science and Technology.

Nile University has suffered because of its association with Ahmed Nazif, a former prime minister who last year received a one-year suspended sentence on corruption charges. It has been argued that by reallocating the land the state was “rectifying” the situation. However, Egypt's netizens are almost unanimous in their condemnation of the move.

Nile University, Giza, Egypt. Image by Mahmoud Allam, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

In a recent post blogger Zeinab Mohamed outlined the situation:

In 2000 The Zewail city of science and research’s corner stone was set up in a location in 6th of October area and 300 acres were allocated to that project. It was too good to be true then the project faced a lot of red tape and bureaucracy and in the end Zewail left and returned back to the States. […] Now after the ousting of Mubarak and during the good old days of PM Essam Sharaf, we found out that the old project of Zewail is resurrected again in which for sure is something great but there was a price: wiping out the Nile University (NU) and merging it inside the new Zewail city without even recognizing its achievements. Zewail will take the NU, its students and researches for no price at all!! The buildings of those 127 acres re-allocated to NU are now part of Zewail city. Not only that, but the buildings and the NU facilities were closed for months in front of the NU students with no regard for their researches!!

Image from the Facebook page of Save NILE University: Don't Kill Research in Egypt

Nile University teacher Mahmoud Allam commented [ar]:

أما الإدعاء بأن هذا المقر كان يخص مشروع الدكتور زويل فهذا غير صحيح فبعد أن وضع حجر أساس عام 2000 توقف المشروع ولم تقم أى جهة بأى أعمال بناء أو خلافه وظلت هذه الأراضى صحراء حتى قامت وزارة الاتصالات بشرائها عام 2003 والصور المصورة فى عام 2004 تثبت ذلك و من المثير أيضا أن هذه الصور تثبت أن موضع حجر أساس جامعة العلوم التكنولوجيا (جامعة زويل) الذى تم وضعه عام 2000 يقع فعليا حقيقة خارج حدود مقر جامعة النيل

The claim that this building belonged to Dr Zewail's project is untrue. After he layed the foundation stone in 2000, the project stopped and no one was undertaking any building or other work. The land was desert until the Ministry of Telecommunications bought it in 2003, and the photos taken in 2004 confirm that. What is also interesting is that these photos prove that the location of the foundation stone of the the University of Science and Technology (Zewail University) which was laid in 2000 actually lies outside the limits of Nile University site.

Journalist Salamah Abdulhameed added [ar]:

الأنكى أن زويل الذي يواجه بحملة علمية من جانب علماء مصريين محترمين في جامعة النيل لم يمنحني شخصيا حتى الأن مبررا واحدا مقنعا لأصدق أنه غير راغب في إزالة هذا الكيان العلمي القائم منذ خمس سنوات ويحقق نجاحا مشهودا […] هو فقط يرغب في هدمها قبل أن “يتلكك” ويعود من حيث أتى إلى الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية التي يحمل جنسيتها.

The worst thing is that Zewail, who is facing a campaign from respected Egyptian scientists at Nile University, has not until now provided a single convincing reason to make me believe that he is not willing to dismantle this scientific establishment that has been in existence for five years, and is achieving noticeable success. […] He just wants to destroy it [Nile University] before he “hesitates” and goes back to where he came from, to the United States where he has citizenship.

However, Egyptian poet Farouk Goweda supports Zewail City and wrote [ar]:

هناك اعتقاد لدي المسئولين في جامعة النيل ووزارة الاتصالات أن مدينة زويل انتزعت منهم الأرض والمنشآت التي أقامتها جامعة النيل, رغم أن الحقائق تقول أن الأرض كانت مخصصة من البداية لمشروع زويل وهناك نصب تذكاري فيها يؤكد ذلك..

There is a belief amongst the officials of Nile University and the Ministry of Telecommunications that Zewail City acquired by extortion the land and the facilities that were established by Nile University, despite the fact that the land was dedicated from the beginning to the Zewail project and there is a memorial that confirms that…

Logo of Save Nile University campaign. Image from the Facebook page of Save NILE University: Don't Kill Research in Egypt

Zeinab Mohamed linked to the online campaign:

The students and the researchers have launched a big campaign to Save NU whether online or offline through protests and sits in. Here is the official Save NU website and its official FB page. They do not want to be a part of the Zowail city.

Assistant researcher Heba Shalaby stands by the position of Nile University, and addressed its faculty and students:

@HebaShalaby: As long as your cause is righteous, and you're doing your best, you have nothing more to worry about.

Egypt: The Other Homeland

Veroniki Krikoni — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:00:12 +0000

Al Jazeera World broadcasts a small film entitled “Egypt:The Other Homeland”, narrating the history of the once thriving Greek community in Egypt through personal interviews and archive material. At the beginning of the 20th century,there were about 200,000 Greeks in Egypt. Today, the Greek community there has approximately 1,000 members.