Archive: egypt

24th September 2014
By: Brian Whitaker
Egypt's growing moral panic Campaigners in Egypt have called for two days of action through social media to protest at the latest wave of repression directed against LGBT people there. Readers can support it by signing up to the Facebook event, Stop Homophobia and Transphobia in Egypt. There is… Read more
15th July 2014
By: Brian Whitaker
In an alarming new development Egypt's Sisi regime has announced plans to drastically restrict the activities of civil society organisations, effectively bringing them all under government control. A draft law proposed by the Ministry of Social Solidarity would allow the government and security… Read more
3rd July 2014
By: Brian Whitaker
Tony Blair's unofficial activities in the Middle East are looking increasingly dodgy – and increasingly incompatible with his official role as the Quartet's peace envoy. Yesterday, the Guardian caused a stir with a story that Blair is to advise Egypt's Sisi regime on economic reform "in… Read more
19th June 2014
By: Brian Whitaker
Following Saudi Arabia's absurd decision to outlaw "calling for atheist thought" on the grounds that it is a form of terrorism, Egypt is trying a different approach. Labelling Egyptian atheists as terrorists might be just a bit too confusing because the Sisi regime has already allocated the Muslim… Read more
14th June 2014
By: Brian Whitaker
Egypt's much-abused law against "insults" to religion has claimed another victim with the jailing of a 23-year-old schoolteacher in Luxor governorate. Demiana Emad, a Coptic Christian, was arrested more than a year ago following a complaint from the head of the parents' association at her school.… Read more
26th January 2014
By: Brian Whitaker
via Twitter" src="/sites/default/files/sisi_family_0.jpg" style="width: 400px; height: 375px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid;" /> Yesterday’s events in Egypt – on the third anniversary of the uprising against Mubarak – resulted in at least 49 deaths and more than 1,000 arrests, according… Read more
4th December 2013
By: Brian Whitaker
Tomorrow marks the start of a two-day conference in Cairo fronted by an obscure NGO called the Egyptian Council for Democracy Support (EGCODS) – and backed by the military-led government. The conference, to be held in a five-star hotel which is owned and run by the Egyptian military, seems to be… Read more
27th November 2013
By: Brian Whitaker
Amid all the debates about the future of the Middle East there's one issue of fundamental importance to millions of Arabs that hardly ever gets discussed. The issue is housing. Housing is a thoroughly mundane topic and even when writers turn their attention to the built environment of Arab cities… Read more
23rd November 2013
By: Brian Whitaker
Military luxury: Al-Masah Hotel in Cairo Al-Masah Hotel and Spa describes itself as a place "to escape the noise and the pollution" of Cairo, a place to enjoy quiet, contemplative moments sitting under a pergola with the drink of your choice. "Since 2006, al-Masah Hotel has been the Cairo home… Read more
30th October 2013
By: Brian Whitaker
A 20-year-old Egyptian student has been arrested and could face up to six years in jail after he allegedly set up a Facebook page calling for atheism. Although it is not actually illegal to be an atheist in Egypt, Sherif Gaber, a student in the commerce faculty at Suez Canal University, is accused… Read more