With the Egyptian army’s ultimatum due to expire this afternoon there are obvious reasons to be fearful. Yesterday’s outbreaks of street violence – at least 23 reported dead and some 200 injured in clashes between supporters and opponents of President Morsi – brought a taste of what could be in… Read more
Archive: egypt
2nd July 2013
For Egyptians who oppose the Muslim Brotherhood, the run-off in last year’s presidential election posed an unenviable choice. Much as they might dislike Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist candidate, the key question was whether they disliked him enough to vote for his opponent, Ahmed Shafik.
Shafik,… Read more
20th June 2013
"In a dictatorship," the Sudanese-born intellectual Abdel-Wahab al-Effendi once remarked, "the role of the minister of culture isn't to protect culture, but to stifle culture and to protect the regime".
For 24 years, this was the role that Farouk Hosni performed in Egypt as the "civilised" face of… Read more
18th June 2013
President Morsi's decree appointing new governors for 17 of the Egypt's 27 provinces has triggered a new wave of protests and further raised political tensions ahead of the mass demonstrations against Morsi which have been called by opposition groups for June 30.
Seven of the new governors are… Read more
13th June 2013
It's happened again in Egypt. A thirteen-year-old girl died after being circumcised at a private clinic in Dakahliya. The Egypt Independent reports:
The victim's father, Mohamed Ibrahim, a farmer, told Al-Masry Al-Youm: "We left our daughter with the doctor and the nurse. Fifteen minutes later,… Read more
5th June 2013
The plotters' meeting. Photo: Egyptian presidency
Foreign plots, real or imagined, are the bread and butter of Arab politics. No country guards its sovereignty more jealously than Egypt and even the merest hint of external interference is liable to bring a tough response – hence the jail sentences… Read more
1st June 2013
Old habits die hard, and some of the new Arab leaders seem unable to break away from the authoritarian mindset. In Egypt, President Morsi has produced a new draft law "regulating" the activities of NGOs and human rights groups in much the same way that the Mubarak regime used to regulate them.… Read more
1st June 2013
The right of people to act collectively – and independently of governments – for the sake of shared interests, purposes and values is one of the building blocks of a free and open society.
Arab governments have traditionally sought to restrict such activity, though the Arab… Read more
31st May 2013
As unresolved problems pile up in Egypt, yet another issue – one of vital national importance which has been rumbling in the background for years – has suddenly come to the fore. Water.
On Tuesday, Ethiopia announced that it has begun diverting the Blue Nile as part of a hydroelectric project known… Read more
3rd March 2013
Sectarian clashes have broken out in Kom Ombo, in Upper Egypt, over the disappearance of a woman who is rumoured to have been kidnapped and forcibly converted to Christianity.
Ahram Online reports:
"The city's most central and largest church, Mar Girgis, has been under attack for the past three… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
