Egypt
Bassem Youssef’s arrest is just one example of the attack on free speech in Egypt
Bassem Youssef is better known as ‘Egypt’s John Stewart’. He is a 39 year old cardiologist who made his name with an online comedy programme styled along the lines of… Continue reading
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Morsi uses emergency laws he once decried as dictatorial
The emergency law has returned to Egypt less than two years after Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power, when Mohammed Morsi reintroduced it to curb unrest which claimed 33 lives… Continue reading
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BBC begins to see that the Arab Spring has not sprung
Hugely exciting Ten O Clock News last night on the Arab Spring – or ‘Arab Uprising’ as the BBC now prefers to call it, the word Spring usually being associated… Continue reading
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Mursi has divided Egypt in two with his authoritarianism
The thing about Islamists is that they just can’t help themselves. Mohammed Mursi’s stock was riding high in certain quarters shortly after he slapped down Hamas in Gaza and avoided… Continue reading
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Israel under Islamist siege
I have a piece in the Wall Street Journal (Europe) today on the pyrrhic ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Also – this week’s magazine carries a cover piece by me… Continue reading
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The Gazan conflict poses a dilemma for Mohammed Morsi
As tensions between Israel and Gaza continue to flare, the real story is what’s happening in Cairo. The conflict represents an acute crisis for the Muslim Brotherhood, which knows the… Continue reading
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‘Arab Spring’ is a misnomer
What do you do when confronted with a prejudice so strong it takes your breath away? In my case, I did what was immediately necessary. I took a deep breath… Continue reading
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Party conferences: a vapid kind of hell
As I may have intimated last week, political conference season is a particular kind of hell. Most of us just are not diverted by faked class warfare or efforts by… Continue reading
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The Muslim Brotherhood’s rank hypocrisy
Western media and governments which are currently white-washing the Muslim Brotherhood should take note of the following, a classic example of the organisation’s traditionally forked-tongue way of working. Ahram Online… Continue reading
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How Iranian media saved Ahmadinejad from embarrassment
If you ever needed an indication of how the media spouts the propaganda of authoritarian regimes like loyalist apparatchiks faithfully repeating the party line then look no further than Iran.… Continue reading
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Mursi’s mischief and muscle in Iran
It is not uncommon for new leaders of new nations to flex their muscles. And in spite of its millennia of history as a nation, this is precisely where Egypt… Continue reading
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Is Mursi really trying to build links with Tehran?
Trying to read the tea leaves on Islamist politicians is notoriously tricky. What else could explain why so many Middle East observers have misinterpreted Mohammed Mursi’s decision to visit Iran… Continue reading
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Mursi shores up his powers
The confrontation between military brass and Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt came much sooner than expected. Mohammed Mursi has effectively sacked the head of the armed forces, Field Marshal Mohamad Hussein… Continue reading
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Memoir of an Islamist
It was a surreal experience to meet Maajid Nawaz for the first time. I had known of him for years and admired his bombast. He was a hero — not just… Continue reading
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Clinton’s Cairo visit reveals limits of US influence
Hillary Clinton is holding talks in Israel today after a turbulent weekend in Egypt, ending a diplomatically fraught trip with little obvious benefit. Officially, Clinton was there to open the… Continue reading
9 Comments Plus ça change in Cairo
Don’t expect Cairo to become Kabul now that the Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate, Mohammed Mursi, has been sworn into power earlier today. There are real fears, of course, about the… Continue reading
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What can the West do about the turmoil in Egypt?
The situation in Egypt remains perilous, as protests mount against the military government which has delayed announcing the result of last weekend’s vote. Preliminary estimates, overseen by a panel of… Continue reading
24 Comments Fears of a coup in Egypt
Chaos and confusion are mounting in Egypt tonight, where the country’s constitutional court has ruled that laws governing parliamentary elections are invalid. It follows that the Egyptian parliament must be… Continue reading
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When spring doesn’t turn into summer
A high-ranking member of Hosni Mubarak’s disgraced government, or someone from the Muslim Brotherhood? It’s hardly an enviable choice — but that is the choice facing Egypt in next month’s… Continue reading
29 CommentsPerson of the year: The Islamist?
Last week, Time Magazine named ‘The Protestor’ as its Person of the Year. Myself, I’d be tempted to bestow the honorific upon ‘The Islamist’. For, in the spirit of the… Continue reading
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