Chronicling Egypt's short twentieth century. This week it was one hundred years ago that the Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was born. On occasion of the centenary of the only Arabophone Nobel Prize laureate, the Qantara website commemorated him as a writer of an imaginary historiography of Egypt's 'short twentieth century'. It traces Mahfouz's development as an author through the various literary guises he assumed during his literary career: pharaonist, chronicler, seismograph, allegorist, and -- finally -- a cultural monument. This iconic status could not protect him from a violent assault in 1994, when a religious zealot attempted to assassinate the octogenarian because of his controversial views on religion. A self-described secularist, others interpreted his convictions as atheism. Generally regarded as a realist who tried to faithfully depict the life of ordinary Egyptians in extraordinary circumstances, Mahfouz also tried his hand at more metaphorical approaches.
To read the whole article, click here. Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah blogs from detention. Writing in colloquial Egyptian Arabic from detention Alaa Abdel Fattah: I am writing this blog while being ashamed of myself, I was moved to Tora Investigative [jail] on my insistence and nagging because I could not take the difficult circumstances of the appeal detention, the darkness, the filth, the cockroaches that crawl over my body day and night, there is no break and we don't see the sun, darkness again, but the issue that bothered me most was the toilet, I don't know how to handle the filth of the toilets and the absence of doors and stayed five days fasting, binded binded binded.
I was confounded by Nawarah (Negm)'s article in which she spoke of my manliness, but Naglaa Budeir's article reminded me of my previous detention where the blog was my refuge and where I was honest with myself. I left all that for a more spacious, cleaner and brighter cell, and because I couldn't man up and withstand the toilets of the appeal (prison). Let's begin from the start: How are you? @Alaa. "The Law is outside itself" -Giorgio Agamben.
Sunday, October 30, 2011Statement of Solidarity: Alaa Abd El Fattah Boycotts Military Trials We, the Campaign to End the Military Trials of Civilians, condemn in the strongest possible terms the imprisonment of prominent Egyptian activist and blogger, Alaa Abd el Fattah and the unjust and illegal system of military tribunals implemented by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) since becoming rulers of Egypt on January the 28th, 2011.
Today Alaa Abd El Fattah was summoned to the Military Prosecutor's office, accused of assaulting military personnel, stealing and destroying military weaponry and inciting violence against the military in the events of 9 October at Maspero. On questioning, Abd El Fattah declined to answer the prosecutor’s questions, stating that it is illegal and a clear conflict of interest for the military, as a party accused of a crime in the same events, to hold proceedings or adjudicate fairly. He was sent to detention pending further military investigation. Activist blogger freed in Egypt - Middle East. Egypt's judiciary decided to free blogger and activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who has spent the past two months in custody, his sister said.
Mona Abdel Fattah announced on Wednesday on Twitter that a court had decided to "free Alaa," who had been remanded in custody on October 30. The blogger was accused of inciting violence during an October 9 demonstration by Coptic Christians in Cairo. He also faces charges of vandalism during the demonstration which degenerated into clashes with security forces in which 25 people were killed, most of them Copts protesting over the burning of a church in the southern city of Aswan.
The young man reportedly refused to undergo questioning by the military prosecution on the grounds that the military itself was implicated in the case. Coptic witnesses said they were fired upon by soldiers during a protest march and that several people were killed when armoured vehicles ran over and crushed them. Egyptian Blogger-Activist Alaa on Democracy Now! A Democratic Exception | The Majalla. Egypt Unwrapped In the first ever Cairo launch of its World Report, Human Rights Watch chief slams Arab autocrats and the Western democracies who support them.
A protestor outside the newly opened Egyptian parliament waves a flag whilst wearing a mask depicting fallen protester Khaled Said Kenneth Roth, the chief executive of Human Rights Watch (HRW), probably wished he had more to smile about when he arrived in Cairo over the weekend. Given it was the first time his organization had ever delivered its annual report from the Egyptian capital, there was a small reason to be cheerful. But what Mr Roth had to say about the state of human rights in the region – not to mention the complicity of the international community in its dealings with the Arab countries – made for rather sombre contemplation. In the Middle East, he said, The West seemed content to tolerate autocrats “so long as they in turn supported Western interests”. Alastair Beach More Posts. Adam Curtis Blog: SADAT'S DAT. A Guide: How Not To Say Stupid Stuff About Egypt | Sarthanapalos. The past few days I have heard so many stupid things from friends, blogs, pundits, correspondents, politicians, experts, writers that I want to pull my hair.
So, I will not beat around the bush, I will be really blunt and give you a handy list to keep you from offending Egyptians, Arabs and the world when you discuss, blog or talk about Egypt. Honestly, I would think most Progressives would know these things, but let’s get to it. “I am so impressed at how articulate Egyptians are.” Does this sound familiar? Imagine saying this about a Latino or African American? The library is safe thanks to Egypt’s youth, whether they be the staff of the Library or the representatives of the demonstrators, who are joining us in guarding the building from potential vandals and looters. “The Muslim Brothers are Terrorists” Maybe you should look at their English Website, or try something easy like this link Check this out: The Muslim Brotherhood is not on the U.S.
“The Twitter Revolution”. Like this: Bread and Urbanism. العيش و العشوائيات: العلاقة بين رغيف العيش و النمو العمراني في المدن المصرية Egypt, once the breadbasket of the Mediterranean, is the world’s biggest importer of wheat and grains. Egyptians are the world’s biggest consumers of bread per capita. Over the years Egypt’s dependency on imported wheat has steadily increased with no sign of reversal. Egypt’s population , currently 81 million, is growing at 2 percent a year. By 2025, its population could reach 104 million, and by 2050 it population could be close to 140 million, an increase of 70 percent.Rising population will mean less land available for agriculture, and if upstream usage of Nile river water increases, as appears likely, there could be less water for Egyptian farmers in the years ahead.
This population growth also means more need for housing, and more need for land to urbanize. Flying over the Nile Delta, one is shocked by the ratio or urban to agricultural land. 1. 2. Most Bizarre Egyptian Quotes of 2011. A prime minister admits getting killed; a salafist compares bikinis on the beach to the brakes on a car; an ex-general in the army wants protesters to fry in Hitler's ovens; a Mubarak-lover actress prefers pizza to revolution ... People of Priorities “I’m quite fanatic about my scotch in the evening, so I don’t like anybody telling me that I can’t drink.” Not possible economic reforms or bank restrictions, but alcohol was the first thing to cross the mind of Coptic telecommunications tycoon Naguib Sawiris when asked about potential Muslim Brotherhood rule. “The bikini issue is no big deal. The tourism industry in Egypt needs drastic changes that we should be more concerned about. It’s like manufacturing a vehicle; you work on the important things, then the minor details, like the brakes.”
Al-Nour Party’s spokesperson Mohamed Nour appears to believe that imposing a dress code on tourists is as “unimportant” as brakes on a car. “We are devastated; do you know how long ten days are? A year in review: 11 authors choose their favorite books of 2011 | Al-Masry Al-Youm: Today's News from Egypt.