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Pope Shenouda III and the Coptic Church: Sensitive Questions


Pope Shenouda III, born as Nazir Ga’yid, passed away and left his faithful on Saturday 17th 2012. I have observed the three day mourning period in respect with Church custom and refrained from posting about this. Now that it is over I intend to go back to the topic which interests me greatly and is … Continue reading

US Embassy clashes: Between Anarchy and more


Today clashes erupted around the US embassy in a very reminiscent scene of the night the Israeli embassy was “stormed” as the international press coined it. But is that scene that too reminiscent? Are they the same? True the Egyptians at the US embassy did not “storm in” rather they threw rocks, at the Egyptian … Continue reading

Engaging discourse: Between Patriarchy and Anarchy


Tamer’s article in the Guardian (Old attitudes stand in the way of a new Egypt) recently got me thinking about how the revolution was one against patriarchy and by association misogynist attitudes. The larger premise in the article is that Egyptians yearn for a fatherly figure, a leader if so to speak of the revolution. Yet this … Continue reading

NGO crackdown: operating outside the domains of the law


The loophole theory that Fouad is talking about here isn’t accurate as it doesn’t apply to the NGO incident. My argument is that the problem isn’t in Egyptian law, which is good but that Egyptian laws have too much delegative authority, giving power to by-laws. Egyptian law always includes the clause “to be applied within … Continue reading

Egypt NGO trial exposes regime’s manipulative system of legal loopholes


A lot of recent attention has been directed at the government’s blatant interference in the recent NGO trial with concerns about judiciary independence in Egypt. More important, however, is how this incident highlights Egypt’s manipulative system of legal loopholes. Over the years Mubarak’s legislative body has produced a series of laws and amendments that are carefully crafted … Continue reading