democrati.net
Discrimination
Mona Eltahawy sparks debate on plight of women in the Middle East
Mona Eltahawy’s piece “Why Do They Hate Us?” in Foreign Policy Magazine has sparked a debate that has shaken the social networks. Views of vitriolic dislike or profound approval of her controversial article have been expressed on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and may even be a main topic on Al Jazeera English’s “The Stream”. An ardent … Continue reading
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
Egyptian Blogger Aliaa Elmahdy: Rebel with a Cause?
By now if you have been keeping up with the ‘Arab Awakening,’ you have probably heard of Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, the 20-year-old Egyptian blogger who posted a nude photo of herself. For those of you not familiar with the story, Elmahdy posted the photo as an act of expression against the ‘norm’ found in the … Continue reading
Natural Rights, Human Rights, Legal Rights, Civil Rights – Differences
As Egypt transitions towards self-rule, Egyptians need to know their rights. Rights come in many forms, so I thought I would write this article to outline the differences. If you think it’s useful, or would like to translate this article into Arabic just send me a note. Natural Rights (حقوق طبیعیة) Natural Rights, also known … Continue reading
Religious slogans between freedom of expression and social responsibility
As I write this article, news has surfaced that the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing, will not use the Brotherhood’s famous motto “Islam is the Solution” in their political campaigns. Last week, the High Elections Commission issued a ban against the use of religious chants, symbols or slogans in the … Continue reading
Egypt’s first anti-discrimination law raises concerns
Egypt’s military rulers approved Egypt’s first explicit anti-discrimination law this Saturday. The announcement comes a week after clashes between Coptic protesters and the military resulted in the death of more than twenty Christian protesters. The amendment to Egypt’s Penal Code prohibits all forms of discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, language or ideology. Discrimination was … Continue reading
Israeli Embassy Raid in Cairo, Pointless Setback for Democracy
September 9th was to be a day of protests in Tahrir Square not seen since prior to the month of Ramadan. Known as “correcting the path” amongst organizers, it was to express frustration at the military’s handling of the Mubarak trials and such. Here is a translation of the demands from a website (http://www.elshaheeed.co.uk/): Egyptians … Continue reading
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