In the last few years an abridged narrative of the Egyptian popular movement has been limited to Tahrir Square—especially for the years 2011 and 2012, before the masses were polarized between those who demonstrated outside the Ittihadiya Palace and those in Rabia Al Adawiya Square. In the last few years an abridged narrative of the […]

Nearly a year ago now, and just a few hours before I was due to travel to Jordan to study journalism at the Jordanian Media Institute, I went to fetch some of my clothes from the laundry next door to prepare for my trip. The moment Abdel Baset, the laundry’s owner, learned that I was […]

After Charlie Hebdo’s attack, Makhlouf along with a number of Egyptian cartoonists, launched a campaign voicing their support for art while denouncing the killing spree in France, despite the reservations amongst the Egyptian public about the magazine’s satire. After Charlie Hebdo’s attack, Makhlouf along with a number of Egyptian cartoonists, launched a campaign voicing their […]

None of Egypt’s newspapers have (should have, we say, of course) published any of Charlie Hebdo magazine’s satirical cartoons about Islam, despite their intensive coverage about terrorists storming the magazine’s offices and killing its most prominent cartoonists and editors. Moreover, the words ‘terrorism’ or ‘massacre’ to describe what happened in Paris have been kept to […]

Two years ago, when Sherif Diyab, a political activist, participated in the founding of the Tamarod (Rebellion) Movement, which initiated the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood and President Morsi, he never imagined how radically the political system would change or that he would one day align himself with the same group he helped bring down. […]

Lebanese Marxist intellectual Gilbert Achcar, author of The People Want (2013), Eastern Cauldron (2004) and The Clash of Barbarisms (2002/2006), says Egypt is at an historical and highly important crossroads in the development of the long-term revolutionary process— stressing the urgency in building leadership and formulating strategies appropriate for change. Lebanese Marxist intellectual Gilbert Achcar, author […]

In all of her prestigious posts, Fayza Abul Naga has always been the first woman to hold them. Her most recent appointment by President al-Sisi as his national security advisor this past November is no exception. In all of her prestigious posts, Fayza Abul Naga has always been the first woman to hold them. Her […]

Even though no one knows when parliamentary elections in Egypt might happen, campaigning is nonetheless in full swing for some candidates. Posters and banners can be spotted in various areas of Sixth of October City, including July 26th main road junction linking the city with al-Muhandiseen neighborhood in Giza Governorate. Advertising posters are plastered all […]

The current crisis facing Egypt’s cultural magazines cannot be separated from the crisis of journalism in Egypt as a whole. Poor funding and distribution with decreasing readership with the rise of social networking sites and Internet news sites, not to mention the restraints imposed on newspapers on the pretext of protecting the country. The majority […]

It was not the fate one might expect of the young woman whose name translates as beautiful fragrant tree. Zainab Hussain Ahmed Mahdi, from the  popular Cairo neighborhood Rawdh al-Faraj, had studied Arabic Literature at the Faculty of Arabic and Islamic studies at Al-Azhar University. It was not the fate one might expect of the […]