Discovering MENA and other thoughts

"The #MubarakTrial is a wake-up call for all revolutionary factions in Egypt" Saturday November 28th was a bleak day for Egypt. What had already been called the "Trial of the century" winded up with celebrations inside the Cairo Criminal Court and tears of impotence throughout the whole country. Mubarak was brought to the defendants' cage on a gurney and, as always, wore dark glasses and a navy blue cardigan. He looked both impassible and more distant than ever. The judge was unambiguous and tried to appear neutral when declaring: “it is not suitable for a former President to be taken to a Criminal Court.” And just like that, the dictator who ruled Egypt for nearly 30 years and whose ouster sparked chants of joy and idealistic dreams - both inside and outside the country - was cleared of all charges linked to the killing of protesters back in 2011.

Stefan Zweig said that "those who announce they are fighting for God are always the less peaceful men on earth." This is a quote that might well help many to understand the role religion plays in today’s Egyptian political scene. Religion had a lot to do with the July 3, 2013 coup: one of the pillars of public dissatisfaction the Army used as an excuse to overthrow Mohammed Morsi was fear that Egypt could become a theocracy at the behest of the Muslim Brotherhood. Religion is being used since then as a "weapon of submission" to the new regime: the new Constitution retains Article 2 of previous texts, according to which the principles of sharia are the main source of legislation prohibiting, though, the existence of political parties based on religion. After the 2013 coup, General Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi proclaimed all of that had been necessary to "save Islam and Egyptians from the Muslim Brotherhood."

Now that both the EU and the Carter Centre have announced they will not be electoral observers ( except that the EU will finally be ) in the Presidential vote scheduled in Egypt for May 26th and 27th (coincidentally, elections will also take place around these days in the EU itself, Ukraine and Colombia), the tone is set for murmuring and gossipping. Although both organizations have cited different reasons behind their decisions, the truth is that many others seem to have pop up in our minds:

Sometimes, it seems as though the only factors which contribute to sketch the future of the Middle East, most of them I laid out in this article , are out of the control of the citizens: sectarianism, repression, foreign intervention, coups (or non-coups)... However, and even though democracy may (still) not be seen as the key strength of the region, several elections are taking place in many of its countries. Concretely eight, nothing less, and in what many consider key countries that do have a say in regional - and often international - issues. This is why, although many may feel tempted to dismiss those events as procedural or even cosmetic moves, we all should take a closer look at the previous steps and the outcome of these votes.

Every time I now hear/read about the so-called Arab Spring, few are those who are not grasping at straws when referring to Tunisia. Tunisia was the country where the immolation of a desperate young graduate who had to sell fruits in the street in order to cater for his family sparked an uprising that spread throughout the region and amazed many amongst us, getting our hopes up that the Arab world would finally rid of its tyrants. Tunisia was also the first country to hold elections, the first country to put in place a kind of representative parliament, the first country in which political and union activity seemed to be leading somewhere . Until violence broke out, political assassinations shook the entire country, in the face of which the Islamists in power appeared more than unwilling/incapable to find an exit to the stalemate the country was plunged into. The transition has been convoluted and plagued by disturbances that nearly derailed the process. The main end-product, a Const...

TIME Magazine proclaimed the "indignado" (the protester) as the person of the year back in 2011 . This was a gesture of recognition of the tremendous impact rebellious/revolutionary movements have had all over the planet: from Madrid to Wall Street, from Chile to China and, above all, in the Arab World, where scores of outraged youths took to the streets chanting their demands. They managed both to overthrow tyrants and to fascinate and inspire many amongst us. However, it seems that protesting, voicing people’s demands or disapproval of existing policies, has turned in several countries into an extreme sport as of lately. Two examples have notably caught our attention, two cases nearly nobody could instantaneously draw parallels about: Spain and Egypt. Two countries where two deeply controversial (anti) protests laws have been adopted during the last months. The "public safety" legislation (Ley de Seguridad Ciudadana) put through in Spain last November has al...

Last July I wrote about the several Tamarrod-style copycat movements that had been created throughout the Arab world inspired by their Egyptian brethren with the aim of protesting against the governments in power and in favour of the granting of further rights. One of the most active ones has surprisingly proven to be the Tamarrod Gaza movement, silently formed in the street against what some consider a status quo controlled by Hamas that is growing authoritarian by the day. Several small scale protests have been taken place in the tiny territory throughout recent weeks, but the demonstration most organisers hoped to represent a real breakthrough was scheduled for November 11, a key date for all inhabitants of the Strip. Indeed, las Monday was the anniversary of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, founder of Hamas rival Fatah, a date revered by all Palestinians that in the past has also been an occasion for protests.

Every time people cite Egypt's economic distress in front of an Egyptian, he most probably will bump retorting that this economic problems are surely due to political mismanagement, as Egypt is an incredibly resource-rich country which could one day reach the level of brethren Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia or wealthy countries in the region such as Israel? I have to say I, undoubtedly influenced by History courses about the incomparable Egyptian Empire, have always believed that fact. Until now. This week-end I found what I consider an enlightening article on the issue.

Ursula Lindsey spoke to a d emocracy and human rights activist who affirmed that "the situation is the worst it’s been since the 1990s”.

It is not a secret that life for women in Egypt is not always easy. Most of the times ignored by authorities and politicians, whichever their background, sexual harassment is beyond doubt one of the most serious problems the country faces nowadays. A problem whose roots are difficult to determine, but which has for years represented both a taboo and a gangrenous wound for Egyptian society. An issue that many remarkable organizations such as Tahrir Bodyguard or Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment/Assault have been raising awareness about for years, but that has only been really discovered by the West after the 25 January Revolution. It was precisely a film that also people around the world to understand the gravity of this scourge.

"The Muslim brotherhood has experienced two major waves that have risen and fallen. The first wave was in 1928 in its original launch by group founder Hassan el-Banna and then the ruthless crackdown of president Nasser beginning in 1954. The second wave started in 1971 with the release of their leaders from imprisonment, and ended this year with the collapse of Morsi’s rule and the subsequent crackdown" (via Nervana , who else?).

DiscoveringMENA is sometimes honnoured with articles by the brilliant Maria Sanchez (you can read more following this link ). --> El Pueblo, la fuerza durmiente de Egipto.

Last time I wrote about Tunisia things were not going exactly well. And this hasn't pretty much changed. Weeks ago, an assassination shook the country once again, and Tunisians are more than ever aware of their transition being in a complete stalemate, while they carefully look at their neighbour out of the corner of their eyes. Despite what TIME Magazine may say , Egypt has always been and will for years remain immensely relevant. This time, the political crisis was triggered by the 25 July assassination of MP Mohamed Brahmi, attribued to a jihadist movement. The kind of extremist group that has more than once put the country on the verge of deeper social instability, while the authorities seems unable to (or unwilling to) impose themselves and efficiently tackling the issue. Not surprisingly, the previous Government fell after the murder of the remarkable opposition leader Chokri Belaïd in February.

Back in Egypt (finally!!), I was dying to comment on the situation with my friends, particularly with the "journalist sect". I was specially curious about how they assess the polarization that nowadays stands out as the biggest issue the country is facing, and whether a solution might eventually be found in that respect. I was surprised to listen to so many references to the "Third Square", an entity weary of divisiveness and exclusion, tired of politicians clinging to power, fed up with their brethren's swearing allegiance to either one or the other faction and dismissing any kind of concession. To sum up, a group of people who feel their dreams have been once and again betrayed by power-hungry figures vying for a higher rank but muttering at the same time empty words about freedom and the true will of Egyptians. A movement against both religious fascism and military rule. The first few ones who were brave enough to shout out loud they do not trust eithe...

Tamarrud (rebel yourself in Arabic), Egypt's most famous protest movement , the one that sparked the 30 June huge demonstrations that ultimately ousted Mohammed Morsi, has inspired several copycats in brethren countries. Which ones? The ones who already went through their (successful or not) "Arab Springs".

Today I found what is, in my opinion, one of the best articles on Egypt today . Thanks, Ursula Lindsey!

I promised myself (and some friends) I would not comment on the situation. As always, much more prepared people on the ground were going to take charge of dissecting what just happened and what could happen in Egypt. But I casually found the perfect title for the post and decided to write a short post, mainly highlighting what I´ve been reading these last hours. Many people are still wonder whether we can label the events of July 3rd. The main labels, representing the two mainstreams of the opinionionators call for using the words revolution or coup, others in the middle believe it is possible to mix both notions, thus giving birth to strange expressions such as "coupolution" and "coup-ception". Arabic speakers, on their part, tend to use the word "inqilabution" (inqilab is the Arabic word for coup). Then comes the difficult choice of a suitable epithet: military coup? popular coup? military revolution? These digressions even sparked the creation of th...

Yesterday I was watching the news (I spent the whole day glued to a screen, as nearly everybody sharing my love for Egypt) on a Belgian TV-channel and they happened to interview a pro-Morsi supporter from a tiny town in Southern Egypt who very clearly explained why he was ready to give up his life: for the sake of Egypt´s Islamic identity, the only identity the country has had and should have, nowadays courageously upheld by the Brotherhood. Even though one year ago Morsi pledged to be the President of all Egyptians. The surprisingly soapbox orator was bluntly revealing what is nowadays the most serious problem the historic country faces: a tale of two Egypts. My flatmate shocked me when he asked if I believed Egypt was on the verge of civil war. I instantly reacted (well, I indignantly jumped up) and pretentiously affirmed that Egypt was no Syria, that Egypt was a millennium-old country (not a country created out of the blue by former colo...

This is an incredibly moving first-hand experience of what is currently going on in Tahrir. These lines have been written by a dear friend of mine, Alexandre Goudineau, who is successfully making his way as one promising journalist and writes for former Egypt Independent/ Mada Masr . It´s thanks to account like this that we outsiders get a glimpse of what Egyptians are going through. Thanks again, maestro! "I had a very strange day yesterday and I felt necessary to write a piece on it. Dedicated to all those who stand for their ideals, who risk their life to save their country. Anti-harassment groups are the only organizations working on the ground and trying to preserve the dignity and the security of the demonstrators. Join them, help them if you can. I had decided not to go to Tahrir today. I do... not have to cover the event and I believe foreigners' presence in such event can potentially do more harm than good. Following the news through the Internet, ever...

I have been trying to write an article about my beloved Egypt since I started the blog, but so far I have not been able to. Even though it is supposed to be the country I know the most about, I still feel I don't know enough, moreover if I take into account the expertise all my Egyptian and foreign friends living in Egypt possess. That is why I thought I could write an introductory post explaining what is nowadays happening there, a post for beginners like me. The Egyptian Revolution was a time of hope and enthusiasm amongst millions of inhabitants of the most populated, and often the most representative, country of the Arab world. But scores of people are once and again protesting on the streets, chanting anew slogans against what they consider an authoritarian regime, this time in the form of an Islamist-dominated Government headed by a controversial and opaque figure, President Mohammed Morsi. The Muslim Brotherhood, underground and harshly repressed for 84 years, seems to be ...