There are regular calls for reconciliation in Egypt, though they often appear to be voiced in a vacuum, paying little, if any, attention to the political context.
The simple fact is the conditions for reconciliation do not exist. This is not only (...)
When we continue to confront the US and Israel only through shouting, condemnation and rejection, and when the Arabs fail to stop any external aggression since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, we've shown we have a real problem in the nature of the (...)
It took a long time for opposition forces and a vast segment of the Egyptian public to reach the point of calling for the president to step down in order to make way for early presidential elections. In some quarters, this demand has been escalated (...)
Some believe that the political violence Egypt is experiencing these days threatens to destroy the political process. Others argue that boycotting the elections will bring this about, while yet a third camp of opinion holds that failure to realise (...)
The controversy over the nature of the MPs that Egyptians want continues to rage as several complain about the lack of MPs with political experience in comparison with “service MPs” (who promise to grant services to their constituents). Amid the (...)
There has been increasing talk about excluding former members of the now-disbanded National Democratic Party (NDP) from political life, with some saying they should be prevented from participation in upcoming elections. Meanwhile, others say only (...)
Some of us were under the impression that Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi's testimony would mark a watershed in the trial of ex-President Hosni Mubarak. But the fact that Mubarak was Tantawi's long-time leader renders unlikely any radical change in (...)
The media circus prompted by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Egypt demonstrates how Mubarak's legacy still lingers, despite his absence from the political scene. The naivety and superficiality of the questions posed to Erdogan (...)
When the Muslim Brotherhood heads a political coalition that includes respectable allies -- like the Wafd, Nasserist, Karama, Ghad parties -- we can safely assume it's a union of patriots, even if we disagree with any of these parties' views. But (...)
The opening of Hosni Mubarak's trial last week was undoubtedly a historic day for Egyptians. With the trial now underway, Egypt has escaped two extreme fates: A failure to bring their ex-president to trial, on the one hand, and holding him (...)
Last Friday's rally in Tahrir was perplexing. Not because it showed the Islamists' strong political presence, that much we already knew. Rather, because no Islamists ever called for such a mass protest under Hosni Mubarak. It was civil, (...)
Patriotism has never been about accusing others of treason or leveling baseless charges. Patriotism is a deep feeling that one feels towards his/her country without needing to prove it with theatrics.
We were all shocked when the Supreme Council of (...)
Tahrir Square has changed. The number of protesters has dropped and new faces have appeared, though many old ones remain too. Several political groups and parties have insisted on continuing their sit-in until the revolution achieves its objectives, (...)
Certain revolution youth coalitions requested the ruling military council to subsidize political parties.
This issue should be discussed in a completely new manner after the revolution.
First, we need to rid ourselves of the so-called “subsidies (...)
The Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions (EFTU) is a problem to which the solution is the creation of independent syndicates. Until this happens, we should not watch on passively.
The clashes that erupted at the International Labor Conference in (...)
In the 19 March referendum on constitutional amendments, 77 percent of Egyptians voted in favor of holding elections before drafting the new constitution. This was the only clean referendum in Egyptian history, despite a few procedural glitches and (...)
Some people attribute the Muslim Brotherhood's strength to its organizational coherence and the widespread culture of obedience among its members. Some highlight the group's use of religion to manipulate people's feelings for political reasons. (...)
Controversy abounds over the future of Egypt's political system. Some defend the idea of a parliamentary republic, arguing it's the only way to build a meaningful democracy. The arguments in favor of a parliamentary system are, in large part, a (...)
Sectarian conflict has once again exploded between Egypt's Muslims and Copts. The church attack in Imbaba last week will be a precursor for more crises to come if we don't abandon old ways of thinking that dominated under Mubarak and which still (...)
Since the 1970s, the Muslim Brotherhood has been gaining valuable political experience by participating is student and trade union union activism, as well as parliamentary elections. This level of engagement political affairs was unknown to the (...)
Curious is the process by which 13 new governors have been appointed across Egypt. It's as if most of them were picked a by a modified version of Hosni Mubarak. The new governors include no youth and most of them have served in the police, the (...)
During Mubarak's rule, Egypt was divided into two camps. The first benefited from the regime and was complicit in its crimes. The other opposed the regime's policies and everything it stood for.
This revolution has revealed the face of another (...)
The clear reluctance on the part of Arab regimes and Western powers to support the Tunisian revolution is amazing. This is especially the case since the revolution, from the beginning, has been popular and democratic; it has not employed any (...)
Arab exception or Tunisian way: what lessons can be learned from events in Tunisia, asks Amr El-Shobaki*
Tunisia is still the most talked-about country in the world a week after the fall of the Zein Al-Abidine Bin Ali government. Speculation is rife (...)
Those who watched Al-Jazeera's live coverage of the great protests in Tunisia should know that what happened in Tunisia is unlikely to happen in Egypt.
Tunisians who took to the streets chanted for freedom, equality, dignity, and nationalism. Many (...)