Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Fahmi Huwaidi
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Our rottenness has been exposed by this refugee crisis
One child shook the conscience of Europe but how many children must die for the Arabs’ conscience to wake up? The image of Alan Kurdi, three years old, sounded an alarm, which is still echoing all over the world, when his little body was thrown up by the sea...
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Fear for democracy in Egypt is justified
The fear for democracy in Egypt is now justified and I would even argue that we need to remind ourselves of the warning signs; this is now an obligation. Let me explain why. On Wednesday June 4th, 2014, the members of the Faculty of Orthopaedic Medicine at Ain Shams...
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The three groups that boycotted the elections
Whatever the numbers are that are being broadcast about voter turnout percentages in the current presidential elections, one must bear in mind that the number of people going to the polls was very modest and that a carrot and stick was used to motivate people to vote. It took...
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A good omen
I was aware of the fact that I was forbidden from taking any course of action but never that I was forbidden from traveling. When it comes to being forbidden from taking any course of action, well, I have about fifty-five years worth of experience in that domain; however,...
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Demonization complicates the crisis not resolves it
If the effort spent on demonization (of the Muslim Brotherhood) was put towards finding a solution and the development of Egypt, the country would have greatly benefitted from this. Last Sunday, May 18, Al-Ahram newspaper featured a “Brotherhood leader removed from U.S terrorist list” story on its front page....
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Al-Sisi's interview with Reuters falsifies Egyptian media propaganda
The following notes come from a very important conversation with General Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi, which were not allowed to appear in Egyptian newspapers that normally publish interviews with presidents and world leaders. The only fault to this interview appears to be that it was published by Reuters on Saturday,...
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The crisis of the Egyptian judiciary
The problem of judges in Egypt is not new. In the sixties legal counsellor Momtaz Nassar called for an end to the government’s meddling in the judicial system; this led to a massacre of judges in 1969. The crisis resurfaced at the first conference of justice in 1986 and...
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The drums of civil war are beating
Although I heard General Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi call on the people to take to the streets and squares on Friday to give him a mandate to deal with the violence in the country, I still can’t quite believe it and am not alone in my feelings. Several people called...
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Who benefits from distorting the January revolution?
My biggest fear is that the uprising Egypt witnessed on June 30 2013 will be utilised to attack the revolution of January 25 2011 in a manner that makes aligning with Mubarak and his regime an option. It is as if we are in the process of re-writing the...
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Egypt's neglected questions
I have a number of questions regarding the current events in Egypt. The most notable of which are as follows: On July 23, Al-Ahram newspaper published a headline noting that the Attorney General ordered the detainment of Dr. Mohammed Morsi for 15 days on charges of collaborating with Hamas....
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Egyptian crisis at a deadlock
Egypt needs a miracle. The “positive” development in the past 10 days is that we have moved from denying the crisis to acknowledging its existence, but there remains uncertainty about how to solve it. While foreign diplomats were invited to intervene in the search for a way out, some...
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On the cheap blood of Egyptians
If an innocent and good-intentioned citizen who monitors Egypt’s news from abroad read Dr. Hazem Al-Beblawi’s recent statement, in which he announced his rejection of reconciling with and forgiving those with blood on their hands, I would not rule out the possibility of this citizen giving Al-Beblawi the benefit...
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Our sadness is doubled
Our sadness is doubled. We went to sleep with the massacre of prisoners while being transferred to Abu Zaabal prison, and woke up to the slaughter of soldiers in Rafah. In both tragedies, Egyptians had killed other Egyptians, which leads us to say that the two sides share three...
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Myths of a confusing time
I do not know when we will sober up and discern the truth of many of the myths spread across Egypt nowadays. However, I see indications that this sobriety will come soon. I am referring to some of the extraordinary writings that have appeared in Egyptian newspapers during the...
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What Egypt's military spokesman missed out
At the end of July, Hamas held a press conference in Gaza in which it presented a number of documents issued by the Palestinian Authority security agencies in Ramallah. The papers revolve around the efforts being made to widen the gap and raise doubts and fear between Hamas and...
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There is no fear over the Arab Spring in Tunisia
Although the Egyptian scenario is overshadowing the picture in Tunisia, the difference between us and them is that they can see some light at the end of the tunnel, while we are still looking for the tunnel. I was invited to speak in Tunisia about the developments in the...
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Cairo under occupation
This is a true story: A young man drove an unlicensed motorcycle and decided to ride it into oncoming traffic. When he ran into a police officer, he did not hesitate to shoot at him, but the police chased him down and arrested him, in addition to seizing his...
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Egypt: into the unknown and beyond the bounds of history
Egypt’s current problem is that it is moving beyond the bounds of history and it is feared that the Arab world will follow suit. Those who read Egyptian newspapers and the statements made by the country’s politicians, which flatter the military establishment and do their bidding, may not have...
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Search for the politics...
The first hearing of the case against ousted President Dr Mohammed Morsi has shed light on several mysterious issues and, more importantly, has helped to clear up many questions that have been on many people’s minds. For example, we learnt that Dr Morsi has been held at the Abu...
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The security state has returned to Egypt
It was reported in Al-Sabah newspaper that 575 soldiers who worked for Mubarak’s security state and were dismissed during the revolution, have been reinstated. I then read of a young man named Alaa Hawari from Sohag, who was protesting about the shortage of gas barrels for stoves and found...
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Collaborating out in the open
I have spent quite a long time trying to determine the definition of the term “collaborating” now being used across Egypt. I resorted to Arabic dictionaries and found that the word was innocent and neutral, as it is a derivative of the word “inform”, meaning exchanging information and discussing...
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The winners and the losers in the Egyptian constitution
The Egyptians did not have the chance to follow the discussions of the constitution committee, which were held behind closed doors, in keeping with the new-old “transparency”. However, some coincidences give us hints about what has been going on behind those doors. We were destined to find out about...
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Israel's plunder of Egyptian gas must be investigated
It is essential for an investigation to be opened into Israel’s plunder of Egypt’s huge natural gas resources. The matter is too serious to be met with silence and too dangerous to be disregarded. It is undoubtedly good news that exploration indicates the presence of huge gas reserves in...
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A truce is no longer a possibility
I was not surprised when I read a story on Twitter about a man divorcing his wife after 12 years of marriage and having two children because he was a supporter of Dr Morsi while his wife continued to support General Al-Sisi. Nor was I surprised by what I...