Middle East Features
By Pakinam Amer
Sep 17, 2007, 15:35 GMT
Cairo - Politicians and observers in Iraq have expressed concern over the withdrawal of major blocs from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ruling coalition.
Growing tension between various factions and the shifting political landscape has prompted questions about the future of the precarious government.
Reports on Monday said that some blocs are already negotiationg new alliances in Iraq's Council of Representatives which may be opposed to the government.
The political force loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr quit al-Maliki's governing Shiite alliance leaving 30 seats empty, on Sunday, after a boycott lasting months.
The Iraqi Accord Front, the largest Sunni party, has already withdrawn and other Shiite and secular factions have boycotted recent sessions and voted only on legislation.
Both the ruling alliance and President Jalal Talabani's office issued statements Monday urging the Sadrists to reconsider their decision and return to government. The ruling United Iraqi Alliance described the move as shocking.
Some members of the ruling alliance have denied that the government is threatened. Sadr MPs have shown little or no activity for many months, they said.
The Sadrists however claim they were intentionally marginalized. The Sadr camp was not included in discussions on key legislation like the debated oil and gas draft law.
They were also shunned from talks on de-Baathification policies which might lead to the return of loyalists to former dictator Saddam Hussein 'whose hands were not stained with Iraqi blood', according to a-Maliki, to government jobs.
Ruling party moderates nevertheless formed a special council to negotiate with the dissident Sadrists to tackle the core issues of conflict, according to the United Iraqi Alliance.
But the Sadrists insist that their decision is both final and consequential. Asmaa al-Mussawy, a leading member of the Sadr camp, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that 'there is no going back.'
The leaders of the Sadr bloc have claimed that MPs belonging to al-Maliki's Daawa party might quit the ruling coalition and join the Sadr camp.
The Islamic Daawa party is an Iraqi conservative party, and along with the Supreme Islamic Iraqi council, forms the bulk of the ruling Shiite coalition known as the United Iraqi Alliance.
The alliance has 128 of the Council of Representative's 275 seats of which Daawa occupies 13.
'The Daawa party, the (Sunni) Iraqi Accord Front, the (Shiite) al- Fadila, the National Dialogue Front are all engaged in dialogue with the Sadr for a new political programme that we cannot publicize at the moment,' said al-Mussawy on Monday.
'These are all parties who could very well forge an alliance with the Sadr, but nothing is final yet,' the Sadrist added.
Abdel-Karim al-Anzy, Daawa's chief in Iraq, confirmed talks with Sadrists and a possible withdrawal.
Observers say these alliances, if created, could herald the collapse of al-Maliki's cabinet.
But even lawmakers are divided on whether al-Maliki's cabinet and the ruling coalition would be weakened by the withdrawal of major blocs - mainly Sunnis and the Shiite Sadr camp- as al-Maliki still enjoys a legitimate albeit thin majority in parliament.
Even if new alliances are formed, al-Maliki would still be able to secure the passage of controversial laws, if he guarantees the allegiance of the Kurdistani Alliance with 53 seats in the Council of Representatives, according to local analysts.
Sadrists have so far ruled out the possibility of a no-confidence vote to bring down the government.
But the government has already been dealt a blow, according to observers. Sadr's withdrawal, coupled with the failure of al-Maliki to reconcile with Sunnis and other opposing parties, caused a split in Daawa party ranks.
Daawa's Al-Anzy described the Sadr departure as a 'hard blow' adding to Voices of Iraq news agency's comments that al-Maliki had begun aggravating rifts within his own party when he signed agreements with Shiite and Kurdish bigwigs while disregarding Sadrists and Sunnis.
Despite the hustle and bustle, some politicians refuse to take the moves of the Sadr bloc seriously.
The Shiite camp have a history of repeated threats, withdrawal and return to parliament.
Last year, Sadrists froze their membership in parliament after loud and angry anti-government protests. But they returned as soon as some of their demands had been met.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
© Copyright 2007 by monstersandcritics.com.
This notice cannot be removed without permission.
Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/features/printer_1356762.php
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Ramadan serials court controversy - Aljazeera English
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/826BCEE8-1442-46CA-9417-8CAC0270E4B6.htm
By Pakinam Amer in Cairo
This Ramadan, television serials depicting sex, politics and war will be beamed into Arab living rooms, raising the stakes on contentious socio-political issues and risking a backlash.
The themes have, over the years, become more brazen.
In the Egyptian programme A Case of Public Opinion (Kadeyet Ray Aam), Yousra, an Egyptian actor and former sex symbol, plays a prominent university professor who is one of three women violently raped while returning home from work.
She and the women are immediately victimised - not only by the violent act but by a society unwilling, and perhaps unprepared, to hear out their trauma and angst.
But Yousra's character overcomes the shame and shunning associated with rape and persistently pushes the horror of the crime – and subsequently, women's role in a patriarchal community – to the fore.
Abier el-Barbary, a psychologist and member of a local women's rights group, believes Ramadan is an ideal time to raise awareness of issues that are otherwise ignored.
She said: "Yousra is a guaranteed role model for many generations of women. She's not a sex-symbol anymore and her western attire gives a message that she's easier to approach."
"To use her as an icon to spread a direly needed message is a great idea."
Social Trauma
The show begins airing throughout the Middle East on the first day of Ramadan (September 13) but it has already stirred controversy, as Arab satellite talk shows and the press debate whether the depiction and discussion of violent sexual trauma has a place during Ramadan.
Arab media reported that Yousra was injured during filming of the much-anticipated rape scene, and that she had suffered "psychological trauma". The reports left people speculating about the intensity of the scene and whether it will breach any taboos.
But the theme seems designed to go for the jugular. Many Egyptian women have stories, usually branded as "shameful" and "embarrassing", of public harassment and even outright sexual assault in public.
A recent statistical study carried out by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights revealed that 40 per cent of women have experienced sexual harassment.
In October 2006, Wael Abbas, a human rights activist, captured video images of throngs of men pulling scarves off veiled women and ganging up on two or three women at a time in downtown Cairo.
One picture even showed a group of girls taking sanctuary in a downtown store, crowds of men waiting at the door as a number of police officers seemed unable to contain the pandemonium.
"It is important that a big star like Yousra adopts such an issue," Wael Abbas told Al Jazeera.
Government agenda?
But some critics have questioned whether there is a government agenda behind A Case of Public Opinion and other shows similar in tone.
In recent years, Arab governments have endorsed the dramatisation of several issues, particularly terrorism, as a means to raise awareness.
After Saudi Arabia endured a rash of terror attacks, notably a November 2003 attack on a compound housing Arabs in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, regional production companies rolled out serials with a distinct anti-extremism message.
Abbas told Al Jazeera: "Sometimes these dramas are done to produce a desired calculated reaction in Arab and foreign circles. Ramadan shows are used as tools."
Noha Maarouf, a Cairo-based social psychologist, agrees, saying that many Arabic dramas propagate the political agendas of local governments.
"Some hot topics are raised in drama to keep people talking. People will be preoccupied discussing Ramadan soap operas for the next six months."
However, she believes Arab governments prefer controversy which could divert attention as cabinets are reshuffled and inflation soars.
"There is usually a sporadic reaction to these dramas and, even if people hate them, they serve as a good distraction," she told Al Jazeera.
"What would the government like more? If people criticise Ramadan television or [if they] criticise their policies and actions?"
Politics, corruption, and war
Nevertheless, Ramadan viewers this year will still get their share of political intrigue, cabinet betrayals, and the topic du jour – inheritance of power.
In the Egyptian-Syrian joint production King Farouk, the producers have promised a new reading of Egypt's monarchy set against post-World War I colonial occupation of Arab countries and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Abbas believes the choice to produce and air the serial is itself a political gambit.
"Today in Egypt we are passing through a stage where inheritance of power - not unlike the case when Egypt was a kingdom - is a likely scenario," he told Al Jazeera.
Opposition parties have accused Hosni Mubarak, the 79-year-old president of Egypt, of grooming his son, rising politician Gamal Mubarak, to inherit the presidency.
Mohammed Abu-Seif, a director of Arabic serials, says independent production houses are giving Ramadan audiences exactly what they clamour for - contentious political issues and scandal.
"Politics rules the state that we live in now as we have reached a point of frustration where we have nothing but words to offer," he told Al Jazeera.
"It's a [situation] where both the rich and the poor suffer and so politics is present in every drama."
In one such upcoming drama, Nour al-Sherif plays the character of Saad al-Daly, a crooked businessman-cum-cabinet minister who uses his position for personal wealth and latitude.
The drama, titled Al-Daly, unfolds between 1965 and 1997 and traces Egypt's history through a gamut of political events that include the 1967 war and resulting defeat, the 1973 Yom Kippur war, and the assassination of Anwar Sadat, the former Egyptian president.
Syrian TV revisits history
King Farouk and Al-Daly are the latest historical re-dramatisations based on a trend which vaulted Syrian productions into the limelight in recent years.
Since the late 1990s, Syrian serials, acclaimed for their historical themes and finger-in-the-eye satirical comedies, have slowly edged their Egyptian counterparts.
This has created often fierce rivalry as both countries vie for Arab audiences.
And this Ramadan is no different.
The 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon is a common plotline in at least two Syrian soap operas, while another two dramas recount the injustices of the Ottoman rule and the French occupation of Arab states.
Syrian producers are sticking with their formulae - revisiting bloody chapters in Arab history, ones riddled with tales of injustice and occupation.
"If you want to pass on certain information or wittingly avoid censorship, you can always escape to history," says Mona Wasef, a Syrian actor famous for her politically-charged roles.
"Sometimes you hide behind history when you want to present forbidden thought," she told Al Jazeera.
Abu-Seif agrees, adding that historical dramatisations are a serial writer's best tactics to evade censorship and avoid having their material end up on the cutting room floor.
History versus reality
Whether these themes are a subdued reminder of a poignant Arab reality, Saad al-Qassem, the Damascus-based editor of Al-Fonoun (Arts) magazine, is unsure.
"Why do certain historical shows surface at certain times? Well, it could be an undertone of the contemporary state of politics," al-Qassem said.
He believes Arab audiences like to compare between the political status quo and the historical dramas to examine whether history repeats itself after all.
He said: "People in Syria are more attracted now to dramas that speak of past glories. It is not a surprise that under our current political climate people derive collective strength from their history."
By Pakinam Amer in Cairo
This Ramadan, television serials depicting sex, politics and war will be beamed into Arab living rooms, raising the stakes on contentious socio-political issues and risking a backlash.
The themes have, over the years, become more brazen.
In the Egyptian programme A Case of Public Opinion (Kadeyet Ray Aam), Yousra, an Egyptian actor and former sex symbol, plays a prominent university professor who is one of three women violently raped while returning home from work.
She and the women are immediately victimised - not only by the violent act but by a society unwilling, and perhaps unprepared, to hear out their trauma and angst.
But Yousra's character overcomes the shame and shunning associated with rape and persistently pushes the horror of the crime – and subsequently, women's role in a patriarchal community – to the fore.
Abier el-Barbary, a psychologist and member of a local women's rights group, believes Ramadan is an ideal time to raise awareness of issues that are otherwise ignored.
She said: "Yousra is a guaranteed role model for many generations of women. She's not a sex-symbol anymore and her western attire gives a message that she's easier to approach."
"To use her as an icon to spread a direly needed message is a great idea."
Social Trauma
The show begins airing throughout the Middle East on the first day of Ramadan (September 13) but it has already stirred controversy, as Arab satellite talk shows and the press debate whether the depiction and discussion of violent sexual trauma has a place during Ramadan.
Arab media reported that Yousra was injured during filming of the much-anticipated rape scene, and that she had suffered "psychological trauma". The reports left people speculating about the intensity of the scene and whether it will breach any taboos.
But the theme seems designed to go for the jugular. Many Egyptian women have stories, usually branded as "shameful" and "embarrassing", of public harassment and even outright sexual assault in public.
A recent statistical study carried out by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights revealed that 40 per cent of women have experienced sexual harassment.
In October 2006, Wael Abbas, a human rights activist, captured video images of throngs of men pulling scarves off veiled women and ganging up on two or three women at a time in downtown Cairo.
One picture even showed a group of girls taking sanctuary in a downtown store, crowds of men waiting at the door as a number of police officers seemed unable to contain the pandemonium.
"It is important that a big star like Yousra adopts such an issue," Wael Abbas told Al Jazeera.
Government agenda?
But some critics have questioned whether there is a government agenda behind A Case of Public Opinion and other shows similar in tone.
In recent years, Arab governments have endorsed the dramatisation of several issues, particularly terrorism, as a means to raise awareness.
After Saudi Arabia endured a rash of terror attacks, notably a November 2003 attack on a compound housing Arabs in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, regional production companies rolled out serials with a distinct anti-extremism message.
Abbas told Al Jazeera: "Sometimes these dramas are done to produce a desired calculated reaction in Arab and foreign circles. Ramadan shows are used as tools."
Noha Maarouf, a Cairo-based social psychologist, agrees, saying that many Arabic dramas propagate the political agendas of local governments.
"Some hot topics are raised in drama to keep people talking. People will be preoccupied discussing Ramadan soap operas for the next six months."
However, she believes Arab governments prefer controversy which could divert attention as cabinets are reshuffled and inflation soars.
"There is usually a sporadic reaction to these dramas and, even if people hate them, they serve as a good distraction," she told Al Jazeera.
"What would the government like more? If people criticise Ramadan television or [if they] criticise their policies and actions?"
Politics, corruption, and war
Nevertheless, Ramadan viewers this year will still get their share of political intrigue, cabinet betrayals, and the topic du jour – inheritance of power.
In the Egyptian-Syrian joint production King Farouk, the producers have promised a new reading of Egypt's monarchy set against post-World War I colonial occupation of Arab countries and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Abbas believes the choice to produce and air the serial is itself a political gambit.
"Today in Egypt we are passing through a stage where inheritance of power - not unlike the case when Egypt was a kingdom - is a likely scenario," he told Al Jazeera.
Opposition parties have accused Hosni Mubarak, the 79-year-old president of Egypt, of grooming his son, rising politician Gamal Mubarak, to inherit the presidency.
Mohammed Abu-Seif, a director of Arabic serials, says independent production houses are giving Ramadan audiences exactly what they clamour for - contentious political issues and scandal.
"Politics rules the state that we live in now as we have reached a point of frustration where we have nothing but words to offer," he told Al Jazeera.
"It's a [situation] where both the rich and the poor suffer and so politics is present in every drama."
In one such upcoming drama, Nour al-Sherif plays the character of Saad al-Daly, a crooked businessman-cum-cabinet minister who uses his position for personal wealth and latitude.
The drama, titled Al-Daly, unfolds between 1965 and 1997 and traces Egypt's history through a gamut of political events that include the 1967 war and resulting defeat, the 1973 Yom Kippur war, and the assassination of Anwar Sadat, the former Egyptian president.
Syrian TV revisits history
King Farouk and Al-Daly are the latest historical re-dramatisations based on a trend which vaulted Syrian productions into the limelight in recent years.
Since the late 1990s, Syrian serials, acclaimed for their historical themes and finger-in-the-eye satirical comedies, have slowly edged their Egyptian counterparts.
This has created often fierce rivalry as both countries vie for Arab audiences.
And this Ramadan is no different.
The 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon is a common plotline in at least two Syrian soap operas, while another two dramas recount the injustices of the Ottoman rule and the French occupation of Arab states.
Syrian producers are sticking with their formulae - revisiting bloody chapters in Arab history, ones riddled with tales of injustice and occupation.
"If you want to pass on certain information or wittingly avoid censorship, you can always escape to history," says Mona Wasef, a Syrian actor famous for her politically-charged roles.
"Sometimes you hide behind history when you want to present forbidden thought," she told Al Jazeera.
Abu-Seif agrees, adding that historical dramatisations are a serial writer's best tactics to evade censorship and avoid having their material end up on the cutting room floor.
History versus reality
Whether these themes are a subdued reminder of a poignant Arab reality, Saad al-Qassem, the Damascus-based editor of Al-Fonoun (Arts) magazine, is unsure.
"Why do certain historical shows surface at certain times? Well, it could be an undertone of the contemporary state of politics," al-Qassem said.
He believes Arab audiences like to compare between the political status quo and the historical dramas to examine whether history repeats itself after all.
He said: "People in Syria are more attracted now to dramas that speak of past glories. It is not a surprise that under our current political climate people derive collective strength from their history."
Monday, September 10, 2007
NEWS FEATURE: Iraqis divided over results of US troop surge - dpa
Middle East NewsBy Kazem al-Akabi and Pakinam Amer
Sep 10, 2007, 14:57 GMT
Baghdad/Cairo - Debate over the achievements and shortcomings of the US troop surge plan has left Iraqis divided with many branding the strategy a failure.
US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and Ryan C Crocker, American ambassador to Iraq, were expected Monday to report to Congress about the progress made since US President George W Bush announced his revised Iraq strategy, in which he pledged in January to increase troop numbers by 20,000 soldiers.
The surge took place between February and June. In Baghdad, where a new security plan was enacted hand-in-hand with the increase in the number of troops last February, many Iraqis believed that the increased US presence would save the country from the horrors of civil war.
"The US presence stands as a barrier in the face of armed militias who want to provoke the country into civil war," says Tareq Ibrahim, a Baghdad-based engineer.
Others said that "independence" is the key to control the security situation but added that Iraq was torn between a continued military occupation and the subsequent loss of sovereignty, and a possible disintegration into total chaos if the US was to withdraw its troops.
"We have to depend on ourselves," says 23-year-old Wissam Mohamed."But how could our weaponless forces stand against armed militias?"
In oil-rich Kirkuk, a disputed northern territory shared between Kurds and Turkmen, a gamut of opinions accompanied the idea of possible US troop reduction or even withdrawal.
Abdullah Hamoud al-Rayashy, a local farmer, said that the US surge "did not create a tangible change."
"There's more terrorism, more arrests, kidnappings, deportation. The Bush administration has failed to change the government programme after Iraqi politicians proved their failure," he said.
A shop owner from Kirkuk, Aras Khorshid, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the US administration did not solve problems, but described the possibility of withdrawal or a reduction in the US presence as a "disaster for Iraq."
He believes that the Americans are playing a negative role in the arguments over who should control Kirkuk - Kurds or Sunni Arabs and Turkmen.
But a withdrawal could mean more infiltration and shelling at the borders by neighbouring Iran and Turkey, according to Khorshid. Turksand Iranians are wreaking havoc in the autonomous Kurdish region while the government doesn't act, he says.
The armies of both Turkey and Iran have been engaged in a conflict with around 7,000 Kurdish rebels who are entrenched in the mountainous frontier region in northern Iraq.
Villages in northern Iraq have been shelled as militants belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), outlawed in Turkey, and theParty for Freedom and Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) from Iran, are constantly targeted.
"The Americans should exercise pressure (on the Iraqis) to overhaul the army and police sources," said Omar Ouji, a Turkman."Meanwhile, they should slowly and gradually decrease their presence."
Accusations of violence have been levelled at Iraqi police and army forces whose ranks are believed to be infiltrated by members of sectarian militias.
Security elements, which ideally act as a source of protection, bear allegiances to different political factions and are said to have contributed to fomenting violence.
Meanwhile, during the two-day hearing General Petraeus is expected to try and curtail major moves to cut the number of US troops in Iraq in the forthcoming months. Democratic lawmakers in Congress have been pushing for a timetable for the US forces' withdrawal as Bush and his backers continue to warn against premature cuts.
The architect of this year's so-called surge, Petraeus is suggesting that only one brigade, about 4,000 troops, could go back home in December without being replaced but that larger cuts should wait until recommendations on such adjustments are presented in March 2008, according to the New York Times on Monday.
His surge, which only reached full strength during the summer, has reportedly produced some improvements in security in parts of Iraq,especially in and around Baghdad where the US-backed Fard al-Qanoun (Law Enforcement) security plan was put into effect.
However, amid growing debate on the degree of success and failure in Iraq, the Democrats want statistics.
Bush hinted at the possibility of withdrawal during a recent trip to Anbar province.
"When we begin to draw down, it will be from a position of strength and success, not from fear and failure," the US president said.
Egyptian journalist probed over Mubarak health rumours - dpa
Middle East FeaturesBy Pakinam Amer
Sep 5, 2007, 14:42 GMT
Cairo - In a country regularly shaken by political paranoia, Egyptian investigators are probing a popular opposition journalist for allegedly spreading 'dangerous' rumours about the health of President Hosny Mubarak which have gripped the nation in recent weeks.
On Wednesday morning, Ibrahim Eissa, editor-at-large of the opposition daily al-Dostour, was questioned by Egypt's Supreme State Security Prosecution.
Eissa was queried in relation to accusations of 'humiliating the president, broadcasting false stories, disrupting the peace and harming the national interests,' as 20 of his supporters chanted anti-government slogans outside of the prosecutor's office.
If indicted he may face a harsh punishment, according to journalists' union lawyer Sayyed Abu-Zeid, also one of Eissa's attorneys.
Over the past few weeks rumours have abounded about the state of the president's health, with some going as far as to as claim that Egypt's ruling party was clandestinely preparing a replacement for Mubarak as he lay on his death bed.
Only last week was the 'harmful' rumour officially, albeit aggressively, challenged.
Mubarak's wife Susan was the first to frankly dismiss the rumours, describing the president's health as 'really great' in an interview with an Arab broadcaster.
Surprise visits by the apparently well president to factories near Alexandria meanwhile received blanket media coverage.
Government mouthpieces then began levelling blame at a number of independent and opposition figures, pointing accusing fingers at al- Dostour newspaper in what Eissa described as a 'black climate.'
The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) tagged the rumours 'dangerous,' while the government-run Supreme Counci of Journalists gave the independent Union of Journalists a deadline to 'punish the scaremongers.'
Some top editors even pushed for Eissa's arrest.
Eissa, described by his lawyer as a 'scapegoat,' dismisses the case as purely political.
'(The government) is settling scores with me,' said Eissa, who was sentenced to a year in prison in 2006 for 'insulting the head of the state.' Eissa did not serve the sentence but instead paid a heavy fine. However his scathing criticism of the President, his wife and influential son Gamal Mubarak did not cease.
Al-Dostour last week published several reports about the flurry of rumours.
According to Eissa's lawyer however, the rumours had already spread 'from Aswan (in the south) to Alexandria (in the north)' before Eissa approved publication of these reports.
'Talking about the president should not be an insult,' said Eissa, shortly before his interrogation. Displaying typical cynicism, the journalist said he considers the investigation 'an award for all my works.'
'This is the typical conduct of a police state,' he said.
The rumour had struck a chord. Its timing coincided with NDP internal elections and with rising speculation that Mubarak's son Gamal, currently the party's deputy leader, may replace his father as head.
Observers say the rumoured health scare also comes against a shifting political landscape.
Premier Ahmed Nazif's cabinet is weighed down by an avalanche of criticism, while the NDP is also under pressure from the 88 MPs allied to the Muslim Brotherhood movement, now considered the regime's number one adversary.
Media circles are meanwhile teeming with journalists who are candidly setting themselves against the regime and the Mubarak family.
Some voices have claimed the rumours were part of a psychological warfare campaign by the Muslim Brotherhood. Others blamed the United States.
'The source of the rumour could be anybody,' said Eissa however. '
And the worst is yet to come.'
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
© Copyright 2007 by monstersandcritics.com.
This notice cannot be removed without permission.
Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/features/article_1352119.php/Egyptian_journalist_probed_over_Mubarak_health_rumours
* image from www.egypttoday.com
Egypt queries new Muslim Brotherhood crackdown - dpa
Middle East FeaturesBy Pakinam Amer
Aug 21, 2007, 12:18 GMT
Cairo - With a fresh crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's strongest opposition group, Egyptians are wondering if incarceration is enough to bring it to its knees.
The group, which has weathered consecutive blows, said its members were accustomed to being prosecuted. 'When they don't like what I say, they take me away,' says the group's political council head, Essam al-Erian.
Al-Erian, who was imprisoned in 1981, 1995, 2005 and again in 2006, is among 28 group members who were detained in a police swoop targeting its leaders this week.
The Brotherhood is a popular movement that adopts 'Islam is the Solution' as its political motto. Eighty-eight members of Egypt's People's Assembly - the lower-house of parliament - are loyal to the outlawed group.
As its charismatic spokesperson, al-Erian has always been in the spotlight whenever the movement made significant announcements. Recently, al-Erian and some of his colleagues have floated the idea of launching a civil political party based on their publicized 'reform programme.'
They reiterated their emphasis on Islamic principles as the basis for a civil state and a ban on all forms of economic activity that contradict Islamic sharia Law, according to Gamal Essam el-Din, a political analyst.
'No sooner had the programme been released than it came under attack,' said Essam el-Din.
The Muslim Brotherhood's leaders were arrested on charges of 'belonging to a banned group, possession of anti-government publications and holding a meeting where internal issues were exploited to justify attacks against the regime.'
State-owned newspapers predict that the hard blow that left four of the group's leadership behind bars will send a tremor through its ranks.
But observers question if arrests will affect the pragmatic movement, whose members sometimes even meet the crackdowns with humour.
'Recent times have proved that the brotherhood is the only organized force in the political arena that is capable of confronting the ruling regime,' Amr Al-Shobaky, an Egyptian analyst, told the independent newspaper, al-Masri al-Yom.
According to al-Shobaky, every time the government attempts to introduce a modified reform programme, it finds itself head-to-head with the brotherhood - generally seen as receiving the lion's share of the regime's 'harassment.'
The members' finger-in-the-eye and even humourous attitude towards imprisonment does not amuse the regime, say analysts.
'The fact that I land in prison for (defending) an idea gives me peace,' said al-Erian a few weeks before he was re-arrested. 'That's why prison will never break us.'
The group claims that, in total, 600 of its members are currently behind bars.
By confining their most powerful leaders, some analysts claim that the regime is trying to provoke the Muslim brothers into using violence in order to justify its own action.
'But the brothers will not be lured into clashes with the regime, they will pass this time too,' said Magdi Qarqar, the general secretary of Egypt's Labour party.
The movement in lieu of aggression usually resort to a passionate war of words.
Abdel-Hamid al-Ghazali, an advisor to the group's so-called Supreme Guide, Mohammed Mahdi Akef, was quick to call the crackdown a form of 'state-terrorism.'
A young leader of the movement, Ibrahim al-Houdaiby, whose own grandfather once headed the group, wrote: 'The arrest of al-Erian is a clear attempt by the regime to crackdown on the moderate leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood who could push the group towards more moderate stances.
'The question remains: Who does that serve?'
Apparently in defiance of the regime, al-Erian's daughter told al- Dostour newspaper that this time her father and his colleagues refused to answer questions in custody since they 'said enough during previous questioning.'
The daughter also claimed the police broke into their house and seized cuttings of newspaper columns that her father had written as well as personal documents.
Such incidents, when put under the spotlight, quickly become human rights issues, prompting civil right groups to release statements condemning the regime's abuses--another 'score' for the movement.
In Egypt's largely conservative society where forms of religiosity are increasing, group members are some of the few to associate their cause with strict Islamic concepts, giving their struggle a holy touch.
As the government fails to give itself the image of the 'pious' or the 'God-fearing,' people like el-Erian come out and say that imprisonment is a time where the Brotherhood 'nurture their spiritual connection with God.'
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
© Copyright 2007 by monstersandcritics.com.
This notice cannot be removed without permission.
Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/features/article_1345721.php/Egypt_queries_new_Muslim_Brotherhood_crackdown
*image from www.copticpolitics.org
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
ANALYSIS: Iraqi politicians' summit postponed amid speculation (dpa)
Middle East NewsBy Ziad Haris and Pakinam Amer
Aug 14, 2007, 15:27 GMT
Baghdad - A 'defining' crisis summit meeting of Iraq's main political factions which was scheduled to begin Tuesday afternoon in Baghdad was postponed amid speculation about the reasons for the move.
The meeting was to be held in an effort to save al-Maliki's coalition from collapsing after Sunni leaders walked out and others boycotted his government.
Disagreement between participants over the meeting's agenda is said to be the reason behind putting off the meeting, said observers. Some political blocs are also said to be awaiting their leaders' decision on whether or not to participate.
Hours before the meeting, members of different political factions voiced their anger, with some claiming that they had been elbowed out of the parley which should ideally be representative of Iraq's political forces. Turkmen leaders said they were not invited and decried what they called 'a conspiracy against Turkmen's interests.'
'Any decision that the meeting reaches will be considered fraud in the eyes of the Turkmen,' said Fawzi Akram Tarzi, a Turkmen policymaker shortly before the set time for the meeting.
Hossam al-Azzawi, a member of the Iraqi National List, which has 25 seats in parliament, said that his bloc was also overlooked.
Meanwhile, five of the nation's leaders - including al-Maliki and President Jalal Talibani - were holding a preparatory session on Tuesday to set an outline for the upcoming conference whose precise date has yet to be set.
The parley was called for last Sunday by al-Maliki, whose cabinet meetings currently have 17 empty seats. Five ministers and Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie of the Sunni Iraqi Accord Front announced their withdrawal from government earlier this month.
In April, six ministers of the movement led by the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr resigned in protest at al-Maliki's failure to provide a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops.
Others from the Iraqi National List have boycotted the government. These moves have left al-Maliki's cabinet with mainly Shiites and Kurds.
The political standoff and the demands of the various blocs were said to be priorities on the meeting's agena, at least officially. The summit was also expected to take up the issue of political reforms and the establishment of a moderate front.
Observers insist, however, that these are all mere side issues - the main goal of the summit remains to be naming new substitute ministers from al-Maliki's governing coalition instead of those who quit from the Sadr bloc.
Tough negotiations are predicted by many, including al-Maliki himself.
Naming new Sunni ministers to replace the Accord ministers is still a tricky issue, as Sunnis decry discrimination against them.
Ahead of the conference, Adnan al-Duleimi, the head of the Sunni Accord, claimed in statements to the press that Sunnis are experiencing an 'annihilation campaign' of sorts that aims at giving pro-Iranian Muslims a tight grip on Baghdad.
In Tuesday statements to Arab broadcaster al-Jazeera, al-Duleimi reiterated some of his claims saying that the government was 'ignoring' the demands of the Sunni representatives.
However, according to the BBC, Selim Gabouri, spokesman for the Accord, said that his bloc had no objection to participating in the meeting, in principle.
But the party has no plans to return to the unity government under the current conditions, Gabouri added. It is not clear yet whether the meeting will feature Sunni participation or not.
Still, it is expected by many observers that the outcome of the meeting would be 'defining.' In a statement to Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa, Selim Abdullah, a member of the Accord, described the parley as 'decisive for all political blocs.'
Regarding the Sunni issue, al-Maliki seemed to have been treading cautiously so far. He did not promise that Sunni ministers would be immediately substituted. Instead, he said that he hoped that the crisis will end and the Accord ministers be back to the cabinet.
'But if they refused to do so we will find ourselves obliged to replace them,' he was quoted by the Voices of Iraq news agency as saying, arguably placing the ball in their court.
He dismissed speculation that his government could fall apart. 'It is a wish by some but it is far the day when people would see the government in its countdown.'
On the streets of Baghdad, amongst some Iraqis there was anger at their leaders. Tamim Nasry, a 27-year-old man, said that the Iraqis have given their political leaders many chances, but 'they failed every time.'
'The problem with Iraq is the problem of its leaders. They plant terror and fear in the country because of their failure to manage the affairs of the nation.
'We expect what will happen. The leaders will appear at a press conference(after the meeting has taken place) to announce the problems of Iraq solved; (they will say) all is well, peace and security are near. But the reality is that all will remain as it is. We have been used to this for years now,' added Nasry.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
© Copyright 2007 by monstersandcritics.com.
This notice cannot be removed without permission.
Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1342945.php/ANALYSIS_Iraqi_politicians_summit_postponed_amid_speculation
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Reconsidering jihad: the view from within - dpa
Middle East FeaturesBy Pakinam Amer
Jul 20, 2007, 5:19 GMT
Cairo - Inside Egyptian prisons a profound change has been taking place around the Islamic ideology of jihad (literally 'struggle' but often taken to mean 'holy war').
Top militant leaders serving long sentences have been given the chance to gain their freedom by reneging on their previous ideas of establishing Islamist societies by violent means.
Kamal Habib is an example of one such man who made the transition.
A former member of Egyptian Jihad (also known as Egyptian Islamic Jihad), Habib served a 10-year prison sentence in connection with that group's assassination of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.
Fawaz Gergis, a university professor and an authority on Islamic militancy and Jihadist groups, speaks of Habib in his book Journey of the Jihadist.
'Habib was a key figure in the first generation of Muslim militants, who in the 1970s had planted the seeds of jihad throughout Muslim lands,' Gergis said.
'(He) graduated from Cairo University in 1979 at the top of his class, with a degree in political science. Charismatic and ambitious, he could have trained to become an academic. But neither money nor the allure of ascending the ladder in jahili (non-Islamic or 'pagan') institutions appealed to him,' Gergis added.
Of his reasons for joining the Egyptian Jihad group Habib to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that 'most Egyptians wanted to get rid of Sadat.'
Sadat, who was the first Arab leader to make peace with Israel, also was known for his government's oppressive policies domestically.
'At the beginning,' Habib said,'(Islamists) didn't advocate violence against individuals, that happened much later, in the 1990s, when retaliation by killing police officers and other violent acts took place.'
Many experts, including Islamists, have argued explicitly and implicitly that torture was behind much of the so-called prison revisions of the extremists in the al-Jamaa al-Islamiya (The Islamic Group) and Egyptian Jihad groups.
During a 2001 interview with the US broadcaster CNN, Habib had claimed severe torture in Egyptian prisons was something everyone knew about.
'I prefer not to talk about it. But back then, it was on a very large scale,' he said.
One of the victims of torture after the Sadat assassination was Ayman al-Zawahiri, now second-in-command of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.
Addressing the press in 1983 al-Zawahiri said about his three-year jail term as one of the 300 people tried for involvement in the Sadat case: 'They whipped us with electric cables, they shocked us with electricity, and they used their wild dogs.'
Habib denies the torture of the early days in prison had anything to do with this revision. Revisionism, he said, 'was something that was growing inside me, as a result of thinking, reading and talking to other people.'
Habib eventually used his term in jail to write a doctoral thesis in political science and revise much of his previous ideas.
When asked about the evidence used to advocate then reject violence, Habib says his sources - Sharia (Islamic law) and the Koran - did not change, only the interpretation did.
'This has to do with one's vision and mental state at a given time. I read differently into Islam and the Koran while reviewing the experience. The understanding was different,' said Habib.
The result was a book he published in the early 2000's titled The Islamist Movement from Confrontation to Revision.
But despite revising many of his earlier beliefs, Habib continues to blame the West, saying the conditioning of the country by Western imperialism ultimately produced the violence of the 1990s.
'The prevailing social and political context ... directed us to seek change in that way, so that we could drive out the occupiers of our homeland,' he said, explaining how militant Islamists like himself and his fellow prisoners felt.
Habib unapologetically justifies the position of the top two al- Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, arguing that it was the environment they lived under that guided their steps toward fundamentalism.
'If Western policies change,' Habib said, 'then perhaps these forms of violence and confrontation will take a different turn - the concept of the clash of civilizations, of demonizing Islam. All this has created supporters for Bin Laden's and al-Zawahiri's project across the Muslim World.'
For Habib, the terrorists are driven by feelings shared by many Muslims: the lack of hope of a better future, be it for Muslims as a 'nation' or as individuals.
'They see the injustice done to them, and perceive their religion and identity as being threatened. This is the main source of their fear and anger. These people were not born violent.'
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
© Copyright 2007 by monstersandcritics.com.
This notice cannot be removed without permission.
Link: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/features/article_1332486.php/Reconsidering_jihad_the_view_from_within
http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2007/jul/21/reconsidering_jehad_view_within.html
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Children for Freedom, the Muslim Brothers' youngest wing
By Pakinam AmerJul 18, 2007, 3:56 GMT
Cairo - 'The court acquitted my father. Why didn't he come home?' read a statement printed on T-Shirts often worn by the sons, daughters and grandchildren of a group of court-martialed top leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group.
The children and grandchildren of imprisoned leaders have formed a league of their own, backed by their parents.
'It is an exercise on channeling their anger through peaceful means of protest,' explained Zahraa, the daughter of Khairat el- Shater, the number one defendant in the Brotherhood case and second deputy of the group's leader.
Zahraa says that she is worried about her children's future 'in a world where there is chaos and no rule of law.'
Relatives wore the T-shirts as they watched their parents behind bars during military court sessions. Although the families of the 40 tried Brotherhood leaders say that the trial did not break their faith, they said that President Hosni Mubarak's jail experience has tormented their children and left them confused.
Nine-year-old Aisha, daughter of Hassan Malek, remembers running to the defendant's cage in the court room, waving at her father and asking if he could see her through the wire cage where the defendants are kept.
Her father, not unlike the other high-profile Brothers, is a civilian who is being tried in a military court for charges of money laundering, belonging to and financing a banned group 'that uses terrorism to achieve its ends,' disrupting public peace and endangering civil liberties.
The Brothers' chief attorney Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maksoud claims that the court does not possess any admissible evidence to prove these allegations.
The lawyer says the trial is politically motivated.
The Brothers and their zealous supporters have been deemed a growing threat to the hegemony of the ruling National Democratic Party, according to independent observers.
The Islamic group, which draws on significant support through charity work and civil service, scored a sweeping victory in 2005 parliamentary elections, defying an official ban to form the biggest opposition bloc.
Most of the defendants in the much-criticized trial were arrested last November.
Acquitted three times by different Cairo courts, the leaders were kept in custody and transferred to a military court upon a presidential decree. The decree was revoked by Cairo's Supreme Administrative Court, but the decision was soon reversed when the state appealed.
'This is the worst sight ever; a parent behind bars,' whispered a daughter of one the defendants as she gave her caged father a feeble smile.
She stays strong for the sake of her parents, she said. 'But my baby brothers and sisters cannot do the same, simply because they don't understand what's happening. They are angry,' she adds.
'My daughter Aisha wants us to leave Egypt after the trial is over and live abroad,' said Malek's wife. 'My children saw a sad reality, it doesn't make sense to them and I have failed to explain it.'
More often than not, the Brotherhood leaders were rounded-up as their families watched. Currently, 34 leaders of the accused group of 40 are incarcerated, while the rest reside outside the country.
Most of the imprisoned were arrested from their own houses in rowdy, overnight raids.
'I feel insecure when I go to sleep at night,' said el-Shater's daughter. She is also the wife of another defendant. In addition to being top members of the Brotherhood's politburo, her father and her husband are businessmen and engineers.
Her father was arrested four times, while her husband was detained five times. She remembers that as a child her father used to tell her that 'police arrests (of political activists) are like death, they come suddenly and without reason.'
'The police pound on the door knocking it off its hinges, they scare the children,' said el-Shater's daughter, who has four children. 'Everytime it is more frightening. My children wake up to the sight of machine guns.'
Zahraa said her tragedy is due to the regime's fierce clampdown on the Brotherhood's rank - a crackdown that was partially linked to the Brotherhood's radical Islamic identity.
Though she was brought up to be a 'peaceful Islamist' and in turn wanted to instil the idea of non-violent resistance in her children, Zahraa is finding it difficult to do so under the circumstances.
'I have trouble explaining to them that the (police) officer who takes their father away should be a source of protection, hard to explain why we're reacting non-violently to (the arrests).
'We're against 9/11 attacks or any violent attacks. But this treatment could give rise to a generation who believes in terrorism,' said the young mother.
Nodding her on, Malek's wife added that her children often ask her 'why don't we beat-up the officers who take our father away, or even kill them?'
'When they saw their father being arrested aggressively for the first time, the children (wrongfully) thought that the police officers will kill their father,' says the tearful mother, who insisted on being referred to as 'Malek's wife' and not by her own name.
The families' message is clear - they want justice and wish they wouldn't be viewed solely as Brothers.
'The criminals get more rights than Islamists in a political trial,' says el-Shater's daughter, 'Why not treat us the same way they treat criminals. My daughter says she wishes her father was a thief.'
During a long, controversial court session held on Sunday, the children in the courtroom were getting impatient and weary, they did not understand the legal jargon.
Lawyers, who contested the competency of the military court to deal with this case, were no less exhausted.
Abdel-Maksoud, the Brotherhood's lawyer for many years, insisted that despite the unconstitutionality of the procedure, the defence team will not boycott the trial as they 'cannot abandon people in need, even if we anticipate the worst.'
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
© Copyright 2007 by monstersandcritics.com.
This notice cannot be removed without permission.
*image from ensaa.blogspot.com
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
International figures huddle around Egypt's Brotherhood
By Pakinam Amer
Jul 16, 2007, 19:49 GMT
Cairo - International figures, representatives of international rights groups, journalists and members of the legal profession, continue to huddle around Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood following a trial session of its top members that was described as 'shameful' and its legality was seriously questioned.
During a conference in downtown Cairo hosted by Egypt's Bar Association on Monday, several of these figures raised their voices in protest of the procedures of a military tribunal trying 40 leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group.
Among them were, United States attorney general Ramsey Clarke, award-winning British journalist Yvonne Ridley and Samih Khrais, the regional representative of the London-based Amnesty International.
Clark urged Egyptians to 'organize and effectively protect their own rights,' as the Brotherhood leaders continue to face the scrutiny of Hosni Mubarak's government.
'People in Egypt should not wait and believe that some remedy will come from abroad,' said Clark who believes that the US government is a major ally of Mubarak and so will not interfere to bring justice in Egypt.
He added that it was 'pitiful' how the country's biggest opposition group, was being clamped down upon by the government and called on authorities to 'recognize the error that they are in.'
The high-profile Brotherhood, although civilians, are being tried in a military court for charges of money laundering, belonging to and financing a banned group 'that uses terrorism to achieve its ends,' disrupting public peace and endangering civil liberties.
Ridley described the Brotherhood's trial as 'unprecedented' and a 'miscarriage of justice' adding that the hearing 'brought shame on the Egyptian government.'
'We are not going to get justice in a military court. We're not going to get justice from dictators and scholars for dollars who do not recognize the injustice (that happened) yesterday,' said Ridley referring to the third session of the trial, which took place on Sunday.
The seven-hour session took place amidst wide protests regarding the legality of trying civilians before military courts where the Muslim Brotherhood leaders and their supporters were in uproar.
Only lawyers and family members of the defendants were allowed inside the courtroom, after standing for hours in the blistering sun and agreeing to leave cell phones, cameras, notebooks, and even pens outside the courtroom. Every single attendee was searched thoroughly, and they were not allowed to set foot outside the military facility for as long as the trial was in session.
At one point during the trial, several civilians stepped in and screamed their protests to the panel of judges. One attendee described his treatment at the court door as 'humiliating and demeaning.'
The authorities refused to permit representatives of international human rights groups, pro-democracy activists - including Clark, Ridley and Khrais - and bloggers to attend as observers.
Very few female members of the press who wore Islamic scarves - succeeded in sneaking inside by pretending to be relatives. The rest were pushed and shoved at the door of the court.
'I tried to get in and I am an impartial witness,' said Khrais of Amnesty International on Monday, but 'I waited for my pass for three hours then I was turned back.'
'What happened defames the trial and the Egyptian government's interests because (Amnesty's) presence could have added legitimacy to the procedure,' he added.
Clark, who was also banned from the trail, added that he will try to get in again, but if he fails he will have to leave because 'it will be a waste of time.'
Ridley, who was similarly barred from the trials, said that the alternative now is 'to name and shame the judges, the prosecutors, (and) the police.'
'It's a great shame and I really feel your pain,' she said addressing the families of the accused, 'but we have to try to make a difference and get your (families) out of these prisons.'
Egypt's government wants to promote what Ridley referred to as 'a diluted form of Islam' and so they have always feared the 'real Islam' that the Brotherhood practices.
'(They want) a pacified Islam that means that we submit to the West and not to Allah,' she said in her fiery statement, calling on the people to 'expose the government for what its is; a puppet for America (and) a complete sham.'
Ridley said that she believed the Brotherhood leaders were punished not because they're Egypt's foremost opposition group but because 'neo-conservative think tanks in America have been trying to link the Brotherhood to Hamas.'
Hamas is a Palestinian militant group that has recently taken control of the Gaza Strip. The Islamic group, which was born out of the womb of Egypt's Brotherhood, had succeeded in achieving unprecedented victory in the latest Palestinian parliamentary elections, gripping the majority of seats.
The Hamas experiment is said to have constituted a threat to the governments of neighbouring countries whose lands harbour Islamic groups that are popular among the grassroots, as in the case of Egypt and Jordan.
Meanwhile, most of the defendants in the protested trial were arrested last November in a fierce security crackdown where the leaders were charged with membership of a banned organization, and with 'providing students with weapons and military training.'
Although acquitted three times by different Cairo courts, the leaders were kept in custody and were transferred to a military court upon a presidential decree.
The decree was revoked by Cairo's Supreme Administrative Court, but the decision was soon reversed when the state appealed.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
© Copyright 2006,2007 by monstersandcritics.com.
This notice cannot be removed without permission.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Brotherhood court session chaotic, 'disappointing'
By Pakinam Amer
Jul 16, 2007, 1:10 GMT
Cairo - A military tribunal appointed to try 40 Muslim Brotherhood leaders held its third session Sunday, amid protests by international rights groups and Egyptian lawyers who contested the legality of prosecuting civilians in military courts.
The Supreme Military Court in Heikstep, several kilometres north- east of Cairo, witnessed the presence of 33 of the defendants and their attorneys, who had boycotted the first session in protest.
Six of the leaders outside Egypt were tried in absentia, while one was being treated at a prison hospital after suffering a heart attack shortly before the court session.
The high-profile Muslim Brothers are civilians but are being tried in a military court on charges of money laundering, belonging to and financing a banned group 'that uses terrorism to achieve its ends,' disrupting public peace and endangering civil liberties, according to a brief statement Sunday by the chief judge.
Behind bars in the courtroom stood many of the Brotherhood's most popular faces: atop the list was Khairat el-Shater, the group's third-in-command, a top consultant engineer by profession and successful businessman.
El-Shater, a member of the Brotherhood's so-called Guidance Bureau, or politburo, was dressed in white and often interrupted the court proceedings with loud protests.
'What is being done here (in the court) is nothing but a play, a farce,' the bearded el-Shater told the panel of judges. 'State Security Police have orchestrated this. It's a farce, politically motivated and unclean. The present regime bears responsibility for it.'
During a review of evidence allegedly confiscated from the defendants' houses, el-Shater claimed that some of the exhibited items - including laptops, CDs, video tapes, books and documents - did not belong to him.
He accused police of 'planting' evidence in an attempt to frame him. The court was in complicity and had instructions on his sentence in advance, el-Shater said.
El-Shater's statements were accompanied each time by cheering from the defendants' families, whose shouts of 'God is great' echoed across the courtroom.
Most of the defendants were arrested in November, shortly following a 'military parade' performed by Brotherhood-affiliated students at Azhar University in Cairo.
As a protest against what they deemed 'blatant security interference' in student-union elections, a few dozen students had demonstrated in black uniforms and headbands, and performed a choreographed martial-arts fight sequence on campus.
A fierce security crackdown followed, with the regime using the Azhar University incident as 'proof' that the Brotherhood was reviving its paramilitary wing.
The Brothers officially denounced violence three decades ago. The Azhar students, who later apologized for what they called 'shameful behaviour,' did not brandish weapons during their protest.
A group of alleged top leaders was rounded up from their homes in rowdy, overnight raids. According to the daughter of one defendant, police left no stone unturned during their search, confiscating even children's computer games and 'terrorizing the whole family.'
In a procedure documented by the London-based non-governmental organization Amnesty International, the leaders were charged with membership in a banned organization and with 'providing students with weapons and military training.'
In January, a Cairo criminal court acquitted el-Shater and his codefendants and ordered their immediate release.
Shortly after the acquittal, the leaders were transferred to a military court after a presidential decree. The decree was revoked by Cairo's Supreme Administrative Court, but that decision was soon reversed when the state appealed.
During Sunday's bench trial, one attorney after the other demanded a change of court, insisting that the case should not come under the jurisdiction of military courts. As they challenged the court, the chief judge agreed to 'look into' the matter but refused to dismiss the case all together from his court.
Sunday's hearing was delayed for more than two hours and was generally marked by chaos.
Families of defendants said that the atmosphere surrounding the case did not bode well. Their purpose in attending was to support their loved ones in hardship, but they had no faith in the fairness of the trial.
Before the session started, and in what appeared to be an act of protest, one the 33 defendants stood up, calling for noon prayers. The Brothers behind bars performed both the noon and afternoon prayers, joined by their wives, sons and daughters in the courtroom.
After praying, one the defendants started a series of supplications, wishing in a loud, firm voice that those who did them 'injustice would suffer the same way.' Court officials could only listen as family members, some weeping, repeated the supplication.
Only attorneys and family members of the defendants were allowed inside the courtroom.
Authorities refused to permit representatives of international human-rights groups, bloggers and pro-democracy activists to attend as observers. Among those turned away was former US attorney general Ramsey Clark, a human-rights activist who served on the defence team of hanged Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Any reporters who were present only gained entry by pretending to be a relative of one of the defendants. They had to be fully veiled and to carry identification cards that did not identify them as media personnel.
All mobile phones, cameras, tape recorders and even pens and notebooks were confiscated before entering the courtroom. Copies of the Koran were checked page-by-page, and even women were fully searched in private rooms. Everyone was eyed suspiciously.
Authorities refused to let some of the families leave the courtroom before the session closed.
A security man murmured to a protesting attendant who had wished to leave that 'the rules' had it that no one was allowed to set a foot outside the courtroom before the hearing has ended, so that 'undercover' reporters could not hurry to their editors with the session's coverage.
The hearing, which lasted for more than seven hours, ended at night, after the court ruled that the next session would be held August 5.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
© Copyright 2006,2007 by monstersandcritics.com.
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Saturday, July 14, 2007
وكالة الأنباء الألمانية: الأقباط يواجهون التمييز باللجوء إلي الكنيسة..ويعتبرون البابا رئيس جمهوريتهم
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«تاريخ الأقباط مليء بالاضطهاد، ولم تكن الأوقات الهادئة إلا استثناء».. هكذا تحدث الأسقف مرقس عزيز، كاهن الكنيسة المعلقة في حي مصر القديمة خلال التحقيق، الذي نشرته وكالة الأنباء الألمانية تحت عنوان «أقباط مصر بين الاندماج والعزلة».وقال عزيز: الأقباط اليوم يعانون اضطهاداً شاملاً، وعلينا ألا نجمل الحقيقة، والأمور تزداد سوءاً والدولة لا تتحرك قيد أنملة والشباب المسيحي بدأ يستقيظ ويتعامل بشكل مباشر مع هذا الوضع.وذكرت الوكالة في التحقيق الذي أعدته محررتها باكينام عامر أن قسماً كبيراً من الأقباط وجدوا الملاذ في الكنيسة خلال كفاحهم ضد ما يوصف بالتحامل أو حتي الاضطهاد الصريح.وأوضحت أن البابا شنودة الثالث يتلقي شكاوي وأسئلة رعاياه عقب عظة الأربعاء، وغالباً ما يستقبل بالزغاريد والتحية ويصفه المصلون بـ«رئيس جمهورية الأقباط».وأضافت أن عدداً من المراقبين يزعم أن فكرة تعايش المسلمين والمسيحيين عبر القرون غير حقيقية، وفريق آخر يعتقد أن الصراع علي السلطة بين النظام والإخوان يقيد يديه، ولا يريد أن يبدو أقل إسلامية منها، مستندين إلي العراقيل التي تضعها الدولة وتحول دون بناء كنائس جديدة أو حتي ترميم القديمة منها.ونقلت عن يوسف سيدهم، رئيس تحرير صحيفة وطني أن تقييد بناء الكنائس بهذا الأسلوب أمر يبعث علي الغثيان.. وبعض المتعصبين الإسلاميين يريدون تدمير الكنائس».وقال منير فخري عبدالنور، نائب رئيس حزب الوفد: أستطيع أن أعطي مئات الأمثلة علي كنائس، لم تمنح لها تصاريح بالترميم رغم أنها كانت في أشد الاحتياج إليها وثمة كنائس آيلة للسقوط ومع هذا لم تمنح تصريحاً لأسباب أمنية.وتابعت الوكالة الألمانية أنه إلي جانب النزاعات بشأن الكنائس فإن الأقباط بدأوا في الآونة الأخيرة يفسرون أي حادث عنيف في إطار حرب تشن علي دينهم، ويردون علي ذلك بتبني ثقافة الاستشهاد والتي يعتبرها رفيق حبيب المفكر المسيحي خطراً كامناً.من جانبه يرفض الأب صفوت البياضي، رئيس الطائفة الإنجيلية فكرة تعرض الأقباط للتمييز وأرجع المشكلات التي تحدث إلي معاناة الشعب كله.
*image from al-Ahram Weekly (through images.google.com)
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
FEATURE: From kids' quarrel to religious strife in Alexandria
By Pakinam AmerCairo (dpa) - Fifty years ago, no Egyptian would have believed that a fight between two children - a Muslim and a Christian - could ignite violence requiring the presence of truckloads of heavily-armed riot police to contain it.
But this happened last month in the once cosmopolitan Mediterranean city of Alexandria, albeit in one of the city's poorer districts. There, a fist fight between two boys in front of a church turned into a full-blown sectarian clash between Muslims and Christians.
As religious zealots and angry mobs fanned the flames, the incident could have escalated had it not been for police which arrived quickly on the scene and contained the clash.
"This situation is not unique to Alexandria. The tension is everywhere,” says Father Yohanna Naseef, a Christian Coptic priest and an Alexandrine.
He lists three reasons at the core of the clashes: "The educationsystem that does not encourage dialogue among co-patriots belonging to different confessions, discrimination against Christians in workplaces, and an underdeveloped environment which breeds hatred.”
"Troubles of this kind usually surface in poor areas, where the cultural, social and economic conditions are grim,” says Naseef.
The Dekhela district in Alexandria, where last month's incident took place, is a popular neighbourhood where Muslims and Christian Copts have long co-existed peacefully.
The neighbourhood sports a church, the Holy Virgin, and a number of small mosques. The son of one mosque Imam rowed with a Christian boy and the result was dozens of zealots on both sides clashing in the street, with Muslims pelting the church's windows with stones. Several were injured and police arrested 13 people.
This latest incident in Alexandria has rekindled sleeping tensions and raised many old concerns.
In October 2005, on two consecutive Fridays, angry Muslims who had just finished Friday prayers in the mosque marched on St George's Church in Alexandria's Moharam Bek district, attacking the church and terrorizing Christian inhabitants of the district.
The clash was sparked by the leaking of a CD of a play performed inside the church and said to be disdainful of Islam and the Prophet Mohammed.
In April 2006, an extremist, claimed by security authorities to have been mentally deranged, attacked four churches in Alexandria. One Coptic citizen was killed and five others injured.
Every incident of violence seems to have awakened the anger inside the Copts' hearts. The mood in the political, judicial and social arena has arguably made matters worse.
Politically, Copts have little representation in Egypt's houses of parliament or within political parties.
With the rise in popularity of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement, who are fiercely active on the political arena and have strong representation in parliament, Copts have begun to fear they would be treated as aliens in their homeland, or even persecuted because of their faith.
Claims of discrimination and even religious persecution against Copts are on the rise. Egyptian authorities claim radical Coptic communities resident abroad, especially in the United States, are fanning the flames, and asking foreign powers to intervene to empower Egypt's Christian minority.
In the last 30 years, a "political Coptic project” has emerged, according to Rafiq Habib, a renowned expert on Coptic affairs and aChristian himself, though not a Copt. Habib says the Coptic Church is gradually becoming the main representative of Copts, "a Coptic partyof sorts.”
He adds that ”foreign intervention in the affairs of the Copts, and the idea of establishing quotas for Copts in parliament are part of this project, which is being supported and publicized by some Coptic circles inside and outside Egypt.”
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
*image from Washignton Post (through images.google.com)
FEATURE: From kids' quarrel to religious strife in Alexandria -- Arabic version
الحركات الاسلامية في مصر: كيف يتحول عراك الاطفال إلى فتنة طائفية
المسلمون والمسيحيون يتخوفون من ان توقظ حوادث صغيرة وافكار متشددة فتنة دينية نائمة.
المسلمون والمسيحيون يتخوفون من ان توقظ حوادث صغيرة وافكار متشددة فتنة دينية نائمة.
ميدل ايست اونلاين القاهرة - من باكينام عامر
قبل 50 عاما لم يكن مصري واحد يتصور أن مشاجرة بين طفلين احدهما مسلم والاخر مسيحي يمكن أن تشعل عنفا يتطلب تدخل جحافل من شرطة مكافحة الشغب (الامن المركزي) لاحتوائه.
لكن هذا حدث الشهر الماضي في مدينة الاسكندرية الساحلية التي طالما احتضنت أجناسا مختلفة وان كان مسرح الحادث احد الاحياء الفقيرة بالمدينة حيث تطور عراك بالايدي بين الطفلين أمام كنيسة إلى معركة طائفية كاملة بين المسلمين والمسيحيين.
ومع قيام متعصبين دينيين وجماهير غاضبة بتأجيج اللهيب كان يمكن للحادث أن يتطور لولا تدخل الشرطة التي وصلت بسرعة إلى مكان الحادث وتمكنت من احتوائه.
يقول الاب يوحنا ناصف "إن هذا الموقف ليس بنادر في الاسكندرية. فالتوتر موجود في كل مكان".
وهو يورد ثلاثة أسباب يعتبرها السبب الرئيس في وقوع المصادمات "النظام التعليمي الذي لا يشجع على الحوار بين أبناء الوطن الواحد من أصحاب المعتقدات المختلفة والتمييز ضد المسيحيين في أماكن العمل فضلا عن البيئة المتخلفة التي تغذي الكراهية".
ويقول ناصف: "المشكلات من هذا القبيل عادة ما تظهر في المناطق الفقيرة حيث التخلف الثقافي والاجتماعي والاقتصادي".
حي الدخيلة في الاسكندرية الذي شهد حادث الشهر الماضي هو حي شعبي يعيش فيه المسلمون والمسيحيون جنبا إلى جنب في سلام ووئام منذ زمن طويل.
ويحتضن الحي كنيسة "السيدة العذراء" وعددا من المساجد الصغيرة. تشاجر نجل واحد من الائمة مع صبي مسيحي والنتيجة اندلاع معركة حامية الوطيس في الشارع بين عشرات من المتعصبين من الجانبين حيث قام المسلمون برشق نوافذ الكنيسة بالحجارة. وأصيب عدد من الاشخاص واعتقلت الشرطة 13 شخصا.
وأيقظ الحادث الاخير التوتر والفتنة النائمة وأثار العديد من المخاوف القديمة.
ففي تشرين أول/أكتوبر من عام 2005 وعلى مدى جمعتين متتاليتين كان مسلمون غاضبون يخرجون من صلاة الجمعة في المسجد صوب كنيسة "سان جورج" في حي "محرم بك" بالاسكندرية ويهاجمون الكنيسة ويروعون سكان الحي من المسيحيين.
وأثارت أحداث الشغب اسطوانة مدمجة مسجل عليها مسرحية مثلت داخل الكنيسة قيل أنها تسيء إلى الاسلام والنبي محمد.
وفي نيسان/إبريل عام 2006 قام متطرف زعمت جهات الامن انه مختل عقليا بمهاجمة أربع كنائس في الاسكندرية. قتل في الهجوم شخص مسيحي وأصيب 5 آخرون.
ومع كل حادث عنف تتأجج نيران الغضب في صدور الاقباط. وتزيد الاوضاع على الساحة السياسية والقضائية والاجتماعية الامور سوءا.
على الساحة السياسية يعاني الاقباط من تمثيل ضعيف في مجلسي الشعب والشورى وداخل الاحزاب السياسية.
ومع ارتفاع شعبية جماعة "الاخوان المسلمون" التي تنشط بشدة على الساحة السياسية والتي صار لها وجود قوي في البرلمان بدأت المخاوف تنتاب الاقباط من أن يعاملوا كأغراب في بلدهم أو حتى يتعرضون للاضطهاد بسبب عقيدتهم.
وتزداد المزاعم بالتمييز ضد الاقباط بل وحتى اضطهادهم. وتزعم السلطات المصرية أن أقباط المهجر ولاسيما في الولايات المتحدة يسكبون البنزين على النار ويطلبون من قوى أجنبية التدخل لتمكين الأقلية المسيحية في مصر.
يقول رفيق حبيب الخبير المعروف في الشئون القبطية وهو مسيحي ينتمي للطائفة الانجيلية انه على مدى الثلاثين عاما الماضية برز "مشروع قبطي سياسي". ويضيف قائلا ان الكنيسة القبطية تتحول بشكل تدريجي لتصبح الممثل الرئيسي للاقباط إلى "شيء شبيه بحزب سياسي للاقباط".
وأردف أن "التدخل الاجنبي في شئون الاقباط وفكرة منح حصص للاقباط في البرلمان جزء من هذا المشروع الذي يحظي بتأييد ومساندة بعض الدوائر القبطية داخل مصر".
ANALYSIS: Christian Copts: Between integration and dissent + Chronology of Christian-Muslim Clashes
Published Date: July 09, 2007
By Pakinam Amer
Cairo - In their struggle against what has been termed prejudice or even outright persecution, many in Egypt's Christian Coptic community seem to have found a sanctuary in the church, where as well as praying they can also vent their rage.
In a typical Wednesday sermon at St Mark's Cathedral in Cairo, Pope Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark, takes questions and listens to the anguish of members of the community after the sermon.
His entrance is always greeted with singing and cheering, and he is referred to by many worshippers as "the president of the republic of Copts."
The Christian Coptic Church of Egypt is one of the oldest churches in the world and represents the majority of Christians living in the country. The very word Coptic is derived from the Greek word Aigyptos, meaning Egypt - thus a Copt is by definition a native of Egypt.
The percentage of Copts in the overall population in Egypt has been lately a source of controversy, with some Islamist sources claiming it to be no more than 5 per cent, and Coptic sources going as high as 20 per cent.
Recently a Coptic bishop told worshippers in a church in Cairo that today there are between 10 and 15 million Copts in Egypt, out of an overall population of almost 79 million according to the 2006 census.
Surprisingly, the census bureau in Egypt has not released figures concerning Christians since 1986. Following the release of the results of the 2006 census, the head of the bureau was asked about the omission. He said the figures were left confidential in order not to "spark anyone's anger".
Religious minorities in Egypt, mainly Christians, have generally been able to practice their faith without severe persecution, though this has varied through the ages.
Following the Arab conquest of Egypt in 642 AD, and throughout the Middle Ages, freedom of religion for what Islamic jurisprudence calls "ahl al-dhimma" (non-Muslims under a pact of protection or dhimma), varied according to who ruled the country.
In the 11th century, the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim, perceived by many present-day Egyptians as having been mentally deranged, is said to have ordered the demolition of most churches and synagogues in Egypt, Syria and Palestine, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, only to order their rebuilding later.
When Egypt came under Ottoman rule in 1517, the Ottomans sought to organise the building of non-Islamic places of worship by a special decree of the Sultan, thus issuing the Hatti Hamayoun, or the Hamayoun law, a modified form of which is still in place.
Many Copts, as well as Muslims, have been calling for the past 35 years - since the first clash between Muslims and Copts erupted over the construction of churches issue in 1972 - for a modern unified law for all places of worship, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
A draft of this law has recently been presented to parliament, and is expected to see the light of the day after the end of summer recess.
But why did tensions rise in the past 35 years?
Many secular Egyptians claim that it began under the rule of former president Anwar Sadat, who declared himself a Muslim president leading a Muslim people.
Sadat sought the help of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement, they say, and to appease them he amended an article in the constitution to the effect that Islamic sharia (Islamic law) became "the" source of legislation, rather than "a" source of legislation as was the case previously.
Other observers, however, claim that the idea of "Muslims and Christians living harmoniously throughout the centuries" is simply not true.
"The history of the Copts is full of constraints and discrimination. Quiet times are an exception," says Bishop Morcos Aziz Zakariya of the Hanging Church in Masr El-Qadima, Cairo.
"Currently, Copts are suffering outright discrimination, and we should not attempt to embellish this fact," he adds.
"Matters are getting worse, and the state is not moving one bit," says thesoftly- spoken bishop. According to him, "Christian youth has started to wake up and deal openly with this."
Many observers, including Christian experts, believe that the regime's power struggle with the Muslim Brotherhood ties its hands. As a wave of Islamist religiosity engulfs the country, the regime is competing for legitimacy with the Brotherhood, and does not want to appear less Islamic.
This is certainly the case when it comes to building new churches, or even renovating old ones.
Archaic laws mentioned above that pertainto the building and renovation of places of worship are quite restrictive.Copts are not allowed to build churches near strategic areas.
A church has to be away from the Nile, creeks, water facilities, another church, mosques, railway stations, important monuments or government property.
For restoration work, finding property rights is essential even if the church is hundreds of years old. The approval of state security authorities is usually required, and in many cases they do not grant permission for fear of antagonizing Islamist zealots.
"Restricting churches in that sense issick," says Youssef Sidhom, editor of Watani, a newspaper specializing in Coptic affairs.Some fanatical Muslims want to abolish churches."
"I can give you hundreds of examples of churches not granted permits when they were in dire need of restoration," says Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour, leading member of the Wafd Party. "Churches that are falling apart, yet permits are not issued for security reasons."
Beside the disputes over churches, Copts have lately perceived any violent incidents as part of a tug of a war against their religion. Consequently, they have started embracing "a culture of martyrdom," says Rafiq Habib, an authority on Coptic affairs, and a Christian himself though not a Copt.
Some Copts are now perceiving themselves as victims of systematic oppression, and believe that they are as persecuted as the first Christians. "This culture represents a resident danger," says Habib.
On a forum on the website Free Copts, a writer published the names of Christian victims in internal clashes in Egypt, terming the victims "martyrs."
There are other Christians who refuse to consider "discrimination" as the sole reason behind Coptic agitation.
Father Safwat Al-Bayadi, head of the Egyptian Anglican Church, attributes the troubles to the fact that "people are suffering in general," he says.
"Young people are fed up and are unable to speak out. They are poor and unemployed, this is why they fight one another," Bayadi says.
He also blames religious rhetoric in mosques and churches, where the desperate conditions of the young are manipulated to stir trouble and garner support.
According to Bayadi, young people sit in a mosque or a church and think the cleric is speaking the word of God. "If the cleric tells them: 'go kill a man', they will probably obey." - dpa
CHRONOLOGY: Clashes between Muslims and Copts in Egypt since 1972
Cairo (dpa) - Below is a chronology of incidents of violence between Egypt's Muslim and Coptic Christian communities since 1972:
November 6, 1972 - A school in Khanka in Qalyoubiya province, used unofficially for Coptic church services, becomes the site of fierce clashes as police intervene to halt the practice. The incident is the first clash over the issue of Christian places of worship in contemporary Egyptian history.
1981 - Shortly before the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat on October 6, 1981, more than 17 people are killed in clashes between Muslims and Copts in the working-class district of Zawiya Hamra in Cairo. The clashes are sparked by a rumour that a church was to be constructed on a site allocated for a mosque.
September 5, 1981 - Sadat orders the arrest of 170 Coptic priests, among hundreds of other opposition figures. He discharges Pope Shenouda III, and replaces him by a five-bishop committee headed byBishop Samuel. Pope Shenouda goes into seclusion in Wadi al-Natroun Monastery.
October 6, 1981 - Sadat is assassinated and Bishop Samuel, seated close to him, is also killed.
March 2, 1990 - Looting and torching of Christian property in Abu-Qarqas, in the Upper Egyptian province of Minya.
September 20, 1991 - Muslim fanatics destroy the property of Copts in al-Muneera al-Gharbiya in Greater Cairo.
June 19, 1992 - Three Copts killed in the village of Sanbou, in the Upper Egyptian province of Assiut. Coptic property suffers damage, and some houses are allegedly burnt down.
October 16, 1992 - A church in Tama, in the Upper Egyptian province of Souhag, is attacked, and clashes between Muslim and Christians lead to the death of several Copts.
March 11, 1994 - Two monks and three church visitors killed in al-Muharraq Monastery in the Upper Egyptian province of Assiut.
February 3, 1997 - A group of Copts are attacked in the Upper Egyptian province of Minya, and Christian property damaged. Earlier, three Copts were found dead in a field in Minya. The perpetrators, allegedly Muslim extremists, were never found.
February 14, 1997 - Three Copts killed in al-Fakriya district of Abu Qarqas in the Upper Egyptian province of Minya, the site of previous sectarian clashes.
August 1998 - The death of a Muslim, allegedly killed by a Christian, provokes a series of vengeful fierce clashes between Muslim and Copts in Kosheh, a village in the Upper Egyptian province of Suhag. Two Copts are killed in retaliation. Local security forces cordon off the village and rounds up more than 1,200 Copts according to some reports - including priests.
1999-2000 - Violent clashes in Khoseh continue after both sides reportedly arm themselves following the first incident. In one incident, reports said around two dozen Muslims and Copts lost their lives. A wave of arrests follows.
December 2004 - The 48-year-old Wafaa Constantine, wife of a Coptic clergyman in the province of Fayoumb, converts to Islam. The incident sparks mass protests. Some Copts go on a hunger strike demanding the return of Constantine to the Coptic Church. National security police hide Constantine to protect her, an act which enrages Copts. Pope Shenouda retreats to Wadi al-Natroun Monastery in protest. Tensions rise and at least 34 rioting Copts are arrested.
December 3, 2004 - Muslims attack a Coptic church in the village of Munqateen in Minya province. Some 25 people are arrested.
October 2005 - St George's Church in Alexandria is attacked because of the leaking of a CD of a play performed inside the church and allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed.
January 2006 - An unauthorized church in Udayssat near Luxorprovince is attacked on the eve of Epiphany services.
April 14, 2006 - Four Coptic churches are attacked in Alexandria by the same knife-wielding Muslim, who authorities claim was "mentally deranged.” A 78-year-old Copt dies. Egypt's second-largest city experiences weeks of sectarian rioting.
May 2007 - In the village of Bamha, in Giza province on the outskirts of Greater Cairo, a group of Muslims burn down some 25 houses and five shops belonging to Copts because they were allegedly holding unauthorized services in a house. More than 11 Copts are injured in the incident.
June 2007 - A fist fight between two children - a Copt and the Muslim son of a mosque imam - in Alexandria ignites the anger of both Copts and Muslims in the popular district of Dekhela and clashes ensue. Riot police intervene to contain the violence.
Link: http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=OTI0MjAyMjUw
By Pakinam Amer
Cairo - In their struggle against what has been termed prejudice or even outright persecution, many in Egypt's Christian Coptic community seem to have found a sanctuary in the church, where as well as praying they can also vent their rage.
In a typical Wednesday sermon at St Mark's Cathedral in Cairo, Pope Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark, takes questions and listens to the anguish of members of the community after the sermon.
His entrance is always greeted with singing and cheering, and he is referred to by many worshippers as "the president of the republic of Copts."
The Christian Coptic Church of Egypt is one of the oldest churches in the world and represents the majority of Christians living in the country. The very word Coptic is derived from the Greek word Aigyptos, meaning Egypt - thus a Copt is by definition a native of Egypt.
The percentage of Copts in the overall population in Egypt has been lately a source of controversy, with some Islamist sources claiming it to be no more than 5 per cent, and Coptic sources going as high as 20 per cent.
Recently a Coptic bishop told worshippers in a church in Cairo that today there are between 10 and 15 million Copts in Egypt, out of an overall population of almost 79 million according to the 2006 census.
Surprisingly, the census bureau in Egypt has not released figures concerning Christians since 1986. Following the release of the results of the 2006 census, the head of the bureau was asked about the omission. He said the figures were left confidential in order not to "spark anyone's anger".
Religious minorities in Egypt, mainly Christians, have generally been able to practice their faith without severe persecution, though this has varied through the ages.
Following the Arab conquest of Egypt in 642 AD, and throughout the Middle Ages, freedom of religion for what Islamic jurisprudence calls "ahl al-dhimma" (non-Muslims under a pact of protection or dhimma), varied according to who ruled the country.
In the 11th century, the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim, perceived by many present-day Egyptians as having been mentally deranged, is said to have ordered the demolition of most churches and synagogues in Egypt, Syria and Palestine, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, only to order their rebuilding later.
When Egypt came under Ottoman rule in 1517, the Ottomans sought to organise the building of non-Islamic places of worship by a special decree of the Sultan, thus issuing the Hatti Hamayoun, or the Hamayoun law, a modified form of which is still in place.
Many Copts, as well as Muslims, have been calling for the past 35 years - since the first clash between Muslims and Copts erupted over the construction of churches issue in 1972 - for a modern unified law for all places of worship, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
A draft of this law has recently been presented to parliament, and is expected to see the light of the day after the end of summer recess.
But why did tensions rise in the past 35 years?
Many secular Egyptians claim that it began under the rule of former president Anwar Sadat, who declared himself a Muslim president leading a Muslim people.
Sadat sought the help of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement, they say, and to appease them he amended an article in the constitution to the effect that Islamic sharia (Islamic law) became "the" source of legislation, rather than "a" source of legislation as was the case previously.
Other observers, however, claim that the idea of "Muslims and Christians living harmoniously throughout the centuries" is simply not true.
"The history of the Copts is full of constraints and discrimination. Quiet times are an exception," says Bishop Morcos Aziz Zakariya of the Hanging Church in Masr El-Qadima, Cairo.
"Currently, Copts are suffering outright discrimination, and we should not attempt to embellish this fact," he adds.
"Matters are getting worse, and the state is not moving one bit," says thesoftly- spoken bishop. According to him, "Christian youth has started to wake up and deal openly with this."
Many observers, including Christian experts, believe that the regime's power struggle with the Muslim Brotherhood ties its hands. As a wave of Islamist religiosity engulfs the country, the regime is competing for legitimacy with the Brotherhood, and does not want to appear less Islamic.
This is certainly the case when it comes to building new churches, or even renovating old ones.
Archaic laws mentioned above that pertainto the building and renovation of places of worship are quite restrictive.Copts are not allowed to build churches near strategic areas.
A church has to be away from the Nile, creeks, water facilities, another church, mosques, railway stations, important monuments or government property.
For restoration work, finding property rights is essential even if the church is hundreds of years old. The approval of state security authorities is usually required, and in many cases they do not grant permission for fear of antagonizing Islamist zealots.
"Restricting churches in that sense issick," says Youssef Sidhom, editor of Watani, a newspaper specializing in Coptic affairs.Some fanatical Muslims want to abolish churches."
"I can give you hundreds of examples of churches not granted permits when they were in dire need of restoration," says Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour, leading member of the Wafd Party. "Churches that are falling apart, yet permits are not issued for security reasons."
Beside the disputes over churches, Copts have lately perceived any violent incidents as part of a tug of a war against their religion. Consequently, they have started embracing "a culture of martyrdom," says Rafiq Habib, an authority on Coptic affairs, and a Christian himself though not a Copt.
Some Copts are now perceiving themselves as victims of systematic oppression, and believe that they are as persecuted as the first Christians. "This culture represents a resident danger," says Habib.
On a forum on the website Free Copts, a writer published the names of Christian victims in internal clashes in Egypt, terming the victims "martyrs."
There are other Christians who refuse to consider "discrimination" as the sole reason behind Coptic agitation.
Father Safwat Al-Bayadi, head of the Egyptian Anglican Church, attributes the troubles to the fact that "people are suffering in general," he says.
"Young people are fed up and are unable to speak out. They are poor and unemployed, this is why they fight one another," Bayadi says.
He also blames religious rhetoric in mosques and churches, where the desperate conditions of the young are manipulated to stir trouble and garner support.
According to Bayadi, young people sit in a mosque or a church and think the cleric is speaking the word of God. "If the cleric tells them: 'go kill a man', they will probably obey." - dpa
CHRONOLOGY: Clashes between Muslims and Copts in Egypt since 1972
Cairo (dpa) - Below is a chronology of incidents of violence between Egypt's Muslim and Coptic Christian communities since 1972:
November 6, 1972 - A school in Khanka in Qalyoubiya province, used unofficially for Coptic church services, becomes the site of fierce clashes as police intervene to halt the practice. The incident is the first clash over the issue of Christian places of worship in contemporary Egyptian history.
1981 - Shortly before the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat on October 6, 1981, more than 17 people are killed in clashes between Muslims and Copts in the working-class district of Zawiya Hamra in Cairo. The clashes are sparked by a rumour that a church was to be constructed on a site allocated for a mosque.
September 5, 1981 - Sadat orders the arrest of 170 Coptic priests, among hundreds of other opposition figures. He discharges Pope Shenouda III, and replaces him by a five-bishop committee headed byBishop Samuel. Pope Shenouda goes into seclusion in Wadi al-Natroun Monastery.
October 6, 1981 - Sadat is assassinated and Bishop Samuel, seated close to him, is also killed.
March 2, 1990 - Looting and torching of Christian property in Abu-Qarqas, in the Upper Egyptian province of Minya.
September 20, 1991 - Muslim fanatics destroy the property of Copts in al-Muneera al-Gharbiya in Greater Cairo.
June 19, 1992 - Three Copts killed in the village of Sanbou, in the Upper Egyptian province of Assiut. Coptic property suffers damage, and some houses are allegedly burnt down.
October 16, 1992 - A church in Tama, in the Upper Egyptian province of Souhag, is attacked, and clashes between Muslim and Christians lead to the death of several Copts.
March 11, 1994 - Two monks and three church visitors killed in al-Muharraq Monastery in the Upper Egyptian province of Assiut.
February 3, 1997 - A group of Copts are attacked in the Upper Egyptian province of Minya, and Christian property damaged. Earlier, three Copts were found dead in a field in Minya. The perpetrators, allegedly Muslim extremists, were never found.
February 14, 1997 - Three Copts killed in al-Fakriya district of Abu Qarqas in the Upper Egyptian province of Minya, the site of previous sectarian clashes.
August 1998 - The death of a Muslim, allegedly killed by a Christian, provokes a series of vengeful fierce clashes between Muslim and Copts in Kosheh, a village in the Upper Egyptian province of Suhag. Two Copts are killed in retaliation. Local security forces cordon off the village and rounds up more than 1,200 Copts according to some reports - including priests.
1999-2000 - Violent clashes in Khoseh continue after both sides reportedly arm themselves following the first incident. In one incident, reports said around two dozen Muslims and Copts lost their lives. A wave of arrests follows.
December 2004 - The 48-year-old Wafaa Constantine, wife of a Coptic clergyman in the province of Fayoumb, converts to Islam. The incident sparks mass protests. Some Copts go on a hunger strike demanding the return of Constantine to the Coptic Church. National security police hide Constantine to protect her, an act which enrages Copts. Pope Shenouda retreats to Wadi al-Natroun Monastery in protest. Tensions rise and at least 34 rioting Copts are arrested.
December 3, 2004 - Muslims attack a Coptic church in the village of Munqateen in Minya province. Some 25 people are arrested.
October 2005 - St George's Church in Alexandria is attacked because of the leaking of a CD of a play performed inside the church and allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed.
January 2006 - An unauthorized church in Udayssat near Luxorprovince is attacked on the eve of Epiphany services.
April 14, 2006 - Four Coptic churches are attacked in Alexandria by the same knife-wielding Muslim, who authorities claim was "mentally deranged.” A 78-year-old Copt dies. Egypt's second-largest city experiences weeks of sectarian rioting.
May 2007 - In the village of Bamha, in Giza province on the outskirts of Greater Cairo, a group of Muslims burn down some 25 houses and five shops belonging to Copts because they were allegedly holding unauthorized services in a house. More than 11 Copts are injured in the incident.
June 2007 - A fist fight between two children - a Copt and the Muslim son of a mosque imam - in Alexandria ignites the anger of both Copts and Muslims in the popular district of Dekhela and clashes ensue. Riot police intervene to contain the violence.
Link: http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=OTI0MjAyMjUw
FEATURE: Christian Copts in Egypt: Between integration and dissent (ARABIC)
الحركات الاسلامية في مصر: وماذا عن الاقباط؟
الاقباط في مصر يشعرون انهم ضحايا لقمع منهجي ويعتقدون أنهم يتعرضون لاضطهاد مماثل لما تعرض له المسيحيون الاوائل.
الاقباط في مصر يشعرون انهم ضحايا لقمع منهجي ويعتقدون أنهم يتعرضون لاضطهاد مماثل لما تعرض له المسيحيون الاوائل.
ميدل ايست اونلاين القاهرة - من باكينام عامر
في كفاحهم ضد ما يوصف بالتحامل أو حتى الاضطهاد الصريح يبدو أن قسما كبيرا من أقباط مصر قد وجدوا الملاذ في الكنيسة حيث يصلون ويتعبدون وينفثون عن غضبهم أيضا.
بعد عظة الاربعاء بكاتدرائية سان مارك في القاهرة يأخذ البابا شنودة الثالث بابا الاسكندرية وبطريرك الكرازة المرقسية في تلقي الاسئلة والاستماع إلى شكاوى رعاياه الاقباط. وغالبا ما يستقبل بالزغاريد و تقابل مداخلاته بالغناء والتحية ويشير عدد من المصلين إليه بوصفه "رئيس جمهورية الاقباط".
والكنيسة القبطية المصرية واحدة من أقدم الكنائس في العالم وهى تمثل غالبية المسيحيين الذين يعيشون في البلاد. وكلمة قبطي مأخوذة من الكلمة اليونانية ايجبتوس التي تعني مصر وهكذا فان كلمة قبطي بحسب التعريف تعني سكان البلاد الاصليين.
ونسبة الاقباط في مصر بالنسبة للعدد الاجمالي للسكان كانت محل جدل كبير مؤخرا حيث تزعم بعض المصادر الاسلامية أنها لا تتعدى 5 في المئة وفي المقابل فان ثمة مصادر قبطية تصل بهذه النسبة إلى 20 في المئة.
ومؤخرا ابلغ أسقف قبطي المصلين في احدى كنائس القاهرة أن عدد الاقباط اليوم يتراوح بين 10 ملايين و15 مليونا من مجموع سكان مصر الذي بلغ نحو 79 مليونا بحسب إحصاء عام 2006.
ومن الغريب أن الجهاز المركزي للتعبئة العامة والاحصاء لم يكشف عن الارقام الخاصة بعدد المسيحيين منذ عام 1986. وعقب الاعلان عن أرقام إحصاء عام 2006 سئل رئيس الجهاز عن هذه المسألة فأجاب بان الارقام تركت طي الكتمان بهدف "عدم إغضاب احد".
والاقليات الدينية في مصر وتضم المسيحيين بالاساس تمارس حقوقها الدينية دون مضايقات حادة بشكل عام وان كان الامر يختلف من عهد لاخر.
فعقب فتح مصر عام 642 ميلاية وطوال العصور الوسطى فان حرية العبادة لما يطلق عليه في الادبيات الاسلامية باهل الذمة (وهم سكان البلاد من غير المسلمين) تفاوتت درجتها بحسب هوية الحاكم.
ففي القرن الـ 11 الميلادي وتحت قيادة الحاكم بأمر الله الخليفة الفاطمي الذي يري المصريون المحدثون انه كان مختل عقليا يقال انه أمر بتدمير غالبية الكنائس والمعابد اليهودية في مصر وسوريا وفلسطين ثم عاد في وقت لاحق وأمر بإعادة بنائها.
وعندما خضعت مصر للحكم العثماني عام 1517 عمل العثمانيون على تنظيم عملية بناء دور العبادة لغير المسلمين ومن ثم أصدر السلطان المرسوم أو الخط (القانون) الهمايوني الذي لا يزال معمولا به حتى يومنا هذا بعد إدخال بعض التعديلات عليه.
وعلى مدى الاعوام الـ 35 الماضية والمطالب لا تنقطع من جانب عدد كبير من الاقباط فضلا عن مسلمين أيضا – ومنذ وقوع أول صدام بين المسلمين والاقباط بسبب بناء الكنائس عام 1972 – بقانون جديد موحد لبناء دور العبادة كافة. وتم تقديم مشروع قانون بهذا الشأن إلى مجلس الشعب المصري ( البرلمان) ومن المتوقع أن يري النور عقب عطلة البرلمان الصيفية.
لكن يثور التساؤل الان عن السبب وراء ازدياد التوتر على مدى تلك الاعوام.
يزعم عدد كبير من العلمانيين المصريين انه بدأ في ظل حكم الرئيس السابق انور السادات الذي أعلن انه رئيس مسلم لشعب مسلم. كان السادات يسعى لنيل دعم جماعة الاخوان المسلمين – على حد قولهم – ومن اجل استرضائها قام بإدخال مادة في الدستور تنص على أن الشريعة الاسلامية هي المصدر الاساسي للتشريع وذلك بديلا عن مادة سابقة تقول أنها فقط احد مصادر التشريع.
بيد أن ثمة مراقبين آخرين يزعمون أن فكرة "تعايش المسلمين والمسيحيين عبر القرون" هي ببساطة غير حقيقية.
يقول الاسقف مرقص عزيز زكريا كاهن الكنيسة المعلقة في حي مصر القديمة في القاهرة "إن تاريخ الاقباط ملئ بالاضطهاد. ولم تكن الاوقات الهادئة إلا استثناء من هذا.
وأضاف الاسقف "الاقباط اليوم يعانون من اضطهاد شامل وعلينا ألا نجمل الحقيقة. والامور تزداد سوءا والدولة لا تتحرك قيد أنملة. والشباب المسيحي بدأ يستيقظ ويتعامل بشكل مباشر مع هذا الوضع".
ويعتقد عدد كبير من المراقبين ومن بينهم خبراء مسيحيين أن صراع النظام على السلطة مع جماعة الاخوان المسلمين يقيد يداه. ومع اجتياح موجة من الصحوة الاسلامية البلاد فان النظام يتنافس على الشرعية مع الاخوان المسلمين ولا يريد أن يبدو اقل "إسلامية".
وهذا هو الحال بالتأكيد عندما يتعلق الامر بقضية بناء كنائس جديدة أو حتى ترميم القديم منها. فالقوانين سالفة الذكر المتعلقة ببناء وترميم دور العبادة تحمل قيودا شديدة.
فمثلا من المحظور بناء الكنائس بالقرب من المناطق الاستراتيجية. فالكنيسة لا بد أن تكون بعيدة عن النيل والجداول والمصارف المائية وألا تكون بجوار كنيسة أو مسجد آخر أو محطة للسكك الحديدية أو المعالم الهامة أو ممتلكات حكومية. أما عملية إعادة بناء كنيسة فانه يلزم إبراز حق الملكية حتى لو كانت الكنيسة شيدت قبل مئات السنين. كما أن موافقة سلطات الامن مطلوبة عادة وفي حالات عديدة لا تمنح هذه السلطات التصريح المطلوب خشية إغضاب المتعصبين الاسلاميين. يقول يوسف سيدهم رئيس تحرير صحيفة وطني المعنية بشئون الاقباط "تقييد بناء الكنائس بهذا الاسلوب أمر يبعث على الغثيان. بعض المتعصبين الاسلاميين يريدون تدمير الكنائس".
يقول منير فخري عبد النور العضو البارز بحزب الوفد "أستطيع أن أعطي مئات الامثلة على كنائس لم تمنح لها تصاريح بالترميم رغم أنها كانت في اشد الاحتياج إليها. وثمة كنائس آيلة للسقوط ومع هذا لم يمنح لها تصريح لأسباب امنية".
والي جانب النزاعات بشان الكنائس فان الاقباط بداوا في الآونة الاخيرة يفسرون أي حادث عنف في إطار حرب تشن على دينهم. وبالتالي فإنهم راحوا يتبنون "ثقافة الاستشهاد " بحسب رفيق حبيب وهو احد المراجع في الشئون القبطية وهو نفسه مسيحيا وان كان ينتمي إلى الطائفة الانجيلية التي تشكل أقلية بين المسيحيين في مصر .
ويري بعض الاقباط اليوم في أنفسهم ضحايا لقمع منهجي ويعتقدون أنهم يتعرضون لاضطهاد مماثل لما تعرض له المسيحيون الاوائل. يقول حبيب "إن هذه الثقافة تمثل خطرا كامنا".
في منتدى على موقع الاقباط الاحرار على الانترنت نشر كاتب اسماء ضحايا مسيحيين لمصادمات داخلية في مصر ووصف الضحايا بـ "الشهداء".
لكن ثمة أقباط آخرين يرفضون اعتبار "التمييز" السبب الوحيد لغضب الاقباط". ويعزو الاب صفوت البياضي المشكلات إلى "معاناة الشعب ككل".
يقول البياضي "الشباب فاض به الكيل وهو عاجز عن الكلام علانية. إنهم يعانون من الفقر والبطالة لذا فإنهم يحاربون بعضهم البعض". كما انه يلوم رجال الدين في الكنائس والمساجد على الاسلوب الناري الذي يستخدمونه في خطبهم ومواعظهم حيث يستغلون معاناة الشباب في اثارة المشكلات وكسب التأييد الشعبي.
ويتابع البياضي ان الشاب يجلس في مسجد أو كنيسة وهو يعتقد ان الامام أو القس يقول كلمة الله . ويردف "إذا قال له رجل الدين اقتل فلانا فانه ربما لا يتردد في تنفيذ الامر".
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/?id=50096
CHRONOLOGY: History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (companion to the two main stories -- scroll down)
Cairo - Below is a chronology outlining key events in the history of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement, the Islamist organization that has grown to become the country's largest opposition faction.July 1928 - Hassan al-Banna, a school teacher in the Suez Canal province of Ismailiya, founds the Society of the Muslim Brothers, generally known as the Muslim Brotherhood.
January 1936 - Street violence takes place between paramilitary groups belonging to political parties, including the paramilitary wing of the Brotherhood.
December 1936 - Restrictions placed by parliament on the formation of paramilitary groups, following the ratification of the 1936 Anglo- Egyptian Treaty granting a form of independence to Egypt which was under British occupation since 1882.
October 1938 - Congress for the Defence of Palestine formed by Egyptian parliamentarians. Brotherhood members active in campaigning against Jewish settlement in Palestine.
October 1939 - Martial law imposed because of World War II.
January 1946 - A pro-British minister is assassinated in protest at Britain's continued military presence in Egypt following the end of World War II. Anwar Sadat, to become Egypt's president in the 1970s is among the assassins. A wave of political unrest sweeps the country for the rest of the year, but Brotherhood members support the pro-British government and clash with communists who enjoy wide influence among students and workers.
November 1948 - Egyptian army defeated in the 1948 first Arab- Israeli War. Police arrest hundreds of Brotherhood volunteers who went to Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel on May 15, 1948, to fight on the side of the Palestinians.
December 1948 - Cairo police chief assassinated and the Brotherhood group is legally banned. In the same month prime minister Nuqrashi Pasha is assassinated, allegedly in retaliation for the banning of the Muslim Brotherhood. February 1949 - Al-Banna, the founder and general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, is assassinated, allegedly by the secret police.
March 1950 - Trial of Brotherhood members suspected of the two assassinations.
July 23, 1952 - The Free Officers led by Gamal Abdel-Nasser assume power, and seek the support of Brotherhood members. Nasser, allegedly, was a member of the group for a short while before he founded the officers' movement which overthrew the monarchy.
January 1954 - Brotherhood again banned after street clashes in Cairo and elsewhere.
October 1954 - Following an alleged failed attempt on Nasser's life that month, hundreds of Brotherhood members arrested. Six Brotherhood members were executed. The incident marks the beginning of a crackdown on Brotherhood members and supporters during the Nasser era. Most leaders remained in jail until released by Sadat in the 1970s.
September 1965 - Wide arrests of new Brotherhood members, as well as leaders - such as Sayed Qutb - who were released in 1964.
August 29, 1966 - Qutb and two other Brotherhood leaders are hanged after being tried for allegedly plotting to overthrow the regime.
1974 - The last batch of Brotherhood leaders released by Sadat, following the 1973 October War.
September 5, 1981 - Sadat cracks down on all opposition forces, including the Brotherhood, for opposing his peace treaty with Israel. A month later Sadat is assassinated during a military parade marking the victory of the 1973 October War.
May 1984 - The Brotherhood forms an alliance with the Wafd Party and fields candidates for parliamentary elections that year, thus signaling the group's first attempt to win power via the ballot box.
May 1987 - As parliament is dissolved, the Brotherhood forms an election alliance with the Islamist Labour Party. Together, they coin the slogan "Islam is the Solution"." The group wins 35 seats in the new parliament.
October 1990 - As the Egyptian army prepares to join the international alliance formed to expel the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, the regime resorts to repressive measures which leads the opposition, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to boycott parliamentary elections. Throughout the decade Brotherhood members, opposed to both Israel and US intervention in Iraq, are systematically clamped down on, only enjoying brief spells of warm relations with the regime of Hosny Mubarak.
November 2005 - The Brotherhood fields lesser-known group members as independent candidates in parliamentary elections, and wins 88 seats in the present parliament.
November 2006 - Leaders of the Brotherhood arrested. Property and business assets of 40 wealthy group members, including Deputy General Guide Khairat el-Sahter, frozen for alleged money-laundering. The 40 defendants presently await a military trial.
Copyright © 2007 Respective Author
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/80639.html
*image from news.bbc.co.uk (through images.google.com)
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