يوم قابلت الشيخ عماد
قابلت الشيخ عماد من سنة بالضبط. يوماً بيوم. لم يقل شيئا. فقط إبتسم. لا أدري لم ذهبت إلى مشرحة القصر العيني الفرنساوي ليلتها. لا أعلم لماذا أصررت أن أدخل الثلاجة. نظرت للرجل النائم هناك. قد [...]
December 2012
The President’s Six Hands
My latest for Foreign Policy Transitions. It's the abridged version of a 5-page article full of profanity. The intractability of the problem in Egypt is caused by the presence of three, not two, parties to [...]
تعليق سريع جدا على الضرائب الجديدة
تعليق سريع جدا على الضرائب الجديدة: - الضرائب على الكحول و السجائر مجنونة. هو صحيح طبيعي أن الحاجات دي سهل فرض الضرائب عليها لأن الطلب يتأثر قليلا بالسعر لكن مش ضريبة 200 ولا 150% فجأة [...]
Presidential Palace Protest: Photos
I can't speak for the size of the protest, but it was massive. Revolution massive. Particularly given that it's on a workday, and it's on the eastern side of the city as opposed to downtown. [...]
November 2012
Egypt’s ominous attack on porn
Monday's post at Foreign Policy: Transitions. "I called people up so they would join the revolution. And they died. I let (Ahmed) Harara walk onto Mohamed Mahmoud Street, and he was blinded. My friends, who weren't [...]
The sad reality of Egypt’s vaunted military
My latest piece on the #EgyArmy, for Foreign Policy Magazine. Hey, I'm just finding this in the newspaper. Don't shoot the messenger... An Egyptian expatriate friend asked me recently about the state of the Egyptian [...]
October 2012
Egypt subsidises the “Dictatorship for Beginners” manual…
Originally published in Foreign Policy: Transitions. RHS: “The Great Bahgatos is on the People’s hearts”LHS: “Bahgatia’s Statue of Liberty” – “safety matches” – “The Law”My father recently bought a new copy of an old book. [...]
Why are we arresting kids for blasphemy in Egypt?
My latest post for Foreign Policy Transitions. I am genuinely upset. Some things in Egypt are devolving from ‘seriously ridiculous’ to ‘batshit crazy’. Arresting children for blasphemy is one such instance. “The most certain test [...]
September 2012
Rocking Egyptian economic policy like it’s 2010
Originally posted on FP transitions, and I forgot to post it here.. This week I attended two events in Cairo devoted to Egypt’s economic situation, but the setting could easily have been any point [...]
Morsi vs. Omar
As I looked at this photo [source] of Mohamed Morsi praying Juma'a in Italy, surrounded from three sides by his security detail, I remembered this beautiful story from the days of Omar Ibn El Khattab. A [...]