News

Keeping the peace

After deadly sectarian riots, Copts and Muslims are pointing fingers

As Friday prayers come to an end in the middle-class Moharram Bey district of Alexandria, hundreds of Central Security riot police cordon off streets in a four block radius around the two mosques that lie on either side of the church. They allow people to return to their homes in small groups, blocking every part of the normally busy thoroughfare in neatly aligned rows. They carry gas masks and cartridge guns in addition to the standard-issue batons and shields. Others wield pump-action shotguns. At major intersections and in front of the church, light armored vehicles with gun turrets serve as a nerve center for plainclothes commanders. There has been no repeat of the 21 October riot that left three dead and more than 150 injured.

Spirit of '84

This year’s parliamentary elections will be the poll that really counts

When the country’s first presidential election took place on 7 September, the outcome was both simple and unsurprising. There could be only one winner and it was already quite clear that it would be Hosni Mubarak. Even though history was being made in that there had never been a multi-candidate election—or opposition campaigns in which other candidates took on the incumbent—the excitement was more in the process than in the outcome.

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This ain't no Hitchcock movie

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Dueling Islamists in Bulaq

High noon

Son aims to avenge father’s Abbasiya defeat

The election at a glance

Free shoes

Battle for Bab Al Shaariya gets dirty as Ayman Nour takes on an ex-state security officer

Tapping out

Egypt's Olympic golden boy is emigrating

Doping rumors

Nukes and zibda

This week in review

Business

Money, power and parliament

Businessmen dominate this year’s parliamentary candidate lists

With the final candidate lists prepared and a picture emerging of what Egypt’s next parliament could look like, the Left is declaring the dawn of the rule of big business in Egypt.

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On the waterfront

Thousands of Alexandrian dockworkers protest canceled Eid bonus

Opinion

Bullpen: How To Combat Extremism in Egypt

Essam El-Eryan is a resolute man. He does not possess the charisma that would appeal naturally to millions, for he represents a movement that many repudiate instinctively. Yet he cannot be accused of hypocrisy or sycophancy, traits abundantly present in his opponents. He has done time in defence of his views and has never wavered. He is one of the leading figures in the infamous Muslim Brotherhood Organisation, touted as the most serious threat to Egypt’s future and brainwashing millions into the torpor of denouncing the mere mention of the word ‘democracy’.

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Editorial: Breathing room

From the driver's seat

In-depth

Ivory Dungeon

Over the past decade, a security mentality has made inroads on campuses.

Prof. Adil Inani is a tall, thin man with a salt-and-pepper goatee and a calm, confident voice that manages to both comfort and command attention. He graduated from the English department of Ain Shams University in 1975 and has been teaching in the same department ever since.

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Culture

Not the whole picture

Though useful, Liliane Karnouk’s new book ignores a number of key artists

Liliane Karnouk’s book Modern Egyptian Art is interesting and well-written, and fills a void in the literature on the subject. In her preface, Karnouk writes, “In time, I hope, others will assess the importance of the artists presented here and add forgotten and new names to this selection.” This is indeed to be hoped, for the book has serious lacunae.

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Arabic Literature 2.0

Union and website for Internet writers provide publishing opportunity and highlight new genre

Screen-scroller

Culture in brief

Out and about

Anatomy of a firecracker

Eid has many blessings. The firecracker is not one. Firecrackers are illegal. But every year you can see the same scene: old women quicken their step as they pass packs of teenaged boys. Bawabs stare disapprovingly.

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Restaurant: Malibu

Tried-and-true Eid sweets

And finally

Postcard from Myanmar

Myanmar means “the golden land” in Burmese, and after being there I understood why. It is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited. It felt like a moving picture.

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Golo's eye