Category Archives: Best Read

The New Old Wafd

Posted on May 28, 2015 by nervana111

Egypt’s oldest nationalist party, the Wafd Party, is facing a deep and challenging internal conflict. Despite intervention by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a new internal election, and a formal announcement that the crisis is over, the party’s internal problems … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

New Controversy Rages around the Hijab in Egypt

Posted on May 12, 2015 by nervana111

( Dr.Ali Gomaa’s comments with English subtitles) The debate around Islamic headscarves (Hijab) and an Islamic dress code for women is still raging in Egypt. Sheikh Ali Gomaa, an internationally known Islamist jurist and Egypt’s ex-Grand Mufti (top interpreter of … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Diary of Aak, Egypt, Islam | Tagged , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Egypt’s heated religious debates

Posted on April 27, 2015 by nervana111

Last week, the privately owned Egyptian satellite channel Al-Qaherah wal Nas decided to pull the controversial talk show “With Islam” at Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh’s request. The show’s host, Islam al-Behery, is a controversial figure in Egypt because of his candid … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Egypt, Islam, June30, Middle East, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

“New” Turkey has blocked my tweet

Posted on April 4, 2015 by nervana111

Yesterday, I received a notice of withholding from the Twitter legal team via e-mail. My understanding from the e-mail, which was written in Turkish, is that one of my tweets was banned in Turkey by a court ruling. Twitter gave … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Middle East, Turkey | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

On Islam and Apostasy

Posted on March 20, 2015 by nervana111

Initially published in The What And The Why Syria 636 AD ___The Ghassanid Arab East Mediterranean Christian Kingdom and its King, Jabalah Ibn al-Aiham, faced a challenging ordeal after the Arab conquest. Should they stay Christians under the new Muslim rule … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Egypt, Islam | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

For Hamas, Egypt is now the new “Israel”

Posted on March 2, 2015 by nervana111

(Photo via Reuters) For the Egyptian leadership and Hamas, February was a particularly bad month. The tension between the two sides has reached tipping point. The cascade of escalating events started with a court verdict listing Hamas’s armed wing as … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Egypt, Gaza, Hamas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

ISIS digs out old grievances to attack Copts

Posted on February 16, 2015 by nervana111

The Islamic State has released a video of the beheading of Egyptian Christians in Libya. The chilling video surfaced following an article published in the group’s magazine Dabiq showing photos of twenty-one Coptic Egyptians kidnapped by militants in Libya. According … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Egypt, Libya | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Lessons for Sinai from Yemen

Posted on February 10, 2015 by nervana111

(Egyptian air force chief adel Hafez with air force pilots in Yemen. 1964. wikimedia photo)  I wrote this piece for The Atlantic Council’s Egypt Source, hope you like it Following the recent major attacks by militants that killed at least twenty-seven … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Egypt, Gaza, Israel, Middle East, Sinai, Yemen | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Muslims and Charlie Hebdo

Posted on January 16, 2015 by nervana111

( Photo via Twitter) A depiction of the Prophet Mohammed crying and holding a “Je suis Charlie” sign under the words, “Tout Est Pardonné” (“All is forgiven.”) on the new cover of the French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo is ironically, … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Islam, Middle East, Politics, Turkey | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Egypt and the Jewish Rabbi Abu-Hasira

Posted on January 5, 2015 by nervana111

Yacoub or Jacob Abu Hasira. (photo:Wikimedia Commons) Egypt – A court in Alexandria has canceled an annual Jewish festival commemorating the birthday of Abu-Hasira, a leading 19th-century Moroccan Rabbi (1805-1880). The festival was due to take place on January 9 … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Egypt, Israel, Middle East, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments