· November, 2008

Stories about Egypt from November, 2008

Are Women making Egypt Poorer?

Women: Should they stay at home and raise kids or should they work and have a contribution? A controversial question that Fantasia's World tried to answer in her post: Are you making your country poorer?

28 November 2008

Egypt: Locking Al Azhar students in the dark ages!

Al Azhar English Training Center is funded through a partnership agreement between Al Azhar University, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund and the British Council. The Center was supposed to provide English Language courses in its first semester to 125 students from various disciplines until Ali Laban, a Muslim Brotherhood deputy, decided otherwise. One enraged instructor speaks up on Facebook.

28 November 2008

Egypt: Activists Protest Arrests

From Egypt, Elijah Zarwan writes: “Egyptian activists yesterday staged protests to call for the release of 16 people detained in the southern city of Samalout in mid-October. Police used tear...

27 November 2008

Egypt: Police officers banned off university campus

In a historic court ruling, police are now banned from patrolling Cairo University's campus. Instead, the university will have to deploy civilian personal as security guards. Bloggers, who linked police recklessness and use of excessive force to the order, welcomed the ruling with guarded optimism.

27 November 2008

Is Secularism the answer to Egypt's Sectarianism?

Egypt has always been known as an Islamic country where Muslims, Christians, and Jews peacefully co-existed. Today this is no longer the case. Is secularism the solution? Following is an outline of the discussion taking place on Egyptian blogs today.

27 November 2008

Egypt: Getting High on Obama

Barack Obama's popularity in Egypt reaches a new high - with the introduction of a narcotic to the market bearing the President-elect's name. According to bloggers, dealers in the Mediterranean town of Marsa Matrouh are selling Obama branded hashish.

26 November 2008

Egypt: 89% of Youth Support Internet Censorship Law

Eighty-nine per cent of Egyptian young men and women surveyed recently stated that they are in favour of an Internet censorship law. Bloggers Times shares the most recent statistics on Egyptian internet users in this post, translated by Marwa Rakha from Arabic.

26 November 2008

Michael Jackson ‘Converts’ to Islam

The King of Pop Michael Jackson has done it again and stories about his alleged conversion to Islam are keeping blogs in the Middle East abuzz with snark comments. Is Jackson's conversion a part of an American conspiracy "to destroy Islam from within," is it a media stunt or has he finally found his true calling?

24 November 2008

Egypt: First Human Rights Film Festival

Seven films about human rights are being showcased at the first Cairo Human Rights Film Festival, which continues until Thursday (November 27). Marwa Rakha previews blogger reactions on the event.

24 November 2008

Egypt: Uproar as Lawyer Suggests Raping Israeli Women

Voice of Egypt is ashamed of Egyptian Lawyer Nagla Al Imam, the same lawyer who made Egyptians angry, for encouraging Arab men to sexually harass Israeli women during her interview on Al Arabia TV (Ar). Marwa Rakha translates from Arabic.

23 November 2008

Jordan: List of controversial figures

From Lebanese singer Haifaa Wahbi to Libyan president Moammar Qaddafi to Hizbulla commander Hasan Nasrallah to Egyptian leader Jamal Abdil Nasser, Jordanian Hareega shares his list of the 10 most...

23 November 2008

Egypt: Shaaban Sings for Obama

Shaaban Abdel Rehim, the illiterate Egyptian singer whose songs are mainly about political and social issues, has released a new song about the new American President-Elect Barack Obama. Tarek Amr looks at the blogosphere's reactions to Abdel Rehim's newest hit.

23 November 2008

Egyptian Blogger is Missing

From Egypt, Zeinobia writes: “The famous Egyptian MB blogger Mohamed Adel aka Meit is reportedly missing. No one seems to know for sure where he is currently. Of course the...

22 November 2008

About our Egypt coverage