The current turmoil in the Muslim world that has unfolded over the YouTube video clip Innocence of Muslims offers the U.S. what educators call a “teachable moment:” an opportunity provided by circumstance to explain an idea that the audience might otherwise find abstract and irrelevant. The idea is freedom of expression. Several months ago, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a California producer posing as Israeli citizen Sam Bacile, produced, then posted on YouTube, a movie trailer meant to offend Muslims. Very likely, additional goals were to elicit violent reactions in the Middle East, ... Read More
Egypt’s Presidency Is Not for the Faint-hearted
May 22, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment
Egypt’s presidential elections process opened on March 10. Within two days, more than 300 citizens had picked up the paperwork to declare themself a candidate. By March 14, the number had climbed to 500, and by March 28, it approached a thousand. Stringent registration requirements have limited the circle of genuine contenders to about a dozen. Still, it appears many Egyptians feel able to serve as president, and underestimate the truly daunting challenges the position faces. Such as, it’s unclear what the president’s role will be. In March 2011 Egyptians, by popular ... Read More
The New Egypt: A Return to Dictatorship?
October 20, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
On October 9, Egypt's military made international headlines: Instead of enabling Copts to peacefully demonstrate the dismantling of a church in Asyut, it joined the riot police in confronting the protesters. They received support from Egyptians, whom the state media had urged to "protect the army." More than 200 people were wounded, and more than 20 died. The incident led Western observers to question the military's commitment to political reform. Journalists point to the ever-lengthening timetable for parliamentary and presidential elections, and to the large number of high-speed military ... Read More
Applying the Doha Debates to Egypt
February 14, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
Dear Wael Ghonim and fellow travelers: Let me tell you how impressed I am with your accomplishments. Wael’s interview on Dream TV (to see the video with short translation, click here and scroll down two-thirds) was the most impressive interview in a year. Unlike you, I grew up in Europe, but I have always been close to my Egyptian family. Ever since I became politically aware, President Mubarak governed your country. Political life was stagnant, corrupt and oppressive — so much so that some of my closest relatives had come to view politics as a dirty game from which they wanted to ... Read More
