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Religion/Morality, Syria/Resistance: For Syria, What is "Left?" (Part 2 of 3)
![[Image from unknown archive]](/content_images/3/sm_sacredsyria.jpg "[Image from unknown archive]")
. . . a conversation among friends . . . and not necessarily for everyone. Exactly three months ago (see Part 1 here), I critiqued part of the left that continued to support the Syrian regime’s brutal repression of protests based on the latter’s anti-imperialist and resistance credentials, whether or not such credentials were exaggerated. Since then, the uprising (and deaths, mostly of civilians) in Syria expanded, army defections increased, and regional/international pressure mounted considerably. Some took these developments—notably the spike in regional and international intervention/“engagement”—as evidence that Syria is being cynically targeted from abroad by both ...
Keep Reading »Some Panels from the Upcoming Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association
![[Image from website of MESA]](/content_images/3/sm_mesalogo.jpg "[Image from website of MESA]")
The Middle East Studies Association (MESA) will be holding its 43rd Annual Meeting in Washington DC this weekend, 1-4 December. Over a span of four days, scholars and researchers from across North America, the Middle East, and beyond will present their work via an impressive and diverse array of thematic panels (see complete program here). In order to highlight some of the panels, below is a list of MESA 2011 Annual Meeting panels in which one or more Jadaliyya Co-Editor is involved in as an organizer, presenter, and/or discussant. However, to appreciate the full spectrum of topics, themes, and disciplines represented, we encourage you to browse the entire program. ...
Keep Reading »Egypt Army Sees Vote Turnout Exceeding 70 Percent
![[A man dips his finger in ink after casting a vote at a polling station during a parliamentary election in Cairo. Photo credit Washington Post.]](/content_images/3/sm_egyptianpollingstation.jpg "[A man dips his finger in ink after casting a vote at a polling station during a parliamentary election in Cairo. Photo credit Washington Post.]")
Independent monitors say voter turnout could be as high as 50 per cent, while ruling military council member General Ismail Atman hopes it will reach 80 percent. A member of Egypt's ruling military council said on Tuesday that he expected turnout in the first stage of a parliamentary election to exceed 70 per cent. Egypt's first parliamentary poll since Hosni Mubarak was ousted began on Monday and the first round of voting is being held over two days. The staggered vote will be spread over six weeks. "There is no actual or definitive estimate, but I assure you that, until now, it will go above 70 per cent. I hope it will reach more than 80 per cent by the end of ...
Keep Reading »Political Rivals Trade Accusations of Electoral Breaches
![[Second Day of elections. Image from AP]](/content_images/3/sm_tradingaccusations.jpg "[Second Day of elections. Image from AP]")
First-round poll results remain largely uncertain until now, but tit-for-tat allegations of electoral violations are rife. While voter turnout remains uncertain, all estimates suggest it was exceptionally high in Egypt’s first post-revolution parliamentary contest. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) was the only party to release a formal statement estimating voter turnout, which it put at roughly 30 per cent of eligible voters. According to Hani Naguib, a member of the liberal-oriented Egyptian Bloc, two voting lists that proved popular – despite facing fierce counter-campaigns – are the Egyptian Bloc and the moderate-Islamist Wasat Party. ...
Keep Reading »Egypt Electoral Body Chief Admits to Vote Irregularities
![[Image from unknown archive.]](/content_images/3/sm_electionsupdatefuckpic.jpg "[Image from unknown archive.]")
Missing ballot papers and judges and violence at three polling stations cast a cloud over first day of parliamentary elections. Abdel Moez Ibrahim, head of the Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC), used a press conference at the close of the day's voting in the first round of parliamentary elections to list incidents of irregularities. He started off, and set the tone for the event, by stating that he is not responsible for the delay some polling stations experienced before receiving ballot papers. Ibrahim went on to reveal that only three clashes broke out at polling stations. These he listed as having taken place in Cairo at: Collage de la Salle School in Daher, Ahmed ...
Keep Reading »Parties Campaigning During Egypt's Voting Face Criminal Charges: Electoral Commission Chief
![[Image from unknown archive.]](/content_images/3/sm_DefualtImageforEEW.JPG "[Image from unknown archive.]")
The chairman of the Supreme Judicial Electoral Commission points out some of the complaints and says expat voting will be revealed along with the final, decisive results. The Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Electoral Commission said the high voter turnout reveals the peoples' trust in the judiciary and that elections are going well. In an interview with the television channel, Nile News today, the electoral commission's chairman, Abdel Moez Ibrahim, said that the electoral process is proceeding smoothly today, the second day of the first phase of parliamentary elections. Most of the complaints, says the judge, were regarding the short polling hours after some ...
Keep Reading »Egypt's First Polling Day Deemed Promising, Brotherhood Unethical
![[Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Mohammed Morsi shakes hands with a solider on the first day of parliamentary elections in Cairo, Egypt, 28 November 2011. Photo Credit: AP]](/content_images/3/sm_muslimbrotherhoodspokesman.jpg "[Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Mohammed Morsi shakes hands with a solider on the first day of parliamentary elections in Cairo, Egypt, 28 November 2011. Photo Credit: AP]")
Violence was barely seen on the first day of the parliamentary elections, but there were other violations, many of which were linked to the Muslim Brotherhood The first day of the maiden post-revolution parliamentary elections witnessed several drawbacks and violations across the nation, most of which were reportedly committed by the Muslim Brotherhood. Yet, it is fair to say that, on the whole, the ballot opener turned out to be way better than initially expected. The elections got underway on 28 November as scheduled, in spite of political turmoil and further deteriorating security in Egypt in the wake of severe clashes that took place between protesters and Central ...
Keep Reading »Government Association Breaks Egypt Election Law: Urges Tourism Workers to Vote for a Specific Bloc
![[The Egyptian hotel association statement. Photo Credit: Ahram Portal.]](/content_images/3/sm_Egyptianhotelassociation.jpg "[The Egyptian hotel association statement. Photo Credit: Ahram Portal.]")
The Red Sea hotel authority urged tourism-sector employees to vote for the Egyptian Bloc to counter Islamist blocs in the area Statements issued by the Egyptian hotel association of the Red Sea tourism chamber in Luxor urging regional tourism-sector employees to vote for the Egyptian bloc electoral alliance have surfaced on the net. Statement no. 718 included names of Egyptian bloc’s candidates in Luxor, Red Sea, Fayoum and Port Said. Although government authorities are banned by law from supporting any candidate or bloc, the statement was even signed by their chairman in a clear violation of the law. The noticeable increased presence of Salafists in the ...
Keep Reading »The Battle of Muhammad Mahmud Street: Teargas, Hair Gel, and Tramadol
![[A protester throws a tear gas canister initially launched at protesters by security forces. Image from Reuters.]](/content_images/3/sm_battleformmtahrir.jpg "[A protester throws a tear gas canister initially launched at protesters by security forces. Image from Reuters.]")
“The people in Muhammad Mahmoud [street] are decidedly not revolutionaries,” they are “vandals,” insisted a police captain on the phone to Yusri Foda’s prime TV show Akhir Kalam. The officer in the video has a point. Four days into what became known as “the Second Revolution”—though many emphasize that this is the part two of the same January 25 Revolution—the Egyptian state media admits that Tahrir Square is populated with “protesters” who might even have “legitimate demands.” But explaining, and even more so, understanding what has been going on in Muhammad Mahmud and large parts of Abdin remains problematic. The Egyptian police have used numerous brutal ...
Keep Reading »Government Association Breaks Egypt Election Law: Urges Tourism Workers to Vote for a Specific Bloc
![[Statement no. 718 by Egyptian Hotel Association of the Red Sea Tourism Chamber. Image from Ahram Online.]](/content_images/3/sm_hotelassletter.jpg "[Statement no. 718 by Egyptian Hotel Association of the Red Sea Tourism Chamber. Image from Ahram Online.]")
The Red Sea hotel authority urged tourism-sector employees to vote for the Egyptian Bloc to counter Islamist blocs in the area. Statements issued by the Egyptian Hotel Association of the Red Sea Tourism Chamber in Luxor urging regional tourism-sector employees to vote for the Egyptian Bloc electoral alliance have surfaced on the net. Statement no. 718 included names of Egyptian Bloc’s candidates in Luxor, Red Sea, Fayoum and Port Said. Although government authorities are banned by law from supporting any candidate or bloc, the statement was even signed by their chairman in a clear violation of the law. The noticeable increased presence of Salafists in the Red Sea and ...
Keep Reading »ESDP's Zahran Accuses Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists of Vote Rigging
![[Women supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood are heavily campaigning for the group on 28 November 2011. Image from Reuters]](/content_images/3/sm_voterigging123.jpg "[Women supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood are heavily campaigning for the group on 28 November 2011. Image from Reuters]")
Farid Zahran, a leading member of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, says Islamists are committing a range of electoral violations. In statements to Ahram Online, Farid Zahran, a leading member of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party (ESDP) accused the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists of committing wide-scale violations of the parliamentary vote, including ballot stuffing. Zahran expressed his shock that the Brotherhood, which had suffered repression and vote rigging in previous elections, should now pursue the same tactics that were used against them by the Mubarak regime, to improve the electoral lot of their Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). According to ...
Keep Reading »The Road to New Cairo
![[Home in New Cairo. Image from Mohamed Elshahed.]](/content_images/3/sm_newcairofinal.jpg "[Home in New Cairo. Image from Mohamed Elshahed.]")
Tahrir Square is the epicenter of the Egyptian uprising and the inspiration for the global occupy movement. From here, at the gate of the American University’s downtown campus, busses depart on a regular schedule towards the new campus some forty kilometers away. From downtown Cairo, the historic nineteenth century center, the journey east to New Cairo takes about one hour without traffic. On board the air-conditioned bus students and faculty surf the Internet on their iPads, iPhones and laptops. These busses are equipped with high-speed wifi. Moving eastward across the space of the city roughly corresponds with the city’s development across time from older to newer. New ...
Keep Reading »New Texts Out Now: Zakia Salime, Between Feminism and Islam: Human Rights and Sharia Law in Morocco
Zakia Salime, Between Feminism and Islam: Human Rights and Sharia Law in Morocco. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2011. Jadaliyya: What made you write this book? Zakia Salime: In this critical time of sweeping revolts and political changes in the Middle East, it is very useful to revisit the spaces of contentions that have been opened by women’s rights groups. My book shows how two decades of struggles over broadening the spheres of expression and rights have led to dramatic changes in ...
Keep Reading »Suriye'deki Ayaklanmanin Dinamikleri
SURİYE’DEKI AYAKLANMANIN DİNAMİKLERİ Suriye’deki olaylarla ilgilenen çoğu insan, ülkenin aşırı istikrarlı olduğuna inanmaktaydı. Rejim destekli medyanın, Suriye’nin dünyadaki en güvenli ve istikrarlı olduğu savını düzenli olarak tekrarlaması, bu düşünceyi besleyen bir faktördü. Hal bu ki; bu istikrar yalnızca bir yaldızdan ibaretti. Gerçekte, böyle görünen çatlaklar Suriye toplumuna zarar verdi, birbirine bağlılığını sarstı ve nüfusun geniş bölümünde dayanılmaz oranlarda büyüyen düş ...
Keep Reading »"Arab League and United States Not Fit to Intervene in Syria": Interview with Jadaliyya Co-Editor Bassam Haddad
As regional and international pressure mounts on Syria, the domestic scene seems to be heading towards civil war. No sooner than the Arab League sanctions on Syria were announced recently, did the camps that support or oppose the status quo there entrench themselves further in their position, leaving little room for constructive dialogue, cooperation, or exit from the current impasse. The brutality of the regime's squashing of the uprising continues as regional and international pressure heads in ...
Keep Reading »Women Turn Out in High Numbers to Vote, Yet Their Share in Parliament Looks to Be Slim
Some campaigners fear the further marginalisation of women in political life. Preliminary reports from the first day of Egypt’s historic parliamentary elections suggest that women voters have turned out in high numbers to make their voices heard. However, some women’s rights campaigners fear that, despite the enthusiasm of female voters, the new parliament will see a record low in the number of women elected. Women, who were given the vote in 1956, have historically been under-represented ...
Keep Reading »Open Letter to National Press Club and Their Subsequent Decision to Rescind Suspension of Sam Husseini
The Ethics Committee of the National Press Club has asked me to present my journalistic credentials following the controversy of my suspension from the Club because of my questioning of the former head of Saudi intelligence Amb. Turki bin Faisal al-Saud. (Click here for video of the questioning). The proof that I am a journalist is the very fact that I asked the question that I did: There's been a lot of talk about the legitimacy of the Syrian regime, I want to know what legitimacy ...
Keep Reading »Des elections au milieu d'une revolution
La réapparition de manifestations massives en Égypte, sur la place Tahrir mais aussi ailleurs dans le pays, a soulevé, pour les observateurs et observatrices extérieur-e-s, beaucoup de questions au sujet de ce qui a été souvent décrit comme « la transition démocratique de l’Égypte« . Beaucoup se demandent comment l’Égypte pourra progresser dans son « voyage vers la démocratie » quand la persistance de manifestations et d’occupations longues paraît « empêcher » les ...
Keep Reading »'To Vote or Not to Vote?' Egyptians Ask as Polling Opens
With the kick-off of landmark parliamentary polls on Monday, the debate over whether to boycott the country's first post-Mubarak electoral contest continues to rage in Tahrir Square - and elsewhere “Who should I vote for?” is a question that dominates most conversations these days, in workplaces, supermarkets, places of worship and – of course – on online social networks. “If I don't vote, will I have to pay a fine?” wondered Amna, a 32-year-old cleaning lady and mother of four. Amna is registered to ...
Keep Reading »Elections in the Midst of Revolution
The resurgence of mass demonstrations in Egypt, in Tahrir Square and beyond, has raised many question marks in the minds of outside observers about what has often been described as “Egypt’s democratic transition.” Many question how Egypt will be able to advance its so-called journey toward democracy when the persistence of demonstrations and extended sit-ins seems to be “stifling” Egypt’s first post-Mubarak elections scheduled to commence today and last for three months. This perception happens to ...
Keep Reading »Tunisia's Election Results and the Question of Minorities
Now that the votes have been tallied and the victors of Tunisia’s 23 October elections have been announced, the country’s Constituent Assembly is finally beginning to take shape. With the blue ink still fading from Tunisian voters’ index fingers, all eyes are fixed on the composition of Tunisia’s first independent governing body, and speculation is rife – especially since the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party has secured slightly more than forty percent of the Assembly’s seats. After decades of ...
Keep Reading »Blogger @Alaa Gets Another 15 Days in Detention, Orders State Security Prosecution
While he won't face a military trial, blogger and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah will be tried in a state security court, which may be worse. The High State Security Prosecution has ordered the extension of blogger Alaa Abd El-Fattah's detention for another 15 days, pending investigations. Abd El-Fattah was accused by the military prosecution of theft of military arms, attacking military personnel, destroying military properties and inciting hate and violence against military personnel during the 9 ...
Keep Reading »Brotherhood and Salafists Set to Make Big Gains in Alexandria
The two main Islamist currents in the country are expected to make substantial gains in the parliamentary elections in Egypt's second largest governorate. All indicators in Alexandria show that Islamists parties are likely to win a large share of the seats in the parliamentary battle in the second the largest governorate in Egypt. Alexandria will send 24 out of 498 representatives to the People's Assembly. 16 members will be elected on the basis of proportional representation from party and coalition ...
Keep Reading »Who is Conspiring Against Syria?
After the breakdown of the rhetoric of a conspiracy of Salafis and armed gangs, the Syrian regime has resorted to a rhetoric of colonial conspiracy. This is especially so after the recent resolution by the Arab League [to suspend Syria’s membership]. This rhetoric of colonial conspiracy has traction with some of the political forces because it masks their own parochial discourse with the principled issue of resisting colonial forces within the context of the Arab revolutions. This rhetoric also resonates ...
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What is new in the Israeli situation today is not settler colonialism, which has been the policy of the state of Israel since its inception; it is the breaking apart of the legitimating formula in which Israel is imagined as a “Jewish and democratic” state.click | email | tweet
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