Egypt

Marx, Bonaparte and the Egyptian Revolution: Another Friday in Tahrir Square

Karl Marx’s 19th century political journalism holds up a lot better than do his general theories of capitalism, socialism and history. Indeed, the father of modern communism may well have nailed the nature of the 2011 revolution in Egypt in The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, a tract written by the German in 1852. And Friday’s …

Facebook Revolution in Israel Takes the Form of Cottage Cheese

When Tahrir Square was going full steam, I spent an afternoon asking Israelis their thoughts on the matter in a sleek shopping mall in Ra’anana, north of Tel Aviv. The first question was whether, watching the events in Cairo, they felt inspired? I should have said “sympathetic,” because several people thought they were being asked if …

Turkey Inspires Islamists and Liberals, But in Very Different Ways

Everybody wants a piece of Turkey. On my sweep through Egypt and Tunisia, virtually everyone I met invoked the nation that bestrides the Bosphorus as one they’d like their own country to emulate. The Turks had just had a general election, and Arabs had watched it unfold on Al Jazeera and other TV channels. The vote was clean, mostly …

Man vs. Lion: A Macabre Fight-to-the-Death in Egypt

If Egyptian strongman Sayed el-Essawy gets his way, he may be dead by this Saturday. In supposed honor of the start of the uprising against the dicatorship of Hosni Mubarak (Jan. 25), el-Essawy intends to take on a 600-lb lion June 25 and beat it, perhaps to death, with his own hands. It’s a showdown he claims will promote tourism in …

What’s So Scary About the Muslim Brotherhood?

Essam Erian throws his hands up in mock surrender. “I cannot answer this question,” he says, smiling broadly. “This is a question for me to ask, for you to answer.”

The question: What does the Muslim Brotherhood have to do to stop being portrayed as the bogeyman? The Egyptian Islamist movement has been trying very hard to shake …

Former Mossad Chief Discounts Arab Spring, Welcomes Prospect of a Sunni Syria

Meir Dagan, who until February ran Israel’s overseas intelligence agency for nine pretty successful years, has been making a new name for himself as outspoken retiree. Earlier this month he warned from a Tel Aviv stage that bombing Iran to stop its nuclear program was “a stupid idea,” and suggested that with the recent departure of …

Why the Muslim Brotherhood Are Egypt’s Best Democrats

After the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, many Western commentators were surprised by the ease with which Iraq’s religious movements adapted to multiparty democracy. The Shi’ite groups, in particular, were quick to organize into political parties, set up grass-roots organizations across the country and form practical coalitions ahead of …

With Syria on Fire, Turkey and Israel Move to Avoid a New Fiasco at Sea

It’s hard to overstate the zesty potency of the words “Mavi Marmara” in Turkey. Giant posters on Istanbul’s busiest streets trumpet the impending return to sea of the ferry that Israeli commandos intercepted in the Mediterranean a year ago, killing nine activists en route to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip. The botched raid …

Why Greek Tumult Signals the Coming of Europe’s Own ‘Arab Spring’

Are the youth-led protests rocking Greece and other European countries a sign Arab Spring uprisings have jumped the Mediterranean? Kinda-sorta, say experts watching these movements. They warn that even if democratic systems in Europe can’t be compared with the brutally authoritarian regimes under fire in the Arab world, the angry …

Mugabe’s Latest Gift to Zimbabwe: the Secret of Living Longer

Good news from Zimbabwe where, despite Western media reports of political crisis, economic stagnation and widespread poverty, the electoral roll indicates the country is actually one of the healthiest on earth. The October 2010 count finds 41,100 voters in Zimbabwe aged 100 or more – four times the number of centenarians in Britain, …

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