![The Week in Egypt [November 10, 2014]](https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/20141110TWIE.jpg)
Catch up on the latest out of Egypt every week, with analysis, news updates, photos, videos, and more.
Quote of the Week
“I used to believe in the motto, ‘Our peacefulness is more powerful than bullets.’ But when bullets started being directed at us and we were accused of being terrorists, I started to believe only in force to preserve my beliefs and establish the Islamic State in Egypt.” – A former Muslim Brotherhood member when asked why he supports the Islamic State. [Al-Monitor]
Egypt in the News
- Prosecutor orders detention of thirty-five for Islamic State affiliations
- Egypt court sentences eight men to three years in jail for ‘gay wedding’
- Egyptian journalists protest media’s alignment with state
- Egypt, Gulf Arab allies eye anti-militant alliance
- Egyptian militant group denies pledging loyalty to Islamic State
- Sisi says government to push for more evacuations at Sinai borders
- UN reviews Egypt’s human rights record
- Court rejects medical release of hunger-striker Soltan; Forensics recommends sending Douma back to prison
- New NGO law will be passed by Egypt’s next parliament, says FM official
- State Council considers draft law imposing media gag on military news
- Bomb on train kills four in Nile Delta, state of emergency declared
- UN review points at Egypt’s NGO and protest laws
- US rights organizations urge Obama to take stand against Egypt’s NGO law
- Penalties for faculty committing, inciting or abetting violence added to Egypt university law
- Sisi to meet with largest US business delegation since 2011 revolution
In-depth
“That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore: Cairo’s Snarky Cartoonists Get the Message”| Louisa Loveluck, The Christian Science Monitor
After three years of revolutionary tumult, and the fall of two presidents, Egypt’s subversive cartoonists are mostly taking another tack. Gone are the irreverent depictions of the leader of the day. And dissenting media outlets, particularly those linked to Mr. Sisi’s Islamist predecessor, Mohamed Morsi, have been forcibly closed, or have ceased publication of their own accord, wary of voicing criticism of Egypt’s popular new leader.
There are periods in history that are not suitable for serious criticism,” says Douaa el Adel, another cartoonist at Al-Masry Al-Youm. “You can criticize, but you must not bring down the system – these people who chant against the military regime don’t understand that the only option is the Muslim Brotherhood.”…
…Amr Selim, an elder statesman of Cairo’s cartooning scene, says the space for dissent has shrunk. And like Ms. Adel, he sees his work as a patriotic duty: “Not everything is perfect, but Egypt must move forward,” he says.
Anwar says little has changed since 2011. “It’s still the case that everyone is seen as being with one side, or against it,” he says. “And most people now are supporters of the regime.”
“The only guarantee of freedom of speech, as I see it, is the existence of cartoonists.”
But just days later, the newspaper published his image of the shuttered office on the inside page. And on Thursday, it was Adel’s turn to send another shot across the bows. In her cartoon, a journalist edges along a tightrope labeled “the margin of freedom.” Below, waits the hand of authority, its fingers poised to flick and send him spinning.
On Twitter: Sisi’s Appointment of Fayza Abul Naga as Security Advisor
Controversial figure Fayza Abul-Naga-who spearheaded criminal charges against US NGOs in #Egypt-returns to politics http://t.co/4ZUHHf4qZb
— Bel Trew – بل ترو (@Beltrew) November 6, 2014
Appt of Fayza Aboul Naga quite a contrast 2 ElBaradei-Beblawi-BahaEddins of immed post coup period http://t.co/QDRC9zXi9I via @almasryalyoum
— Michele Dunne (@MicheleDDunne) November 5, 2014
The mastermind of Egypt’s crackdown on NGOs, Faiza Abul Naga, was appointed as the president’s advisor.
— The Big Pharaoh (@TheBigPharaoh) November 5, 2014
If anyone wants to gauge the impact of Egypt’s UPR, many countries raised concerns about civil society. Then Sisi appointed Fayza Aboul Naga
— Basil الضبع (@basildabh) November 6, 2014
The appointment of Fayza Abu-Naga as Sisi’s adviser should not be the barometer of US- Egypt relationship. There are many layers into it.
— Nervana Mahmoud (@Nervana_1) November 7, 2014
Two things are permanent in Egypt : the pyramids and Faiza Abu El Naga.
— Dalia Ezzat (@DaliaEzzat_) November 5, 2014
Video of the Week
On November 6, the Committee to Protect Journalists and See Media released a new documentary film, “Under Threat,” that highlights the perils of working for Egyptian media across the political spectrum and examines the media environment under President Sisi ahead of Egypt’s parliamentary vote.
Cartoon of the Week
*After a spate of incredible inventions by high-school students reported in the Egyptian media.
Father: “Son, enough with these inventions already, do your homework!”
Source: Mada Masr
This Week’s Interviews
- An Interview with Mohamed Elshahed | Middle East Research and Information Project
- ‘Our work remains completely independent‘: Head of 30 June fact-finding committee | Huda Badri, DNE
Image: Photo of the Week: A boy looks at the wreckage of a burnt school bus after it crashed in Damanhur November 5, 2014. At least 16 people, mostly children, were killed on Wednesday when the bus crashed into three other vehicles on a desert road in the Nile Delta north of Cairo, state television said. Eighteen people were also wounded in the crash and transported to hospital (Reuters/Al-Youm al-Sabaa)