MENASource

Tamarod: A First Hand Account

By Amira Mikhail

It was the first time on the streets that I was not met with aggression as I roamed around gathering signatures for Tamarod. I usually experienced distrustful glares or comments, angry remarks expressing how I was destroying the country or vows that I was not Egyptian and had no right to be on the streets […]

Top News: Thousands Rally for ‘Legitimate’ Morsi in ‘No to Violence’ Rally in Cairo

 Thousands of Islamist supporters of Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi gathered in Cairo after Friday prayers to show support for the elected head of state ahead of protests his opponents hope can force him from office. The pro-Morsi rallies, which were organized under the banner of ‘denouncing violence,’ come ahead of planned anti-Morsi protests on June 30. […]

Where is the Egyptian Pound Headed?

By Mohsin Khan

On June 19, the Egyptian Pound fell to a low of 7.03 to the US dollar at the official foreign exchange auction. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) sold $38.9 million at the auction but that did not prevent the rate from crossing the CBE’s implicit threshold level of EGP 7 against the US dollar. […]

Egypt’s Countdown to June 30

By Tarek Radwan

What began as a humble attempt to translate countrywide discontent with the way President Mohamed Morsi has governed Egypt, the Tamarod–or "Rebel" campaign–has mobilized millions of Egyptians for a protest that promises to be epic on the anniversary of Morsi’s inauguration. Although opposition forces initially kept the signature drive that demands Morsi’s removal from office and early […]

Rouhani Win Could Bring Dividends in Syria

By Barbara Slavin

Since the surprise election of Hassan Rouhani as Iran’s next president, most expert commentary has focused on the potential to improve US-Iran relations and resolve the long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. However, the replacement of the abrasive Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by a veteran negotiator nicknamed the ‘diplomat sheikh’ could also provide an opportunity to ease […]

Top News: New US Ambassador Deborah Kay Jones Arrives in Tripoli

Nine months after the Benghazi murder of US ambassador Chris Stevens and three colleagues in the assault on the American consulate, the new US ambassador Deborah Kay Jones arrived in Tripoli Wednesday.

Top News: Azhar Chief: Opposing Rulers is not a Sin; Salafi Sheikh Issues Fatwa Permitting Killing of Protesters

Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayyeb warned members of different Islamist groups against accusing their opponents of blasphemy on Wednesday. In a statement, al-Tayyeb said that al-Azhar, Egypt’s core Islamic institution, calls for agreement between different factions and warns against violence and attacking others’ religious beliefs. GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION Brotherhood’s FJP condemns violent protests over new […]

America and the Democratic Transition in Egypt

By Ziad Bahaa-Eldin

I happened to be spending a few days in New York and Washington DC for work, immediately after an Egyptian court sentenced a number of defendants to prison among them a number of Americans in the so-called "NGO Funding Trial", in which foreign NGOs were accused of illegally funding and supporting Egyptian NGOs during the […]