governmentality

Egypt's Top Muslim Cleric Dies in Saudi Arabia

Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, the Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar University and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Mosque in Egypt, died of a heart attack during a trip to Saudi Arabia.

Tantawi, 81, was in Riyadh to attend the King Faisal awards ceremony, it said. Tantawi's moderate views has rankled hard-liners.

The news of his death was "an indescribable shock," his son Amr Tantawi told Egyptian television.

al-Azhar, as the state's religious institution, has played an important role (with Tantawi's help) in normalizing Egypt into a moderate Muslim country--andTantawi was even considered a liberal on some issues.

Read the full report al-Arabiya.

Fatwa in Egypt Bans Quranic Ringtones

The Grand Mufti of Egypt has issued a fatwa that bans verses from the Quran or the call to prayer as cell phone ringtones. Dr. Ali Gomaa has stated that songs and poems about the Prophet are permissible.

“The Quran came from God so that we can worship Him and it should be read or listened to with reverence,” Gomaa said in his fatwa. “Picking up the phone is sure to interrupt the verse and this is disrespectful to the holy book.”

Of course, few fatwas go without disagreement. And, apparently, a fatwa on cell phone ringtones is no different, but I never would have guessed that these arguments were worth having.

Read the full report here.

Egypt's Security Clashes with Gaza Aid Convoy

Egypt's role in the siege on Gaza is becoming increasingly inexcusable. Today, Egyptian security forces went head-to-head with a convoy attempting to deliver relief cargo to Gaza. The convoy was led by UK politician, George Galloway.

The clash, according to a Reuters correspondent, included the Egyptian security forces throwing stones at the 500+ people accompanying the convoy.

And...

An Egyptian soldier was also shot dead an Egyptian security source said. The source said the 21-year-old was shot by gunfire from the Palestinian side of the border at Rafah.

The protestors were holding four members of al-Arish harbor police while security forces detained seven members of the convoy, who have been locked in a dispute with Egyptian authorities over the route of the 198 trucks.

Police used water cannon to force the protestors to leave Arish harbor, which they had occupied, a security source said. Around 40 members of the convoy had minor injuries while around 15 police officials were hurt, witnesses said.

Cairo insists the food and other supplies should go to Gaza via an Israeli-controlled checkpoint while the convoy's leaders want to use the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing.

Egypt should know well by now that, more often than not, supplies that need to go through Israeli checkpoints never reach Palestinian destinations.

Read the full report here.

I Guess Hamas Said No

Earlier this week, I posted about Fatah's willingness to sign an Egyptian-brokered Palestinian unity agreement that would hopefully put Hamas and Fatah on the same page.

Looks like Hamas didn't see it the same way.

From al-Arabiya:

Egypt delayed the signing of a deal to heal the rift between President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and the rival Palestinian Islamist group Hamas because of "new complications," an Egyptian official said on Friday.

He cited the growing tension between Fatah and Hamas over the handling by Abbas of a U.N. report criticising the Israeli military offensive into Gaza in December and January.

Cairo had slated a signing ceremony for October 25. The agreement would resolve nothing immediately but would outline steps to restore Palestinian unity. Hamas runs the Gaza Strip and Fatah dominates in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The announcement came a day after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party presented a signed copy of the deal on Egypt's deadline, with Hamas saying it wanted an extension and amendments to the deal.

Specifically, Hamas is still angered over Abbas' handling of the Goldstone report.

Read the full report here.

Fatah Agrees to Egyptian Proposal: Now Hamas?

According to a senior Fatah official, Fatah has agreed to the Egyptian unity proposal.

"Fatah has decided to send Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of its central committee ... to give the Egyptian leaders the movement's written agreement," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

According to another Fatah official, "Egypt gave Hamas 48 hours to present its final response to the Palestinian reconciliation document."

[...]

Hamas has asked for a postponement because of the controversial decision of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, who is the Fatah leader, to support deferring a vote on a damning Gaza war report at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Read the full report here.

Egypt Bans the Fake Hymen

The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is worried about a new product hitting the shelves: a fake hymen kit.  So, the Brotherhood, which holds approximately 20% of the parliament's seats, is trying to push a ban through.

Yes, this sounds absurd. But it will sound a little less so one you read on.

Conservative Egyptian lawmakers have called for a ban on imports of a Chinese-made kit meant to help women fake their virginity and one scholar has even called for the "exile" of anyone who imports or uses it.

The Artificial Virginity Hymen kit, distributed by the Chinese company Gigimo, costs about $30. It is intended to help newly married women fool their husbands into believing they are virgins — culturally important in a conservative Middle East where sex before marriage is considered by many to be illicit. The product leaks a blood-like substance when inserted and broken.

Prominent Egyptian religious scholar Abdel Moati Bayoumi put it this way:

"This product encourages illicit sexual relations. Islamic culture forbids these relations except within the confines of marriage," Bayoumi said. "I think this should absolutely not be allowed to be exported because it brings more harm than benefits. Whoever does it (imports it) should be punished."

And the best outlook yet?

Marwa Rakha, an author and blogger who writes about dating issues, sees the product as a tool of empowerment for women in a macho Arab culture that restricts women's sexual urges but turns a blind eye to men gallivanting.

"It sticks it in the face of every male hypocrite," she said.

Read the full AP report here.

Hamas and Fatah Back Together Again?

Hamas Chief Khaled Meshaal is optimistic about future relations with Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, thanks to Egypt's help. Egypt will present the two parties with a reconciliation pact that will be ratified next month.

From al-Arabiya:

"(Egyptian intelligence chief Omar) Suleiman told us that the Egyptians will be working on the final draft for the reconciliation plan which will have at its heart the Egyptian proposal and they will call on all Palestinian factions for a national meeting in October to ratify the pact," Meshaal said.

[...]

Bringing the sides together and restoring some Fatah control in the Gaza Strip could open up the blockaded and impoverished seaside territory to more aid from international donors that had shunned dealings with Hamas.

Egypt has been mediating for over a year to heal the split between Fatah and Hamas, ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections slated for next year.

Will Palestinian Elections be Delayed? Egypt's Proposal

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his party, Fatah, said today that they had accepted an Egyptian proposal to delay January elections in the hope that it would provide enough time to end a rift between Hamas and Fatah.

After hosting a few rounds of Palestinian reconciliation talks, Egypt last week proposed postponing in the first half of 2010 so that the two parties could act in a unified way under one government.

Hamas says it is considering the proposal and will provide its stance on it after Ramadan is over next week.

From Reuters:

"We have decided to accept the Egyptian proposal, including holding the elections during the first half of next year and no later than this date," said Abbas Zaki, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, the group's executive body.

[...]

Fatah officials said that Hamas had told Fatah during past round of talks that it prefers an extended delay to elections.

Nabil Shaath, another Fatah official, said that the group did not mind a delay but "there should be a specific date and not to leave the matter open as if we do then it could be postponed again".

Read the full report here.

Netanyahu Headed to Egypt for Talks with Mubarak

Benjamin Netanyahu will head to Cairo on Sunday for discussions on the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

From al-Arabiya:

Netanyahu "is looking forward to a good meeting with the Egyptian president," the spokesman said without giving further details.

The Israeli leader goes to Cairo amid a U.S.-led push to get the Israelis and Palestinians to revive their peace talks which were suspended in December, and will coincide with a visit to the region by U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell.

The United States has asked both Israel and Arab states to adopt confidence-building measures to advance the process, notably a freeze on Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and a start to a normalization of Arab relations with Israel.

Get the full report here.

Egypt's New National Security Threat: Sorcery

Egypt has a new national security threat. It's not the Muslim Brotherhood. Nor is it the threat of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit. And it's not even those pesky people trying to spread democracy.

No. It's sorcery.

Why has Egypt turned to sorcery? Because the country's depressed, according to a prominent Egyptian psychiatrist.

From al-Arabiya:

"Many of the patients who frequent my clinic have already been to sorcerers before," he told Al Arabiya. "Most of them are educated and intellectuals and even Ph.D. holders."

The reason why many Egyptians prefer going to sorcerers, Fadel argued, is that people in oriental societies think that psychiatrist patients have to be either insane or drug addicts.

"I once treated a girl who had been suffering from focus deficiency for a while and sorcerers failed to treat her. Finally, her sister brought her to my clinic and now she is totally cured."

Read the full report here.