Post-revolution class: To be a 2011 graduate

 Tahrir square after midnight in front of our camp site two nights before Mubarak's resignation on Feb 2011

I was studying for a Genomics research paper on a camera flashlight

There are hundreds of issues that are troubling me on a daily basis but more than any of these issue I'm always wondering about "The post-revolution class". 

The post-revolution class consists of all fellow students who graduated in the post-revolution class of 2011 and the classes to come whether here in Egypt or the Arab world in countries that experienced and/or going through political unrest due to transition.

Many of those who followed what was happening don't probably know enough about how is it really like to be a student during a revolution, or how does it feel to be graduating while it's happening and then come out to face an unstable political situation and an unknown future.

I'm not only talking about the students who voluntarily choose to be involved, or the student movements, or the crackdowns of the authorities on them because that's a total separate and complicated issue. It could be everyone who just happened to be graduating in such conditions.

However, I'm going to talk about my own experience as someone who paid a high price for getting involved.

I turned down a scholarship application in a reputed British Genomics research institute after being in the short list to the finalist stage, I was stigmatized in my school and avoided by classmates due to my political involvement, I couldn't attend my graduation ceremony because there's a massacre in my hood in July 2011, I never had my diploma in my hand until April 2013, and I haven't done anything related to my major after investing in it for 4 years.

All of this happened mainly due to the effects of the uprising and the political turmoil in Egypt on my life and of course my active participation in the beginning. Even if things were already bad here, my last semester and my graduation experience didn't seem like anything I would have expected to go through before #Jan25 happened. 

Alienation in a campus the revolution didn't reach

In early March 2011 the euphoria was gone for most of the Egyptian people , the revolutionary spark was fading, the international media celebrations were over, and it was time for me to go back to the reality in parts of Egypt where the revolution didn't reach.

After a few weeks of Mubarak's historical resignation and a set of overwhelming experiences including detention and filming with tens of international media outlets I had to go back to being an undergraduate Biotechnology student in a private university administrated by Mubarak's era businessmen. I had to go back and start attending classes with pro-Mubarak and/or anti-revolutionary classmates and staff who didn't like what I participated in or what I was up to.

I came back to my school with that Utopian Tahrir spirit I had in mind in the early days of Jan-Feb 2011 presuming that the whole country has been through the same transformation process me and my "revolutionary" friend have been through. This was latter proven wrong in my school and everywhere else in the country. It was clear that my classmates, my staff, and supervisors attitudes were not the same. I was the only person in my class who saw the protests for real and not on TV. It was clear not so many people from this apolitical private school experienced the events outside of their apartments which eventually created a stigma about those who stood out.

In several occasions I was made fun of, warned by staff, and eventually avoided completely. Many of my "friends" stopped talking to me either because I changed a lot and wasn't cool anymore or because of their positions on #Jan25. All of that made my campus a very hostile environment to be in and a painful experience. 

 

Between the revolution work and the school work:

#Jan25 was exactly in the winter break during my senior year and that placed me in a tough situation balancing my academic aspirations and scientific passion, and the important historical moment my country was going through. 

In Tahrir during the 18 days sit in I had my Genomics scientific papers with me to write a review article for the UK scholarship on developing Genomics research globally, something I still don't understand why I decided to do. I also continued to got to the small protests in March with my lab coat and books and this is when people I know got detained or disappeared for the first time. 

I witnessed tragic transforming events in April, I co-organized for a day in action against SCAF in May that we called the second revolution, and I got injured in a protest in June the month I had my finals.

All of this was happening while I was supposed to study and work on 5 heavy courses (Genetic Engineering, Comparative Biology, Commercial Biotechnology, Proteomic Analysis, Bioremediation and Biodegradation).

I was also supposed to finish my Medical Biotechnology graduation project that required collecting blood samples from hospitals, do lab work, and scientific writing. 

My performance in this last semester was the worst performance in my whole educational life due to the traumas, stress, and the protests. I was definitely going to fall this semester in school. I reached the point where I was thinking about dropping out, a crazy thought I would have never considered after being on the top of my class for years and majoring is such a complex rare specialty. 

It was such a pain and I was torn apart between school and revolution, it was clear something needed to be sacrificed. I turned down the scholarship application and eventually I had to pressure myself to pass my final semester with the lowest GPA in my educational history. 

-"Shimaa Tahrir? Oh, she's not coming to the graduation ceremony".
-"Why is that?"
-"She is grieving over the dead, something like that".

Sometimes all these experiences about school, the bitterness of the uncertainty about the future, and the sense of vanity and randomness in all what happened don't allow me to enjoy the things I'm doing away from Biotechnology.

Sometimes I feel bad when I think that If #Jan25 didn't happen maybe I would have been a researcher in Genomics, Cancer Biology or Molecular Genetics by now.

In other times I feel very grateful that I got a golden chance to explore different areas in life and that I continue to learn more and more about world politics, media, journalism, religion, spirituality and more things because of #Jan25. Although I have been doing my own research I'm aware I wouldn't have had the same amount of time or dedication to lean about them if I was a full time Biological sciences professional. 

The question whether the choices I made in the last 6 years were right or wrong is no longer valid.
Apparently God had a totally different plan than what I was envisioning and regardless of where I'm going to be in the next stage of my life I should be thankful for it. 

At this point I'm not sure about where I'm headed to and I'm tried to thinking about it. I keep trying to find the way and in the meantime, I'm still searching tirelessly for a solid definition to meaning, value, and worth. I'm still praying that I shall be guided to a place and a condition where I could serve the good cause I was created to serve be it in science, media, politics, languages or who knows what.

To all the fellow students in the 2011 class who might have been through worse: You're not alone in this, you're in my thoughts and prayers. I'm praying that things will turn out to better to all of us and that we will use the knowledge we were blessed with one day to serve our countries and our peoples.

On looking for Love in all the wrong places in the Middle East

I'm finishing a book I started reading last February titled: "The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization" by Richard W. Bulliet. 

It is a very good read for anyone who's trying to understand the modern history and possibly the future of the US/Muslim world relations from an honest western/American/non-Muslim perspective.

The author challenged several classical western principals that are commonly used while dealing with the Middle East whether in the academic arena of Middle Eastern studies or in policy making.

He's refuting concepts such as "Clash of civilization", "What went wrong" and "Why do they hate us" and I was really glad to see this coming from someone in the west.

I found some useful arguments that reminded me of my personal struggle to explain myself and where I'm coming from as a Middle Easterner to the rest of the world. I will share some quotes from the book's Amazon page and then discuss my own reflections from the chapter I especially liked: "Looking for Love in all the wrong places in the Middle East".

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1- On "what went wrong":

"The idea that people in the Middle East once embraced the goal of becoming like Europe and hoped that by adopting European ideas and institutions they would someday experience all of the liberal values we recognize in the Europe of today is nonsense. It assumes a historical outcome for Europe itself that no one even in Europe could have predicted."

2- On "why do they hate us":

"Those who advanced the Japanese occupation as a model for postwar Iraq seem to have baseball, Hello Kitty, and Elvis impersonators in the back of their minds rather than headscarves and turbaned mullahs. 

Like latter day missionaries, we want the Muslims to love us, not just for what we can offer in the way of a technological society but for who we are -for our values. But we refuse to countenance the thought of loving them for their values."

3- On "Middle East studies":

"The founders of Middle East studies ignored recommendations that they focus on contemporary Islam and focused instead on Middle Easterners trying to act like westerners. There weren't a lot of these, just as there hadn't been a lot of converts, but the conviction was strong that those few would be pioneers in bringing western modernity to the region. The people we supported as agents of modernity became tyrants."

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While observing the Middle Eastern peoples and cultures, "Looking for love in all the wrong places" is another orientalist pattern that appears in the attitudes of the American observers to this complicated region.

What does it mean?

It means that instead of trying to learn about the region and love/hate it the way it is, these observers look for Middle Easterners they can love, and a Middle East they can relate to while overlooking everything else, intentionally and sometimes unintentionally. 

The author argued that the Middle East they're willing to love is ready for an American version of modernization, and ready to absorb American values with little resistance.

The Middle Easterners they're willing to love are English speaking professionals who've received a reasonable amount of western education. The exotic folkloric traditional folks are also lovable but they're not intellectually competent enough to work with them.

This pattern was describing the majority of contemporary American policy makers, diplomats, and researchers on the Middle East.

I found that this phenomena appears also in the attitudes of people who're interested in the Middle East or watching it outside of academia and policy circles.

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Case 1:

"I'm a liberal educated non-religious woman from the Middle East ready to absorb western/American values.
I'm not bearded or dressed up all in black, does that make me more lovable than fellow Middle Easterners who fit into your preconceived ideas and stereotypes?" 

Case 2:

"I'm not too assimilated with the western culture but I'm educated according to your perception, I do speak English and I can totally fit in. I'm also not dressed up all in black or have a beard but is my headscarf an issue? Does it make me more palatable than a Niqabi? Or less acceptable than a seemingly liberal Middle Easterner? 

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I encounter this all the time while dealing with people who're interested in "us". And for those of us who're standing on the fence between the two worlds because they happened to have some "access" it is a very problematic issue. 

For those of you who're interested in us, you probably have one perception of the Middle East in your mind based on your personal experience. For me it is the Middle East I live in and read about in my own literature and version of history, the Middle East I read about in your western orientalist literature and media, and most importantly it is the Middle Easterner I'm being. 

Which one do you have in mind when you're talking to me? 

Am I supposed to censor myself about myself in order to be sensitive with your ignorance or the fact you're not doing your part in learning about us just like we're learning about you?

It's always a hard job to figure out which version people have in their mind while talking to me. It is so difficult because we are the case study, the educators and the refuters of the misconceptions all at the same time. 

In order to make it easy on both of us you need realize that you are not going to learn if you are just looking for "Middle East and Middle Easterners I can love".

Instead, I suggest you put your personal feelings and judgments aside and then begin to learn/relearn/unlearn about other people/societies/cultures the way they are. 

Of course you will find that there are many not so nice things -from your perspective- about this part of the world and about these people. However, it is not necessarily the same stuff you see on media or hear in that Near East /Middle East / Islamic studies class you attend.

As Bulliet clearly discussed it you must consider the fact the same exact thing applies to your nationality, cultural background, and heritage when people from elsewhere look at it.

When a "Revolution" calls for military rule

In the 2nd anniversary of the early open assaults by the Egyptian military on the protests, and the establishing of the No To Military Trials For Civilians campaign, the absurdity of the "military coup" proposal and the willingness of some in the "activists" and "opposition" community provoked me to break my silence for some little time before I go back to my shell.

Out of all the policies and moves that I have major disagreements with whether from the government or the opposition, and the seemingly intellectual/ideological conversations/fights that are taking place in the political/ public sphere that I don't think are worth wasting my energy on, proposing that a military coup is a possible solution to get Egypt back on track again was especially appalling.

Seeing that many people I used to have respect for are fine with such a proposal, although not surprising these days, made me want to clarify where I'm standing at the moment. 

The talk has been going around for a long time but only recently many in Egypt are talking openly about the possibility of welcoming a military coup to bring Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood down. Thinking that a "military intervention" is the only ultimate solution to the Egyptian crisis indicates that many in the opposition are obviously using the revolution rhetoric to accomplish their own political and personal purposes. 

Who would call for a military coup in Egypt?

"We support the Egyptian Army" a logo from a Facebook page that calls for the Egyptian Army to intervene and take over Egypt

I tend to think that those calling for the military to intervene in the situation directly possibly fall in the following categories:  

1- (The Wannabe Dictators): Political entities that are fully aware they can't get into power through legitimate means such as elections or building up an alternative stronger long term form of resistance against the regime will more likely ask for a military coup.

They might be remnants of Mubarak's time opposition, or also from the neo-controlled-opposition that came to the surface after the revolution.

2- (The Better- the- dictator- we- know folks): These are hardcore members of the Mubarak's regime or supporters, Pro-military and Pro-Shafiq supporters who are still trying to bring the entire military structure back and thus, the presence of the Muslim Brotherhood in power harms their goals. 

Supposedly, at some point in history, these people and their positions were considered anti-revolution but you never know these days.

3- (We-are- so- not- over- ideology -and -we -know -it folks): Many in the secular/leftist/liberal political sphere have major disagreement with the Muslim Brotherhood ideologically speaking (For real reasons or some times just on the surface) and thus believe that the co-operation and power sharing with a secular institution like the military will be better for their future political and economical interests. As long as the military will only persecute Islamists when it comes to power, it should be fine, they think. They missed that in our very recent history with dictatorship and oppression in Egypt, the tyrants didn't just crack down on Islamists.  

For the smarties out there: It's important to note that many within the Islamists camp who have so much criticism towards the Muslim Brotherhood policies and ideology will not resort to the coup proposal for a multitude of reasons. The same applies to many principled opposition figures and groups from the secular/leftist/liberal and non-ideological revolutionary groups, but that's a different story. 

Why call for a military coup in a military dictatorship with a civilian cover?

As I'm trying to understand I'm wondering: If not for pragmatic political and economical interests, are there any legitimate reasons or "revolutionary" justifications for such a call? 

Again and again, the Egyptian military you're talking lightly about still controls an estimation of 30-40% of the Egyptian economy and has been operating autonomously for decades on different levels (economical, legal, and administrative local and international). The Egyptian military institution, although it might seem is not intervening openly in the political process, is still influencing the situation in Egypt whether through its economical structure and presence in all Egyptian civilians institutions, or through its diplomatic relationships with other governments. 

I'm not going to begin talking about all the calls against military rule, the atrocities, or the tragedies we are still recovering from. I'm not even going to mention anything about all the fading and seemingly unrealistic dreams about a civilian Egypt where the military will not be a state within the state. Let's say that I'm pretty much over all of this and that I'm trying to cope with the reality. I'm not even talking as a revolutionary since a long time but I think I do have some legitimate questions that I got no answer for.

Does Egypt really need to get more militarized than this and so you're calling for a direct military coup?!

At this point I also feel that there's a need to answer the question regarding the meaning and principals of revolution and  revolting in Egypt because it seems like people have different versions for each. 

For those of you who don't know me personally or those who do but regardless will jump into the conclusion that I'm not revolutionary enough or an undercover Muslim brotherhood, like how it's been like in the last few months, please take sometime to read my previous posts here in the blog.

It shows my criticism to the Muslim Brotherhood policies and ideology back in the day before the anti MBism became too mainstream and before the Mubarak and military people joined the party.

I wish I didn't need to state this every time I write something and people suddenly realize I wear a long head scarf and don't curse the Muslim Brotherhood on my twitter timeline or Facebook everyday to sound revolutionary enough to them. I hope that you will consider thinking about what I wrote here before judging me.

On the Ultras, Port Said Massacre and Mohammad

"It's really insane how death has become very normalized now in Egypt that people don't really react to it anymore the way they are supposed to. A massacre happens after another, and a battle after another, hundreds of young people die and thousands get injured and military jailed, and next day they clean up the streets -or the stadiums now- and people continue to hang out in the same places as if nothing has happened!  

Does this mean that If I died one day in one of those clashes I will become "a number" in the inaccurate records of the Egyptian ministry of health and people will soon forget about me?

Is martyrdom now just a number that might be mentioned briefly or not in the headlines of a couple articles in Al- Ahram or Al- Akhbar state newspapers and that's it?

On the left Anas 14 years old the youngest victim of Port Said Massacre
Was suffocated to death in the stadium.

For me this 14 year old middle school kid who looks like my young cousin Omar was not just a number I will forget about. He was a student and a young revolutionary who went to see a football game in his free time and came back murdered! Why on earth would something like this happen?! Why allow these innocent kids to get involved in dirtiness of your political games?!

He was a human being, a young boy who had friends, family and dreams about a better place. Imagine how many similar stories are out there? And how many will continue to come? Do I want to see my little brother in this place?!"*

*Feb 2012 between California and Michigan

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As I was going crazy, trying to talk to myself the things nobody around me that time seemed to understand or feel, I wrote this note above as a draft to myself back in February 2012 when I was stuck between either staying in California or going to Michigan right after the Port Said Massacre happened. I was recalling the "Battle of the camel" that happened the same day last year when I got the news.

I knew that Mohammad, my younger brother, wanted to travel with Al Ahly like he did several times before, but this time, only due to God's mercy, he didn't go.

The same night 3 am he went to Cairo's railway station to meet his friends who came back from Port Said injured, covered in blood and tears, and traumatized from what they have seen and witnessed. Later, we had a long Skype call and for the first time he sounded very scared, shocked and sad to me and he is not the kind of a person who would express such feelings.

Cairo's central railways station upon the arrival of the Ultras survivors of Port Said Massacre. People went to the station to support them and protest the massacre.

I can't describe how I was feeling with all the bloody images I saw coming from the stadium, the Skype calls that lasted for hours between me and my brother and sister with the three of us crying in shock, the reactions of SCAF and the police, the shameful media coverage in the west and the coldness of people around me. 

Unlike many other tragedies, this event especially was a wake up call on so many levels based on which I decided that it was time for me to come back home from the U.S. 

"They closed the doors on us to kill us" One of the eyewitnesses leaves a message with his phone number

The police standing next to what seems to be the attackers 

For the first time in a while I began to reflect deeply again on my definitions and meanings for life, death, revolution, martyrdom, family, home, and love in my own life. I realized that I need to reconsider many of them. 

What made things worse and made me feel like "What-am-I-really- doing- here" was seeing the cold and inappropriate reactions of Americans around me. It shocked me how everyone fell into the trap of receiving the news merely as "Hooligans riots", while ignoring all the political/historical sides to what happened.

Even when I said my brother was there, talked to the survivors, and I know these people from back home, I wasn't any convincing to anyone.  

(Maybe now people elsewhere know a bit more about the ultras but at this time there was absolutely nothing substantial on the idea and their role in the revolution in English). 

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After surviving Maspero in October 2011 right before I went to the U.S I decided that I want to leave Egypt and I don't want to die in a lost cause. 

After Port Said in February 2012 I was more convinced with this but decided that I should also be there to make sure my younger brother is safe too.

Since a long time it wasn't about the uprising anymore, I just wanted to be with Mohammad and these kids.

I was eager to get their stories out, and possibly be their voice to the western world and the western media that reduced them to "Hooligans" who're killing each other over a football game just like how they dehumanized us in the battle of the camel the same day one year ago. 

But I knew them for years very well.

I knew they have a long history with exposing the corruption of the police.

They come from low/middle income backgrounds. 

They don't speak English and don't like media attention.

They're working and moving as one block.

They're not fooled by the political games taking place.

They're mostly under 20 in a country controlled by 70 year old folks. 

They're not big with using personal Facebook and twitter accounts to promote themselves.

And most importantly they're not on TV screens talking in English about their heroic roles in the protests like the rest of the celebrity activists.

In several historical occasions the Ultras were as committed and significant to what happened in Egypt as Mohammad yet, they're all unknown to the rest of the world and that killed me. 

Since I came back home I tried my best to be present in their events, take pictures, or translate online content and try to convince "Media professionals" to do something on them with little success. This is some of what I have documented and published about them on my page:

(1)

2012 March the 15th:
The Ultras start their direct action and mobilization for the Port Said case.


(2)
2012 March the 30th: The Ultras start a sit in outside of Parliament to pressure for the investigations on Port Said case 

(3)

2013 January the 18th: The Ultras march all over Cairo and Giza to remind people with the Port Said Verdict. 

Today is the first anniversary of the massacre and the Ultras will be outside of Al Ahly club to commemorate the martyrs. I think I will be there for this to witness this moment with people I can relate to.


It's been a long time since I went to any event with the intention of participation. I have been observing closely but I don't want to be part of anything that's taking place in the name of the uprising, and I have a lot to say about it. 

One day I'm hoping to sit down and record everything I want to let the world know about the Ultras and Port Said but it looks like this will have to wait, too.

Later..

What you must know about the Egyptian military industrial complex

.
. Picture from Tahrir square in the beginning of the uprising in Feb 2011.
 The challenge between the Egyptian people and their military is beyond their physical confrontations

Before the day the military took to the streets of Cairo on the 28th of January 2011 and before I was detained by the military while leaving Tahrir square on the 4th of February 2011, my information and knowledge about the Egyptian military itself, and the Egyptian military-industrial complex and their relationship with the U.S equivalent were very limited, like everyone else.

Due to these two major events I witnessed, and while observing the way both the Egyptian and American news positively portrayed the Egyptian military for over than a year like this profile on Sami Anan here until the ugly face was revealed, I was motivated to do my own extensive research.

Most of the readings out there was on foreign resources so I was lucky I can read English. (Speaking and writing about the military in Arabic and in Egypt was a taboo until early 2011). I also had the time and interest to devote more efforts than many others around me on researching this point.

Since Morsi became president and later after Tantawi and Anan "retired", it seems that people are gradually overlooking this significant player in Egypt's politics: The military industrial complex and its long direct relationship with the U.S military industrial complex.

People are fighting the civilian front of the Egyptian military dictatorship and forgetting its core. The military might not be on the front but it's influencing the process and intervening in a direct manner using indirect approaches.

Controlling an estimation of 25-40% of the Egyptian economy while making sure they're persevering more privileges than any other Egyptian faction in the new constitution, the Egyptian military should be talked about more often.

It's not in the news anymore, possibly because the focus should be on the government and because the military is not killing as much people as thy did last year before the presidential elections.

However, I think it is important for those observing the political and economical situation in Egypt from the outside to have a background and understanding to the dynamics of the key role the military is playing here.

I collected all the important readings I came across regarding this issue in order to keep them as a reference that people can easily share and go back to when they're explaining to others or trying to understand the Egyptian ongoing crisis. 

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The first group of articles and studies were published on the Jadaliyya website and the second group is short articles from Antiwar website all came out in the years 2011 and 2012.

1- The first article on the military and media from the free officers to SCAF : Year of the Ostrich: SCAF's Media Experiment.

"For 55 years, the military has survived without having to give the media any unfettered access, let alone scrutiny. Any mention of the Egyptian Armed Forces in the media comes after a very rigid and paranoid vetting process and scrupulous attention to connotations. Interviews given to journalists by military officers were extremely infrequent and were limited to hyperbolic lofty statements about its discipline, power, patriotism, and heroism. However, the level of secrecy with which the institution operated, turned it into a black box for the media—a fourth branch of government beyond transparency, accountability, or criticism. Insulated by layers of inaccessibility, the military was able to deflect attention from its growing assets in virtually every sector of Egyptian society—from the economy and politics to security, governance, and industry."

2- The second article which is a very important and detailed reading on the military's business in Egypt:  The Army and the Economy in Egypt

Members of Egypt’s armed forces display canned tomatoes, roasted onions, and other foods that the military factories manufacture. Image by David Degner

"Should the production of pasta, mineral water, butane gas cylinders, and gas station services qualify as classified military secrets? And does discussing these enterprises in public pass as a crime of high treason? The leaders of the Egyptian Armed Forces believe the answer is “yes.”

Until this very day, the role of the military establishment in the economy remains one of the major taboos in Egyptian politics. Over the past thirty years, the army has insisted on concealing information about its enormous interests in the economy and thereby keeping them out of reach of public transparency and accountability. The Egyptian Armed Forces owns a massive segment of Egypt’s economy—twenty-five to forty percent, according to some estimates. In charge of managing these enterprises are the army’s generals and colonels, notwithstanding the fact that they lack the relevant experience, training, or qualifications for this task."

3- The third article is a more technical piece on another industrial revolution that's taking place in Egypt:

Egypt's Other Revolution: Modernizing the Military-Industrial Complex
If SCAF is able to use its executive power to engineer a post-transition system that protects the military’s economic perquisites, the latter will use the tactics described above to augment the share of the economy already under military control. This is only likely to increase the longer SCAF remains in control of the political system, allowing the military to shape electoral outcomes and legal frameworks. And foreign arms manufacturers will intensify their collaborative activities with Egypt’s armed forces for the same reason that they have historically formed partnerships with regime power brokers—preferential access to state contracts and the levers of economic influence. Or put more succinctly: profit.

4- The forth and most recent article is on the privileges the Egyptian military will have in the new constitution. One of the reasons I didn't want to be one one side with the Felol-revolutionary current opposition front is their silence on the articles related to the military.

Egypt’s Draft Constitution in Focus – The Role of the Army 

(Video that's summarized in text in the article)

"Political researcher Ibrahim El Houdaiby and Hossam Bahgat explain how the draft constitution puts the Army and its extensive industrial activities—estimated to be between twenty-five and forty percent of the Egyptian economy—beyond the scrutiny of elected bodies. If the draft constitution passes, parliament would not have the right to discuss or even be briefed on the details of the military’s budget.

El Houdaiby and Bahgat discuss the economic consequences of ring-fencing the military economy from the national budget and its alarming relationship with the question of forced labor and conscription in the constitution.

They conclude that the draft constitution grants greater powers to the Army and military institutions than any other Egyptian constitution in history, entrenching the Army deep within the legal system, and striking at the heart of the revolution and widespread calls for a civil state."

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These two articles are from early 2011 and were posted on the Antiwar website. They're shorter and more news-wise compared to the previous group that is academic oriented but they're still very good for a quick read and a start.

5- Egypt’s Military-Industrial-Bottled Water-Farming Complex:
Heavy Funding by US, But Egypt's Military Has Vast 'Off-Budget' Industries

"Suppose driving home from the market in your military-made Hyundai Sonata, turning on your military-made range, which runs off a bottle of military-made natural gas, heating up a can on military-made soup (filled with military-grown vegetables) and washing it down with a military-made bottle of water.

It’s more likely than you’d think in Egypt, where the military is literally into every conceivable industry from tourism to hair-care products. With nearly half a million active duty personnel in the nation and no serious prospect of a war with any of its neighbors, Egypt’s military is a major employer and industrial powerhouse in a nation whose command economy has sparked vast unemployment and growing unrest."

6- Richer than Mubarak: Junta’s Stranglehold on Egypt’s Economy Imperils Reform.
Will Military Allow a Free Egypt If it Ends Their Massive 'Off-Budget' Industries?

"Egypt’s “military” is far from just a military of some half a million poorly paid conscripts, you see. When they reached a peace deal with Israel in 1979, the military sought to justify its enormous size by setting about producing weapons of war and its own supplies. As time went on, those tax free and regulation free factories and farms quickly moved into the public sector, and the military is now amongst the region’s largest bottled water producer, grows 20 percent of its food, and manufactures large portions of its appliances. They even manufacture automobiles and shampoo."

Good violence and bad violence in political clashes

Alexandria mosque clashes, Hazemon march, and the claims of burning Al Wafd party headquarter:

This is an event that got covered in a strange way both in Arabic and English media because it's an Islamic revolutionary group vs a felool party like Al Wafd. It proves my point in the double standards of both the media and the revolutionary activists community.

Hazemon is one of the revolutionary movements that holds an Islamist ideology and they are mainly the supporters and campaigners of Hazem Abu Ismael who ran for presidency and was disqualified because they said his mother had an American passport before she died (which was against the law of elections). https://www.facebook.com/Hazemon

They announced a march from Lebanon square in Cairo Saturday at 6 pm -yesterday- to denounce the attacks that happened on one of the main mosques in Alexandria after Friday prayer. 

Although there was almost zero English media coverage on this unlike what happened with the burning of Muslim Brotherhood headquarters, we saw that there were many talking on facebook and twitter publicly about shutting up any Imam who will talk politics or try to say anything about the referendum on Saturday but I didn't expect it to be going to where it ended up and that the violence against places of worship and elderly people are considered now revolutionary acts by many people I used o respect. 

Like many, sometimes I don't really like the stuff I hear in Friday speeches and I disagree with the opinions of the Imams but I don't think attacking an old man inside a mosque and turning it into a battlefield can be justified by any sorts of disagreements.

Those of you who are talking about separating religion from politics, freedom of speech and democracy If you don't like what he's saying in the speech you can go pray in another mosque like what many have done, you can tell people not to attend prayer in this mosque and explain to them why, you can sue him in court or complain to the administration. There are many other things you can do to separate religion and politics without using violence. 

On Friday, some people tried to stop the Imam Al Mahallawy from talking politics after the Friday speech and then clashes happened outside and inside the mosque between people who came to defend the Imam and those against him. 

From the reports I have read through my friends in Alexandria who live nearby the mosque some of which wen to see for themselves, the Imam in addition to other attendees of the Friday prayer (women and kids included) were held inside the mosque for several hours until late at night while the clashes continued outside. 

All the witnesses said that the police continued to watch what happened silently and some of the thugs who instigated the violence were standing side by side with the police.

Hazemon thus decided to do this march in Cairo calling on people to keep their fights and arguments away from places of worship, denouncing violence in and around mosques, and denouncing keeping the 80-year- old Imam as hostage inside the mosque because he talked politics. They accused the police of being involved in what happened there because they could have interfered and saved the situation if they wanted to.

I knew about the march through some people I follow and know on twitter and Facebook and decided to go check it out. I interviewed the organizers and asked them why they're here and what are they planning to do. 

The crowds seemed organized and peaceful, they were mainly young bearded men and Hijabi and Niqabi women holding signs with the messages they're trying to send. 

They started marching after we left and then the police came and they used tear gas excessively. The police started attacking the march while all media outlets kept talking about Hazemon burning the headquarter that wasn't burn yet.

I read the accounts of three friends who live near Dokki district where the march headed and some friends from the march itself, they all confirmed that the headquarter was not burned by the protesters unlike what the media was saying. 

In less than half an hour from the march the whole world already identified the burners and did reports about the burning of Al Wafd Felool party (that didn't actually burn).

The reactions were very different when the mosque in Alexandria was attacked for hours, and the prayer attendees were held inside, and when the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood were burned down.

I know the majority of you will not sympathize with an Islamist revolutionary group, the MB, or a Muslim preacher speaking about politics in a mosque in Egypt but this is not about sympathy or agreeing with these people or their ideas. 

It's about what's right and what's wrong when it comes to using tactics you're not going to accept to be treated with. 

It's just sad to see the majority of activists either supporting or remaining silent about such acts only because they disagree politically or ideologically with them. 

It's not fair to continue to support the wrong acts of violence in the name of the revolution even if saying this or choosing this position will make you accuse me of being an under cover MB or against the revolution. 

I have criticized and opposed the MB since so long ago for many reasons when it wasn't too mainstream and when the opposition to the MB was only revolutionaries not Mubarak people and sell outs. 

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‎"We ought not to be embarrassed about appreciating the truth and obtaining it wherever it comes from, even if its races distant and nations different from us. Nothing should be dearer to the seeker of truth than TRUTH ITSELF, and there is no deterioration of the truth, nor belittling either of one who speaks it or conveys it"

Al-Kindi, one of the most accomplished Muslim Philosopher

(Lost History, Michael Hamilton Morgan, p. 57)

On the constitution and political burning practice in Egypt

I was out and about Cairo in the last few days and this is a report on what I have witnessed in the voting polls and locations I visited yesterday in different districts of Cairo 

( Abbaseya- Al Zaitoon- Saray Al Kobba- Tahrir square anti-Morsi anti-Muslim Brotherhood camp- Hazem Abu Ismail revolutionary Islamist group Hazemon protest and march that took place Sat late at night ).

I was out there with 2 Spanish journalists all day in order to do several radio reports for a Spanish station in Barcelona and also to see for myself how things looked like away from the drama that's taking place online. I wasn't so excited about the referendum or anything else but after what I have seen I'm glad I was out to see what I've seen.

Before the judgments start this is only a personal account for a random group of people I talked to and the few places I've visited. It's not a political analysis to the situation and it doesn't necessarily reflect on the whole city of Cairo or the whole country. It's just one random Egyptian girl from Abbaseya who happened to speak some English speaking her mind on her blog.

For those who're curious to know my stance, I still hold the position of abstention from voting in any electoral process taking place in this country and my opinions about the constitution's draft, the referendum and everything else is only mine. 

Outside of the polls: Some observations

1- From early in the morning at around 9 am there were already long lines of people waiting outside of the schools where they're supposed to vote. I noticed that the majority of people who showed up and were standing in the lines to vote from early in the morning were elderly people, some were barely able to walk with their sons and with the aid of passerby but they're so willing to participate.

2- Overall the sentiment was sad regardless of the big numbers and turn out, it was very different compared to other referendums and elections. People in general seemed very angry and depressed, and many showed hostility towards my attempts to get interviews wondering about my point of asking them. On the other hand some others were very welcoming, kind and very willing to help and talk.

3- Eventually and after many trials I managed to get interviews and talk to elderly men, male and female young people, mothers with their kids who were working or housewives, and students (Whether in the polls or in Tahrir square or the protest that happened at night). 

4- Unfortunately, all the Christians I tried to speak to refused to talk to me at all and showed so much anger. The only 3 female Christians who talked a little though took all their hatred, frustration and anger from the MB and Islamists in general on me (assuming that I'm an under cover Muslim Brotherhood from my seemingly conservative look). 

5- The opinions and positions of people (Yes or No, and boycott) were very variable, with different justification, and some were very surprising to me.

Some were excited and optimistic, some said we know our votes don't matter but we are voting because it's a national duty and we want the country to move on, may be voting will do this. 2 old men actually cried over Egypt and the situation in Egypt while giving me interviews and expressed so much sadness about the whole thing.

*Those who said yes mainly argued that they believe we can do changes in the future if we want to change what we don't like in the constitution, they want a constitution as soon as possible and waiting for more 8 months or so isn't suitable for the current economical and political situation of the country. Some said they liked what they read in the constitution and they don't understand why the elite are making so much disputes over it. Most of the people I talked to voted yes but that was random of course.

*As for the ones who said no, some argued that they don't want to compromise on the sacrifices of  the martyrs and the price we paid for the revolution, others said that many articles in the constitution will make a new dictator out of Morsi, and others said that they don't trust the Muslim Brotherhood anymore that's why they won't trust their constitution and what it might bring in the future. 

*Those who boycotted the referendum ( talked to some in Tahrir and some others in Hazemon march) mostly said they don't trust the whole process anymore especially after what they've seen from the Muslim Brotherhood. Some said that it's yet another choosing between bad and worse kind of a position that they didn't want to be forced on.

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On burning stuff during political conflicts: 

I posted this on facebook 8th of December 2012 and I didn't know I will need to use it again:"I'm trying really hard to understand the logic of folks who support and/or endorse the burning of the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood whether activists in Egypt or abroad.
Especially the ones who brag all the time about the peaceful revolution and how violence of all sorts is not acceptable in the struggle of the people no matter how much we disagree with other factions in the political sphere.

Imagine these scenarios taking place:

1- Members of Occupy Wall street going around attacking/burning down the headquarters of the democratic or republican party in the states.

2- Members of the Muslim Brotherhood going around attacking/burning down headquarters of the groups you support here in Egypt such as the April 6 movement or the Egyptian Revolutionary Socialists.

Would you have the same enthusiasm/excitement in sharing the videos and pictures about this or supporting such moves if it was a different situation from a party you don't like?"

Why the same action (Let it be physically attacking someone with a different political stance or ideology or burning down their headquarters) is being looked at, reported, talked about and reacted upon in a different way? 

Isn't all the violent acts against other factions wrong such as killing, physical attacks, burning and destroying property?