Egypt

Both Saudi Arabia and Egypt have called on militant organization Hamas to end the annual weekly protests it is holding for the “Great March of Return,” according to an Egyptian source. An Egyptian Foreign Ministry official was anonymously quoted as saying that, in exchange for halting the protests, Egypt would ensure that the Rafah border crossing, which Egypt controls, would be regularly opened. The source said that the agreement had come under the direction of the Saudis. … [Read more...] about Report: Egypt, Saudi Arabia Urge Hamas to End Gaza Border Riots

“Sometimes it happens in ways that are fairly random,” he said. “This obviously wasn’t. It’s not a random detention when ICE shows up at your house, then waits outside until you leave for work at 7:30 in the morning to arrest you.”  … [Read more...] about Exclusive: ICE Detains A New Jersey Teacher Who’d Face A Death Sentence In Egypt

As a result of forced turnout and a lack of true opposition candidates (Musa openly proclaims support for the incumbent), it appears that the most viable option for expressing dissent during this contest was to intentionally ruin one’s ballot. As one Egyptian explained, “if I voted, I’d spoil my ballot by ticking both boxes. I don’t want either of them.” Judging by the official results, spoilage was indeed a popular option this year. Sisi won 97 percent of the vote and Musa placed second with under 3 percent. But the 1,762,231 ballots spoiled in this election more than doubled the 656,534 total ballots cast for Musa, and far exceeded the number of ballots spoiled during the 2014 election. … [Read more...] about How did voters register their protest in Egypt’s presidential election?

Shawki Allam, the North African country’s Grand Mufti, criticized the practice of purchasing engagement on Facebook as an act of “fraud,” that goes against Islamic principles. Far from going after the general use of the social media platform, however, Allam suggested permitted ways to do business on Facebook and even made the announcement via the platform itself. … [Read more...] about Egypt’s Top Cleric Issues Fatwa Against Buying Facebook Likes

Human rights concerns have become a major issue in relations between Cairo and Western countries. European officials were outraged over the torture and murder of an Italian student there in 2016, and Ibrahim Halawa, a young Irish citizen, was caught up in the same trial as Etiwy before being released last year. … [Read more...] about American Citizen Freed From Egypt Jail