Egypt
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Artists in SyriaReclaiming space, testing limits
Since Assad's fall, Syrian artists and intellectuals have been seeking ways to respond to a transformed reality. Four cultural workers reflect on the shape of the cultural sphere in the new Syria.
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Egypt's TikTok crackdownSuzy el-Ordoneya and the politics of social media fame
A police crackdown in Egypt is targeting TikTok influencers. Among them is Suzy el-Ordoneya (Suzy the Jordanian), whose rapid rise has brought her into conflict with official state morality.
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Public space in EgyptCairo is becoming unwalkable
Cairo's footpaths are disappearing, its public spaces are shrinking and its trees are being uprooted to make way for car-focused infrastructure and urban sprawl. For pedestrians, the city has become a hostile place.
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Political Islam in JordanWhat's next for the Muslim Brotherhood?
An official ban on the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan has brought the movement to a critical crossroads. Its political arm is struggling to preserve its platform and avoid the fate of its counterparts in Egypt and Tunisia.
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Sudanese music in CairoFinding joy in the face of war
While war rages at home, for Sudanese wedding singers in exile in Cairo, celebration has become a form of resistance.
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"Carmen" on the Egyptian stageRewritten to fit the patriarchal script
A stage production of "Carmen", adapted from Prosper Mérimée's French novella, has captured the attention of audiences and critics in Cairo. While the French novella portrayed Carmen as a free-spirited rebel, the Egyptian adaptation tells a different story.
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Egyptian cinemaThree films on memory, loss and state violence
At this year's ALFILM Festival in Berlin, a unique trio of Egyptian films explored the impacts of trauma and authoritarian rule on everyday lives. A review of "Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo", "Perfumed with Mint" and "Abo Zaabal 89".
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Egyptian author Youssef Rakha"The Cairo I've known is being eroded"
Youssef Rakha revisits Egypt's 2011 uprising and its aftermath in "The Dissenters", the author's first novel written in English. The Arab Spring failed, he argues in this interview, because it was a neoliberal movement with no compelling vision for the future.
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New anthology "Imprisoning a Revolution"Egypt's political prisoners speak
A new anthology gathers the words, drawings and memories of Egyptian prisoners—some well-known, many anonymous—who document life inside the carceral state.
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Cairo's Jewish QuarterThe neighbourhood that shaped a nation
In his new book, Egyptian author Ahmed Zakaria Zaki explores the 19th-century history of Cairo's Jewish Quarter, tracing the social transformations within the city's Jewish community and its reaction to the emergent Zionist movement.
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Civil society since the Arab SpringEurope must support the agents of change
Civil society organisations in West Asia and North Africa face widespread repression. But instead of supporting activists on the ground, European policymakers continue to prop up autocratic regimes.
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TV series "Muawiya"Historical Ramadan drama fuels controversy
The Saudi-produced television series “Muawiya” emerged as a talking point during Ramadan, sparking debate throughout the Middle East. Both Iran and Iraq have banned the show which charts the life of one of the most controversial figures in Islamic history.