Atlantic Council

The Egyptian social sphere witnessed many changes since the eruption of the 25 January revolution. The daily protests that Egypt has become accustomed to were not a frequent scene under Mubarak’s regime.  In fact, in March alone Egypt had the highest rate of protest worldwide. Alongside the traditional understanding of resistance, Egypt's youth innovated new ways of expressing their opinions, either by taking to the streets or through other politically-related manifestations.

Informed sources within the Salafi Nour Party said Tuesday that leaders are mobilizing forces to demand the government dismiss Hesham Qandil’s Cabinet and the prosecutor general. The Freedom and Justice Party also called for a major government shuffle on Tuesday. The Conscience Front and al-Wasat’s parliamentary bloc also called for the resignations of Minister of Information Salah Abdel Maqsoud and Minister of Justice Ahmed Mekki in a press conference.

 Upper Egypt has its own specific subsistence and growth crises due to its systematic neglect by successive Egyptian governments. Nevertheless, the widespread impression given by this situation is that Upper Egypt is cut off from the political and social affairs in the rest of Egypt, which is not the case.

 Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi testified at Giza Criminal Court at the Police Academy for 30 minutes Tuesday at the trial of dozens of senior intelligence officers accused of ordering the destruction of important documents. During the session, Sisi denied that the military council or intelligence were informed by the State Security Agency of its actions.

Egyptian television announced that the South Cairo Criminal Court has released former president Hosni Mubarak pending retrial over charges of complicity in murdering protesters during the January 2011 uprising Monday. Mubarak will however remain in custody pending investigations over other corruption charges related to the misuse of funds allocated for the renovation of presidential palaces.

There were many reasons that Egyptians supported the revolution when it occurred in early 2011.  Lawyers usually did so out of a desire to reform the legal system or draft a new constitution.   Others were angry about the use of torture by the police and security forces.   But for many – perhaps even the majority – it was based on nothing more than a vague hope that a new system would bring something better, especially from an economic perspective.

The Shura Council on Thursday approved laws governing the exercise of political rights and House of Representatives elections, while Al-Azhar approved a law that would allow the country, which is struggling with a soaring budget deficit, to issue sukuk (Islamic bonds), but said some articles passed by the Shura Council must be amended. 

The clashes on Sunday during the funeral of four Egyptian Christians killed earlier in the weekend were condemned across the political spectrum; however, the incident has attracted attention in the op-ed pages of Egypt’s independent press primarily as another sign of the continuing political decay of the country.  Here are a few excerpts:

The recent events which took place at the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Abbasiya left many complaining about the apparent inaction of the country’s political leadership. The perceived absence of police at the funeral held at the Cathedral last Sunday and the consequent attack on the building, resulted in uncharacteristically harsh words from the Coptic Orthodox Pope, as well as criticisms from several prominent figures in civil society. On Wednesday , the official Twitter account of the Egyptian presidency announced in English that President Mohamed Morsi would be answering questions asked between 9 and 9.30 PM Cairo local time.

 On Wednesday, the Shura Council passed the two laws on the House of Representatives and the exercise of political rights, but the vote on the final approval was postponed until Thursday’s session. All that remains is for the council to hold a final vote on the complete bill. All the bill’s articles have been voted on individually and passed.

The flying visit of Prime Minister Hisham Qandil to Qatar on April 9 has apparently paid off. Today the Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani announced that Qatar would provide an additional $3 billion to Egypt, on top of the $5 billion that has been provided since the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2011. 

 Egypt's armed forces participated in forced disappearances, torture and killings across the country – including in the Egyptian Museum – during the 2011 uprising, even as military leaders publicly declared their neutrality, according to a leaked presidential fact-finding report on revolution-era crimes.

If liberal values are going to spread in Egyptian society, politics is not the answer. Women are. “The normal woman has a job, goes to market, and raises her family, but she is not part of a political party,” said Youssef Habib, editor-in-chief of the newly launched women’s magazine Lu’lu’a, or Pearl.

 Egypt's Islamist-led government has asked independent legal experts to propose amendments to the new constitution, the state news agency MENA said on Tuesday, signaling that it may be heeding concerns of the liberal and leftist opposition.