a review of religion and media
The latest issue of Cultural Anthropology features an article by Revealer writer Yasmin Moll (read the entire issue here) titled, “Building the New Egypt: Islamic Televangelists, Revolutionary Ethics, and ‘Productive’ Citizenship.” (You can read Yasmin’s article and the entire issue here. You can read Yasmin’s articles for The Revealer here.) Continue Reading →
Egyptians were deeply divided on whether to say “yes” or “no” to the proposed amendments to their country’s constitution following the January 25th Revolution. On the hot and dusty morning of Saturday, March 19th, after weeks of debate on-air, online, in newspaper op-ed pages and in our own living rooms, we lined up in droves to cast our votes.
I prepared carefully for this historic day: Through an online portal set-up by the armed forces I checked which schools were designated as polling stations in my neighborhood; I made sure my national ID, proving my eligibility to vote, was in my wallet; I hired a baby sitter to watch my toddler so that I could go brave the long queues unhampered.
Most importantly, in the few days leading up to the referendum, I read all the different editorials and analyses both in favor of “yes” and “no” so that I could make an informed decision on which way to cast my vote. Exercising my right to vote as an Egyptian citizen was made much easier by the technology, finances and education that my upper middle-class background afforded me.
Umm Fatima, who is married to the neighbor’s bawab (building keeper), doesn’t have access to any of these things. Continue Reading →
Yasmin Moll, a Ph.D. student in socio-cultural anthropology at NYU, has been our woman in Cairo, reporting what she saw during and after the protests that led to the end of Hosni Mubarak’s 30 year reign. I asked Yasmin last week what she thought of George Friedman’s analysis of the events. Friedman, editor and CEO of Strategic Forecasting, or Stratfor, a Texas-based global intelligence service, writes in “Egypt: The Distance Between Enthusiasm and Reality“:
What we see is that while Mubarak is gone, the military regime in which he served has dramatically increased its power.
by Yasmin Moll
Many commentators both inside and outside Egypt have focused on the anticipated role of the Muslim Brotherhood in a post-Mubarak Egypt. In many of these analyses, the Brotherhood is used as a metonym for the projected role of Islam in the public sphere. However, while the Brotherhood will certainly play a formative role in post-revolutionary politics and governance in Egypt, it does not have a monopoly on Islamic discourse in the country.
Indeed, self-described moderate Islamic televangelists (al-duaa al-mutawasitoon) – figures such as Amr Khaled, Mustafa Hosni and Moez Masoud – enjoy a popularity and credibility with ordinary Muslim youth in Egypt that is hard to match. While the official religious establishment of Al-Azhar shied away from supporting protesters in Tahrir and elsewhere on the eve of the January 25th Revolution, many of Egypt’s most prominent televangelists were vocal in their support of thawrat al-shabab (the youth revolution).And throughout the uprising and after, their catchwords have been religious tolerance (tasamuh) and religious co-existence (ta’ayush).
In Mubarak’s Egypt, these televangelists’ credibility and authority with their primarily youthful publics derived not from a mastery of the authoritative textual canon of the Islamic tradition a la Azharite scholars, but rather from their projected status as “ordinary Muslims” struggling to lead an Islamically-correct life in a world where it is manifestly difficult to do so. Continue Reading →
Yasmin Moll: After 30 years of autocratic rule, Mubarak stepped down today. The announcement came around 6 pm Cairo time. I had just finished giving an interview to a documentary filmmaker where I expressed great fear that Mubarak will continue to defy the demands of millions of Egyptians and cling to power. I have never been so happy to be so wrong.
Today is not just Egypt’s day – today is for all people living under despotic regimes and yearning to be free, especially in the Middle East. First the Tunisians and now the Egyptians have shown them that what just a little over a month ago seemed impossible is possible.
Indeed, February 11 2011 will go down in history not so much as the day Mubarak’s rule crumbled, but as the day the will of ordinary citizens triumphed. And contrary to the expectations of many, they triumphed not through violent upheaval, but through peaceful protest.
Tomorrow Egyptians will face some tough question marks about the future. But tonight we celebrate. Continue Reading →
Yasmin Moll: After 30 years of autocratic rule, Mubarak stepped down today. The announcement came around 6 pm Cairo time. I had just finished giving an interview to a documentary filmmaker where I expressed great fear that Mubarak will continue to defy the demands of millions of Egyptians and cling to power. I have never been so happy to be so wrong.
Today is not just Egypt’s day – today is for all people living under despotic regimes and yearning to be free, especially in the Middle East. First the Tunisians and now the Egyptians have shown them that what just a little over a month ago seemed impossible is possible.
Indeed, February 11 2011 will go down in history not so much as the day Mubarak’s rule crumbled, but as the day the will of ordinary citizens triumphed. And contrary to the expectations of many, they triumphed not through violent upheaval, but through peaceful protest.
Tomorrow Egyptians will face some tough question marks about the future. But tonight we celebrate. Continue Reading →
by Yasmin Moll
There are tens of thousands of Egyptians in Tahrir today. And there are millions of Egyptians who are not.
If we believe some international media outlets and domestic opposition papers, these groups make up two distinct camps: those for democracy and those for Mubarak. And if we believe the state press, the dividing line is between trouble-making youths allied with “foreign agents” and law-abiding citizens.
From the vantage point of those of us in Cairo, however, the picture is much more complex, fluid and messy. And simplifying it for the sake of a sexy story or a catchy headline risks marginalizing the many Egyptians from all classes and backgrounds whose political stances don’t fit neatly into one or the other of these categories.
Take my friend Mansour.* On January 28th he and I attended the protest downtown after Friday prayer. Marching peacefully along with hundreds of others up Kasr Al-Aini street, we were met with a volley of tear-gas fired by the central security police blocking access to Tahrir Square. Continue Reading →
“The Mubarak regime is more dangerous to women than the Muslim Brotherhood.” Listen to renown feminist Dr. Nawal El Saadawi and NYU graduate student Yasmin Moll on the Brian Lehrer show on NPR.
You can read today’s exclusive article by El Saadawi at Women’s Media Center here. Continue Reading →
“The Mubarak regime is more dangerous to women than the Muslim Brotherhood.” Listen to renown feminist Dr. Nawal El Saadawi and NYU graduate student Yasmin Moll on the Brian Lehrer show on NPR.
You can read today’s exclusive article by El Saadawi at Women’s Media Center here. Continue Reading →
“The Mubarak regime is more dangerous to women than the Muslim Brotherhood.” Listen to renown feminist Dr. Nawal El Saadawi and NYU graduate student Yasmin Moll on the Brian Lehrer show on NPR.
You can read today’s exclusive article by El Saadawi at Women’s Media Center here. Continue Reading →