Op-Eds

A few days ago Father Youta announced that he will retire from writing due to a controversy with a certain website which used to publish his articles. Now the popular Mr. Hanz Hanna has decided to stop writing too in solidarity with Father Youta. Both decisions were based on the behavior of that website. Unfortunately we lost the efforts of two great Coptic writers, and no doubt the website lost its reputation of non-bias to say the least!!!!

Two weeks ago saw an inauspicious incident within Parliament’s Proposals and Complaints Committee. A bill proposed by MP Ibtisam Habib to legalize unofficial marriage (urfi) contracts in order to protect young women from situations where they are entitled to no legal rights as wives or mothers was vehemently opposed by MP Abdel-Rehim al-Ghoul. It was not that Ghoul had anything against the bill;

The regime is more likely to enforce petty rules to protect its sense of authority than laws that serve the public good.

Dear father Youta;  For a long time I followed your writing with great interest. You are a candle lighting the darkness of our society. This morning I was shocked when I read about your decision of stop writing. In spite of my respect for your decision and understanding to your frustration, I decided to write these few sentences hoping that you may rethink your decision.

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama must take a leadership position in championing human rights in the Middle East and North Africa by using U.S. economic and trade leverage and confronting the growing global threat of authoritarianism being promoted by Arab regimes, advocates say.

The Egyptian government unexpectedly released Ayman Nour, one of the thousands of political opponents, who are rotting in Egyptian jails. The official information indicated that the decision to release him was taken on medical grounds.

Saudi Arabia has just had its own St. Valentine’s Day Massacre -- a bloodless one that brings hope of much-needed reform. On February 14, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah carried out a sweeping shake up of his cabinet and government. He replaced several of the government’s top Wahhabi ideologues with others thought to be more religiously tolerant, reform-minded, and with close working ties to the king.

Will Barack Obama unconditionally embraces the Middle East's autocrats?

We know that Mubarak is preparing to visit the United States in April to meet with its new President Obama. This visit is very important to the ageing Mubarak, who is desperate to keep up his image as self-acclaimed regional stabilizer, leader of the Arab world and main player in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. A role which also secures him nearly 2 billion dollars of in US aid plus handouts yearly.

Minister called 'professional whore' Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is poised to slash federal funding to Canada's largest Arabic group after its president called him a "professional whore" for supporting Israel.