Calls to Commemorate Mohamed Mahmoud

Two years ago in Cairo, in November of 2011, I participated in a huge march from the Haram, in the Giza area, which is a suburb of Cairo, all the way to Tahrir Square: probably about nine miles. Here, ten months earlier, the revolution had emerged to remove Hosni Mubarak from power.

I was filming and photographing the crowd as it grew larger and larger, every block we walked, every neighbourhood we crossed. There are no words that could express my feelings on that day. Egyptians mobilizing and organizing to call on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to stop the violence, and  make the demands of the revolution come to life.

Many of the protesters knew that the SCAF could attack them. The previous month the SCAF had carried out an attack on peaceful protesters in front of the Egyptian State TV building. The attack resulted in the deaths of several protesters and wounding of many others. But that didn’t stop the protesters from participating this day.

Happily no violence took place.  However the following day in the late afternoon the state police attacked a group of Occupy Tahrir protesters, who were determined to stay till their demands were met. Most of those were wounded people from the revolution, and families of people who lost their loved ones during the revolution and other clashes that followed.

The state police attacked the peaceful protesters who were camping in Tahrir, and killed five people within half an hour. The attack was not anticipated by the protesters. In no time, the word got out through social media and cell phones about what was happening in Tahrir. The activists responded right away to defend the Occupy Tahrir people. After a few hours they managed to force the state police to retreat to their headquarters a few blocks away.

What stood out in my memory is that the protesters asked for help from the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis, and both groups declined to lend a hand, probably out of fear of losing in the upcoming parliamentary election.

These attacks sparked the week-long Mohamed Mahmoud clashes. I’m proud that i was there to document what happened. Here is some of the video that I shot during the clashes.

Mohamed Mahmoud clashes in NOV 2011 from Khaled Sayed on Vimeo.

Egypt's Curfew is Coming to an End...or is it?

Living abroad, outside of Egypt, sometimes can be great, and sometimes frustrating as hell, because you have no choice but to look at the whole picture from the outside. But living in the USA is different because the mainstream media here don't cover Egypt unless there are clashes with casualties.

I left Egypt in early July to return to the U.S. right after the ousting of Morsi. The Egyptian people weren't sure what would come next, and they are still not sure now.

Retaliation from the Morsi supporters has been dragging on for almost two months, although they seem to protest every Friday with shrinking numbers every time.

I have been getting my information about how things are in Cairo, and Egypt overall, from friends, family, and many activists I made contact with while I was there. They inform me that life in Cairo isn't as fun anymore. Everyone is living on edge. Factories instead are doing two or one shift only instead of three, and most of the time they are closing early. People are going home before the afternoon due to the curfew, which is being enforced by the military in response to violent protests by Morsi's remaining supporters.

Fights erupt  between supporters and opponents of Morsi daily, and the Army and police have to come and stop clashes before they go too far. Assassination attempts are happening as well. The latest one was a failed attempt to kill the Minister of the Interior. A car bomb went off in Cairo's eastern district, near Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim's convoy.

My friend Mo'nes, who lives in Cairo, told me that Egyptians are overwhelmingly respecting the military curfew. For their own safety they are following the military guidelines, such as a recent recommendation for people to stay home for Friday prayers.  However the media is not getting much attention from the people anymore, after they started attacking the way the military is handling the situation.

I'm not surprised that the Egyptian people are showing support, and listening to the Egyptian military. Egyptians think of their military as heros for winning the 1973 war against Israel, and they trust them more than they really should. I always say never trust someone with a gun.

I believe that the military's popularity never faded, even when the military took actions that opposed the will of the general public, such as attacking and killing peaceful protesters in Maspero in October 2011, during the Mohamed Mahmoud street clashes November, and at the Council of Ministers street December 2011. The military trials are back on; something which many human rights NGOs are against. However an Egyptian military court handed down heavy prison sentences to supporters of ousted president Morsi. The court sentenced eleven men to twenty five years in prison. Forty five Muslim Brotherhood defendants were given five-year sentences. Despite all this the military’s popularity in Egypt never faded.

So consider what is happening in Egypt, from attempted assassinations, weekly Muslim Brotherhood protests, clashes between anti and pro Morsi demonstrators, and active terrorist group working hard to destroy the current interim government.

Given all that, I believe that the military will have many reasons to extend the curfew and emergency law that becomes active again last month. And the Military is in a good position right now since they are getting the Egyptian supports behind them.

Friday of Rage Muslim Brotherhood Style.

Violence broke out as thousands of Islamists marched in several cities across Egypt in what they Called the "Friday of Rage" to protest Wednesday's crackdown on pro-Morsi protest at Al-Rabawiya and Nahda square sit-ins, which left more than 600 people dead and thousands wounded.

Health ministry sources said four were killed in clashes in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia and eight in Damietta.

A makeshift hospital in Cairo's Ramses Square, where Morsi supporters are converging, has put the death toll at 42.

Earlier, Egyptian state television reported that at least 7 were killed so far in Cairo. At least one person has been reported killed in Giza, according to the health ministry.

Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported clashes between security forces and pro-Morsi protesters at Giza Square in the Giza district, saying security forces fired teargas in an attempt to disperse the crowds.

Retaliation by the Muslim Brotherhood Turns Bloody

While the whole world is worried about whether what is going on in Egypt is a coup or not coup, the Muslim brotherhood is vowing to bring Morsi back to power over the dead bodies of the Egyptian people.

July 5 was a bloody day in many cities in Egypt, but in Cairo it was just crazy. The Muslim Brotherhood and other Morsi supporters went to have their Friday prayer in the Nasser city mosque. After the long prayer, they marched to the Republican Guard headquarters, where they believed the military were holding Morsi, to free Morsi and install him in power again.

When they got there, the military was on high alert and ready to protect the building. The Morsi supporters turned to attack mode. That's when the military started shooting over their heads to scare them, and disperse the crowd. However the angry mob didn’t seem to be fazed by the military action, and they didn’t leave. So the military shot tear gas to scare them away.

The Islamists keep spreading rumors that the military killed three islamists during these clashes. With the chaos of conflicting reports, these rumors have even made it to the headlines on the BBC. But we have not seen the dead people up to now.

However this wasn’t the only rally in Cairo. Anti Morsi demonstrators also gathered in Tahrir square to show support for the military, and to show that they are content with the decision to get rid of Morsi. This gathering in Tahrir was attacked by a Muslim Brotherhood rally, resulting in more than 30 confirmed dead and over a thousand injured so far.

What I don’t get are all the rumors from all the external mainstream media about how the Egyptian army is creating a danger zone. The international press seem to be trying to make it sound like the military is the attacker, even though the Muslim Brotherhood is obviously the aggressor here.

The Muslim Brotherhood is a sore loser.They point to the election as proof of their legitimacy, but they overlook the fact that the legitimacy of any elected representative of the people comes from the people. When the people elect a person, that doesn't mean it is a lifetime vote. In a true democracy, it doesn't even mean that the person can stay in that position till the end of the term, if public opinion turns a different way.

Egypt may not have a formal recall process for elected officials yet, but thanks to the intervention of the military, the people can still make their voices heard when those who are in power are not meeting the needs of the country.

The people elected Morsi, yes, after waiting through a year of no political progress and in a total leadership vacuum. But the people who elected him can say we don’t want you anymore. Just because the cook delivered a bad meal, that doesn't mean we have to eat it too.

The Egyptian military understood that, and stood by the Egyptian people against an elected president who failed to gain the support of the people.

Sexual Harassment Protest in downtown Cairo

Sexual harassment protest in front of the stat TV building in Cairo.

“Bahiya ya Masr,” or “Beautiful Egypt,” a group advocating women’s rights, protested on Sunday against the Egyptian Information Minister’s “sexist” comments towards two female journalists.

Salah Abdul Maksoud, angered many Egyptians after he told a female reporter to “come to my office and I will show you how,” as she mentioned the lack of freedom for expression.

Last Wednesday, during a press conference at the Information Ministry, the official repeated his infamous remark, when he told yet another female journalist from the private Al-Nahar TV station: “come to my office and I will tell you,” after she enquired about Egyptian TV content.