Slackman: Things are opening up in Egypt
Michael Slackman, the New York Times reporter with the greatest gig in journalism, writes today in one of his routine Cairo dispatches that civil society and pluralistic debate seem to be enjoying a bit of a rejuvenation in Egypt.
His primary example is Gamal Al-Banna, the 88-year-old brother of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan Al-Banna and a man whose liberal interpretations of Islam seem to be getting more airtime these days. Of course, more airtime doesn't necessarily mean more agreement, as displayed by the reaction to a recent Al-Banna article claiming that belly dancing or nude dancing don't make a person inherently immoral:
Within two hours of the article's posting last week on the Web site of Al Masry al Youm, readers had left more than 30 comments -- none supporting his position.
Still, there are other positive signs, writes Slackman, like the writer Sayyid Al-Qimni taking on Islamist detractors instead of going into hiding after he received a prestigious award that angered them. Slackman attributes the atmospheric shift to increasing public disdain for fundamentalism and new breathing room for liberal and Westernized intellectuals opened up by Barack Obama's conciliatory approach toward Islam and the Middle East.
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Categories: Egypt, Life and Culture, Media, Regional News, Religion
Tags: Barack Obama, belly dancing, Cairo, Egypt, Gamal Al-Banna, Hassan Al-Banna, Islam, Michael Slackman, New York Times, pluralism, Sayyid Al-Qimni
1 Comment
This title could not be any more true. It all comes down to this. But I wonder if we were to take out of this issue God and religion would any of this happen? What language would they use to define each other? How would they lay claim to land? Or claim their holiness?
I live in a Jewish/Muslim community in the heart of Los Angeles. I walk by stores owned by Muslims and Jews side by side, Temples and Mosques across from each other. Each side tolerates the other publicly, but each side dislikes the other in private. When I come across each group face to face I honestly cannot tell either apart. Fanatic Muslims are as brutal, biased, one sided, and closed minded as fanatics Orthodox Jews. Not mentioning the fact that each side looks very much alike, and in many ways has many behavioral similarities.
Each side is as judgmental as the other, and each believes God is on their side. The clothing of each side is very much the same, men wear beards,cover their hair, legs, and wear long body coats that serve the same purpose. Fanatic Jewish women cover their hair with wigs, or hats, cover all their body and only wear long skirts. Not to mention that many Jews, are actually Arabs, or have Arab relatives. I
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