Abdellatif El-Menawy, Arab News

Abdellatif El-Menawy

Arab News

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Past articles by Abdellatif:

Mubarak’s resignation: Behind the scenes

It remains to be seen whether this turning point changed Egypt’s history for the better → Read More

Egypt looks east to expand its diverse foreign relations

Egypt’s foreign relations suffered a serious crisis in 2013, when countries with major regional influence, including the US and important EU countries, supported the Muslim Brotherhood. However, the Egyptian state tried to gradually heal this rift and mend the ties tattered by the Muslim Brotherhood’s views through two approaches: The first included attempts to correct the → Read More

Unifying Egypt’s education system

The issue of the duality of civic and religious education has been one of the most important in Arab societies for decades. In the early 20th century, religious education in Egypt was unrivaled. At that time, people were only reading and writing the Qur’an and Islamic jurisprudence, so much so that the title “scholar” became limited to clerics. But things changed with modern, → Read More

Priority for Egyptians: Health care reform or national anthem in hospitals?

Three events affecting the health sector happened recently in Egypt in less than a week: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s decision to implement the first phase of a comprehensive health-insurance law; the fire at Al-Hossein Hospital; and Health Minister Dr. Hala Zayed’s decree that the national anthem will be played in hospitals to promote patriotism. → Read More

Why Egyptians did not turn their anger into action

Newton’s third law of motion states: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It seems like this law applies only to traditional physics and does not include the motion of history and societies, especially in Egypt. Newton’s law has not yet applied to the interactive mechanism between the Egyptian authorities, which have started implementing economic reforms → Read More

Egypt’s merging of political parties a necessity but doubts remain

A number of questions were raised in the political arena after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi — during his speech at the fifth National Youth Conference — called on parties to merge in order to revive political life in Egypt. The most important question here is: Is this really the best solution? In other words, does this benefit the life of political parties? Also, → Read More

Grand Egyptian Museum deserves better than a soft opening

The Egyptian Antiquities Ministry’s announcement that it plans to partially open the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) late this year has created a big controversy. While opponents suggest the partial opening is wrong and will diminish the value of the museum, Antiquities Minister Khaled Al-Anany stated that he is merely implementing the government’s program. → Read More

How Egypt will gain from private gas deal with Israel

It was during the evening of an autumn night in 2013, in a hotel in the Egyptian capital Cairo, when I met Sherif Ismail, the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum at the time and the current Prime Minister, only four months after Egypt had toppled the Muslim Brotherhood. The country was experiencing a real energy crisis and it was the responsibility of Ismail to find a solution. → Read More

Egypt and a history of missed opportunities

In the coming weeks, Egypt will conduct an unexpected electoral experiment: With no real competition for Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the presidential election will turn into a semi-referendum. In this context, it is appropriate to recall the experiences of the recent past to understand and sometimes overcome reality. Without reading history, it is difficult to read the present, and the chances of a… → Read More

Egypt’s revolution: Seven years on, the questions pile up

Great debate surrounds the events that took place in Egypt on Jan. 25, 2011, and June 30, 2013. I will not go into the full controversy, but I would like to examine some of the crucial points and review some articles I have read to reveal the truth as I see it. What Egypt witnessed in January 2011 was the rejection of the stagnation that had occurred because of the state’s refusal to consider… → Read More

Egyptian diplomacy and troubled waters on the Nile

Until recently, relations between Egypt and Ethiopia were governed by an agreement signed under the auspices of Britain in 1902, in which the ruler of Ethiopia officially promised that his country would not allow any projects on the Blue Nile, Lake Tana or Sobat River that may harm Egyptian interests. → Read More

Red Sea likely to become a conflict zone

The security of the Red Sea has historically been an integral part of Arab national security, because this strategic waterway was the target of all colonial powers. Given the number of Arab states that have coasts on that sea, it is no exaggeration to call it an Arabian lake. The Red Sea has three important waterways: The Suez Canal, the Straits of Tiran and the Strait of Bab El-Mandeb. → Read More

The rewards Egypt does not want

Egypt’s position regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has always been based on firm principles and solid grounds. Current conditions, and the gibberish some people have been spreading recently regarding resettling Palestinians in the Sinai, call for a reminder of that. → Read More

Disunity weakened Palestinian position

What made US President Donald Trump decide to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel at this specific time? Can the reaction of Arabs and Muslims change this decision? Many questions are being raised without clear answers. This decision was made by the US Congress in 1995 and has been on the agenda since Ronald Reagan’s days, but no US president was able to act on it until the Palestinian… → Read More

Sinai mosque attack — it was a massacre in every sense of the word

In response to Friday’s senseless slaughter of at least 235 Egyptians at the hands of terrorists, the Eiffel Tower has extinguished its lights. US President Donald Trump denounced the terrorist actions and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement of condemnation. As the world leaders rushed to issue statements of condemnation and messages of condolence to the Egyptian people,… → Read More

Moving militants from one place to another is no solution

For the past four decades, the phenomenon of militant extremists returning from wars and terrorist campaigns in Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq and Yemen has posed a serious threat to their societies because a significant number of them bring their terrorism home with them. → Read More

Eliminating Daesh on the ground is only half the battle

When the media speaks about Daesh, I immediately recall the lines by the Egyptian poet Amal Dunqul: “Do not dream of a happy world For behind every deceased Caesar is a new one.” → Read More

The bear steps in when the eagle flies away

Egypt is an important player in the region’s political equation. In relation to Russia’s foreign policy in the Middle East, Egypt is an important component that has had a considerable impact since the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood, driven by the Egyptian people and army. → Read More

What happens when Qatar stops funding terror

There has been a marked decline in the activities of terrorist organizations on several fronts in recent months. Legitimate forces have begun to advance in some countries experiencing conflicts, terrorist operations and civil war, such as Yemen, Iraq, Libya and Bahrain. Hard-line Islamist militias in Syria are collapsing at the hands of the Syrian army. Is this a coincidence? Or is it… → Read More

Egyptians’ sense of humor is very telling

Ancient Egyptians sanctified humor, to the extent that they even consigned a humor goddess and married her to the deity of wisdom. This is the closest explanation to the relationship between Egyptians and their sense of humor, showing their attitude to life. It is said that ancient Egyptians believed the world was created out of laughter. → Read More