Mohammed Nosseir
Arab News
Egypt
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Past articles by Mohammed:
How personalizing issues negatively affects Egyptians’ lives
In a candid dialogue between a US marshal (played by actor Tommy Lee Jones) and a fellow law enforcement officer in the celebrated movie “US Marshals,” Jones’ character admitted taking his work personally, contrary to his department’s policy. Eventually, the marshal’s persistent pursuit allowed him to apprehend the suspect at the end of the movie — an innocent intelligence → Read More
How Egypt switches between hard and soft power
Its obsession with using hard power has led the Egyptian state to believe that it is the only practical tool capable of helping to resolve all of the country’s challenges. In practice, the current ruling strategy completely neglects soft power, as mirrored in not even appointing executives who possess this talent to senior government positions. The non-existence of soft power → Read More
Egyptian media: Many outlets, little substance
In a recent declaration, Egyptian Minister of Education Tarek Shawki stated that he once received 35 missed calls from a journalist in a single day. The minister, who declines to respond to the journalists who hound him, is a rare case in Egypt, where ministers and other senior officials are usually careful to reply to journalists to avoid becoming targets of unfavorable media → Read More
The fault lies within us
The brief definition of liberalism that I offered to a religious Muslim friend who wanted to learn more about liberal values was: “Minding one’s own business.” My friend, whom I can easily describe as an open-minded religious person, confessed to being a committed liberal, as long as nobody interferes with her religious beliefs or practices. In fact, however, the world has → Read More
Egypt will pay a steep price for shunning its ancient history
Smuggling antiquities seems to be one of the most profitable illegal businesses worldwide. Egypt possesses millions of highly valuable and universally admired artifacts, and has always had a smuggling problem. The current tendency to favor government megaprojects while overlooking the importance of ancient Egyptian antiquities to the development of our country has encouraged → Read More
Egyptians’ obsession with ‘big ideas’
The “big idea” keeps Egyptians awake at night. The majority of our citizens spend their entire lives searching for an idea that will boost their finances substantially and rapidly — and that entails minimal effort on their part. Our egoism prevents us from realizing that the establishment of large-scale enterprises is not, in itself, proof of either success or good performance. → Read More
Will Arabizing education strengthen Egyptian identity?
Egyptian identity is, apparently, one of the many challenges facing the state. Why is a nation that is so proud of its ancient civilization currently facing a national identity crisis? The Egyptian minister of education, who recently announced that his assigned duty is to reconstruct the Egyptian character, believes that the perfect solution to this identity issue lies in → Read More
How Egyptians use up their time in Ramadan
An Egyptian CEO acquaintance once told me: “I don’t start working before 2 p.m. in Ramadan.” At the time, sunset (Maghrib) was at 5 p.m., giving him just a couple of hours of work prior to heading home. In Egypt, the spirit of Ramadan is wonderful and is very much enjoyed by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. However, productivity is completely absent during this month, as → Read More
The strength of Egyptian resilience
The knowledge that a light exists at the end of a tunnel encourages many to go through it, no matter how dark or long it is. The risk currently confronted by the Egyptian government is that of citizens forced to reside inside a challenging tunnel for many years, without knowing when it will end or what the exact outcome will be. The government has been relying on the → Read More
Where Mo Salah succeeds and his fellow Egyptians fail
The prominent Egyptian football player Mo Salah is not only a source of pleasure for the entire Egyptian population — he has also become a phenomenon and an icon in the eyes of our society at large. However, and unfortunately, Salah’s success has not yet constructively inspired Egyptians to emulate him. This is not his fault, but more that of our static society that declines to change for the… → Read More
The slippery slope of Egyptian tourism
Several years are necessary to develop a successful tourism industry, but it can easily be destroyed in a much shorter period, even with the best of intentions. This is happening with Egypt’s tourism industry, which reached its peak in 2010, when roughly 15 million foreigners visited. → Read More
The popularity myth at the heart of Egyptian politics
“Our home telephone used to ring 24 hours a day; it went completely dead after my father left power,” a friend told me, describing the difference in status between authorized and discredited Egyptian politicians. Additionally, he revealed that his father had fallen into a state of deep depression when he realized his relationships with numerous citizens had been founded solely on the “government… → Read More
Egypt’s police in urgent need of reform
Egyptians traditionally tend to admire and respect their police apparatus. Like many other nationalities, Egyptians generally don’t have much esteem for their government, yet the police profession still appeals to a large segment of society, which aspires to be a part of it. However, Egyptian police officers’ understanding of their duties depends on each individual and often entails a… → Read More
El-Sisi should look to soft power over security
Leaders’ rhetoric matters. Their explicit messages provide clear indications about the course they intend to steer for their nations; while their implicit messages, and the emotions expressed, are for citizens to interpret. I found the short speech recently delivered by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the inauguration of a new gas field that will significantly boost Egypt’s resources, in which… → Read More
Egypt must find a balance between principles and pragmatism
The Egyptian state believes that abiding by a number of firm political principles that serve the state’s interests is all that is needed when it comes to the conduct of foreign affairs; apparently not realizing that a functioning mechanism is required to achieve progress in the application of these principles. Egypt’s main regional concern is the activity of political Islamists. Nations that… → Read More
Egypt must reform to turn critics into advocates
Politics is not a field dominated solely by authoritarian figures. A great many political influencers play significant roles in shaping their respective governments’ policies, leaving a clear impact on their societies. The US is the nation that best portrays this type of ruling mechanism, in which large numbers of scholars and journalists influence their country’s political decisions. A clear… → Read More
Time to reform Egypt’s ministerial appointments system
Egypt’s recent Cabinet reshuffle raises questions about how ministers come to be appointed to the highest ranks of government. To be able to understand the mechanism of shortlisting candidates for ministerial positions, we need to learn more about the relationship between the Egyptian state and its government, particularly about who rules and who governs. → Read More
Egypt is sweeping its economic challenges under the rug
Egypt is presently confronting many economic challenges, which the government is trying hard to solve. Regardless of the type of economic policies the government adopts, the debate among economists concerning which policies to apply will continue. However, when it comes to single-mindedly using present and future “reservoirs” to establish new megaprojects that will supposedly yield substantial… → Read More
Challenging the myth that Islam is behind the world’s problems
The presence of an Islamic element in most current international crises has driven many Westerners to believe that the world’s challenges and crises stem from the religion of Islam. Political Islamists who often argue that, according to our holy book, Islam demands that we fight for our rights (“Jihad”) also back up this belief. This proposition, which has made Western intellectuals fully accept… → Read More
Egypt and Sudan — from brothers to adversaries
For many generations, Egyptians were taught that Egypt and Sudan are joined by permanent blood ties of brotherhood. Although the relationship between the two countries has had its ups and downs, they worked to solve their disputes through a series of dialogues. However, the expansion of political Islam in Sudan is a definite no-no for the Egyptian state, which is clearly threatening the… → Read More