Muslim Brotherhood spokesman El-Haddad arrested in Cairo

By Pol O Gradaigh and Nehal El-Sherif, dpa
published 17.09.2013

   Cairo (dpa) - Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad was arrested on Tuesday, the latest high profile detention in the campaign by Egypt's military-backed government against Islamists.

   El-Haddad had been in hiding since mid-August, when security forces stormed protest camps set up by supporters of Mohammed Morsi, the ousted president.

   Morsi was deposed by military chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi on July 3, after mass demonstrations calling on him to go.

   El-Haddad had used his Twitter account to defend the Brotherhood's policies, and repeatedly rejected negotiations with the military-backed government.

   He was arrested, along with the former governor of Qalyoubiya province, Hossam Abu Bakr, when police raided an apartment in Cairo's north-eastern Nasr City district, security officials said.

   The arrests came after a Cairo court confirmed orders from the prosecutor general freezing the assets of 14 Islamist leaders who have been referred for trial since Morsi was toppled.

   Hundreds of Islamists have been arrested over the past month, accused of inciting violence.

   The 14 leaders include Muslim Brotherhood head Mohammed Badie, his deputy Khairat al-Shater, and the head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, Saad al-Katatni.

   Also covered by the decision of the court are hardline preachers Safwat Hegazy and Hazem Salah Abu Ismail.

   The Islamist leaders face trial on a variety of charges, including resisting the authorities and incitement to murder in several clashes between Brotherhood supporters and opponents.

   Islamists accuse the military of staging a coup aimed at restoring the former regime of Hosny Mubarak. Liberal and leftist forces, who are serving in an interim government, say that Morsi ruled in an authoritarian manner, and was ineffective in addressing a faltering economy.

   Meanwhile, former Vice President Mohammed ElBaradei urged members of the Constitution Party, which he founded around a year ago, to fight for the goals of the 2011 uprising, which ousted Mubarak.

   "At this critical stage, I still hope the youth of the Constitution Party will be a role model for teamwork and reunification in the nation," the Nobel Peace Prize winner said on his Twitter account.

   This was ElBaradei's first public statement since he resigned as vice president following the security's dispersal of pro-Morsi sit-ins on August 14, killing hundreds. He left for Vienna shortly after his resignation.

   ElBaradei is facing trial on charges of betrayal of trust after his resignation. The trial is expected to start on Thursday.

   The case against him was brought by a law professor who argues that ElBaradei was appointed as a representative of the opposition, and was obliged to refer his resignation to them.

Egypt struggles to revive ailing tourism badly hit by unrest

By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa


   Cairo (dpa) – "It's all about sun, sand and sea," a waiter said of Sharm el-Sheikh. But Egypt's once-popular Red Sea resort city, like the rest of the ailing tourism sector, has been hard hit by the ongoing unrest.

   Officials and workers in the city have been trying to promote it as a haven from the violence and political stalemate that has gripped the country since president Mohammed Morsi was toppled by the army on July 3.

   Sharm el-Sheikh Governor Khaled Fouda said hotel occupancy rates have been at 20 per cent in recent weeks, despite initiatives by the government to encourage domestic tourism by offering low-price packages for Egyptians.

   According to official data, the number of tourists visiting Egypt dropped by 25 per cent in July, compared with the same month last year.

   The tourism industry, once a pillar of Egypt's economy, has been reeling for three years.

   It was first hit by the 2011 uprising against president Hosny Mubarak, which pushed revenues down by 30 per cent, compared to that in 2010.

   With sporadic violence and a lack of security continuing across the country, the sector had not yet recovered when Morsi's ouster unleashed a fresh wave of political turmoil.

   Officials say the latest period of disquiet has been the worst because it has affected Red Sea cities such as Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada more deeply than before.

   Tourism Minister Hesham Zazou believes that travel warnings by European countries are the main problem.

   In August, Germany extended its travel alert to popular Red Sea resorts for the first time, while several Nordic travel agencies suspended trips to Egypt for the rest of the year.

   Zazou has launched a campaign to pressure European governments to lift the warning "even gradually, on cities away from any hotspot, like the Red Sea resort cities as well as Luxor and Aswan" - cities in southern Egypt known for their Pharaonic monuments.

   "There are almost no tourists at this stage in these cities," Zazou said.

   There have been days recently, the minister said, when only one person visited the Abu Simbel temple, near Aswan, one of Egypt's top tourist attractions.

   There has been no violence in Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada, and Luxor has witnessed small protests by Morsi's supporters.

   Hotel occupancy in Luxor and Aswan stood between 3 to 5 per cent in August.

   Zazou recently appealed to a small group of Italian tourists and tour operators in Sharm el-Sheikh to demand their government lift the travel restrictions imposed in August.

   While Zazou began a tour in Europe, starting with Britain, to meet government officials and tour operators, French security expert Bernard Jacquemart arrived in Egypt to check on the security situation in tourist areas including Taba, Marsa Alam and Cairo.

   "Shop owners cannot pay our salaries anymore, because there are no revenues. Now is the worst time for the business since January 2011," said Mohsen, a salesman at a shop in Cairo's Khan al-Khalili bazaar.

   European visitors account for 70 per cent of Egypt's tourists, while travellers from the Gulf countries account for 20 per cent, according to Zazou.

   The Foreign Ministry has also been trying to encourage people to visit Egypt and convince governments to lift travel restrictions.

   In Hurghada, local tour operators organized a march and invited tourists in the city to join, to voice a message that the city is safe.

   But a recent attack in Cairo targeting the convoy of Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim raised fears of Egypt reverting to the 1990s, when there were assaults targeting government officials and foreign tourists that were blamed on radical Islamists fighting the government.

   Zazou dismissed suggestions that the incident, along with the almost daily attacks in Northern Sinai province, would affect Egypt's efforts to restore security and revive its economy.

   "We cannot say the incidents of the 1990s will be repeated again. The government is determined to take full charge to ensure the security of Egyptians and our guests," Zazou told dpa.

   "I believe that during the coming weeks and months you will see the government handle this issue very severely, so as not to allow the recurrence of these acts of terrorism," he continued.

   The few tourists in Sharm el-Sheikh seemed unconcerned about the political developments, including Italian pianist Luca who said he did not follow the news.

   "All I heard about Egypt before coming was that it is a beautiful place and the sea is amazing," he said.

 Borneo Bulletin and Business Recorder
Spanish translation El Pais

Egyptian sufi singer breaks boundaries with his own revolution

By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa
Thu, 2013-09-12
Borneo Bulletin

   Cairo (dpa) - When he appears on stage wearing his southern Egyptian costume, a galabiya and a turban, Sheikh Zain Mahmoud often surprises his audience with his music.

   Besides the religious songs he is known for, Mahmoud also has international music up his sleeve.

   Born in the southern town of Bani Mazar, in Minya province, he started as a munshid - a person who only chants songs to praise religion and the Prophet.

   It was a profession shared with his elder brother, father and grandfather.

   Mahmoud was born in 1964 into a family of the Naqshabandi way, a major spiritual order of Sunni Islam Sufism, and his family did not allow him to sing anything other than sufi chants.

   He learned to recite the Quran before becoming a lead singer in his family.

   But Mahmoud's passion for new types of music prompted him to breach the rules.

   His opportunity came when a prominent troupe performed in his town in 1992. After listening to Mahmoud's performance, al-Warsha troupe's director asked him to join them.

   Mahmoud began learning about Egyptian folklore and ballad singing with the troupe as well as other forms of music.

   "He actually taught me all kinds of arts I needed to know," said Mahmoud.

   Mahmoud's first move to break the boundaries of his own society was to perform al-Sira al-Hilaliya, an epic ballad sung to the accompaniment of the rababa - a string instrument from southern Egypt associated with folk music.

   "That was my dream. I was a munshid, but my imagination and dreams always went beyond that, and I wanted to learn and sing folk songs and storytelling," Mahmoud told dpa after a recent performance in Cairo.

   Two years later, he performed with the troupe in Switzerland before heading to France, the United States and Brazil.

   "My country always comes first. But I also love performing in Paris, because the audience has the same warmth I feel while performing here in Egypt. They love art, and really love our art. This is why I feel happy there," he said.

   He took part in many of the troupe's performances until the late 2000s. During this time, Mahmoud spent some time familiarizing himself with a range of urban modern music, after which he formed his own band.

   Now as he holds concerts around the world, Mahmoud believes he is moving on with his own revolution and tries not to pay much attention to the political developments in the world.

   Amid a political stalemate in Egypt and conflicts across the region, Mahmoud feels his art is safe as long has he is there to promote and defend it.

   "I believe in what I do, so I do not follow the political developments that much. And when you - whether the people or the artists - really believe in what you do, you should continue with it till the end," he said.

   In recent months, Egypt has seen increasing polarization, with some people supporting the army-backed interim government, while others support ousted president Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group.

   Some observers regarded the turmoil as the beginning of the fall of political Islam in the Middle East

   "Our art is a revolution because we defy the current situation, and always try to defy all difficulties," Mahmoud said.

   Since June 30, violence has killed hundreds in Egypt.

   "During such circumstances, I confess it is hard to perform," he said, adding that he cancelled concerts that were scheduled in Cairo in July due to violence.

   "I could not sing while people were being killed," he added.

   Mahmoud has been based in Marseilles since 2007 with his French wife and their daughter Wedad.

   In the coastal city, Mahmoud formed a band called Zaman Fabriq, which mixed music from the eastern Mediterranean area, the vocal percussions of Beatboxing along with Arabic lyrics.

   "To move from one place to another, there must be development. The yearning sounds and feelings I get from the rababa cannot be found anywhere outside Egypt. This is why it is better to present something that makes the audience feel we fit in this place and time," he said.

   While putting on small performances with different musicians in Marseilles, Mahmoud met his colleagues who later formed Zaman Fabriq.

   "We spent a whole year preparing for the project, so that we can have something of good quality."

   "Later, the project got bigger and we found ourselves very famous not only in Marseilles, but also in Spain and Italy, before performing across the world."

   Mahmoud's ambition is unlimited, and while he has a wide range of music to his name, the music of folklore remains his favourite.

   "Inshad (Sufi music) fills my heart, just like (Christian) hymns, which I sang and even taught to children in Marseilles. It is very beautiful. But folklore remains my biggest dream."

   When he goes back to his birthplace, Bani Mazar, he only performs religious songs, although his family now has accepted his revolutionary style since seeing his development in music.

   "They now tell me, you were right."

   "But I cannot perform anything other than Inshad in my town, I just feel shy," said Mahmoud smilingly. "They still remember the 13-year old Sheikh Zain and regard me highly."