Egypt Witness: "Political Truthiness" in Cairo (Cook)

[Editor's Note: Yesterday the party of President Mubarak announced that the 82-year-old will run for a sixth term.]

There are creepy things about Egypt, but we aren’t talking about North Korea, after all. So instead of lies you get truthiness: “Egypt is an emerging democracy with 24 legal political parties and 250 newspapers and magazines. The fact that people are asking questions about succession is indicative of how far the leadership is willing to go to reform Egypt. The development of democracy will take a long time; things are not perfect, but Egypt’s come a long way in the last 10 years. President Hosni Mubarak is a transitional figure.” With the exception of the last one, each of these statements contains an element of truth even though they hardly tell the whole story. Still, it seems to be enough for the regime’s constituents. What does it matter really when one’s profits are up 30 percent a year or your ministry’s share of the state budget grows bigger or those shiny new F-16s arrive or you get to be a media personality?

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Egypt Special: Why is Religion All Around? (Samir)

Dina Samir writes for EA:

From the ringtones on the mobile phones of Cairo's underground riders --- chiming out the Islamic call to prayer or Christian worship songs --- to religious products such as Islamic books to the preaching of a Muslim lady in the women-only carriage, a stranger can hear and feel religion in the air. Just one ride gives you Egyptians’ “religious mania,” a term used by various intellectuals to refer to an obsession among many Christians and Muslims in Egypt.

But why is religion all around? Professor Madgy Guirguis offers a challenging conclusion, “Since they cannot speak loud about political activism, corruption, inheritance of power, contemplating religion and football are the safe choices left for Egyptians.”

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Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood to Stand in Parliamentary Elections (Hassan)

Nobel Prize winner and reformist leader Mohamed ElBaradei's calls for boycotting parliamentary elections received a major blow Saturday when the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most important opposition party,and announced that it would compete in the November poll.

The Brotherhood's supreme guide, Mohamed Badie, told a news conference Saturday that 98% of the group's Politburo members voted to take part in elections many see as tipped in favor of the ruling National Democratic Party. The decision was another indication of the divisions and squabbles among opposition groups that have been hampered for years by conflicting agendas.

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The Latest from Iran (8 October): Hey, Look Over There!

1845 GMT: Banning the Reformists (Confusion Edition). Yesterday we erroneously reported, "Alireza Avayi, the head of the judiciary in Tehran Province, has denied that a banning order has been issued against the reformist Islamic Iran Participation Front."

Here's the rather muddled story. The IIPF is claiming that, after it complained about a ban on its activities, an Iranian court cancelled its dissolution and authorised the resumption of its activities.

Avayi has denied the IIPF's claim, saying that the file on the case has merely been transferred to the Tehran Revolutionary Court. The IIPF is still not allowed to engage in any political activity.

Last week, Iran Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei said the IIPF and another reformist party, the Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution, were banned.

1815 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Iranian Labor News Agency reports that paint factories are unable to import raw material due to sanctions, and retailers are now out of stock.

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Israel-Syria Analysis: The Importance of Damascus for the Israeli-Palestinian Talks

Considering efforts to bring Syrians and Israelis to the negotiation table, we said on 17 September:

To strengthen Ramallah’s hand at the negotiation table and to give a regional dimension for the Israel-Palestine talks, the Obama Administration is bringing in another strategy: Israeli-Syrian talks. These would serve both as a back-up measure to prevent radicalism and as an implicit pressure on both the Palestinians and Israelis. 

We then asked whether this wass a "waste of time", given both Damascus' ties with Tehran and the US intention to use Syrian-Israeli talks as a tool for success of the Israeli-Palestinian discussions. We left the door open for a regional settlement as long as Damascus can get deal beyond return of the Golan Heights to Syra.

Following US special envoy George Mitchell's visit to Damascus on 16 September, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will see Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem in New York on Monday. "A comprehensive peace has to include the Syria-Israel track. It’s absolutely essential that Syria be part of this process," Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeff Feltman told reporters.

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Europe and the Middle East: Reading the Questions over the Veil (Iskander)

A week after France’s Senate voted in favour of a ban on face coverings in public, diverse reactions across the Middle East underline that this region cannot be viewed as a monolithic bloc.  It was expected that the forbidding of the niqab and burka would elicit angry reactions: there has been some anger, but reactions have not been uniform nor entirely negative. 

There is no single view on the veil that dominates in the Middle East, with many countries debating the place of the niqab even more urgently than their European counterparts.

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Egypt: Politics, Land Sales, and Corruption (Iskander)

Membership in the ruling National Democratic Party brings business benefits and virtual immunity from punishment. The NDP has allowed this cronyism to prevail among some of Egypt’s top business figures, as the government focuses on implementing its privatisation agenda at any cost. While investigations, trials, and even convictions are allowed to go ahead to give the appearance of action by the state, these rarely achieve permanent results. This indicates why, despite the court issuing its “final” ruling in the case of the sale of land to TMG, the company announced on Wednesday that it will appeal the decision again.

Yet, if the NDP has been able to absorb these corruption scandals so far, its ability to do so is becoming impeded by uncertainties over the potential transition of power from President Mubarak to his son Gamal and the rising level of general discontent on the Egyptian street. Could the Mustafa case be the case that sets a new direction in Egyptian law and politics?

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Video and Transcript: Obama Envoy George Mitchell on Israeli-Palestinian Talks (14 September)

MR. MITCHELL: Today’s meeting lasted about one hour and forty minutes. The meeting involved Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Abbas, Secretary of State Clinton, and myself. We all are grateful to President Mubarak, to Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit, and to the Egyptian Government for their courtesy and hospitality in arranging these meetings and for their continued strong support for President Obama’s vision of comprehensive peace in the Middle East. The day began with President Mubarak hosting separate bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Abbas, and Secretary Clinton. The Secretary also met bilaterally with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders. This was followed by the multilateral meeting, which I’ve just described. And as soon as I complete this briefing, I will attend with the other leaders a lunch hosted by President Mubarak for all of the participants.

Today, the parties have begun a serious discussion on core issues. President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu also reiterated their intent to approach these negotiations in good faith and with a seriousness of purpose.

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Israel-Palestine: Time to Move Beyond a US-Centred Approach (Freeman)

On 1 September, Charles Freeman --- former State Department and Defense Department official, US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and nominee in 2009 to head the National Intelligence Council --- delivered this speech to the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs....

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