RESEARCH GUIDE:

Internet Resources on Egypt 

By Lawrence Joffe

Egypt, as any Egyptian will tell you, is the Arab world’s most important country. It is certainly the most populous one and remains a center of intellectual and cultural life. Consequently, it is not surprising that the research tools available on Egypt are varied and extensive. Here is a guide to some of the best sources.

NASSER AND HIS REVOLUTION

Gamal Abdel Nasser led the coup founding the Egyptian republic in 1952. He still retains many devotees, as this cyber-shrine shows, though few of the links seem to work: <http://www.gamal-abdelnasser.com/>. More satisfying is the Nasser Homepage, with poems, articles, speeches (in MPG format), biography, short movies and links: <http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/5270/index2.htm>.

Al Arabi has a eulogistic website that has audios of the leader's speeches, pictures and opinionated articles lambasting today's Arab rulers for betraying Nasser's principles: <http://gamal.topcities.com/>

For an official version of Nasser's legacy from Egypt’s Information Service: <http://www.sis.gov.eg/century/html/centry04.htm>. Yahoo lists nine sites devoted to Nasser's successor, Anwar Sadat: <http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Egypt/Arts_and_Humanities/Humanities/History/People/Government_Officials/Presidents/al_Sadat__Mohamed_Anwar__1918_1981_/>

Ted Thornton's Middle East History Database provides a succinct introduction to the 1952 revolution. It contains telling quotes from Gen. Neguib, and a contemporary Egyptian writer, Abd ar-Rahman ar-Rafai: <http://www.nmhschool.org/tthornton/mehistorydatabase/egyptian_revolution.htm>

Yahia al-Shaer's page on Nasser, excerpted from his book, sets 1952 in context: <http://www.britains-smallwars.com/ >Yahia2/Nasser.htm>. Likewise, Library of Congress Country Studies describes in admirable detail those crucial seven years leading up to the events of July 23, 1952: <http://www.workmall.com/wfb2001/egypt/egypt_history_on_the_threshold_of_revolution_1945_52.html>

A Country Guide on Egypt is most informative on the Revolution and the Early Years of the New Government: 1952-56: <http://www.1upinfo.com/ >country-guide-study/egypt/egypt42.html>. The same site contains an excellent assessment of the impact of 1952 on Egyptian urban society: <http://www.1upinfo.com/ >country-guide-study/egypt/egypt71.html>.

Harry Braverman's essay, The Nasser Revolution, offers a contemporary account from a sceptical left-wing perspective. It appeared in a 1959 edition of the American Socialist magazine: <http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/amersocialist/AmerSoc_5901.htm>

In 1996 Donald Neff gave a positive spin to Nasser's legacy: <http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/0796/9607083.htm>. "A turning point in Egyptian history", is the verdict of one unnamed essayist for Arabicnews.com. It enumerates the motives for and principles behind the putsch: <http://www.arabicnews.com/ >ansub/Daily/Day/000928/2000092846.html>

But to Egyptian historian, Salah Issa, the officers took a wrong turn in 1954, when they rejected a chance to opt for democracy. <http://www.wrmea.com/ >archives/sept-oct02/0209toc.html>

In July 2002, Kamel Labidi wrote a nuanced, critical but ultimately patriotic account of the July 23 Revolution for the Cairo Times, entitled The Difficult Legacy: <http://www.cairotimes.com/ >content/archiv06/nasser0621.html>. Steve Negus strikes a pessimistic note in the same publication. His essay Summer Regrets asks: "How necessary was the 1952 revolution for Egypt's development?" <http://www.cairotimes.com/ >content/archiv06/revolution0621.html>.

Issandr El Amrani, writing in the Washington Times, explores how the occasion of the 50^th anniversary sparked a ferment of debate amongst Egypt's intellectuals: <http://www.washtimes.com/ >upi-breaking/20020726-112450-7718r.htm>

Al Ahram, too, marked the anniversary with a series of articles. A glance at the titles reveals the variety of topics embraced: A defining moment; The long revolution (chronicling the first three decades of Egypt as a republic); Political economy of the revolution; and Safeguarding Nasser's legacy (a profile of the historian Hoda Abdel-Nasser, daughter of the late president).

New phase of the revolution recalls Sadat's role in 1952, and beyond. There is a profile of Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Naguib, the "forgotten" first president of the republic. A fascinating series of portraits of the main coup plotters is entitled All the revolution's men. The red major describes the leftist Tagammu Party leader, Khaled Mohieddin, who feels aggrieved at not being properly honoured for the role he played in 1952.

Omayma Abdel-Latif interviews Fahmi Omar, who broke the news to radio listeners on that fateful morning of 23 July 1952. There is an interview with the late politician Fathi Radwan, about the early days of the revolution. A shifting relationship describes how the late novelist and magazine proprietor, Ihsan Abdel-Qudous, saw his ties with Nasser change, before and after the coup. Current Arab League Sec.-Gen. Amr Moussa explains how Pan-Arabism means something slightly different these days, compared to in 1952.

A former planning minister under Sadat insists that the revolution's economic development programme did not fail, as so many critics allege. Veteran journalist Eric Rouleau presents his memories of 1952, in A View from Paris. Sixties poet Abdel-Rahman El-Abnoudi recalls what impact Our Revolution had on the arts of a generation. Nasser Rabat muses about revolution, Arabism and his own fate, in On being named Nasser; while Dina Ezzat concludes that, love him or loathe him, no-one can ignore the legacy of Gamal Abdel.

All these articles can be accessed via this listing page: <http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/595/special.htm>

The weeks preceding the anniversary saw interviews with leading figures of the day.

Hot line to Washington - Aziza Hussein, women's rights veteran and wife of Nasser's former ambassador to the USA, considers the days immediately after 1952, when Egypt seemed to woo both Washington and Moscow: <http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/590/special.htm>

History was there - Al-Ahram columnist Mohamed Sid-Ahmed recalls sitting in a cell as a young Communist, and hearing news of the coup. "With the luxury of hindsight" he concludes that July 1952 was "a large event, even with all its defects": <http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/591/special.htm>

Nasser and the Brotherhood - Ma'moun El-Hodeibi, son of the Brotherhood's Supreme Guide in 1952, reviews how the Islamists fell from the frying pan into the fire after the Free Officers took power. In his view, Nasserism was about little more than personal autocracy and gross deception: <http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/592/special.htm>

What Revolution? - veteran politician Yassin Serageddin queries the supposed good intentions of the coup plotters: <http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/593/special.htm>

All is not lost - a former minister and current neo-Nasserist leader, Diaaeddin Dawoud, attempts to salvage the revolution's reputation: <http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/594/special.htm>

For a left-wing overview of these events, and Sadat's role in taking the revolution to unimagined areas, Anne Alexander and Dave Renton wrote an essay called A Brief People's History of Egypt. A longer version of the piece appears as a chapter in L. Zeilig's Class Struggle and Resistance in Africa (New Clarion Press, June 2002). <http://www.voiceoftheturtle.org/articles/daveanne_egypt.shtml>

Guy Bechor's piece, entitled The Curse of Modern Egypt, laments the Free Officers coup as a false turn in history: <http://www.shmana.com/ >art/guybechor_egypt.html>

Nasser's legacy is explored in a Le Monde Diplomatique article (though you need to subscribe to access the piece): <http://mondediplo.com/ >2002/07/11nasser>

A general introduction to Egypt's culture, politics and society, designed for German aid-workers who go to Egypt; regularly updated at http://www.dse.de/za/lis/aegypten/homepage.htm.

Egypt's State Information Service website serves as a convenient portal to a yearbook for 2001 (in English and French), the Egypt Magazine, sections on politics, history, Christian monuments in Egypt, investment, "Harvest of the Year" and real audio and live radio and television broadcasts. There are also links to pages on health, arts, "Twenty Years of Achievement" (under President Mubarak), the magazine African Perspective and so forth. As the parent site can be slow-loading, maybe try instead the US and UK mirror sites: <http://www.sis.gov.eg/>; <http://www.us.sis.gov.eg>; <http://www.uk.sis.gov.eg>

As ever, Yahoo does a fine job collating everything Egyptian: <http://dir.yahoo.com/ >Regional/countries/egypt/>

Not to be outdone, Pharos is Egypt's home grown equivalent to Yahoo. Also well organised, it has hundreds of links by category, including politics and government, history, news, education and women: <http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/>. Another Yahoo-like source, with online polls and news links thrown in, is simply called Egypt.com: <http://www.egypt.com/>

Don't forget Al-Bab Arab Gateway's excellent list of Egypt-related websites, covering such fields as Quick Briefings (including entries from Encarta and Britannica), Media, Maps and Politics. There are also links to human rights reports, Economy, Environment, Egypt on the Internet (mainly ministries and embassies), and websites for individuals as varied as Nawal el-Saadawy, Naguib Mahfouz and Amr Moussa: <http://www.al-bab.com/ >arab/countries/egypt.htm>

Arab.net as a nicely organised entrance page, branching out to sections on history (from the pre-Dynastic period to Mubarak), geography, business, culture, transport and a tour guide - not exactly profound, but useful for facts at your fingertips: <http://www.arab.net/egypt/>

Arabicnews.com is updated daily and features a sidebar link to Egyptian news. It is particularly valuable regarding Cairo's relations with Maghrebi countries and Sudan: <http://www.arabicnews.com/>.

Miftah Shamali has an interactive site and map for Egyptian places: <http://i-cias.com/ >m.s/egypt/index.htm>. GEN (Global ESL Network) carries data from the CIA World Factbook, Facts on Egypt. It covers government, economy, people, military and trans-national issues: <http://worldfacts.globalesl.net/index.phtm >l?ctryID=eg>

MENIC, at the University of Texas, has numerous useful links to matters concerning politics and government in Egypt: <http://menic.utexas.edu/menic/Countries_and_Regions/Egypt/Government/>

These include sites for Egypt's Social Fund for Development, the Egyptian Armed Forces, Egyptian President, Egypt State Information Service, the Majlis Al-Sha'ab (The People's Assembly), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Emigration and Manpower.

Comparative Geopolitics – A Geopolitical Analysis of Egypt, written by Peter Platan and Jason Teal, represents a useful introduction to the country: <http://www.peterplatan.com/ >DOC/Egypt.PDF>

Another excellent source is the BBC's profile page of Egypt. Apart from a brief history, profile of President Mubarak, information on press and media, and basic up-to-date statistics, there are also links to a timeline and BBC news items about Egypt. In addition the site boasts six Real Media audio files, including Nasser's speech during the Suez Crisis, in 1956, and Egyptian radio's announcement of President Sadat's assassination in 1981: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/737642.stm>

Another good list of links appears at Political Resources on the Net: <http://www.politicalresources.net/egypt.htm>

Finally, a particularly lively site is El-Shella, which describes itself as "The Friendly Egyptian eCommunity since 1998". Apart from good links and regular updated news, it is a "place" to meet Egyptians, post CVs, make contacts, and generally keep a finger on the pulse of what is being said in the republic - or by its many expats: <http://www.el-shella.com/>

The SIS Cairo Press Review gives a good sense of what is making news in Egypt, with daily headlines from leading newspapers and selected editorials, all translated into English. It also has a sidebar linking to information about 14 newspapers and journals, and one television station: <http://www.sis.gov.eg/pressrev/htm >l/frame.htm>

Much more extensive is the impressive Egypt Online news service, from the official SIS. As of August, the homepage is still based in August: <http://www.us.sis.gov.eg/online/html1>

However, readers can gain the latest information, with fewer graphics to slow down the operation, by inserting the appropriate month. For instance, October 2002 is at: <http://www.us.sis.gov.eg/online/html/oct.htm>

The Middle East News Agency (MENA), based in Egypt, conveys daily news from an official perspective. It co-operates with 25 Arab, regional and foreign news services. MENA runs six dedicated news services of its own, plus photo, FTP and search facilities. However, only headlines are available free online; to get the full service one needs to pay high subscription fees: <http://www.mena.org.eg/English/welcome.asp>

Al Ahram, Egypt's best known daily newspaper, with much analysis courtesy of contributors from the affiliated Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (see under Think Tanks, below). The paper has weekly editions in English and French: <http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly>

Cairo Times, probably best known for its cultural features, but often has informative and well written profiles of politicians, plus features and analyses on political matters. The website also links to a working archive: <http://www.cairotimes.com>

Egypt Today is an attractive online magazine with occasional political articles, though is generally less "serious" than the aforementioned Al Ahram and Cairo Times. For current political issues, go straight to their Politics sublink: <http://www.egypttoday.com/> ; <http://www.egypttoday.com/politics.asp>

Cairo Live is an apparently new website with really good connections to some 20 Egyptian news headlines daily, via "links". Literally hundreds more of past articles can be found at "links-archive": <http://www.cairolive.com/newcairolive/classic/news/links.html>; <http://www.cairolive.com/newcairolive/classic/news/links-archive.html>

Egyptian news in Arabic is available via the Zahma search engine: <http://www.hypertracker.com/ >go/trackerpass/zahma/frontsearch/>

Other papers, in Arabic, can be accessed via: <http://menic.utexas.edu/menic/Countries_and_Regions/Egypt/News_and_Media/>

These include the following dailies: Al-Ahram, El-Akhbar, Akhbar el Yom, Akhersaa, Al-Alalam Al-Youm, Al-Shaab and Al Wafd.

MEMRI - Middle East Media Research Institute has translated many articles on or from Egypt. <http://www.memri.org/egypt.html>

The Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) is Egypt’s oldest think tank. <http://www.acpss.org/>. On its Strategic File (Malaf Al-Ahram Al-Istratiji), <http://www.acpss.org/emalaf/list.htm>. For lists of articles in al- Ahram newspaper: <http://www.acpss.org/articles/alahram.htm >. Lists of Strategic Papers: <http://www.acpss.org/ekuras/index.htm>. State of Religion in Egypt (but only for 1996): <http://www.acpss.org/ereligion/index.htm >. Finally, there are descriptions of books published by ACPSS from 1971 to 1996 via links found on this webpage: <http://www.acpss.org/books/index.htm>

Also under the Ahram Foundation umbrella is Al-Siyassa al-Dawliya, the International Politics Journal: <http://www.siyassa.org.eg/esiyassa/default.htm>. One of the best academic sites emanating from Egypt, it has just one drawback for our purposes: there is precious little about Egypt itself! Instead their latest issue (no 150, for October 2002) contains the following interesting items: an editorial on The Muslims, the United States and Israel, a study on Arab-Israeli Peace: the Second Dimension of Opposition, an essay on The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and another on US policy in Iraq. In addition, it carries an interview with Marc Luyckx, Director of the European Commission's 'Vision 2020' think-tank, and has shorter reports on various places, including Turkey, Korea, China, the African Union and Western Sahara. Finally, Siyassa runs a special three-part investigation into the crisis in Southern Sudan (an issue which in a sense abuts on Egypt).

Fear not, however: as a new venture, Siyassa has recently spawned an Egyptian offshoot, somewhat romantically titled "Egyptian Tales". It links to three sections: this month in history, Egyptian foreign policy (under development), and a monthly newsletter: <http://www.siyassa.org.eg/egypttales/index.asp>

And pursuing their link, "Useful Contacts", we find listed contact details and lists of personnel for the following Egyptian-based think-tanks: The American University in Cairo - Institute of Management Development, The Center of Asian Studies, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), The Economic Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran & Turkey, The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies, and the Center for Political Research and Studies. <http://www.siyassa.org.eg/egypttales/useful_contacts.html>

Of these bodies, the following have websites of their own: 

The Center of Asian Studies: <http://www.cics.feps.eun.eg>

CIHRS: <http://www.cihrs.gov.eg>

The Economic Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran & Turkey: <http://ww.erf.org.eg>

The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies: <http://eces.org.eg>

The Center for Political Research and Studies: <http://cics.feps.eun.eg>

The Legal Research and Resource Center is one of the hardest working of indigenous Egyptian NGOs. Its website contains a sublink listing NGOs and research bodies: <http://www.geocities.com/lrrc.geo/> ; <http://www.geocities.com/lrrc.geo/LRRC/list.htm>

Finally, we should mention the Ibn Khaldun Centre for Development Studies. Its programmes deal with Civil Society and Democratic Transformation in the Arab World; Ethnic, Racial and Religious Minorities in the Arab World; Religious Activism; Women in Development; Population and Environmental Policies; and Educational Policies. At present, though, this independent think-tank has been effectively closed by state decree; its director, Dr Saad Eddin Ibrahim, and most of its staff, are currently either on trial, or are incarcerated: <http://www.ibnkhaldun.org/index.html>

ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS

The American Research Center in Egypt has a primary emphasis on ancient Egypt but offers opportunities for fellowships and other modes of studying contemporary Egypt, too: <http://www.arce.org/>

The American University in Cairo: <http://www.aucegypt.edu/>

Much information about Cairo University is found at a website by one former alumnus, Baher Othman Zaghlool, who is currently studying engineering in New Zealand. Unfortunately the university's official site does not appear to open: <http://civl.canterbury.ac.nz/zaghlool/cairouni.htm>

Ain Shams University: <http://asunet.shams.eun.eg/>

Assiut University: <http://www.aun.eun.eg/>

Al Azhar University: <http://www.frcu.eun.eg/www/universities/html/azhar.html>

The American - Middle Eastern educational organisation AMIDEAST has an informative website covering its activities and scholarships in Egypt: <http://www.amideast.org/offices/egypt/default.htm>

No one in Egypt is more powerful than President Hosni Mubarak. A description of the man and his office is included at The Egyptian Presidency website. The site also includes an extensive archive, news desk, national profile, and pictures and descriptions of the presidential palaces: <http://www.presidency.gov.eg/>

Egypt's Parliament, or Assembly, is well served with an informative website in English (below) as well as versions in French and Arabic. The site includes lists of members, descriptions of activities and the constitution, various statements, news, speeches, procedures, laws and a history, plus much data on Assembly Speaker Fathi Sorour: <http://www.assembly.gov.eg/EPA/en/Index.jsp>

The powerful Shoura (consultative assembly or Senate) has an English website, which includes a history of parliamentary life in Egypt, and a current section entitled "urgent statements": <http://www.shoura.gov.eg/english_version.htm>

The website for the Egyptian Government online is currently only available in Arabic: <http://www.alhokoma.gov.eg/index.asp>

The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and Ministry of Awkaf (religious endowments) in Egypt has websites in many languages, including English: <http://www.alazhr.org/index.html>

The thousand-year-old Al Azhar Mosque - and associated Islamic Research Academy - is regarded as the leading Sunni institution in the Muslim world. Al Azhar has a very informative website in English (not to be confused with the similarly named Supreme Council website, listed above). Its "About" link has much on history, followed by further links to ancillary institutions… <http://www.alazhar.org/english/index.htm>

For a list of websites profiling Mubarak, his predecessors, friends and some foes, see the Egypt section of Lawrence Joffe's earlier MERIA Research Guide: Biographies of the Middle East: <http://meria.idc.ac.il/research-g/biographies.html>

Yahoo has collated five sites about President Mubarak: <http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Egypt/Government/Government_Officials/>

But who will succeed Hosni Mubarak? His son, Gamal, perhaps? These are questions posed by Dan Sobelman, correspondent for Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper, in a well researched article for The Middle East Quarterly, of Spring 2001: <http://www.meforum.org/article/27>

George Ziyad, reporting from Cairo for the Jerusalem Report, also speculates about young Gamal. His article appears in the November 4 2002 issue of the magazine. The URL may soon refer to another article, so it is worth accessing it sooner rather than later…<http://www.jrep.com/ >Mideast/Article-0.html>

Gamal Abdelnasser's thought provoking analysis of the parliamentary elections in 2000 at: http://www.swp-berlin.org/pdf/ap/s19_01.htm

Laws governing parties and a list of them appear at: <http://www.sis.gov.eg/public/yearbook/YEARBOOK/CH03SC07.HTM >

There is a short but informative description of Egypt's democracy and human rights from the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs: <http://www.um.dk/publikationer/fremmedsprog/English/Strategy/Egypt/egypt.2.1.3.asp>

Al Ahram ran several illuminating articles on Egypt's elections in 2000: <http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/archives/2000elec/index.htm>

The BBC covered the poll: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/990530.stm>

and Wilfried Derksen's Electionworld website listed the results: <http://www.electionworld.org/election/egypt.htm>

Gamal Essam El-Din of Al Ahram investigates the dominance of the NDP, and also notes the phenomenon of many more female candidates (see also the last section of this Guide, "Half the Population"): <http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/2002/577/eg2.htm>

The Estimate of November 2000 assessed the results in a comprehensive and intelligent article. It also included a box on possible Muslim Brotherhood resurgence, and embedded link to earlier electoral articles, plus a profile of President Mubarak: <http://www.theestimate.com/ >public/111700.html>

Vickie Langhor wrote in a MERIP (Middle East Research and Information Project) November 2000 paper about Cracks in Egypt's Electoral Engineering - The 2000 Vote. She dwells at some length on the NDP's pivotal role. There are also links at the end to three other useful articles about Egyptian politics: <http://www.merip.org/pins/pin39.html>

For those seeking a biography of books and articles on democratization in Egypt, many by Egyptian academics, see this page, courtesy of the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University, England: <http://www.ids.ac.uk/eldis/ggov/mest_egy.html>

Politics amongst elites - Military politics, is one out of many informative sections from the Library of Congress's Country Study Guide on Egypt (listed as Egypt 130). Government and Politics (Egypt 124) link to other topics, headed by the following titles: Dominant Executive and Power Elite (especially the presidency); Subordinate Branches - the Regime and its Constituency (including parliament); Controlling the Mass Political Arena; and Foreign Policy. The URL for the general list of topics on Egypt is given afterwards. After a Country Profile comes long sections on history, and much else besides. The main drawback seems to be that nothing has been updated since October 1990: 

<http://www.1upinfo.com/country-guide-study/egypt/egypt130.html>

<http://www.1upinfo.com/country-guide-study/egypt/egypt124.html>

<http://www.1upinfo.com/country-guide-study/egypt/index.html>

Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party was declared the overwhelming winner in the 2000 elections. Lamentably its website seems considerably less efficient than its election marshals, and is difficult to open. Try your luck at: <http://www.ndp.org.eg/>

The oldest party in Egypt is the Wafd, with a pedigree going back to 1919. For information (in Arabic) see its eponymous newspaper: <http://www.alwafd.org/docs/index.php>

The semi-legal yet hugely influential Ikhwan al-Muslimin (Muslim Brotherhood) has a webpage that explains its "history, objectives and achievements": <http://www.ummah.org.uk/ikhwan/>

For more information on the Brotherhood, and other less legal, more militant organisations, Yahoo provides a useful list of links. Most are written from an outsider's academic perspective, though some describe the organisations in their own terms: <http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Egypt/Society_and_Culture/Religion_and_Spirituality/Faiths_and_Practices/Islam/Politics/>

The views of Brotherhood founder, Hassan al-Banna, can be found at Rasayil Al-Imam Al-Shahid, in English: <http://www.glue.umd.edu/~kareem/rasayil/webdoc2.htm>

Writing in MERIA Journal, Volume 3, No. 3, of September 1999, David Zeidan of London University described Radical Islam in Egypt by comparing two groups, the Society of Muslims (Takfir wal-Hijra) and the Society of Struggle (Jama'at al-Jihad): <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1999/issue3/jv3n3a1.html>

For information on Prof. Barry Rubin's book, Islamic Fundamentalism in Egyptian Politics: <http://gloria.idc.ac.il/publications/books/egyptian_politics.html>

Terrorism Answers - a website affiliated to the US Council on Foreign Relations - profiles two extreme Islamist groups, Jamaat al-Islamiyya and Egyptian Islamic Jihad. It also asks about their ties to the global Al Qaida network… <http://www.terrorismanswers.com/ >groups/jamaat.html>

In January 2001 Khaled Daoud investigates Islamic Jihad's increasingly militant stance, notionally at variance with Jamaat al-Islamiyya… <http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/2001/516/eg6.htm>

And in the light of news of Egyptian involvement in the 9/11 atrocity, Genieve Abdo of the Christian Science Monitor, and the author of 'No God But God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam' (OUP 2000) asks the disturbing yet vital question: Why does Egypt produce extremists? <http://www.csmonitor.com/ >2001/1012/p11s1-coop.html>

In December 2001 George Ziyad considered the radical roots of Osama Bin Ladin's Egyptian lieutenants for the Jerusalem Report: <http://www.jrep.com/ >Mideast/Article-5.html>

On November 1, 2001, the normally nostalgic Egyptian Gazette ran a long profile of Islamic Jihad leader, Ayman Al-Zawahri, "The World's Second Most Wanted Man" - although they do tend to concentrate on his illustrious establishment ancestors: <http://www.egy.com/ >people/01-11-01.shtml>

The BBC's Islamic affairs analyst, Roger Hardy, wrote extensively about Egypt's "Crisis of Identity" in July 2002: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/world/2002/islamic_world/2131219.stm>

No doubt the Egyptian government has achieved impressive results in quashing terrorist incidents within its borders. But at what cost to respect for human rights, ask some Western - and local - analysts? How many reformers and liberals are being caught in the anti-terror dragnet? Reporters Without Borders presents the following somewhat worrying report for 2002 about curbs on press freedom in Egypt: <http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=1435>

In July 2002, Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim and four co-defendants from his Ibn Khaldun Centre for Development Studies were again sentenced to extended prison terms. Below is a comprehensive website with many articles about this most famous of Egyptian liberal dissidents; following it is the website for the Centre itself; and a site for the Legal Resource and Research Centre, which campaigns for his release: <http://www.democracy-egypt.org/>; <http://www.ibnkhaldun.org/index.html> ; <http://www.geocities.com/lrrc.geo/Saad/>

The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights is one of the most active institutes of its type in the Middle East. Activities, campaigns and news appear in these two sites: <http://www.eohr.org.eg/>; <http://www.eohr.org/>

Nicola Pratt of Exeter University, UK, wrote a short yet incisive dissertation on the role of NGOs in Egyptian civil society: <http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/main/about/info/PDF >s/rvs7/PRATT%20(Nicola).PDF>

Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a good website with pages on Egypt's foreign policy, official statements, the workings of the ministry, and a press section. It also has information on treaties, economic affairs, the Institute for Diplomatic Studies, and more than forty links, including to websites for other important ministries: <http://www.mfa.gov.eg/>

For a more whimsical view of how Egyptians see the world, mostly essays by Reem Nafie (usefully embedded with other links) see ShrinkingGlobe.com, via Cairo Live. That said, it relies rather heavily on links to the liberal Washington Post… <http://www.cairolive.com/ >globe/>

From the vaults of MERIA Journal, note this essay on Egyptian-Israeli Relations, from Volume 1, No. 3 - September 1997, by Prof. Kenneth W. Stein, of Emory University: <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2001/issue1/jv5n1a6.html>

Prof. Barry Rubin wrote in August 1999 about Egypt's complex regional role as it sought to balance its interests regarding Israel, the USA, Iraq and the Palestinians: <http://www.biu.ac.il/Besa/meria/br/columns/8-31-99.htm>

Two years later he lamented Egypt's Failed Leadership: <http://www.biu.ac.il/Besa/meria/br/columns/4-17-01.html>

Again from MERIA Journal, this time Volume 2, No. 4, of November 1998, Yoram Meital, Chairman of the Department of Middle East Studies at Ben-Gurion University, wrote about Domestic Challenges and Egypt's U.S. Policy: <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/1998/issue4/jv2n4a1.html>

Two articles about the relationship between the United States and Egypt appear in issues of The Middle East Quarterly in 2000. In December there was a transcript of a debate on the issue, featuring many American analysts: <http://www.meforum.org/article/48>

One of those participants, Steven A. Cook, wrote Egypt – Still America's Partner? in MEQ of June 2000: <http://www.meforum.org/article/58>

The US Embassy in Egypt relays news and State Department views, gives details about embassy staff and activities, and links to the US Center in Alexandria: <http://www.usembassy.egnet.net/>

Egypt's SIS relays President Mubarak's statements on international terrorism at a special and fulsome site (actually, the statements, from 1986 to 2002, cover much more besides, so the title is somewhat misleading): <http://www.sis.gov.eg/terrorism/html/front.htm>

Dr. Osama al-Ghazali Harb wrote in Al Siyassa Al Dawliya about Egypt's Foreign Policy in Mubarak's Fourth Term. His short essay appears, in English, at this page hosted by the Historical Society of Jews from Egypt: <http://www.hsje.org/articleposting/_aticleposting/0000000a.htm>

If 1952 launched Nasser's career, then 1956, with the Suez War and the nationalisation of the Canal, was the year he stamped his imprimatur on world history. Derek Brown's thoughtful March 2001 essay for The Guardian investigates the pivotal impact of the war on Britain and Egypt. Particularly valuable are the many embedded links to websites dealing with the themes and personnel of the period: <http://politics.guardian.co.uk/politicspast/story/0,9061,451936,00.html>

Yahoo lists 12 sites concerning the 1956 war: <http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/By_Time_Period/20th_Century/Military_History/Suez_War_of_1956/>

To assess Egypt's current military might, see websites listed in section 4 of MERIA's Research Guide: The Military in the Middle East: <http://meria.idc.ac.il/research-g/military.html#4>

The esteemed Federation of American Scientists unveils Egypt's arsenal and military organisation in the following page, and embedded links contained therein: <http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/egypt/>

Sadly, the official website for Egypt's Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence seem not to be working at present. However, there is much on Egypt's weapons, air bases, defence ministry, army, navy and air force at this Global Security site: <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/egypt/index.html>

U.S.AID runs an extensive operation in Egypt. Their website (first listed) contains useful links to Egypt's government, people, economy and geography. Their specific programme for Democracy and Governance in Egypt is listed second, below: <http://www.usaid-eg.org/> <http://www.usaid.gov/country/ane/eg/263-021.html>

The major United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was held in Cairo during September 1994. It has this dedicated website: <http://www.iisd.ca/linkages/cairo.html>

Egypt's "cold peace" with Israel probably deserves a Guide all on its own. But for a taster of the perils of normalisation, on a personal level, one could do worse than read the account of one patriotic Egyptian playwright, Ali Salem. Expelled from the Union of Egyptian Writers in May 2001 for the "sin" of visiting Israel repeatedly, he described My Drive to Israel in the Winter 2002 edition of The Middle East Quarterly: <http://www.meforum.org/article/130>

Perils of a different kind occur daily along the "troubled Palestinian-Egyptian border", according to a report on June 27, 2002 in the Palestinian Jerusalem Times: <http://www.jerusalem-times.net/article/news/details/detail.asp?id=1518>

MERIP devoted its Winter 1996 Middle East Report (no 202) to the issue of Cairo: Power, Poverty and Urban Survival. Several items open up hyperlinks to full articles: <http://www.merip.org/mer/mer202/mer202.html>

Poverty and ill health are inevitably linked, as Aida Seif El Dawla of the New Woman Research Center [see also under final section of this Guide] explained on the Social Watch website. Social Watch also has a series of reports on health in Egypt, from 1996 to 2001. The latest is written by Egypt's respected Legal Research and Resource Center for Human Rights: <http://www.socwatch.org.uy/1996/egypt.html> <http://www.socwatch.org.uy/2001/eng/national%20reports/Egypt2001_eng.htm>

An excellent source on the recent history of Cairo and Cairenes is the Egyptian Gazette - subtitled "Cairo's Recollections Online": <http://www.egy.com/>

To ease the urban crush, President Mubarak has mooted building new luxury suburbs. But will it work, asks E.S. McKee, in the Jerusalem Report, July 1999? <http://www.jrep.com/Mideast/Article-16.html>

By contrast, the Middle East Intelligence Bulletin of January 2000 muses about the possibility of Egypt becoming the Future Economic Powerhouse of the Arab World: <http://www.meib.org/articles/0001_me3.htm>

According to some accounts, Coptic Christians make up more than 10% of Egypt's population. Imad Boles, chairman of the British Coptic Association, argues that Copts still suffer discrimination, neglect and random acts of violence. His view contrasts with the official Egyptian government position, and also ameliorating pronouncements from Coptic Pope Shenouda III. Full of valuable facts, his essay ends on an optimistic note, and appeared in the Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2001: <http://www.meforum.org/article/23>

Two successive articles on the Copts after the Khosheh incidents appeared in The Estimate, in January and February 2000. Finally, an interview with Shenouda III:

<http://www.theestimate.com/ >public/01282000a.html>

<http://www.theestimate.com/ >public/02112000.html>

<http://www.theestimate.com/ >public/01282000b.html>

Home of the Persecuted Copts in Egypt is the name of one active website, with many press releases, news items, campaigning details and a history of the church and community. As its name suggests, this essentially US-based group has an axe to grind…<http://www.copts.net/index.asp>

The Coptic Web series of websites is considerably less incendiary; and their highly informative Encyclopedia Coptica deserves special mention. See also the URL below for many useful links to other Coptic sites: <http://www.coptic.net/EncyclopediaCoptica/> ; <http://www.coptic.net/CopticWeb/Links-Featured.html>

Much smaller in size nowadays is Egypt's Jewish community. The two best indigenous sources for more information about Egyptian Jews are the Judaica section of the Egyptian Gazette, and a separate publication, Bassatine News: <http://www.egy.com/ >judaica/>; <http://www.geocities.com/ >bassatine/>

Another beleagured minority, it seems, are Egypt's gays. A recent trial of 52 men accused of "immorality" received coverage in the West. George Ziyad wrote about the affair in "Caught in the Closet", for the Jerusalem Report, August 2001: <http://www.jrep.com/ >Mideast/Article-7.html>

For official views on Egypt's policy on nuclear weapons, and promotion of Alexandria's exciting new library, and the 1973 October War, see the following sites, courtesy of SIS: 

<http://www.sis.gov.eg/nuclear/nukfront.htm>

<http://www.sis.gov.eg/alex-lib/htm >l/alex.htm>

<http://www.sis.gov.eg/oct-war/htm >l/oct.htm>

From Nefertiti and Cleopatra to Umm Kolthoum and Dr Nawal el-Saadawy, Egypt has been blessed with generations of passionate and talented women. Politics in modern Egypt, however, remains a virtually all-male bastion. But could things be changing?

Not fast enough, according to the political scientist, Réhab El-Bakry. Coat and Tie Required? is her tongue-in-cheek but nonetheless serious essay on the subject. Find it in the current edition of Egypt Today: <http://www.egypttoday.com/ >issues/?article=021090D0>

Certainly, an Egyptian State Information Service site devoted to Egyptian women includes four female political figures - though all had their heyday between the two world wars. Via the front page, find other links to history, culture, motherhood, figures from the past, a chronology of events, the 1999 Cairo Conference commemorating a century of women's liberation, the first photographic documentation of Egyptian women's movements, and (of course!) Umm Kolthoum: <http://www.sis.gov.eg/women/html/front2.htm>

The Legal Research and Resource Center for Human Rights, in Cairo, has a good selection of articles on women's issues in Egypt, and elsewhere in the Middle East. <http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/9012/women.htm>

Many more articles and links to many women's groups appear via its own website: <http://www.geocities.com/lrrc.geo/women.htm>

Cairo Times has an archive devoted to its past articles on women ranging from female circumcision, birth control and the rape law, to profiles of a woman taxi-driver; the writer Salwa Bakr; Fatma Leshin, who wants to be Egypt's first woman judge; and Souad Salah, who wants to be Egypt's first woman mufti: <http://www.cairotimes.com/content/issues/Women/women.html>

For academic study of the topic of women in modern Egyptian society, a good port of call is AUC's Institute for Gender and Women's Studies. Their homepage links to scholar affiliation programmes, research, conferences, an electronic discussion network, a calendar and a long explanatory "mission statement": <http://www.aucegypt.edu/academic/igws/index.html>

In 2000 President Mubarak inaugurated Egypt's National Council for Women. Now there is a handsome website for this organisation, in English and Arabic (although it appears that only the Arabic version is currently working): <http://www.ncwegypt.com/>

CEWLA stands for the Centre for Egyptian Women's Legal Aid, which has built good links to sister-bodies in the UN, USA and around the Arab world. The following website URL lists their impressive range of projects, from a special legal hotline to the organisation's participation in the first conference on so-called "honour crimes": <http://www.cewla.org/english/projects.htm>

A fulsome list of women's organisations in Egypt appears on the Fullmoon website. Some have links to websites and email addresses for organisers of the groups: <http://www.euronet.nl/~fullmoon/womlist/countries/egypt.html>

The Mixed Impact of Feminist Struggles in Egypt during the 1990s is an essay written by Sherifa Zuhur MERIA Journal V.5, no.1(March 2001) <http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2001/issue1/jv5n1a6.html>

Manal el-Jesri profiles Amina Shafiq, a "Modern Suffragette", in Egypt Today. You will have to search within the October 2002 edition, and to access the full article, you need to log in (for free) as a subscriber: <http://www.egypttoday.com/>

The magazine Reproductive Health Matters features a synopsis of an article by Aida Seif El Dawla on "Reproductive Rights of Egyptian Women: Issues for Debate". It appeared in RHM's November 2000 edition: <http://www.rhmjournal.org.uk/PDFs/16SEIF.PDF>

El Dawla works for the New Woman Research Center. The NWRC has a magazine called Taiba, though as yet no web presence of its own. Even so, there are at least 40 references to NWRC's work on the web, and Amel Abdel Hedy, NWRC director, is interviewed in an article published by the Christian Science Monitor, in July 2001, entitled "Polygamy goes on trial in Egypt": <http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/07/16/p6s3.htm>

Lawrence Joffee is the London representative of MERIA Journal

MERIA is indexed in Index Islamicus and CSA Worldwide Political Science Abstracts. 

Staff: Editor: Barry Rubin; Assistant Editors: Cameron Brown, Elisheva Rosman-Stollman, Joy Pincus. London representative: Lawrence Joffe. Canadian representative: Brent Sasley. Turkish representative: Ozgul Erdemli.

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