Research & Commentary Results

The Middle East Institute, in conjunction with the Conflict Management Program at SAIS, is pleased to welcome Dr. Ahmad Atif Ahmad, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Dr. Jonathan A. Brown, Associate Professor of Islam and Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, for a discussion about the thinking and strategy of Islamist actors in Egypt in the wake of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi’s ouster.

The United States government announced last week that it would not, after all, make a determination as to whether the ouster of Egypt’s Mohamed Morsi constituted a “coup.”[1] This decision has both important strategic and financial implications for the United States. By not designating Morsi’s expulsion as a military coup, U.S. law allows the United States to continue its $1.5 billion in annual aid to Egypt.

Earlier this month, Interim President Adli Mansour appointed Judge Mohamed Amin el-Mahdi as Egypt’s first-ever Minister of Transitional Justice and National Reconciliation. It’s an encouraging move for a country that has, for decades, endured an oppressive environment of fear due to successive regimes’ use of power and the security apparatus to suppress and torture dissidents. After Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in 2011, many Egyptians hoped that their long list of abused rights could find justice, but until now very little has been accomplished.  

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Sahar F. Aziz, associate professor of Law at Texas Wesleyan University, and Mirette F. Mabrouk, deputy director for Regional Programs at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, for a discussion about the impact and implications of the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. Mirette Mabrouk will provide a macro-perspective of the current situation and discuss some of the key turning points that precipitated the recent crisis.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Sahar F. Aziz, associate professor of Law at Texas Wesleyan University, and Mirette F. Mabrouk, deputy director for Regional Programs at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, for a discussion about the impact and implications of the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. Mirette Mabrouk will provide a macro-perspective of the current situation and discuss some of the key turning points that precipitated the recent crisis.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Sahar F. Aziz, associate professor of Law at Texas Wesleyan University, and Mirette F. Mabrouk, deputy director for Regional Programs at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, for a discussion about the impact and implications of the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. Mirette Mabrouk will provide a macro-perspective of the current situation and discuss some of the key turning points that precipitated the recent crisis.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Sahar F. Aziz, associate professor of Law at Texas Wesleyan University, and Mirette F. Mabrouk, deputy director for Regional Programs at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, for a discussion about the impact and implications of the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. Mirette Mabrouk will provide a macro-perspective of the current situation and discuss some of the key turning points that precipitated the recent crisis.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Sahar F. Aziz, associate professor of Law at Texas Wesleyan University, and Mirette F. Mabrouk, deputy director for Regional Programs at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, for a discussion about the impact and implications of the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. Mirette Mabrouk will provide a macro-perspective of the current situation and discuss some of the key turning points that precipitated the recent crisis.

Yesterday, General Abdul Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt’s Minister of Defense and head of the military, called for Egyptians to take to the streets in protest on Friday to “confront terrorism.” Such a call amounts to a public relations one-upmanship vis-à-vis continued Islamist protests since Morsi’s ouster.  Clearly, the Egyptian military is in no need of popular protests to confront credible national security threats or armed militias that threaten the security of citizens.

Yesterday, the United States announced that it would delay the delivery of four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt.[1] While such a move might appear to signal a block in U.S. military aid to the country, most Egyptians believe that the United States will, as it always does, provide Egypt with military funding.

Mada Masr’s journalist Lina Attalah spoke to Gehad el-Haddad, spokesperson of the Muslim Brotherhood and senior advisor to its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, at the Rabaa el-Adaweya sit-in, where pro-deposed President Mohamed Morsi protesters have been camping to express their rejection of the military coup that ousted him.

What is the current plan? Keep mobilizing to exert pressure? Negotiate at some point?

Before 3 July 2013 enters the annals of U.S.-backed anti-Islamist coups[1] it is worth noting that Mohamed Morsi’s ill-fated presidency differs from prior cases. Whereas the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) and Hamas posed a threat (however chimeric) to Washington, Morsi quickly won plaudits from U.S. officials. Meanwhile, he menaced the domestic opposition with an autocratic panache. When Morsi exceeded his elected mandate and refused to share power, secularists and Salafists rose against him—while the U.S.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host Dr. Mona Makram-Ebeid for a discussion about the state of affairs in Egypt in the wake of the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi. Dr. Makram-Ebeid is a prominent Egyptian academic and former member of the Shura Council, who recently resigned in support of the Tamarod movement. She will provide a first-hand perspective on the challenges ahead for Egypt following the recent military takeover of the government and the ensuing violence and unrest.