8. Egypt and the Cross-National Diffusion of Democratic Experiences

“Common Strategy of the European Council.” A document issued by the European Council, 19 June 2000; at: <http://​www.​consilium.​europa.​eu/​uedocs/​cmsUpload/​mediEN.​pdf>.

During the 1980s, the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as many other organizations with Islamist orientation, became effective agents of social and political change, attracting members from the middle and low-income classes, getting involved in a broad range of economic and social activities, and acquiring dominance over professional syndicates. In the same vein, many prominent Egyptian intellectuals, formerly secularist and Marxists, returned to Islam during that period. These included figures such as Tarek Al-Bishri, Muhammad Emara, Fahmy Howeidy, Adil Hussein, and Anwar Abdel-Malik. For more details, see Esposito (1999a: 51–58).

See also Al-Taqrîr Al-Istirâtîjî Al-‘Arabî 1994 (Arab Strategic Report 1994), op.cit., pp. 252–255.

Al-Taqrîr Al-Istirâtîjî Al-‘Arabî 1993 (Arab Strategic Report 1993), op.cit., p. 347.

Al-Ahram Weekly (Cairo), Issue No. 245, 2–8 November 1995.

Al-Ahram Weekly (Cairo), Issue No. 750, 7–13 July 2005.

Al-Taqrîr Al-Istirâtîjî Al-‘Arabî 1993 (Arab Strategic Report 1993), op.cit., p. 347.

Al-Taqrîr Al-Istirâtîjî Al-‘Arabî 1995 (Arab Strategic Report 1995), op.cit., p. 427.

Al-Taqrîr Al-Istirâtîjî Al-‘Arabî 1994 (Arab Strategic Report 1994), op.cit., p. 370.

“President Discusses the Future of Iraq.” The White House, 26 February 2003; at: <http://​georgewbush-whitehouse.​archives.​gov/​news/​releases/​2003/​02/​20030226-11.​html>.

The estimate of more than one million violent deaths in Iraq was confirmed by Opinion Research Business (ORB), an independent British polling agency, in September 2007. The ORB poll estimated 1,220,580 violent deaths since the US invasion. In January 2008, ORB published an update based on additional work carried out in rural areas of Iraq. Some 600 additional interviews were undertaken and as a result of this the death estimate was revised to 1,033,000 with a given range of 946,000–1,120,000. This is consistent with a 2006 study that was conducted by doctors and scientists from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and published in the Lancet, Britain’s leading medical journal. The study, which was based on household survey data, estimated 601,000 people killed due to violence as of July 2006. If updated on the basis of deaths since the study, this estimate would also be more than a million. These estimates do not include those who have died because of public health problems created by the war, including breakdowns in sewerage systems and electricity, shortages of medicines, etc.

“Iraq: Latest return survey shows few intending to go home soon.” UNHCR Briefing Note, 29 April 2008; at: <http://​www.​unhcr.​org/​4816ef534.​html>.

For a similar assessment, see Otterman, Hil, and Wilson 2010; I’hsanoglu 2007; and “Carnage and Despair: Iraq Five Years On.” Amnesty International, March 2008.

“Arab Public Opinion Surveys.” Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development, 2008; at: <http://​sadat.​umd.​edu/​surveys/​index.​htm>.

“Four Years Later: Arab Opinion Troubled by Consequences of Iraq War.” Arab American Institute, 2007; at: http://​www.​aaiusa.​org/​reports/​four-years-later-arab-opinion-troubled-by-consequences-of-iraq-war-2007/​.

Whereas the Sunnis believe that the leader of the Islamic state should be freely chosen by the believers and be held accountable to the Muslim Umma (nation), the Shiites believe that such leadership (Imam) is the prerogative of the Prophet’s cousin Ali Ibn Abi-Talib and his sons.

“Egypt’s head questions Shiites’ loyalty,” The Michigan Daily, 10 April 2006; at: <http://​www.​michigandaily.​com/​content/​egypts-head-questions-shiites-loyalty>.

For a review of Al-Qaradwi’s statement, see Al-Masry al-Youm (Cairo), 9 September 2008.

See summary of the key findings of the 2009 Sadat Chair/Zogby International Arab Public Opinion Survey at: http://​sadat.​umd.​edu/​surveys/​index.​htm.

“Iran and Its Nuclear Weapons Program.” The Pew Global Attitudes Project, 17 June 2010, pp. 43–49; at: <http://​pewglobal.​org/​files/​pdf/​Pew-Global-Attitudes-Spring-2010-Report.​pdf>.

“Shia Muslims in Egypt face ‘systematic’ discrimination, say rights groups,” Al-Masry Al-Youm (Cairo), 7 November 2010.

“Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform: Human Rights in the Arab Region.” Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, 8 December 2009; at: http://​www.​cihrs.​org/​?​p=​1119&​lang=​en.

“Letter to Minister of Interior in the UAE regarding arbitrary deportations of Lebanese and Palestinian residents.” Human Rights Watch, 19 July 2010; at: <http://​www.​hrw.​org/​en/​news/​2010/​07/​19/​letter-minister-interior-uae-regarding-arbitrary-deportatations-lebanese-and-palesti>.

“Bahrain: Elections to Take Place amid Crackdown.” Human Rights Watch, 20 October 2010; at: <http://​www.​hrw.​org/​en/​news/​2010/​10/​20/​bahrain-elections-take-place-amid-crackdown>.

Al-Ahram Weekly (Cairo), Issue No. 1032, 20–26 January 2011.

“Cyber Revolution,” Al-Ahram Weekly (Cairo), Issue 1034, 10–16 February 2011.

“Post-revolution, Facebook’s political relevance in Egypt endures,” Al-Masry Al-Youm (Cairo), 14 February 2011.

“Tunisia’s elections: A Milestone on the path to democratic development.” Assessment Report, Policy Analysis Unit (Doha: Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, October 2011); at: <http://​english.​dohainstitute.​org/​Home/​Details/​5ea4b31b-155d-4a9f-8f4d-a5b428135cd5/​d6404bfb-3ebe-4bff-83d1-ece5285b5a1a>.

“Sobhi Saleh: Al-Silmi document is “dirty and decadent,” Masrawy, 18 November 2011; at: <www.​masrawy.​com/​news/​Egypt/​Politics/​2011/​November/​18/​4603626.​aspx>.

“AL-Nour Al-Salafi: Egypt does not want a Copt ruling the country,” Masrawy, 1 January 2012; at: <http://​www.​masrawy.​com/​news/​Egypt/​Politics/​2012/​January/​1/​4704755.​aspx>.

See the statement of Andre Zaki at: <http://​classic.​akhbarak.​net/​articleview.​php?​id=​3076670&​widget=​v&​host=​almesryoon.​com>.