After election successes, pragmatic Islamists make it hard to tell the liberals from the radicals
"The Egyptian scene is confusing us!", columnist Abdulrahman Al Rashid wrote in the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat.
"We no longer distinguish Islamists from liberals," he went on, "and we no longer understand the Salafis and the Brotherhood as we once thought we did."
The Salafis in Egypt, like the majority of Salafis everywhere, are interested in social affairs according to a strict interpretation of the religion. Women's issues - women's place and value in society as well as every little detail of women's lives - are at the top of their debates. But despite their radicalism, Egypt's Salafis surprised everyone by promoting a female candidate for their Annour party in the elections.
That candidate, Insaf Khalil, replaced her headshot with the picture of a rose during her electoral campaign. But, surprisingly, the sheikhs of the Salafi group asked her to display her picture, which boosted her popularity.
In the days leading to the second phase of the elections, an Annour official won attention by saying that if his party won the elections, they would not shut down banks or ban access to beaches for women and men.
This is an example of a Salafi representing the far Islamic right in social issues at a time of the intense controversy that usually accompanies elections.
On the political level the far right is represented by groups such as the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt, and movements such as Annahda in Tunisia.
Upon winning the elections, the head of Ennahda, Rashid Al Ghanoushi, flew immediately to Washington, not Mecca, where he visited a strategic institute known for its close affiliation with Israel. There, Mr Ghanoushi showered his audience with assurances. He promised to avoid criticism of Israel and he expressed his support of a Muslim's right to convert to another religion. He added that he is in talks with secular politicians to join his government.
Most importantly, when asked about the Palestinian-Israeli struggle, he confirmed that the Palestinian issue is the last of his concerns, for in Tunisia there are a million unemployed citizens.
"We have undoubtedly entered a new era overflowing with talk that has yet to pass the test of implementation," opined the writer. Do the Salafis in Egypt truly believe in women's rights and their equal role in society? Will women be able to venture out and compete in elections and work in parliament? Will the group truly approve of commercial banking and open beaches? And are Islamists really convinced that ensuring jobs takes priority over freeing Jerusalem?
"The truth will be what stands the test of experience," he concluded. "We may have been wrong about these radical groups who were denied authority on the grounds of their extremism, but then again they may only be a group of cunning political foxes."
Free open vote marks a new start for Tunisia
For the first time in the history of Tunisia, the representatives of the people elected a president of the republic with a majority of votes in an atmosphere of democracy and transparency - and in a live broadcast on the national satellite channel, said the editorial of the Tunisian daily Assahafa.
The election of Dr Moncef Marzouki didn't come as a surprise. It was the result of a consensus among the three parties that form the parliamentary coalition. The process leading to his election confirmed that the democratic transition is coming along according to the will of the people's representatives, including the opposition bloc that practised its democratic right to object and boycott the election.
"In a historic moment, Tunisia has definitely broken with the tradition of bogus elections with pre-rigged results," the paper said.
With the new president named, the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) completed its deliberations over a bill to temporarily regulate public authorities. In an unprecedented move, amid a fiery Assembly debate, the president's privileges - which gave the country's two former presidents vast authority and eventually led to their total monopoly of every aspect of life in Tunisia - were trimmed in favour of additional authority for the prime minister, as is the case in parliamentary regimes around the world.
Syrian regime shown to be fully out of touch
The scene in Syria is getting ever more confusing, as shown by the Syrian regime's decision on Monday to open ballot stations for municipal elections, in a scene that emphasised the complete schism between the regime and the facts on the ground, said Al Watan Online, the website of the Saudi daily, in an editorial.
"The stubborn Syrian regime presses ahead as if the crisis is a normal, casual occurrence, which doesn't match the Syrian forces' recent besieging of Homs and their threats to 'invade' the city in an effort to quell protests," said the article.
As the general strike continues to expand across Syria to include even Damascus, the uprising is inching closer to the regime. Nonetheless, the authorities insist on holding local elections as if they were oblivious to everything around them.
As we await the Arab League's ministerial meeting on Saturday to look into Syria's response to the League's observer mission proposal, anything could happen, especially if the government decides to invade Homs.
"The Syrian regime has lost its legitimacy. The only viable solution it has now is to find a secure exit for itself as long as that is possible. The Syrians are not about to stop their struggle now and any formula for a solution must relate to the real world."
* Digest compiled by
Racha Makarem
rmakarem@thenational.ae
ABU DHABI T10: DAY TWO
Bangla Tigers v Deccan Gladiators (3.30pm)
Delhi Bulls v Karnataka Tuskers (5.45pm)
Northern Warriors v Qalandars (8.00pm)
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,470,000 (est)
Engine 6.9-litre twin-turbo W12
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 626bhp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,350rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.0L / 100km
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Race card
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1.600m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 2,000m
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 1,200m
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 2,000m
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Everton v Tottenham, Sunday, 8.30pm (UAE)
Match is live on BeIN Sports
More on Palestine-Israeli relations
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The biog
Favourite Emirati dish: Fish machboos
Favourite spice: Cumin
Family: mother, three sisters, three brothers and a two-year-old daughter
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)