5/30/16

Egypt fear of the beard: A missing perspective

Egyptian men grew beards all the time whether for religious reasons or as a habit, what went wrong in the past few years?
How do people view bearded men when they are Muslim? What happens when a society becomes very hostile to men with facial hair? Can you be a hipster with a hipster beard and pass as a hipster, not as a Muslim Brotherhood, and survive in today's Egypt?

What's taking place in Egypt can give you an idea about a dark scenario, where media and authority campaigning effort lead to stereotyping and vilifying a very diverse group of people. For more background check out this other piece we have written: 

Egypt fear of the beard:

This is an important perspective on the struggle of bearded men in Egypt who have fallen victims to an extremely harsh Islamphobic campaign after secular army general Abdul Fattah El Sisi took over the country. This feature piece discusses the different experiences of Egyptian young men from various perspectives, some of them have beards for religious reasons, some are affiliated with political Islamic movements, and others are doing it simply for the style, just like how any man anywhere in the world grows a beard.
At the end, they all face a similar degree of harassment and discrimination for how they look like.

From Middle East Eye, by: Maged Abul Dahab

The campaign against Islamic political movements has extended to appearance, and the beard is one of the main targets. 

Since Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi rose to power, officially one year ago but in practice since the armed forces' declaration of 3 July, it was clear that his policy towards Islamic political movements was different from former presidents Hosni Mubarak or Anwar Sadat.
Sisi's policy is closer to that of Gamal Abdel Nasser - total and complete obliteration of Islamic movements, with a particular focus on the Muslim Brotherhood. One of the main tools to execute this policy was the use of the media - government-backed media specifically - to terrorise the Islamic political movements which seized the political initiative after the 25 January revolution.

The campaign against Islamic political movements was expanded to include a generalised crackdown on Islamic practices and outward Islamic appearance. And nothing symbolised the idea of the Islamic opposition and fear of "terrorism" more than the beard. The media emphasised the idea that bearded men were terrorists, or at least Muslim Brotherhood members.
Many lives were affected by this idea and subsequent reprisals that were taken against men who wore beards.

The student
Abdullah Farouk Kenibar, An Egyptian student, who was attacked while travelling from kafer El Sheikh to Cairo, because of his beard and Islamic appearance (MEE/Belal Darder)

Abdullah Farouk Kenibar is a 22-year-old student of medicine at the University of al-Azhar in Cairo. Kenibar is from Kafr al-Shiekh governorate, but he travels to Cairo every year to study. He comes from a religious family that considers the beard as a Sunnah (religiously prescribed practice). His home in Kafr al-Shiekh is near the house of the famous Islamic preacher Abu Ishak al-Houiny, who Kenibar holds in extremely high regard.

“In my first year of high school, I used to pray al-Fajr [the morning prayer] regularly at the mosque, and every time I met Sheikh Ishak, he would tell me to grow my beard to be similar to the Prophet Mohammed,” Kenibar explained. He started to grow his beard during his third and fourth years of high school.
It was 2011 when Kenibar was enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine at al-Azhar University. Everything was going well for him. Most of the students around him were bearded, and he had no problems interacting with the people of the city. He enjoyed being treated in high esteem on and off the university campus.

But things changed three months after Morsi became president. The aggressive tone of the media escalated against Islamists with each passing day. Kenibar and his friends began to feel the growth in animosity from those around them.
“I was in the bus going to the university. An old woman carrying a heavy parcel climbed into the bus. I got up from my seat to help her, and she immediately freaked out," Kenibar told MEE.

"She started calling me bad names, saying that I was Ikhwan [a member of the Muslim Brotherhood] and that we were the reason for the sabotage of the country.”
"That was the first time I realised how bad the situation was. It was also the first time I felt that my beard was a burden on my shoulders. If I wasn’t bearded, her reaction would have been totally different.”

Six months after this incident, Morsi was removed from power, and the Muslim Brotherhood alongside other political Islamic movements called for their adherents to take part in a sit-in demonstration in two main squares. During this sit-in - which lasted for about 40 days - media attacks on Islamists reached unprecedented levels.

At this time, Kenibar was at his family home in Kafr al-Sheikh. He would have stayed there all summer, but he needed to travel back to Cairo to complete some tasks at the university. “I’d heard that bearded men were targeted along the way from Kafr al-Sheikh to Cairo, but I felt that those who told me about this were exaggerating. Though I had learned that bearded men were treated differently, I didn’t think for one minute that I would really be targeted just because I wore a beard.”

Along the way to Cairo, Kenibar’s car was stopped by a group of men. Kenibar was attacked violently under the assumption that he was “Ikhwan”, and afterwards he was taken by the gang of men to a police checkpoint, again under the assumption that he was a member of the Brotherhood heading to Cairo to participate in the sit-in. Kenibar was detained briefly for this, and would have stayed in jail if it wasn’t for the interference of his uncle, a judge, who managed to get him out after three days of detention.

When Kenibar was released, the first thing he did was shave his beard. “I hated to shave it, but I was not going to risk that danger again. I was fortunate enough to have an uncle who was a judge, but what about the hundreds and thousands who have no important relatives and were subject to the same treatment?”

The photographer
Ahmed Fouad Hendawy is a 24-year-old photojournalist for Etfarag, an Egyptian news website. He has been working as a photojournalist for five years now, and has worn a beard since he was 18 years old. “I just like the way I look with a beard. I respect those who grow their beard for religious reasons, and I wish I could say that I grew my beard so God would be pleased with me, but it is simple in my case - I just like my appearance as a bearded man,” Hendawy explained.

Ahmed Fouad Hendawy, An Egyptian photojournalist, who was suspected and detained because of his looks (MEE/Belal Darder)
Hendaway’s job requires him to travel all around Egypt. He spends most of his days on the street. Wearing a beard never posed a problem for him. To the contrary, he used to get positive comments about his beard and his hair, which he was growing long as well.

But then Hendaway started to face difficulties doing his job. "When Morsi became president, so much negative light was shed on the Brotherhood and the Islamists. Our society is easily influenced and led, and it started to stigmatise all bearded men as Islamists and members of the Brotherhood,” he explained.

Some people even refused to be photographed by Hendaway, simply because he was a bearded man. “It was certainly a load on me. Many times I wasn’t able to do the tasks I was appointed to do. My boss kept asking me to shave my beard, and I kept refusing. I exerted double effort to get my tasks done without shaving my beard.”
Ahmed Fouad Hendawy, An Egyptian photojournalist, who was suspected and detained because of his looks (MEE/Belal Darder)

The breaking point was on the night of 7 July 2013. Hendaway was covering clashes between Morsi supporters and Sisi supporters in downtown Cairo, near Ramses Square. According to Hendaway, after about an hour, police forces intervened in favour of the Sisi supporters. Hendaway was able to capture images of police attacks on Morsi supporters. On his way to the office of the website, he was stopped at a checkpoint.

“People were passing by the checkpoint without getting stopped at all, but when I was seen, I was immediately stopped. It was clear that it was because of my long beard. Five minutes later I was ransacked, and of course the data on my camera was discovered, and I was beaten mercilessly, though I kept repeating that I am a journalist, and that I was just doing my job.”
Hendaway was led to a police station where he was detained for about a month, till the efforts of his website were fruitful, and he was released. He is now working extensively on documenting violations police forces carry out against journalists. He has also shaved his beard.

The Salafist
Ayman Osama, An Egyptian technician, who was forced to leave his work due to his long beard and opposed political views (MEE/Belal Darder)

Ayman Osama is 26 years old. He currently works as a technical consultant for a multinational corporation in Cairo. Formerly a student in the faculty of computer science at the University of Ain Shams, Osama used to be a member of a Salafi group. Before he joined the group he was a typical student, who spent his time hanging out with girls and joking around with his friends. After joining the Salafi group, he became more conservative, grew his beard, and became a regular attendant at the mosque on campus. This was noticed by Egypt's National Security apparatus.

“That was before the revolution of 25 January, so the National Security was interfering in the daily lives of the students,” Osama explained. “After about a month of growing my beard, I was summoned to the National Security office, where I was questioned about those with whom I spent my time, and why exactly I was growing my beard. They threatened to report me to the police.”

Then the revolution came. National Security was expelled from the university and Osama got a job in an Egyptian company right after graduation. That was before the election of Mohamed Morsi. “It was a good job, and I did well there, and I kept working there for about a year and a half, but after Morsi was ousted, and the whole Rabaa thing, I started to notice that my colleagues were talking about me behind my back. The way they interacted with me was gradually changing. Then one day my manager called me to his office and told me that I was going to have to shave my beard. They also said that it was preferable if I left the company because they didn’t want any affiliation with those who are like me.”

Osama was shocked by the rudeness of his manager. “I’ve had heated discussions with my colleagues about politics, I knew that most of them were Sisi supporters, but I never thought that I would be treated like that, only for having different ideas, opinions and appearance,” said Osama.
“I believe that what happened to me at the company is far more dangerous than what happened to me at the university. In the old days, the regime was targeting Islamists and bearded men, and it was understandable, as the regime was afraid of any kind of organised, committed opposition groups. But what happened at my work is that they managed to create dissidence and hate between different segments of society, which is, in my opinion, far more dangerous.”

Osama got a different job, one that allowed him to grow his beard. But he still shaved it, and says he will remain without a beard until the situation in Egypt gets better.

The Brotherhood activist
Ibrahim Abdo Ibrahim (R), a leading member of the Brotherhood at a protest held by the Brotherhood, a week or two after the raid on Rabaa Al Adawia sit -in, Ibrahim is now a fugitive, as he was sentenced three years in absentia (MEE/Belal Darder)

Ibrahim Abdo Ibrahim is 38 years old and a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Abdo experienced detention during Mubarak's rule. “I was detained two times during the days of Mubarak," Ibrahim told MEE.
"Both times were just before the elections of the parliament. The first time was in 2005, when was detained for about two weeks. The other time was in 2010 for three days.”

After the events of 3 July 2013, Abdo and all members of the Brotherhood were called to go and participate in the sit-in at Rabaa Square. The calls changed after the raid on the square by police forces. The orders now were for everyone to participate in the processions held by the Brotherhood.

In October 2013, security forces raided Abdo’s home. This was expected to happen, because it was known that he was a member of the Brotherhood in his neighbourhood. Fortunately, Abdo was out the night the police raided his house. Since then, he has been a fugitive.

His wife took their two children and is staying with her parents. Abdo changes his location every two or three weeks, especially after he was sentenced in absentia for three years in prison for his affiliation with the Brotherhood.

“I am wanted right now, I haven't seen my family in about a year. I have to take many precautions so that I won’t be caught. But the most important one is to shave my beard. The police only suspect bearded men," he said. "Shaving my beard has gotten me out of many difficult situations.”

5/15/16

En Egipto: todo el mundo es condenado a 10 años de cárcel!

For the English version:

Esta publicación es un ejemplo de cómo condenar a los jóvenes en Egipto a 10 años por acusaciones políticas se ha convertido en un veredicto muy común desde el golpe militar.
Decenas de miles de Egipcios están presos por sus posiciones políticas y enfrentan entre 10 -  25 años de prisión.
Los cargos más comunes que tienen para todo el mundo por lo general son "pertenecer a una organización terrorista" o "destrucción de la propiedad pública".
Vale la pena mencionar que los estudiantes de estos casos,  acudían todos a universidades privadas tales como la Universidad Alemana o Británica y que provienen de familias de clase media-alta y no están afiliados a ningún grupo político. Estas son algunas de las caras de esta horrible realidad y hablaremos sobre algunos de estos jóvenes.

(Todo el mundo en esta foto ha sido condenado a 10-15 años de prisión después de haber sido detenidos en una protesta).

Ayman Ali Mousa

Tiene 21 años, asistía a la Facultad de Ingeniería de la Universidad Británica en Egipto. Ayman fue detenido en Octubre del  2013 y permaneció en prisión desde entonces hasta que recibió una sentencia de 10 años. El padre de Ayman sufrió tanto por el encarcelamiento de su hijo que, como resultado,  murió el año pasado.
Ayman y su familia recurrieron a la administración de la prisión y al Fiscal General antes de la muerte de su padre,  pidieron que Ayman pudiese verlo cuando estaba enfermo, pero las autoridades se negaron. Después de la muerte de su padre, también intentaron apelar por su liberación temporal para que pudiese asistir al funeral de su padre, pero se negaron de nuevo.
Esta no es la primera vez que ocurre algo así. El estado egipcio se niega constantemente a permitir que los presos vean a los miembros de su familia, incluso en las visitas regulares. No sabemos cuántos padres murieron por el encarcelamiento de sus hijos adolescentes y sus pequeños hijos(as). 

Ahmad Al Khateeb

Estudiante de Biotecnología en Universidad Misr de Ciencia y Tecnología, de 21 años. Al igual que muchas universidades de Egipto, la administración de esta escuela privada tiene estrechos vínculos con la seguridad del Estado y facilitan información sobre las actividades políticas de sus propios alumnos.
Ahmad fue sacado de su casa hace un año y medio, y condenado hace dos días a 10 años de trabajos forzados.

Abdulrahman El-Gendy


El 6 de Octubre del 2013, después de una gran movilización contra el golpe militar, Abdulrahman (19 años) y su padre fueron detenidos en la calle en una detención masiva con otras 62 personas. Un año más tarde fueron condenados a 15 años de prisión. En Marzo del 2016, se rechazó su apelación final, y cumplen ahora ésos 15 años de prisión.
Durante dos años y medio, la madre de Abdulrahman ha estado viajando entre dos cárceles de Egipto para poder ver a su hijo y esposo. Su hijo está en la prisión de Wadi El-Natroun, y su marido está en la prisión de Al-Aqrab (Escorpión). ¡Ambos han sido condenados a 15 años de prisión por razones políticas!
Abdulrahman era estudiante de la Facultad de Ingeniería, en la Universidad Alemana de El Cairo. Fue expulsado de la universidad como resultado de su encarcelamiento y ha sido transferido a una universidad pública, en la que no puede hacer bien sus estudios debido a la dificultades de su encarcelamiento.

Omar Yaseen

Estudiante universitario que ha sido condenado a 10 años de prisión por un tribunal militar excepcional egipcio. ¿Por qué dar a un joven en su primer año de universidad 10 años de prisión?

Fathy Azmy

Preso político en la prisión de Wadi El Natrón que es sometido a violaciones dentro de la prisión. La administración de la ésta, le impide hacer ejercicio, y tampoco permiten medicamento. Utilizan perros policía cuando distribuyen los alimentos a todos los presos y esto hizo que Fathy y otro prisionero Mohamed El Sayed iniciaran una huelga de hambre debido al trato humillante que han estado recibiendo en la prisión. 
Cabe mencionar que Fathy fue trasladado a "La sala de disciplina" de la prisión durante más de 5 meses, y que ha sido aislado del resto de los presos políticos. No le han permitido ver a sus familiares y le quitaron todas sus pertenencias.
¡También fue condenado a 10 años de prisión por cargos políticos! Esta información es de su esposa, Aisha El Sherbiny,quien fuera, anteriormente presa política.

Sentencia a un preso un año después de su muerte bajo custodia: 

El Dr. Fareed Ismail era miembro del parlamento;  murió en la prisión de ‘’El Escorpión’’ debido a una negligencia médica cuando las autoridades se negaron, obstinadamente, a proporcionarle el tratamiento necesario.
¡Esto no evitó que le hayan condenado a 10 años de prisión! Se le dio una sentencia hace unos días por un tribunal de la provincia de Sharqiyya, sí,  un año después de su muerte en la cárcel.

Abdulrahman Al Barr, an Egyptian professor in Al Aqrab

This is a direct translation from a report posted in Arabic on the Facebook of Al Aqrab prisoners families: 

Dr. Abdulrahman Abdulhameed Al-Barr: A leading Islamic scholar on hunger strike in Al Aqrab prison.


-He's 53 years old, married with five children.

-Professor of Science of Hadeeth (Prophetic Tradition) at Al-Azhar University, after the revolution he was elected to be the dean of the faculty of Usool Al-Deen and Da'wah ( Foundation of the Islamic Religion) at Al-Azhar University, El-Mansoura Branch.

-An active and high ranking member of several international and Egyptian Islamic organizations such as:

-Member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars.
-President of the International Coalition for the Support of Al-Quds and Palestine.
-Member of the Al-Azhar Scholars.
-Member scholar in one of the oldest and largest Islamic charity societies in Egypt, Al Jameyya Al Shareeya. 

-He was arrested by the military coup forces on June 1, 2015, and he was forcibly disappeared for 22 days, during which neither his family nor his lawyers knew anything about his situation or whereabouts. 

After that he appeared in the prosecutor's office in Cairo, and he was transferred to the maximum security Scorpion Prison. He was placed in a solitary cell at the Scorpion Prison, and was denied the simplest rights accorded by law to anyone whose freedom is curtailed.

The prison administration is conducting an intentional program of extermination in what activists and families of prisoners called: "the Scorpion Cemetery." 
Visits by relatives and lawyers are denied to prisoners there for long periods, personal belongings allowed by law - such as clothes, bed covers, paper, pens, and even toothbrushes or watches - are also denied. 

Even personal hygiene tools such as nail clippers and shavers are not allowed, forcing them to share tools provided by the prison, which exposes them to diseases such as Hepatitis C.

Professor Al-Barr started an open hunger strike on May 3, 2016, protesting the stripping of the detainees' cells from everything that belongs to the detainees, and the prevention of any visits, food or medicines from the outside since April 21, 2016. 

These actions stopped what little food detainees depended on to avoid prison food, which was poor in quality, in addition to infecting some detainees with intestinal diseases, or causing cases of food poisoning.

For more information about Al Aqrab prison and a detailed report please check out our article here:


#مقبرة_العقرب
#أغلقوا_العقرب
‪#‎ShutDownAqrab‬
‪#‎DyingToLive‬

5/5/16

In Egypt: Everyone gets 10 years in prison!

This post is an example for how sentencing young people in Egypt for 10 years in prison over political charges has become a very common verdict since the military coup. Tens of thousands of Egyptians are imprisoned due to their political positions and are facing 10 to 25 years of prison. 

The classical charges they have for everyone are usually "belonging to a terrorist organization" or "destruction of public property". 

It's worth mentioning that the students in these cases were all attending private universities such as the German and British university, they come from upper middle class families and are not affiliated with any political groups.

These are some faces of this horrific reality and we will talk about some of these youth.

(Everyone in this photo is sentenced to 10-15 years in prison after being arrested from a protest).


Ayman Ali


Ayman Ali Mousa is 21 years old, he was attending the faculty of Engineering at the British University in Egypt. Ayman was arrested October 2013 and remained in prison since then until he received a 10 years sentence. Ayman's father struggled so much because of his son's imprisonment and died as a result last year. 

Ayman and his family appealed to the prison administration and the general prosecutor before his father died and asked that Ayman could see him when he was sick but the authorities refused. After his father's death, they also tried hard to appeal for his release temporarily so that he can attend his father's funeral and service, but they refused again. 

This is not the first time something like that happened. The Egyptian state constantly refuses to allow prisoners to see their family members even in regular visits. We don't know how many parents died over the imprisonment of their teenager and very young sons and daughters.   

Ahmad Al Khateeb
Ahmad Al Khateeb is a 21year old student of Biotechnology at Misr University for Science and Technology.
Like so many universities in Egypt, the administration of this private school has close ties to the state security and they facilitate reporting on the political activities of their own students. 
Ahmad was taken from his home a year and a half ago, and sentenced two days ago to 10 years at hard labor. 


Abdulrahman El-Gendy

On October 6, 2013 after a large mobilization against the military coup, Abdulrahman ( 19 years old) and his father were both arrested in the street in a mass detention with 62 others. 
A year later they were sentenced to 15 years in prison. In March 2016, their final appeal was rejected, and their 15 year sentences were confirmed.

For two and half years, Abdulrahman's mother has been traveling between two of Egypt's prisons so that she can see her son and husband. Her son is in Wadi El-Natroun Prison, and her husband is in Al-Aqrab (Scorpion) Prison. And they have both been sentenced to 15 years in prison for political reasons!

Abdulrahman was a student at the faculty of Engineering, at the German University in Cairo. He was expelled from the university as a result of his imprisonment and transferred to a public university but he can't do well in his studies because of the difficult imprisonment situation.  

Omar Yaseen

Omar Yaseen is another university student who was given 10 years in prison by an exceptional Egyptian military court! Why give a freshman in college 10 years in prison?


Fathy Azmy
Fathy Azmy, a political prisoner in Wadi El Natron prison is subjected to violations inside the prison. The prison administration prevents him from exercising, and they also don't allow medicine. They are using police dogs while distributing food to all prisoners which made Fathy and another prisoner Mohamed El Sayed start a hunger strike because of the humiliating way they have been receiving from the prison administration.

Its worth mention that Fathy was transferred to "The Disciplinary Ward" in the prison for more than 5 months now, and he has been isolated from the rest of the political prisoners. They haven't allowed him to see his family members and they took away all his belongings.
Fathy was also given 10 years in prison over political charges!
This information is directly from his wife, Aisha El Sherbiny, who's a former political prisoner herself.



Sentencing a prisoner a year after he died in custody

Dr. Fareed Ismail is a former member of the Parliament who was killed in the Scorpion Prison through medical negligence when the prison authorities obstinately refused to provide him with needed treatment. 
This didn't prevent them from given him the 10 years sentence! He was given a ten-year sentence a few days ago by a Sharqiyya Province court, one year after his death in prison.