Rabaa: The massacre that ended the Arab Spring

This article appeared originally on Middle East Eye:

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/what-is-rabaa-egypt-massacre-ended-arab-spring-1041665049

We are publishing this as a 101 guide for those who don't know all about the massacres and the military coup. Most of the English articles we come across are reductive, biased, or and inaccurate but this article was closer to the truth and to what we have experienced and what our friends and family members have seen. 

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Five years ago, Egypt witnessed the Rabaa massacre, often described as the end of the Arab Spring.

On 14 August, 2013, Egyptian security forces conducted a brutal operation to clear thousands of protesters, killing at least 1,000.

Many call it the worst mass killing of demonstrators in modern history, with its death toll surpassing the Tiananmen Square massacre in China in 1989 and the Andijan massacre in Uzbekistan in 2005.

What led to Rabaa?

On 30 June 2012, in the aftermath of the pro-democracy 2011 Egyptian revolution, Mohamed Morsi, the chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party and high-ranking Muslim Brotherhood member, became the first freely-elected civilian president in Egypt’s modern history.

Morsi’s tenure was short-lived, however. Exactly a year after his election victory, Morsi's opponents staged nationwide protests, blaming him and his party for the deteriorating economic and political situation the country was in.

The protests were backed by the army, and on 3 July, 2013 Morsi was deposed by a military coup by his defence minister, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who is now president.

In response, Morsi's supporters and critics of the coup, including Muslim Brotherhood members and pro-democracy civilians, staged nationwide protests demanding he be reinstated and a return to democracy.

The largest sit-in was held in Rabaa al-Adaweya Square in the northern Cairo district of Nasr City. Some 85,000 protesters camped there for six weeks until they were violently dispersed, in what became known as the Rabaa massacre.

Was Rabaa the only massacre?

All major protests demanding Morsi's reinstatement were crushed by brutal force.

In July and August 2013, five separate mass killings took place, as Egyptian security forces killed at least 1,150 protesters in what were widely considered crimes against humanity. Investigations by independent rights groups reported that the killings were intentional and systematic.

 Who were the protesters?

Estimated to be nearly 85,000 people strong, protesters at the Rabaa sit-in were overwhelmingly peaceful, middle-class Egyptians. Many were said to be members of the Muslim Brotherhood, but many others were non-partisan civilians opposed to the coup. They included women, children and elderly people.

What happened in Rabaa?

Egyptian authorities promised a gradual dispersal of the protest, and said they would provide safe exits for people to leave the square.

The actual dispersal, however, was the opposite of that. In the span of 12 hours, from sunrise to sunset, security forces fired live ammunition on large crowds of protesters in intense fusillades.

The security forces used armoured personnel carriers (APCs), bulldozers, ground forces and snipers. They were covered by army tanks deployed outside the square.

Then-Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim later admitted in a TV interview that he had anticipated at least 2,000 fatalities among the protesters during the dispersal. This was echoed by then-Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi, who also said in an interview with the press that “the final outcome was less that we expected”.

The square was besieged for most of the day. Attacks were carried out from all the five entrances to the square, making it lethal for trapped protesters to try and leave the square or for the wounded to be transported to hospitals. Many of those who tried to escape were shot dead.

Most of the casualties were shot in the head, neck or chest.

Towards the end of the operation, security forces advanced towards the mosque and hospital in the centre of the square and asked the volunteer medics present to leave the wounded behind and exit the square. Then they set fire to the mosque and hospital, including the corpses of those killed and the wounded protesters who were still alive.

Evidence documented by independent rights groups suggests that most of the security forces' fire targeted crowds of unarmed protesters, which led to the high number of casualties.

Who were the victims?

Around 1,000 protesters are estimated to have been killed on that day. They included at least 30 children and 19 women, most killed by bullets to the head or chest.

Security forces detained 800 protesters over the course of the day, and summarily executed many of them.

Several journalists were killed while covering the event, including British Sky News cameraman Mick Deane, and two Al Jazeera cameramen.

Although the protesters were largely peaceful, the official Forensic Medical Authority said eight police officers were killed on that day.

Who was behind the operation?

The Rabaa operation was carried out by the interior ministry, then led by Ibrahim, and supervised by Sisi, who was defence minister and deputy prime minister for security affairs. The commander of police forces on that day was General Medhat Menshawy.

Was anyone prosecuted?

Yes, the surviving protesters. Not a single official was held accountable for Rabaa massacre. Menshawy, who was in charge of carrying out the operation, was later promoted to assistant minister of interior for central security. All officers who participated in the sit-in were given a bonus in recognition of their efforts. Sisi became president in June 2014.

On 3 July 2018, marking the fifth anniversary of the coup, the Egyptian parliament approved a law that exempts senior army officers from prosecution for any acts committed since July 2013. That includes Rabaa and seven other mass killings.

Nearly 1,000 protesters were prosecuted and many of them received life sentences and death sentences for their role in the demonstrations that followed the 2013 coup.

How did the world react?

The European Union and the United States condemned the killings, but later carried on business as usual with the Sisi government. The EU suspended its export of military equipment to Egypt after the massacre, but allowed individual states to continue to supply Egypt with weapons.

The US withheld part of its military aid in 2013 and 2017 but then released it, triggering accusations that it gave Sisi a "green light for repression”. Similarly, the UK, Egypt’s largest trade partner, revoked some arms export licences after the massacre, but arms sales later resumed.

A response to the celebrated Egyptian elite "activists'

A group of Egyptian activists and ordinary citizens who are never mentioned in English media coverage

For some reason Middle East Eye decided to interview only a handful of famous activists who are not only known to have very liberal positions, but also are very open about having supported and rallied people in Egypt and abroad for #June30. 

While they have all by a way or another paid a price from their personal freedoms due to the crackdown of the Egyptian military dictatorship on all opponents, they all clearly insist on stating that they "don't regret supporting #June30", a movement recognized as undemocratic, irrational, and catastrophic by all those who care or don't care about the prosperity of Egypt.   

It is shocking and disappointing to see how Middle East Eye is shifting more and more towards giving a platform only to liberal and secular celebrity voices in Egypt, a trend that has been apparent in the majority of western media outlets since protests erupted in Egypt in 2011.

If Middle East Eye is seriously concerned with the Egyptian turmoil they need to do a better job than this. You can hire an Arabic-English translator or try to find more people to interview other than the 10 upper-middle-class Egyptians who supported the coup whom everyone in the world interviews since 2011.

We are writing this blog however because we were delighted to see a wonderfully written response from a commentator on the silly article. The comment breaks down the issue of Egyptian liberal elites contributing to the crisis in Egypt. To our surprise, the comment was by Jim Toth, an anthropologist who studies Egypt, the Arab world, and the wider Islamic community. He has taught at the American University of Cairo and at Northeastern University, and since 2011, has worked at New York University in Abu Dhabi. He is the author of Rural Labor Movements in Egypt and Their Impact in the State, 1961-1992. 

Here is a link to the Middle East Eye article:



http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/A-revolution-betrayed-living-in-Egypt-s-worst-era-1003870706
 
Here is Jim Toth's brilliant response:

Abdel Fatah and her friends are hypocrites. Democracy is when all the people voice their choice and opinion. She and her friends may have their own opinion – support Sisi and oppose Morsi – and so let them vote their choice along with all the millions of other voters in Egypt by holding honest elections. 

But to support an anti-democrat such as Sisi and to support the anti-democratic forces that removed Morsi without due process of an election – this is hypocritical. Don’t say Abdel Fatah was a “co-founder” of April 6. She and her friends are still hypocrites because in the last election
prior to July 3, Morsi had won, and they should, if they are true democrats, respect the people’s decision. 

It is not up to them and their elitist friends (the National Salvation Front) to use their social position, their access to the media, and their westernized demeanor to then remove a democratically-elected president, or support his illegal removal, whether or not he made serious mistakes (mistakes that were amplified and exaggerated by an anti-Brotherhood media). 

Nobel prize? Perhaps she ought to stand in line behind Trump. Both are so preposterously unqualified for a Nobel prize that to consider them seriously degrades the value of the prize itself.

For good reason or bad, the majority of ordinary Egyptians had voted in Morsi, and thus, Abdel
Fatah, along with her elitist friends, along with Sisi and the military, have no right in a democracy to overturn the election, unless they are willing to admit it is anti-democratic act and, therefore, the first step on the road to an authoritarian regime. To then pat themselves on the back and say “what good liberals we are” is the height of hypocrisy.

Is this a conflict between “east Cairo” (old Islamic Cairo) (along with Giza) against European Cairo (the nationalists) and the “wings” of New Cairo and October 6 (the neo-liberals)? Abdel Fatah and her crowd are so willing to dismiss the values and principles of the majority of her country-men and -women in those areas who wanted, and voted for, an uncorrupted (naïve?) candidate as president, one that did not have all the un-Egyptian trappings of ibn al-zayyat. In the last presidential elections, many more Egyptians supported a Muslim Brotherhood government than they supported a secular, westernized elitist government. 

She and her friends ought to recognize that, show some humility, some respect, and in democratic fashion, work within the system rather than support and commit extra-legal, unconstitutional acts.

For all her deeds, and those of her friends, they got Sisi, a 100-fold worse than Morsi. Had they been patient, respectful, and lawful, or had insisted on respect, legitimacy, and real democracy, they would not be stuck with Egypt’s worst dictator.

Perhaps they got what they deserved, but, of course, they are not going to be the ones who really hurt for it. But it is the Egyptian people, those unable to make it through the dismal economy and those jailed for belonging to the Brotherhood, who do not deserve this calamity. 

This crime lies squarely on the shoulders of the secular liberals who ought to have known better, but made a pact with the devil in order to assure themselves that their beliefs and way of life are better than those of the majority of Egyptian.

Egipat: islamofobija, opresija i političko zatvaranje

Original post in English:

Egypt: Islamophobia, political oppression

Translated to Bosnian by: Abdulah Nakas

Egipat: islamofobija, opresija i političko zatvaranje

Sara i Rana su dvije sestre u ranim dvadesetim godinama sa obrazovanjem medicinskih nauka, jedna je doktor medicine, a druga je farmaceut, njihov otac je ugledni univerzitetski profesor nauka. 

Prije dvije godine, oni su zaustavljeni dok su vozili u Aleksandriju na kontrolnom punktu samo zbog nikaba kojeg nose (egipatske sigurnosne snage zaustavljaju sve osobe i ispitaju sve muslimane na kojima su tragovi vjere), a zatim ove dvije sestre su, stavili u zatvor i optužili ih za "bombaški napad na ambasadu u Nigeru"bez ikakvog dokaza ili osnove za optužbe.

Njihov brat je aktivno učestvovao u kampanji da ih oslobodi, a potom je i on uhapšen i pritvoren zbog toga što je govorio o ovom slučaju. Danas je nakon dvije godine zatočeništva sestara (Sara) dobila je smrtnu kaznu i rečeno joj je da će uskoro biti pogubljena!

Postoji veoma duga istorija sekularnih sigurnosnih snaga koje su dovele do islamofobije i diskriminacije muslimana u Egiptu od vremena Nasera, Sadata i Mubaraka. Ovo se intenziviralo od vojnog udara u 2013. godini, kog podstiču i egipatski i zapadni mediji. Toliko Egipćana ciljano je bačeno u zatvor samo na osnovu njihovog izgleda.

Žene kao što su Sara i Rana ne dobijaju nikakvu podršku medija ili udruženja za ljudska prava da bi Egipatski tiranin Sisi oslobodio naše sestre iz zatvora.

 Citirajući Abdulrahmana, brata od 2 sestre, a za vas info, uhapšen je zbog podrške svojim sestarama u zatočeništvu, prijećeno mu je hapšenjem ako ne zaustavi svoje aktivnosti da ih oslobodi i nije obraćao pažnju na svoje riječi sve dok nije bio uhapšen i zatvoren! 

Abdulrahman je napisao na svojoj Facebook stranici prije hapšenja o stradanju svojih sestara: Sarah i Rana Abdullah Al-Sawy ... Uhapšeni su od 17-9-2015, putujući sa svojim ocem u Aleksandriju na kontrolnom punktu, i držane su skrivene u prostorijama državne bezbjednosti i vođene kao "nestalim" najprije su bile mučene 5 dana! 

Otišli su u Državno tužilaštvo i njihov otac je oslobođen nakon 5 dana! Oni su izmislili slučaj protiv Sare i Rane i optužili ih za bombaški napad na ambasadu Nigeru a zatim su prebačene na vojni sud u kampu Huckstep uz kontinuirano odlaganje suđenja! Sestre se nisu viđale, osim u tužilaštvu nakon 5 dana! Sara je čula zvuk vrištanja i plača, a policajci su joj rekli da su to zvukovi mačke! Kakav je ovo zločin? Dok se (Sestre) sastale na dan suđenja, ona (Sarah) je saznala da je to bio glas njene sestre Rane tokom njenog mučenja. Bila je mučena električnim šokovima. 

Ni ljudi nisu mogli nositi taj teret (mučenja), pa kako je onda sa slabašnim ženama? Intenzitet mučenja se povukao, a ruka joj je bila paralizovana i nije mogla da je pomjeri zbog tortute elektro šokova! Zatim, nakon zavođenja tužilaca, nedelju dana prije suđenja, Sara je osuđena na smrtnu kaznu.

Sara and Rana: Islamophobia, profiling, and political imprisonment

Sara ( 26 years old) and Rana ( 24 years old) are two sisters in their early twenties with medical and scientific degrees, one of them is a doctor and the other is a pharmacist, their father is a respected university professor of science.

Two years ago, they were stopped while driving to Alexandria in a security checkpoint only because of the Niqab they wear (Egyptian security forces question all religious Muslim looking individuals for nothing but the way they look like) and then the two sisters where kidnapped and disappeared.

They appeared in detention, they put them in prison and accused them of "Bombing the embassy of Niger!!" a completely random case with no evidence or basis to the accusation.

Their brother was actively campaigning to release them and then eventually was arrested and put in prison too for speaking about the case.

Today after 2 years of detention and out of nowhere one of the sisters (Sara) was given a death sentence and was told that she will be executed soon!

There is a very long history of secular security forces led attitudes of Islamophobia and discrimination against religious looking Muslims in Egypt since the times of Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak.

This targeting intensified since the military coup in 2013 and was encouraged by the Egyptian and western media alike. So many Egyptians are targeted and thrown into prison only on the basis of their looks.

Women like Sara and Rana don't get any media or human rights support because of how they look like and this is very unfair. Please speak about their case!

Human Rights in Egypt after the military coup: A detailed report

Do you hear about Egypt in the news anymore? If you are someone who followed Egypt after the military coup in 2013 you probably came across very few articles here and there. 

News updates on explosions, bombing, and infrastructure accidents usually get the most attention, if any. However, barely anything is said in English on the unprecedented scale of human rights violations, political persecution, and the social frustration and pressure affecting the lives of millions of Egyptians.

For decades and especially after the revolution in 2011, the Egyptian people who are experiencing human rights violations who are not English speakers, who reside outside of the center of attention don't get the same recognition internationals and celebrities receive when they are under the grip of the Egyptian state.

Unfortunately, this is something international news agencies and many of the advocacy groups fail to understand and as a result it has been one of our main motivations to do our translation work.

Earlier this year and for several months, members of our initiative coordinated with an aspiring human rights organization which shares the same concerns. For two years now The Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms has been trying to offer a neutral grassroots documentation of the human rights crisis in Egypt regardless of the ideology, political affiliation, or social class of the victim or their families. 
Their incredible work received the attention and was cited in several human rights reports and news articles but they still struggle so much to reach a wider audience due to their limited resources and linguistic abilities. 

The following post is a translation by one of our members for a summary and an introduction to one of their major projects so far. 
The project was a detailed report on human rights violations since July 2013 and up until the end of 2015. We worked for a few months on re-writing and editing the English translation of the Arabic report. It was a very challenging piece of work. Unfortunately, the original translation was done by a group of Egyptian recent graduates who were arrested afterwards. 

This is highly important work that didn't get the attention it deserved then, it's almost 2016 now but much of what's in the report hasn't changed yet. 

After reading this summary, you can easily download the English PDF version of the report here:
http://ecrfeg.org/en/2016/05/21/human-rights-in-egypt-where-to/

The Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms

The Summary of 2015 

Human Rights in Egypt: What could possibly be worse?

Since the establishment of the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms, it has issued more than 40 reports over the course of the past 18 months. In addition to the annual and semi-annual periodical reports, a special annual report was issued for the year 2015, monitoring and documenting the violations of the Egyptian authorities against its citizens over 2015. This report notably is the most comprehensive report on the state of human rights in Egypt since the events of July 3, 2013.

The methodology of the reports is based on information gathered on a daily basis within "The Monitoring and Documentation Units" in the organization. These units are connected to another team within the Coordination, the team of human rights activists and lawyers who are based all over Egypt and are working to monitor all violations against the rights of the Egyptian people, following websites and official publications. In addition, these different units are communicating directly with the victims of the violations and their families.

The annual report is divided into three main sections each of which includes several chapters and subsections:

-The first section deals with: "Violations of civil and political rights", and discusses the following violations: Murder, arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, torture in prisons and detention places, death penalties on political basis, the siege of villages and towns, violations against the most vulnerable groups (Children and women) and people with special needs, violations against immigrants and refugees, military trials for civilians, violations against students and university professors, violations against lawyers and professionals, and violations against human rights activists and journalists.
- The second Section deals with: "Violations of economic and social rights", and discusses dismissals from work places as well as another phenomena in the Egyptian society which is suicide.
- The third section includes an explanation of the general environment or legal framework for human rights research.

Egypt: Human Rights Violations in Numbers

Arbitrary Killing: In 2015, the Egyptian Coordination monitored 335 cases of extrajudicial killings where: 7 citizens were killed by execution; 27 citizens were murdered through torture; 87 citizens were murdered by medical negligence; 50 citizens were murdered during protests; and 143 citizens were killed by live ammunition or by throwing them from the rooftops or by killing them in an unknown explosive accidents; apart from 21 dead due to sectarian violence.

Torture: In 2015, 387 cases of torture were documented based on complaints received directly from victims’ families; a total of 876 cases of torture were documented, including cases without verification from victims’ families.

Death Sentences on a Political Basis: We monitored 1763 cases that were referred to the Grand Mufti, including 1758 males and 5 females, of whom 4 defendants died in detention after referral to the Mufti. During the time period of the report, 729 death sentences were issued; of whom 427 were sentenced to death and their appeal has not yet been considered; 260 were sentenced to death and granted an appeal, granting a retrial; 7 were sentenced to death, their appeal was granted with a retrial, and then they were sentenced to death for the second time; 56 were sentenced to death, and they face retrial on lesser penalties or have been acquitted.

Arbitrary Detention: We observed during 2015 approximately 23,000 cases of arbitrary detention of Egyptian citizens. Most of these citizens are under temporary detention, or have been referred to trial - military or civilian trials - in which they are not guaranteed a fair trial.

Enforced Disappearances: We observed 1840 cases of enforced disappearance of Egyptian citizens during the period of observation; approximately 366 of these cases are still regarded as enforced disappearances at the time of this report’s publication, and we will attach to the report a detailed list about people who are still considered cases of enforced disappearance based upon testimony gathered from the families of the victims.

Referral of Civilians to Military Trials: We observed about 6,048 referral of civilians to military courts including 578 students and minors, 74 doctors, 181 teachers, and 30 lawyers. Around 163 of these cases received a ruling, wherein 18 civilian citizens were sentenced to death, more than 1000 were sentenced to life imprisonment, and thousands more were sentenced to serve prison terms ranging from 7 to 15 years. 

Violations against the Most Vulnerable Groups

Women: Our report confirms the continuation of state-supported oppression of the Egyptian women since July 2013 and until today. Oppression of women included all kinds of abuse, ranging from murder, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, violations against minors, mothers, and wives, and arbitrary sentences. There have been more than 2,000 women and girls detained in the period from July 3, 2013 until the end of 2015.

As of this report’s publication, there are still sixty (60) women subjected to arbitrary detention by the security forces, some of whom have faced fabricated accusations on political basis.

Children: Egyptian minors are exposed to sever amounts of violations, over 2015 there were 630 arrests, 16 cases of extrajudicial killings, 250 cases of torture, 121 cases of enforced disappearances, and 89 cases medical negligence inside prisons.

People with special needs: The Coordination monitored 480 cases of detention, arrest and court rulings against people with special needs or disabilities.

Refugees: According to official sources, there are 80,000 Syrian refugees in Egypt, other sources indicate that the number of Syrian refugees in Egypt has increased to 250 thousand. Refugees were exposed to serious violations including arbitrary arrest and forced disappearances, in addition to restrictions on the issuance of residence permits which forced many of them to escape Egypt through different ways. We managed to monitor the presence of 44 Palestinians in Egyptian prisons and four cases of enforced disappearance.

Freedom of Movement, Thought, and Expression

Media and journalism: We documented the following violations against journalists and media workers:

1.   The killing of 4 journalists in different violent incidents.

2.   The enforced disappearance and torture of 14 journalists.

3.   193 instances of physical abuse during media and press coverage.

4.   50 cases of arbitrary detention of journalists.

5.   38 journalists and media workers were referred to criminal trials, whether civilian or military trials.

6.   12 TV programs were prevented from airing.

7.   Egyptian security and/or police raided the headquarters of 14 newspapers, satellite television channels, and news websites.

Freedom of Movement: During this period the siege of several villages and cities was observed in various governorates of Egypt, preventing citizens from moving freely, restricting them, and arbitrarily detaining a large number of citizens. In addition to this, a large number of citizens were prevented from traveling, particularly jurists, journalists, and community figures. The number of Egyptian prisons increased from 42 to 51 after nine new prisoners were built in 2015.

Economic and Social Rights

The rise of suicide rates and incidents in Egypt raised red flags and media attention last year. The Coordination monitored 215 suicide cases in 2015 alone, 174 of which of were males and 41 females. 52% of the suicide cases are for people between the ages of 18-35.

In the same context, the report monitored that the administrative body of the Egyptian state has listed more than 5,000 government employees working in various ministries and ordered their dismissal based on charges of “belonging to political and/or religious organizations” without evidence of any crimes. Among these names were 51 judges, 671 media worker and journalists, 46 university professors, and 200 teachers who were all dismissed from work on political basis in 2015 alone.

Recommendations

At the end of the report, The Egyptian coordination recommended that a neutral investigation committee needs to be established in order to examine all the reports and complaints regarding the violations of the political, human, and social rights of the Egyptian citizens.

The Coordination demanded the assertion of the right to freedom of expression, the immediate cancellation of military trials for civilians and the release of all civilians convicted in military trials, the immediate cancellation of “Protest law” and other similar restrictive laws and releasing all political prisoners who’re arrested under their pretext, and finally reviewing all political death sentences in the past 3 years and asserting the right of those sentenced to death to fair civilian trials.

The Coordination also demanded that the United Nations and the international community have a serious participation in pressuring the Egyptian state to abide by and respect international human rights covenants, measurements, and laws.

Finally, the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms asked that the UN and the international community should have an open position and not be silent on the violations of human rights taking place in Egypt. The Coordination emphasized the dire need to support and amplify the efforts of local civil society and human rights organizations operating under critical conditions so that they can continue to do this work and be committed to serving the Egyptian people and the victims of human rights violations. 

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

http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/fear-beard-1007632928

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.”