{"id":21265,"date":"2014-11-04T16:17:10","date_gmt":"2014-11-04T15:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.w-t-w.org\/en\/?p=21265"},"modified":"2014-11-04T16:30:00","modified_gmt":"2014-11-04T15:30:00","slug":"21265","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.w-t-w.org\/en\/21265\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Suppressed in Egypt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Louisa Loveluck writes about cartooning in Egypt.\u00a0 <\/span>Egypt\u2019s cartoonists have traditionally been among society’s most searing political critics. Straddling the line between journalism and satire, they can express what others can\u2019t.\u00a0\u201cThe cartoon is a weapon,\u201d says Anwar, the pen behind last week\u2019s cartoon. \u201cAll artists have the gun – they just need to know when, where and whom to shoot.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Yet his trenchant image stood out for its rarity. After three years of revolutionary tumult, and the fall of two presidents, Egypt\u2019s subversive cartoonists are mostly taking another tack.\u00a0Gone are the irreverent depictions of the leader of the day. And dissenting\u00a0media outlets have been forcibly closed, or have ceased publication of their own accord, wary of voicing criticism of Egypt\u2019s popular new leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are periods in history that are not suitable for serious criticism,\u201d says Doaa El Adl,\u00a0<\/a> another cartoonist at Al-Masry Al-Youm.\u00a0\u201cYou can criticize, but you must not bring down the system – these people who chant against the military regime don\u2019t understand that the only option is the Muslim Brotherhood.”\u00a0
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Most media are firmly on board.\u00a0On Oct. 26, leading newspaper editors convened to issue to a statement supporting \u201call measures taken by the state in combating terrorists and protecting national security.” A week earlier, Sisi had called on Egyptians to rally in the face of terrorism following two militant attacks on soldiers in the restive North Sinai region left 33 dead. It was the deadliest day for the Egyptian army in decades.<\/p>\n

Egypt\u2019s new leadership, which came to power after a military coup, casts itself as the bulwark against a political trend that indulged Islamic fundamentalism and dreamed of turning the country into a theocracy. That tilt, and the popularity of the July 2013 coup, makes\u00a0cartooning a perilous profession for those who like to poke fun at those in power.<\/p>\n

Amr Selim, an elder statesman of Cairo’s cartooning scene, says the space for dissent has shrunk.\u00a0And like Ms. Adel, he sees his work as a patriotic duty: \u201cNot everything is perfect, but Egypt must move forward,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Things changed under the\u00a0interim\u00a0junta that followed. Amid a febrile atmosphere, cartoonists and journalists pushed the envelope, learning by trial and error what the authorities of the day deemed acceptable.\u00a0The results were popular, often spreading across social media like wildfire.\u00a0Some received threats for their criticism of the army.<\/p>\n

Pressure comes from Egypt’s feared security forces.\u00a0Last month, the editor-in-chief and a reporter from Al-Masry Al-Youm\u2019 were hauled before state security prosecutors and interrogated for fourteen hours after the paper declared it would publish investigation records into alleged fraud in the 2012 presidential election. A print run of the paper was also recently pulled over an interview it featured with an Egyptian spy.”<\/p>\n

But just days later,\u00a0the newspaper\u00a0published his image of the shuttered office\u00a0on the inside page.\u00a0And\u00a0on Thursday, it was Adel\u2019s turn to send another shot across the bows.\u00a0In her cartoon, a journalist edges along a tightrope labeled “the margin of freedom.” Below, waits the hand of authority, its fingers poised to flick and send him spinning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Press<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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Louisa Loveluck writes about cartooning in Egypt.\u00a0 Egypt\u2019s cartoonists have traditionally been among society’s most searing political critics. Straddling the line between journalism and satire, they can express what others can\u2019t.\u00a0\u201cThe cartoon is a weapon,\u201d says Anwar, the pen behind … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t