The Week in Quotes: Nov 6-Nov 13

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Thu, 13 Nov 2014 - 12:57 GMT

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Thu, 13 Nov 2014 - 12:57 GMT

Egypt Today rounds up this week’s news and milestones 
 
By Ahmed Mansour and Kaylan Geiger
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis Pledges Support to the Islamic State The Sinai-based Islamic militant group Ansar Beit al-Mqdis pledged allegiance on November 10 to DAISH (Dawlet al-Islam fil Iraq wal Sham or the Islamic State (IS)), the Islamic militant group claiming control over parts of Iraq and Syria. The pledge was made in a 10-minute audio recording released on a Twitter page that allegedly belongs to the group. The recording states that Ansar Beit al-Maqdis recognizes Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, DAISH’s leader, as the caliph. Several news outlets have previously reported that Ansar Beit al-Maqdis had already pledged allegiance to DAISH prior to the recording’s release. Ansar Beit al-Maqdis had previously denied that it had sworn allegiance to DAISH after initial reports began circulating on the Internet. Despite the audiotape’s release, the group’s official stance remains unclear. Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has been operating in Sinai since last year, attacking military and security institutions as well as claiming responsibility for attacks on security personnel throughout Egypt. “It’s not really a surprise that IS joined forces with Ansar Beit al-Maqdis. After all, they are fighting for the same cause, the cause that all the people fail to understand. But this matter is far more important than people expect, because this alliance means that IS has active, operating forces on Egyptian soil. I advise the armed forces to increase surveillance in all corners of the country, especially the borders since they have always been the target of most terrorist attacks in Egypt.” — Dr. Mohamed Mokhtar, professor at the Faculty of Law in Cairo University, to Egypt Today. “What is going on at the moment is that the West is blaming Islam and Muslims for all those attacks taking place, and what the entire East does is they show people how much they are hurt and they blame the Western media for the false image they are spreading. Governments should take firmer actions. The fact that they joined forces was expected, even the blind could see it coming.” — Amr Tawfeek, political activist and writer, to Egypt Today. Journalists Syndicate Criticizes New Press Chamber A move by the owners of seven private newspapers to establish a Chamber of Private Press Industries was met with disapproval by the Journalists Syndicate, which described the act as a “suspicious and worrying attempt” to dominate the media. Al-Masry Al-Youm, Al-Watan, Al-Osbou, Youm7, Al-Mal, Al-Bawaba and Al-Sabah all took part in the effort to establish the chamber during a meeting held November 8. The editors of Al-Shorouk and Al-Tahrir attended the meeting but did not sign the chamber’s founding statement. It remains unclear what role the chamber would play in the Egyptian press, although those involved say that the chamber would investigate problems with printing, distribution and advertising. The Journalists Syndicate, however, speculates that the chamber would seek to play a regulatory role and monopolize the media industry. The dispute highlight’s the press’s tango with politics amid continued debate about press freedom in Egypt, which was highlighted once more when three journalists were held for a couple of hours after being heard discussing politics in a café. French journalist Alain Gresh and two Egyptian journalists were held for two hours at a café in Downtown Cairo after a woman notified two security officers outside that the journalists were discussing politics. The event is another example of the sensitive environment in Egypt, particularly for journalists. “There has never been press freedom, this terminology doesn’t exist and it never did, especially here in Egypt. For decades, governments used newspapers and the media as a tool to tell the people only what the government needed them to know, and in my point of view the situation in Egypt is not different at all. There is a small group of people, powerful people, that control every word written and every word spoken, and we all know who those people are.” — Mohamed Khaldoon, strategic analyst for Al-Ahram Newspaper, to Egypt Today. “I am personally quite disappointed by how the freedom of the press came to be. My colleagues and I are having a hard time actually writing what needs to be written, it always has to go into a “filtration process.” I understand that we are going through a hard time, and every word must be weighed, but no one should be imprisoned or punished for it in any way.” — Sandra Farid, writer at Al-Masy Al-Youm Newspaper, to Egypt Today. “Yet again, this is a critical time that Egypt is going through and everyone needs to cooperate with the government and the armed forces, so that Egypt could pass this hard time it’s going through. I assure the public that this will soon end, and it’s all for the good of the people.” — Anwer Khalid, journalist at Al-Ahram Newspaper, to Egypt Today.   Milestones Recognized, Egyptian scientists and researchers for their involvement in the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission. The mission made history on November 12 when it made the first ever landing on a comet. Dr. Essam Heggy and Dr. Essam Marouf are among the Egyptian scientists and researchers involved. Died, actress Maali Zayed at the age of 61 after her battle with lung cancer. Zayed’s last appearance was in a television drama called “Mawjah Harah” (Heat Wave), which aired two years ago. Crowned, Egypt the new world champion in karate at the 22nd Karate World Championships in Germany. Egypt won three gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze. Sentenced, three Germans and six Egyptians to five years in prison for damaging and stealing artifacts from the Great Pyramid of Giza. The three Germans were tried in absentia, while the six Egyptians were charged with assisting in the act.

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