"Basic Needs: Palestine Capitalists and the British Rule" by Sherene Seikaly

By: Rawan Lasheen, Eshraka Sumrain and Nourhan Rateb

Cairo, Egypt – On Wednesday, April 9, Sherene Seikaly, assistant professor of history and director of the Middle East Studies Center, gave a lecture critiquing the Palestinian economists and the Arab liberal project during the British colonial rule. Seikaly expressed at the start of the lecture that the topic lies at the heart of her new book, “Bare Needs: Palestinian Capitalism and British Colonial Rule.”  

The lecture took place at the Prince AlWaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Hall at The American University in Cairo, and generally explores how Palestinian capitalists and British Colonial officers used the economy in the 1930s and 1940s to shape notions of territory and nationalism in Palestine.

Seikaly started by shedding light on the Balfour Declaration, which she described as having “committed the British Government to fulfilling…to facilitating a Jewish national home in Palestine.” Seikaly expressed that it was odd how European Jews, who began settling in Palestine in the 1930s, are almost completely nonexistent in the Palestinian capitalist narratives. 

Her take on this narrative dissonance is that Palestinians at the time were occupied in separating the economy from the political arena by “trying to carve out the economy as a discrete sphere.” Herein lies Seikaly’s critique of the Palestinian Capitalists of the late 19^th century. Seikaly went on to clarify that, ultimately in the 1940s, it became clear to them that this separation was virtually impossible. 

At the end of the lecture, Seikaly left 15 minutes to open the floor to questions. One attendee’s question appropriately served as a conclusion to the lecture. She asked whether it was at all possible to separate the economy from politics, referring to the Palestinian capitalist’s intent to do so during the 1930s. Seikaly argued that they tried to read politics ‘between the lines’ as the politics present at the time was one that embraced capitalism. She put forth an example where the Palestinian capitalists would say that they’d refuse to talk about the legislative council, for example, as they would leave that issue to the “men of politics.” However what they would talk about is how this legislative council would be good for the economy.

" A Margin for Democracy in Egypt" by Amr Hamzawy.

By: Nouredeen Ahmed, Salma Badawy and Yehia Shaalan.

Cairo, Egypt - Dr. Amr Hamzawy, professor of public policy administration at The American University in Cairo, AUC, held a lecture discussing his newly released book "A Margin for Democracy in Egypt" at Moataz Al Alfi Hall on Sunday, April 6. Taking part of this discussion was Dr. Ziad Bahaa Eldin, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Egypt. The lecture was in Arabic with availability of translation in English. A short introduction on Dr. Hamzawy's history of political affiliations was given before drawing the attention to his new book and discussing its aspects. Dr. Hamzawy started the lecture with an interesting question: "Where does Egypt stand now?” Following was an explanation of the key concepts of his new book and his vision on Egypt’s position and future. Dr. Ziad serving as a discussant for the lecture praised and criticized the book or Hamzawy’s writing style.
“Today Egypt finally sees a way for building a secure society,” says Dr. Hamzawy. He talked about how attempts have been by government and civil control to improve security regulations haven’t worked and many terrorist attacks and threats to the public are still continuing. He also talked about the problem of economic and financial delay that is ceasing the production of jobs and the developments of education.
“Amr is someone people like to differ with,” says Dr. Ziad. While maintaining his respect for Dr. Hamzawy’s opinion, Dr. Ziad offered his own regarding the developmental steps that Egypt should be taking today. He argued that political stability is needed before financial and economic developments can be made.
After Dr. Ziad spoke he left the floor for 10 minutes for the attendees to ask questions or pose comments. The questions were intriguing so much that Dr. Hamzawy suggested for an extra 15 minutes to be given for questions. A few questions were regarding Dr. Hamzawy’s book but most were about the future of Egypt, such as the question “where do you think Egypt will be in the next 30 years?” After writing down each question from the attendees on his Ipad, Dr. Hamzawy responded to most of them, addressing the people who asked them by name.

"Empires and Ends of History: The Life and Times of Sayyid Fadl b. 'Alawi" by Wilson Jacob

By Alaa Adel Elsayed and Noha Mohamed El Tawil

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Cairo, Egypt – On Monday, April 7, Wilson Jacob, associate professor of history at Concordia University, delivered a lecture entitled "Empires and Ends of History: The Life and Times of Sayyid Fadl b. 'Alawi" that was held by the Department of History and Middle East Studies Center at The American University in Cairo.


The lecture presented the life of Bin Alawi and his significance that was evident in his Sufi tradition, his relations with prominent political figures in the 19^thcentury and the unstable relation between him and the British colonizers in the area of the Indian Ocean.


Jacob started by giving a brief description of the political situation in the area of the Indian Ocean, where the Mongol Empire was the significant power in the 16^th century before Bin Alawi, whereas the European powers were not "making much significance."

The popular narrative of the origins of Bin Alawi is that he is a descendent of Prophet Mohamed’s bloodline, so that gives him a "distinct identity," and remarkable legacy as a Sufi teacher.

A mosque was built upon Bin Alawi’s grave in Malabar, turning it into a shrine that people visit for blessings, and embodies his impact in that area's history.

Throughout his life, Bin Alawi composed a threat on the rulers' power in the areas he lived in. That had started when the British colonization had perceived Bin Alawi as a "disturbing force" to its power in Malabar because of the large trade deals he had with the neighboring islands, and cities, in addition to his popularity and influence on people.

Therefore, The British colonizers reached a compromise with Bin Alawi to go to Mekka for Haj. "He went but was never back," as he headed to "Istanbul," after he had remained in Yemen for a while, Jacob added.

"The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire acknowledged his nobility," and hosted him in the "special guests" building. Thereafter, the Sultan appointed him as the "governor" of Dhafar in Yemen, however, he felt later the "challenge" he presented on his sovereignty.

"Global history is shaped by many different agents," Jacob said. Bin Alawi is a "great lens to global history, to the 19^th century history."

Jacob could successfully describe the biography of Bin Alawi, accurately explaining his life as a Sufi, his achievements and conflicts, and displaying his Arabic writings, and places he lived in. "Alawi’s Sufi tradition is not disappearing but under attack," Jacob concluded.

Jacob's work is "absolutely fascinating," commented Nefertiti Tigra, student at the University of California, Los Angeles. Tigra has already been familiar with Jacob's work, as they both work for the American Research Center in Egypt, so that she attended the lecture to "hear and support."

"Imagining the Book: Student Initiatives" Lecture by Melanie Carter

By Nadine Awadalla, Zeina Foda, and Farah Tawfeek

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CAIRO, Egypt – Professor Melanie Carter, poet and senior instructor in the Department of Rhetoric and Composition, gave a lecture titled “Imagining the Book: Student Initiatives” on the 7^th of April in the American University in Cairo, AUC, to showcase creative literary work of four AUC students that align with the ideas of the Al-Mutannabi Street Starts Here project.

The lecture was based on a creative writing course started by Carter and Professor Amanda Fields, where students have the chance to develop a “work-in-progress,” short story, essay or series of poems into long manuscripts that would address their ideas on the context of culture. Carter explains, “what students begin with is almost never a work-in-progress, rather its something much more fragile: an idea, a fragment of an idea and sometimes just hope.”

The first two speakers that Carter introduced, Hussam Sultan and Nada Helal, focused their manuscripts on social problems such as poverty, social inequality and street children. Sultan’s story features a 9-year-old girl named Samira to directly highlight the social dynamics of living on the street in Cairo. Helal, a Middle East studies major, tackled the same social issues, but set in India and based on an “untouchable” Hindu boy, Raj and reflects upon how he lives “in constricted social boundaries and how he escapes that.”

Inspired by Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland, English language and comparative literature major, Amerah Abu-Ward, uses this course to draw upon the power and dangers of books in culture throughout history; an idea that resonates well in AUC’s Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here project.

This course not only impacted student’s thoughts, but also shifted AUC graduate Dina Al-Abd’s career focus from mechanical engineering to writing children’s literature and even went on to publish one of the region’s first children’s magazines, Kaleidoscope.

“The most compelling part of the course is that it’s non-prescriptive and that everyone was allowed to truly bring in something that was their own and develop it within that class,” says audience member Yasmin Motway, visiting senior instructor in the Department of Rhetoric and Composition. The lecture was an opportunity to showcase the works of AUC’s up-and-coming writers.

A Musical History of the Muwashah

By: Mireille Aziz, Yomna Dalam and Nora Elbadawy

CAIRO, Egypt- On Sunday April 6^th, The Department of Arabic and Islamic Civilization in The American University in Cairo, AUC, hosted the lecture “A Musical History of the Muwashah” by Dr. Dwight Reynolds, professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The lecture took place in the Mohamed Shafik Gabr Hall.

The lecture was brief, straight to the point and provided a great insight about a genre of music which many people are not familiar with. Reynolds started by defining Muwashah as a form of poetry which arose from medieval Muslim Spain, Andalusia, originating from the 10^th-11^th century. Reynolds further explained, "Muwashah is a form and genre of poetry; however, Muwashah has always been mainly a form of music and song." Reynolds added to that by emphasizing on the point that Muwashah cannot be separated from its musical aspect since it is not only a type of poetry; it is also a type of song. The two main instruments used in Muwashah music are the Arabic loot, which is known as the Oud, and the Rebab.

Preceding the period of the Muwashah, there was the period of the Sawt; it was the period which transformed poems to songs. Reynolds further explained the difference between the period which transformed poems to songs and the Muwashah by referring to several examples from Kitab al-Aghani – The Book of Songs. Furthermore, Reynolds added that there are two different techniques in Muwashahs: logocentric and melocentric. Logocentric is when the Muwashah focuses on the text and lyrics while melocentric is when the Muwashah focuses on the music.

Reynolds stated that regardless of the two techniques that can be used in a Muwashah, it can always be identified from its basic formal characteristics which include two halves and a break in the middle. It also has a kafya (rhyme) which is the same throughout the whole Muwashah. In addition to that, Muwashah patterns with multiple rhymes, alternating groups of long and short lines. The texts were usually long - between 20-25 verses. Contrary to several old views in the past, Muwashahs are not composed as poems and then transformed to songs; they were originally composed as songs. However, there is a technique called contrafactum by which poets, who were not composers and wished to create Muwashahs, would write their own poems and put their words to other people’s melodies and form a Muwashah. Reynolds ended the lecture by explaining that Muwashahs have the same form; however, they have different social meanings and different statuses in each region.

Katiana Talib, a translator, found the lecture extremely interesting; she was fascinated by the examples Reynolds provided during his discourse. She also told us that she listens to a lot of music and has heard Muwashahs before but she has never studied about them. Dr. Adam Talib, the organizer of the event and a classical Arabic literature professor at AUC, told us "I chose to have a lecture about Muwashah music particularly because students do not know anything about Arabic music and I want to encourage them to learn more about it."

Can E- Governance Reduce Corruption?

By: Haidy Abdrabou, Nouri Hassabalh and Mohamed Soliman.  
 Cairo, Egypt--On Sunday April 2nd , 2014, at the American University in Cairo (AUC). Dr.  Shahjahan Bhuiyan, professor at School of Global Affairs and Public Policy in AUC talked about E-governance, how it functions and how successful it is in many developing countries like Kazakhstan and others.

Dr. Bhuiyan talked about e-governance, he mentioned that it is one of the "ambitious projects" in the developing countries. He talked about it in a way of the vending machine theory, which is providing services for the people. The need of e-governance in order to provide the customer, it works by customer focused effect, easy to use services for citizens and businesses. One of many pros of e-governance were it would reduce financial crises, as it would save a lot of money for governments to take care of other problems.

One prominent problem was corruption, e-governance reduces corruption. E-governance is all about the technology and internet connections, it reduces human contact, so as a result it would reduce many forms of corruptions for instance bribes, blackmailing and other problems. Corruption kills the capacities for governments to work and function.  E- Governance would make everything easier for the citizens; it has been applied in many countries like, India and Kazakhstan.

Most people have access to all of the information; this means people would be aware of what their governments are doing, throughout the lecture Dr. Bhuiyan showed many statistics about how successful e-governance in India since 2008, till 2013, and it showed a huge decrease in the index of minimizing the corruption phenomena.

During the interview, Dr. Bhuiyan mentioned that e-governance in Egypt was working, before the January 25th revolution, adding it to the list of countries that, he discussed in the lecture, which were India, Kazakhstan and Pakistan. It was working well, but people could not feel it from the amounts of corruption that was existing during that time. As people of Egypt didn't have the access to all of the information and that most of it were falsified, in a way, they were not reflecting the truth.
Lastly, Dr. Bhuiyan added that, e-governance won’t work out unless, the society demands it, as it has to be the people's wish to have a system like this, “civil society have to be empowered to make such system accountable.” One of the attendees, Dr. Khaled Abdelhalim, assistant professor of Urban policy, PPAD. He added in his interview that e-governance would only be efficient, when there is "public awareness and societal will."

Food Safety in Egypt: A Lecture at AUC

By: Amira Mahmoud, Farah Abdelkader, and Farrah El Essawi



Cairo, Egypt – On Monday, March 31, the Chemistry Club at the American University in Cairo hosted a lecture on “Food Safety in Egypt” given by Dr. Tarek El-Arabi, assistant professor of agriculture at Ain Shams University. El-Arabi shared his own opinions about the “safety” of the food industry in Egypt.

El-Arabi has been trying to raise awareness about the gravity of hazardous food in Egypt for many years. He has stated that food safety should be applied in each stage of the food supply chain, beginning with how we produce the food until we dispose of it. But apparently, this is not the case in Egypt.

Egyptian food contains different forms of hazards, including physical or chemical hazards, such as small rocks and nails found in our bread or polyvinyl chloride, a chemical used in plastic packaging. This chemical causes “severe health damage,” explains El-Arabi and it even “takes around two million years to degrade.”

The food safety in Egypt is below zero and the only thing we do is count on personal references for where to eat, which El-Arabi believes is highly dangerous. Just because somebody did not get sick eating at a certain place does not mean that the underlying affects of the hazardous foods will not eventually show.

El-Arabi was asked, “Would word of mouth create awareness, though?” He responded by explaining that while he believes this is not enough, it is definitely a start. He added that when there is a demand for a certain service by the people, the food industries will eventually have to comply. Yet, this demand is not currently prevalent.

Madonna Nassif, head of the Chemistry Club, had contacted El-Arabi to give the lecture. Nassif believes that this topic is important because it “would interest all students, not only chemistry or science students,” and according to the information El-Arabi had to share, one could say it would. This lecture was educational to those attending seeing as it enlightened them on the safety of food which is something we are exposed to everyday.