‘We are the walking-dead, we live in a vacuum, we have nothing. We have nothing. All it (the Government) can do for us is put us in jail,’ shouted a protester during a recent protest action.
Even before Islamists made their mark, the state oversaw how people thought, felt and behaved. This guiding philosophy of the Mubarak regime has been inherited by the Islamists – it is an insult to millions of Egyptians who detest the state for treating them as children.
Arab Awakening's columnists offer their weekly perspective on what is happening on the ground in the Middle East. Leading the week: The Revolution will not be eroticised
They are unwilling to go back to detaining and torturing “the Salafis” to win the satisfaction of the western hemisphere, but on the other hand, Tunisians are refusing to be returned to the middle ages.
Riad Seif is quietly impressive, and will no doubt play a positive role in a post-war Syria. But he exudes none of the characteristics of a leader everyone can unite behind.
Art and Property Now is an exhibition exploring John Berger’s life as storyteller, artist and critic. Visit the Inigo Rooms, Somerset House, London, until November 10, 2012. We have celebrated Berger’s 86th birthday with a guided tour of some of the exhibition’s contents and themes. Today, Room 5
Kanak Attak in Germany is an anti-racist collective of people with mixed ethnic backgrounds who aim to turn the dominant discourse on migration upside down. They invite us to consider the role of intellectuals in migration regimes.
The worlds of concrete, the car and masculinity are ways to delve into acts which have only so far attracted attention for their violence and destructive capability.
