Category Archives: Arab Spring

What is needed to develop entrepreneurship in Tunisia?

Posted by on April 16, 2013 1 comment

By Greta Ghacibeh, Directrice, Association Tunisie Media

Participants join a town hall discussion on entrepreneurship from Zeghouan, Tunisia.

America Abroad Media’s Tunisian office — Association Tunisie Media (ATM) partnered with Radio Mosaique FM to host a town hall discussion exploring ways to foster entrepreneurship among young Tunisians.

The event connected audiences in the coastal city of Sfax — a growing hub for entrepreneurship — and the industrial city of Zeghouan, to discuss the challenges and opportunities for young entrepreneurs in Tunisia today.

Young men and women entrepreneurs who participated in the town hall talked about the challenges they have faced starting a business in Tunisia, from raising capital to dealing with bureaucracy to the lack of professional skills and adequate training.

Faycel Zahar, who works with small businesses as a director at the National Agency for Employment and Independent Work – a department of Tunisia’s Ministry of Employment – talks about the qualities needed to be a successful as entrepreneur in the audio clip below.

(Arabic with English translation).

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Raja Tibini, the owner of a kindergaten in Zeghouan, shares her experience of starting her own business in Tunisia.

Listen in the audio clip below.

(Arabic with English translation).

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Khlifa Sboui, director of small loans at the Tunisian Bank of Solidarity, argued that the Tunisian government is constantly working to create and develop new programs to help aspiring entrepreneurs start their own businesses.

Town hall on Tunisian identity 2 years after the revolution

Posted by on January 21, 2013 No comments

By Greta Ghacibeh, Directrice, Association Tunisie Media

Town hall participants in the rural city of Beja, Tunisia.

America Abroad Media’s Tunisian office — Association Tunisie Media (ATM) — recently partnered with Radio Mosaique FM to host a town hall discussion exploring Tunisian identity in a post-revolution society. The event took place one day after the second anniversary of the revolution that ousted longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The event connected audiences in the coastal city of Bizerte and the rural city of Beja to discuss the possible tension between a modern, secular Tunisian identity and the traditional Arab-Muslim identity that has made a strong resurgence since the revolution. Despite different responses to this question expressed during the town hall, participants and panelists seemed to generally agree that modernity and the Arab-Muslim identity did not conflict with one another. However, people disagreed on what aspects of modernity should be adopted, while still preserving elements of the traditional Tunisian identity.

Town hall participants join the discussion from Bizerte, Tunisia.

Some participants said that a total departure from old traditions is preferable in order for society to advance and catch up with the developed world.

Listen to what participant Hsan El Ghazi, a high school teacher from Beja had to say:

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Participant Farouk – a student from Bizerte – said that while the Muslim world was once a hub for modernization, the mentality within Muslim societies has changed.

 

Listen to his response below:

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More conservative Islamist participants said that modernity should not be adopted in its entirety, but adapted to suit the nature of the local culture.

Listen to what town hall participant, Mohamed El Qaydi, an Ennahda activist, had to say:

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Both panelists explained that modernity and the Arab-Muslim identity are each comprised of many components. The Arab-Muslim identity is only one of many identities in Tunisia, and modernity has many faces.

Amel Qrami, a professor of Islamic studies, pointed out that the “modernization” that Tunisia went through did not create “modernity” in its full sense.

Disappointment for Copts in new Egyptian government

Posted by on August 7, 2012 No comments

Photo courtesy of Copts United.

The acting head of the Coptic Church in Egypt is disappointed that the government of newly-elected Islamist President Mohammad Morsi is failing to include adequate representation to the Coptic religious minority. Morsi appointed one cabinet seat to the Copts among the 35 ministerial positions. Archbishop Pachomius says the new government unfairly represents Christians and ignores their rights as citizens.

Coptic Christians make up almost 10% of Egypt’s 82 million people. From VOA:

Coptic Christians in Egypt constitute the largest Christian community in the Middle East, as well as the largest religious minority in the region. In 2011, approximately 94 people – mostly Coptic Christians –died as the result of sectarian violence in Egypt, 70 since the fall of Mubarak.

Should religious minorities be concerned about the rise of Islamist governments?

America Abroad’s Katherine Lanpher discusses the issue with professors Aomar Boum, an assistant professor at the School of Middle Eastern and North African studies at the University of Arizona and Saba Mahmood, an associate professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Katherine Lanpher: Let’s start by looking at the current political situation in the Middle East, what the casual observer knows as “Arab Spring” or the series of uprisings that we’ve seen across the region. What has that meant for religious minorities?

Saba Mahmood: I think it differs from country to country. Let’s take the example of Christians in Egypt. The Coptic Christians are the dominant Christian population. They’ve refused European protection historically and said: “We are Muslim by country and only Christian by religion.” They have suffered a series of discriminations which only escalated under the Mubarak regime. Now you have the Muslim Brotherhood that won the presidential election and it’s often touted in the press as being very negative. My studies in the last 20 years shows that the question is really open. We do not know how Coptic Christians will be treated. The Mubarak regime itself was very discriminatory against Copts when sectarian violence began to erupt against them.

Aomar Boum: If you look at Morocco and Tunisia, for instance, the Tunisian case is still uncertain despite the fact that the government has promised to protect the rights of Jews, given the fact that there is the rise of Salafis in Tunisia. If you look at the main religious minority in North Africa, they still are Jews. There are less than a thousand Jews who live in Tunisia. Between 3,000 and 5,000 Jews live in Morocco. Their situation is much better than other minorities in other parts of the Middle East. Algeria is a different case because we really don’t know the exact number of religious minorities. They are not as visible as much as in Morocco and Tunisia.

Read more from this interview »

Sandmonkey’s thoughts on upcoming Egyptian elections

Posted by on May 10, 2012 No comments

Liberal youth formed the crux of the revolutionaries that took to the streets of Cairo to oust President Hosni Mubarak. Once toppled, Islamist parties in Egypt seemed to take over the political process. Islamist parties form the majority of members in parliament with a large say on the forming of a new constitution. Where did the liberals go? Why were they defeated so soundly in elections and have the Islamists hijacked the revolution?

Egyptian blogger Mahmoud Salem, better known by his nom de plume “Sandmonkey” spoke at the Washington Institute and shared his perspectives on the upcoming Egyptian elections and why there don’t seem to be any viable liberal candidates in the running. He is a longtime analyst of Egyptian political affairs and advocate for free speech. He also ran as a parliamentary candidate last year on the ticket of the Free Egyptians party.

He believes that the street movements were largely disorganized. Leftists have no candidates because they have not created a message that connects with the public at large. These civil and secular groups need to do a better job “modernizing their rhetoric” to appeal to large groups that are fundamentally Islamist and have lived the better part of their lives under a one-party system. The economy, corruption and security are the real issues that have to be dealt with forthright with new ideas and platforms that can appeal to the masses.

Read more »

Delegates from Muslim Brotherhood in Washington DC

Posted by on April 6, 2012 No comments

One year later in Tahrir square, Zeinab Mohamed (via Flickr)

Delegates from the Freedom and Justice Party, a group affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, arrived in Washington DC this week to meet with White House officials, members of Congress, media and the general public to discuss their plans for what they wish to accomplish in the Middle East. At Georgetown University, they discussed issues such as women’s rights, religious minorities and the role of Islam in government. From NPR:

“It’s not necessarily just a PR campaign, but mainly we would like to get to know one another more,” said Dr. Abdul Mawgoud Dardery, a lawmaker who is part of the delegation. He said it’s “very important to understand the American concerns and they understand our aspirations as Egyptians, after the Egyptian revolution.”

The Muslim Brotherhood has emerged as a powerful force in Egypt’s political landscape. They control more than two-thirds of parliamentary seats. They recently announced that they would present a candidate in the presidential elections of Egypt, breaking away from a pledge not to do so. Officials in Washington are concerned that Islamic governments, such as the ones that emerged in Egypt and Tunisia and Morocco may have an agenda very different from relationships previously established.

America Abroad’s Katherine Lanpher speaks with Shadi Hamid, Director of Research at the Brookings Doha Center, and Robert Satloff, Executive Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, about whether and how the US should engage with Islamists. Read more »

Bahrain uprisings one year later

Posted by on February 15, 2012 No comments

March 10, 2011. A powerful message of protest in Pearl Square in Manama. Photo: Susan Schulman

On the 1-year anniversary of the pro-democracy demonstrations in Bahrain, protesters and activists took to the streets to demand an end to the monarchy and the establishment of a parliamentary democracy. Police fired back tear gas to disperse the crowds. The Pearl Square roundabout that was the center of the protest movement was blocked off and people turned away.

Since the violence began a year ago, over 60 civilians have died with 120 injured this week alone. Bahrain has been in turmoil with clashes between the Sunni-ruled monarchy and the Shi’a protesters. Shiites account for about 70 percent of Bahrain’s population of some 525,000 people, but say they have faced decades of discrimination and are blocked from top political and security posts. Each accuse the other of rejecting dialogue.

From Reuters:

Jasim Husain, a former lawmaker from the Shi’ite Wefaq party, the largest opposition faction, said Wefaq members had met Royal Court Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed, seen as a powerful figure in the ruling Al-Khalifa family.

“There is fresh attention now, but the authorities have to show seriousness,” he said, without giving details. “The new thing is that the government is increasingly becoming a partner and realizing that the security cannot solve the issue.”

From BBC:

In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel on Monday, King Hamad dismissed the opposition’s complaints.

“We have made political reforms. We have just passed a number of amendments to the constitution which allow parliament to dismiss the government,” he said. “We invited everyone with openness. But some people boycotted the election and certain people just walked out of parliament. If you want a better system you have to join.”

Bahrain is a strategic ally for the U.S. The Fifth Fleet is stationed there and is responsible for patrolling the Persian Gulf in this heavily trafficked area where much of the world’s oil is transported. Bahrain is also allied with the Saudis and serves as crucial partner to U.S. interests in the region.

America Abroad talked with Kristin Smith Diwan, assistant professor at American University’s School of International Service, and an expert on the Gulf on Iranian influence in Bahrain and U.S.-Saudi interests. Read more »