The new documentary Tickling Giants puts the spotlight on the important role of satire and humor in political dissent–in this case, Egyptian heart surgeon-turned-comedian Bassem Youssef, who launched a Daily Show-inspired TV program in the midst of the Arab Spring…
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New Wave of Cartoonists Fight for Free Speech in the Middle East
“A new golden age of cartoonists.” This is how Huffington Post contributor Merissa Khurma describes the explosive growth of artistic talent coming out of Middle East in a recent article. Empowered by the pen, Khurma writes how cartoonists like Sudanese…
Egyptian Author Goes Back to Court for “Harming Public Morality”
Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji and newspaper editor Tarek e-Taher are going back to court to be retried for allegedly “harming public morality” just a few short weeks after being acquitted of the same charges. Naji and el-Taher were first brought…
Lawyer Challenges Egyptian Constitution over Racy Excerpt
This past weekend, Egyptian writer Ahmed Naji went to court to face charges that an excerpt of his novel The Use of Life violates decency laws. Naji is facing a two-year jail sentence and a 10,000 Egyptian pound ($1,245) fine,…
Indie Comics Reborn in Egypt
Egypt has no shortage of political cartoonists, although they must walk a fine line to get their work out to the widest possible audience. But in the past few years, the country has also seen a resurgence of independent long-form…
Egyptian Cartoonists Choose Creative Freedom or Mainstream Distribution–Not Both
In the tumultuous years since Egyptians overthrew ex-dictator Hosni Mubarak, political cartoonists have continued to lampoon whichever government is in power–but sometimes they must find ways to be circumspect about it. An article from last week’s Sunday Observer took the…