Tag: egypt

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,…

Egyptian Novelist Sent to Court for Racy Excerpt

Egyptian writer Ahmed Naji faces up to two years in prison and a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately $1,245) for the publication of an excerpt of his novel The Use of Life, which an Egyptian prosecutor considers too racy…

Egypt Cracks Down on Street Art

In June 2010, about eight months before the Tahrir Square uprising, a 28-year-old Egyptian blogger named Khaled Said was arrested and beaten to death after he posted a damning video that allegedly showed police helping themselves to the spoils of…

Indie Comics Reborn in Egypt

Shakmagia

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…