Category: Ägypten

Von Daily News Egypt

Al-Ahly‘s football department blames sports leaders for not taking needed precautions

Von James M. Dorsey

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s brutal regime in rare gestures towards his opponents has twice this year recognized the potential street power of his country’s militant, street battle-hardened soccer fans. In doing so, the regime has implicitly acknowledged that security forces rather than the fans were responsible for past violence and provided ammunition for calls for wholesale reform of law enforcement.

The Sisi regime’s latest gesture came this week when for the first time in five years allowed thousands of members of the Ultras White Knights (UWK), hard-line supporters of storied Cairo club Al Zamalek FC who played a key role in the 2011 toppling of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and protests against subsequent governments, to attend an African Champions League match against Algeria’s Mouloudia Olympique de Bejaia better known as MO Bejaia.

The decision to allow UWK into the stadium followed warnings by the group and its arch rival, Ultras Ahlawy, the militant support group of Al Ahli SC, that they would defy the interior ministry’s ban, implicitly risking yet another deadly clash with security forces.

Continue reading “Recognizing fan power, Egypt’s regime boosts calls for security sector reform”

UKW issued a statement proclaiming fear of state-orgnaised violence, while the Ultras Ahlawy confirm plan to attend

Von Ziad Akl

Over the course of the past five years, Ultras movements have been a constant source of disturbance for the Egyptian state

Despite the change in political leadership in Egypt from 2011 until now, none of the different administrations that assumed office were able to arrive at a successful strategy to handle Ultras movements. Courses of action adopted by the different political administrations included attempted dialogues, cooptation, legislation, and outright violence. However, until today the state remains unable to repress the movements or accommodate them.

Although various constraints are put on collective action and social mobilisation via a multitude of tools, Ultras movements remain capable of assembly, expression and influence. While more politically oriented social movements were not capable (for different reasons) of mobilising to commemorate the revolution’s anniversary last January, Ultras Ahlawy and Ultras White Knights were successful in honouring the memory of those who were tragically killed in the Port Said and the Air Defense Stadium massacres.

Continue reading “Egypt’s Ultras: The movements and the state”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RzQ8cgl9cg

Von Caabu

Unhappy anniversaries

On 25 January, Egypt marked the fifth anniversary of the 2011 revolution that toppled long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak. For the first time since 2010, the day passed rather inconspicuously. Several small demonstrations numbering in the hundreds did take place, mostly made up of Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters, but these were quickly dispersed by police and security forces. Secular activists, unlike previous years, did not organise protests of their own.

This relative lack of protest in no ways signifies unanimous approval of the status quo under current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Thousands of Egyptians did mark the anniversary by resorting to social media with the hashtag #I_Participated_In_January_Revolutionfor instance. What it does reflect is the overwhelming difficulties and dangers facing dissident voices in light of an intensifying crackdown of opposition movements. In 2015 alone, it is estimated that 474 Egyptians died at the hands of the security forces and over 600 were tortured while in detention. In the run up to this year’s anniversary the crackdown only increased. Over 5000 homes in central Cairo were raided to prevent street protests. On 25 January itself, the government dispatched 180,000 security forces across the country to ensure ‘quiet’.

Continue reading “The Egyptian Ultras as Revolutionary Players”

Von James M.Dorsey

Von  Shu-Wen Chye und James Dorsey

In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to award-winning journalist James Dorsey.

To millions around the world, football is a religion. Countries bicker and fight to host the World Cup. Organizations like FIFA rise and fall in the face of never-ending corruption scandals. The last thing anyone might associate “the beautiful game” with is the unpredictable world of politics.

To investigative journalist James M. Dorsey, however, the millions of fans who worship the sport are exceptionally integral to this world. Their loyalty, unity and devotion to football clubs are part of the larger architecture of politics and authoritarian regime resilience in the Middle East.

Having spent the last four decades covering ethnic and religious conflict and major events of the 20^th century in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, Dorsey’s recent endeavors have proved to be more academic as a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, and co-director of the Institute of Fan Culture at the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg in Germany.

His chief focus has been his widely acclaimed blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, and a soon to be published book of the same name, which explores how football has shaped Middle Eastern politics and vice versa.

Continue reading “In the Middle East, Football is More Than a Game”