Revolution For Kids

In 1974, the children’s publishing house Dar El Fata El Arabi was launched in Beirut. Over the next decade, Dar El Fata—staffed by artists, designers, and writers devoted to bringing attention to the Palestinian cause—produced some of the most visually striking and progressive children’s books in the region. Bidoun sat down with Mohieddin Ellabbad, one of the co-founders of the publishing house and its first and most influential art director, as well as Nawal Traboulsi, a leading expert on children’s literature and reading habits, who got her start as an amateur illustrator hand-picked by Ellabbad to work with him making books.

Read the rest here

Egypt's Football Dominance

Before 1981 only two North African teams had ever won the African Champion's League title - Egypt's al-Ismaily in 1969, and Algeria's MC Alger in 1976. Since then, North Africa's teams have dominated the championship, winning the title on no fewer than 22 out of the last 28 tournaments. In 2008 Egypt took the Africa Cup of Nations, Cairo's al-Ahly won the Champion's League title for a record sixth time, and Egypt's Mohamed Abou Treika was named the BBC African Footballer of the Year.

What happened in 1981, and how did Egypt come to dominate African football?

Possible writer - football journalist Mohammed Ali

Like Father, Like Son

Presidential succession - a recurring theme in African politics

ten days after the January 2001 murder of Laurent Kabila, his son, Joseph Kabila, took over as president. Ali Bongo won the 2009 Gabonese presidency after the death of his father Omar Bongo. Faure Gnassingbe took over as president after the death of his father Gnassingbe Eyadema (in violation of Togo’s Constitution which stipulates that the Speaker of Parliament should succeed the president in the event of his death)*. Gamel Mubarak is being groomed to take the reigns from his father Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. In Sudan, Karim Wade is widely viewed as a strong candidate to succeed his father Abdoulaye Wade as president. Nepotism is also no stranger in Libya where Moamer Gaddafi has just named his son, Saif Al Islam Moammar Kadafi, head of state. Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has awarded several members of his family with high ranking positions in his cabinet and is rumoured to be grooming his son, Lt Col Kainerugaba Muhoozi, to be president. Playboy Teodoro Nguema Obiang is likely next in line to take over from his father Obiang Nguema as president of the oil rich nation of Equitorial Guinea.
(Source: Lord Aikins Adusei)

How will these new dynasties affect the next era of African politics?

Laurent Kabila Jr. - DRC
Faure Gnassingbe - Togo
Gamal Mubarak; Hosni Mubarak - Egypt
Karim Wad - Senegal
Saif Al Islam Moammar Kadafi - Libya
Yoweri Museveni - Uganda
Obiang Nguema - equitorial Guinea

Postal Systems in the Pre-Modern Islamic World

Postal Systems in the Pre-Modern Islamic World
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. xii + 214 pp. $101.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-521-85868-7

In Postal Systems in the Pre-Modern Islamic World, Adam Silverstein examines the development and evolution of networks transporting material objects, and in some cases important personalities, over long distances via stations “posted at convenient intervals along a route” (p. 1). These postal networks were (theoretically) restricted to official government usage, and were vital to the state as a means of gathering intelligence.

The book is divided chronologically into three sections. The first of these (chapter 1), covers the pre-Islamic postal systems of the Sasanians, Byzantium, and central Arabia. The purpose here is to identify the formative influences on the Arab barid (post) and offer a corrective to the widely held view that the Muslims simply appropriated the Roman/Byzantine postal system. Silverstein counters that the Arabs adopted Sasanian postal traditions when they inherited Sasanian territories. This is demonstrated by the continuing use of terms such as awwana for way-station, and by Muslim literary sources that explicitly recognize Sasanian influence. Furthermore, the Byzantine postal service (known as the Cursus Publicus) was already in severe decline by the time of the Arab conquests. While the early Umayyad caliphs may still have been acquainted with some of its features, it “was not something with which the Arabs or the populations they came to rule would have had any meaningful experience” (p. 42). Silverstein concludes that the conquering Arabs built upon their own very basic postal system by gradually integrating local structures (from Byzantine in the case of Syria and Egypt, from the Sasanians in Iraq and Iran), while drawing primarily on the Sasanian model.

In chapters 2 and 3, Silverstein focuses on the creation of a global caliphal “postal system, controlled by a bureaucratically sophisticated capital” (p. 51). Beginning with the Umayyad and stretching into the middle ‘Abbasid periods (roughly 661 through 847), chapter 2 documents the rise of the caliphal barid. Initially created through a piecemeal integration of local networks, the post was expanded and centralized under the Marwanid Umayyads (684-750). This process included the expansion and maintenance of roads, the appointment of postal chiefs, the general (empire-wide) adoption of Sasanian administrative practices, and the transformation from a public- to a government-funded institution. The latter was a particular Arab innovation that set the caliphal barid apart from both its predecessors and most of its successors (which relied on the local population for supplies and mounts). Following the collapse of the Umayyad dynasty, an event many scholars ascribed to the postal system’s failure to deliver timely and accurate intelligence, the early ‘Abbasid caliphs transformed its basic elements into a highly malleable network. The period from 750 to 847 witnessed a considerable variation in the efficiency, upkeep, reliability, and general effectiveness of the barid from caliph to caliph.

In chapter 3, Silverstein discusses the central features and eventual fragmentation of a formal centralized governmental barid led by a specific administrator, during the reign of al-Mutawakkil (847-61). In this period, the post filled a myriad of administrative functions. For instance its employees served as a secondary check on the potential abuses of local tax officials, and informed the central government of “uprisings in the provinces” and “the spread of detrimental rumours” (p. 105). The system was consolidated into an independent governmental department (diwan al-barid) and placed under the direct supervision of a high-ranking official in Baghdad. This centralization spawned similar postal diwans in the smaller political states that arose in the aftermath of ‘Abbasid decentralization. The second half of the chapter surveys a number of these successor regimes including the Fatimids in Egypt and Syria, the Samanids and Ghaznavids in eastern Iran and Afghanistan, and the Buyids and Seljuks in western Iran and Iraq.

The third and final section of the book consists of two chapters that examine the later postal systems of the Mongols and the Mamluks. Silverstein affirms the Mongol Yam’s debt to the Chinese Yi while also emphasizing its uniqueness as a largely land-based and predominantly steppe-dominated institution. He also traces its steady fragmentation and localization, which mirrored the decentralization of the Mongol empire as a whole. As for the Mamluk barid, Silverstein contests the claim that it was modeled after the Mongol system, arguing for a more interdependent relationship between the postal networks of the two empires. He emphasizes the modest territorial extent, the governmental financing, and the primarily military nature of the Mamluk system. While the Mamluks drew on aspects of both the ‘Abbasid caliphal and Mongol post, they created “an unprecedented institution” (p. 185) that withered away after the collapse of the Mongol threat.

The most impressive aspects of Silverstein’s work consist of his efforts to contextualize and compare the postal systems of pre-Islamic and early Islamic empires, specifically routes, administration, financing, and mounts. What emerges is a revealing set of patterns that distinguish individual postal networks and--in many cases--explain their eventual decline. Financing, for example, was a persistent problem, with many states placing the burden for postal supplies such as mounts on local populations. This invariably (a) led to local resentments and (b) encouraged wide-scale corruption that undermined the system’s efficacy. In this regard, the government financing of the post instituted by the ‘Abbasids is of particular interest as a unique and valuable innovation. Silverstein also highlights the corrosive effects associated with allowing civilian access to the post, as merchants abused and overtaxed the system’s resources to the point of collapse. The contrast with those systems that severely restricted civilian use through the spacing and placement of stations (e.g., the Fatimids, the Mamluks) is striking. Finally, Silverstein offers a fascinating survey of the different modes of transport utilized by each empire, ranging from human runners and homing pigeons to mules, horses, and racing camels. He presents reasoned evaluations of their speed and connects the use of certain types of transportation to the financial strains associated with maintaining an effective empire-wide postal network.

In his attention to detail, Silverstein sometimes plunges into long discussions of technical terms and the provenance of words that leave the reader a little confused. More problematic are his attempts to establish connections between postal systems on the basis of their utilization of common terms. Although he states clearly that such correlations do not necessarily imply a borrowing from one empire to another, there are instances where he seems to fall into this very trap.

The biggest questions surrounding Silverstein’s work, however, concern his widespread use of literary sources, especially with respect to the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods. While he acknowledges the problematic provenance of these sources and cautions against assuming their historical veracity, it is virtually impossible to offer a detailed discussion of early postal systems without them. When possible, Silverstein supplements literary sources with archaeological or other corroborating evidence but there still remains considerable doubt about the conclusions of the first three chapters. These should be treated with a degree of caution.

Postal Systems in the Pre-Modern Islamic World is a valuable contribution on a subject that has not been systematically studied across time periods or comparatively analyzed across empires. In this regard, Silverstein’s work is an important step towards a broader understanding of a premodern institution central to the commercial health and military efficacy of most--if not all--premodern empires.

Grand Inga Project: Another White Elephant for Black Africa

The Inga Dams are a series of hydroelectric dams located on the Congo River in Inga of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, approximately 225 km (140 mi) southwest of Kinshasa. The current two existing dams, Inga I and Inga II, are rated at 351 MW and 1,424 MW respectively. While the other two under development, Inga III and Grand Inga, are planned to rate at 4,500 MW and 39,000 MW respectively in installed capacity.

The current two hydroelectric dams, Inga I and Inga II, operate at low output due to lack of maintenance. The existing dams are famous white elephants of the former President Mobutu Sese Seko. They also served a political purpose, by allowing Kinshasa to control the energy supply of the sometimes rebellious Shaba province. The Inga Dams are part of the Inga-Shaba project. The largest dam project in the world being planned for Africa in a hydro-electric configuration “I find it interesting that for a project that would affect so many African countries, as it also involves 7 African countries with the intention of distributing electricity from DR Congo to Egypt in the North, Nigeria in the West and South Africa down South is coordinated by the World Energy Council in London.”

City Noise

Noise study concluded in Cairo

Egyptians in this capital city say it is harder and harder to be heard and to have a voice, but they are not talking politics. Well, not only politics. What they are talking about, or rather yelling about, is noise, the incredible background noise of a city crammed with 18 million people, and millions of drivers who always have one hand on the horn and a rules-free way of thinking. It is literally like living day in and day out with a lawn mower running next to your head, according to scientists with the National Research Center. They spent five years studying noise levels across the city and concluded in a report issued this year that the average noise from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. is 85 decibels, a bit louder than a freight train 15 feet away, said Mustafa el Sayyid, an engineer who helped carry out the study.

Cheikh Anta Diop and Theophile Obenga were Right

A BBC News report of January 11, 2010 announced the discovery
of a complex of tombs near Egypt’s great pyramids—Khufu
(Cheops) and Khafre (Chephren). The tombs, made from bricks of
dried mud, date back 4,500 years. Zahi Hawass, the chief
archaeologist heading the Egyptian excavation team stated that
evidence from the site shows that the workers were employed for
three-month stints, and the tombs, which date from the 4th and 5th
Dynasties (2649-2374 BC), were for those who died during
construction. Additional evidence also revealed that the
approximately 10,000 workers who built the pyramids had eaten 21
cattle and 23 sheep sent to them daily from farms in the Delta and
Upper Egypt. Scholars in the excavation team seem to think that
this suggests the farmers who sent the animals were not paying
their taxes to the Egyptian government, but were sharing in one of
Egypt's national projects.

The recent archeological digs, however, confirm what the late
Senegalese physicist and egyptologist Cheikh Anta Diop and
Congolese philosopher, egyptologist and linguist Theophile
Obenga had said all along: the pyramids of Egypt were build by
free men, not slaves.

Any opportunity to relook Cheikh Anta Diop’s legacy?

The Metro we missed

The first Egyptian graphic novel, The Metro, was confiscated by the authorities last week a few months after its publication, writes Rania Khallaf Magdy El-Shafie, author and cartoonist of The Metro, widely regarded as the first Egyptian graphic novel, last week received a summons to appear before the state prosecution service following the confiscation of his novel from the publisher, Malameh. Mohammed El-Sharqawy, head of Malameh, also received a summons, this time following 15 days spent in prison as a result of his participation in the 6 April strikes.

According to the state prosecution service, El-Shafie's graphic novel, his first, contains obscenity and libelous references alleging corruption on the part of prominent Egyptian political figures. The confiscation of the novel has caused some in Egypt's cultural community to recall previous such incidents, including when the novel A Banquet for Seaweed by Syrian novelist Haydar Haydar was confiscated on similar charges in 2000.

EGYPT: NEW STRIKE TO GREET MUBARAK

2008-05-02

Hundreds remain in detention following a nationwide protest Apr. 6 against rising food prices and political stagnation. But this has not deterred activists from calling for a second general strike on May 4, timed to coincide with President Hosni Mubarak's birthday.

2008 AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS

Cairo, Egypt: A symposium on the technical aspects of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana was held in Cairo in May to evaluate what happened. The objective of the star-filled workshop was to review the 26th Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana and also identify key challenges in the pursuit of developing African football.

We investigate and report on the proceedings, the people, the debates, the interactions, behind the scenes, goals and final score outcomes as a way to reflect on the politricks and deep spectrum of emotions and affiliations that the “African game” generates.

Taxi

Khaled Al Khamissi

Khaled Al Khamissi's "Taxi" is a remarkable journey into the lives and labyrinths of this beast of burden that has become a best-selling modern masterpiece in the author's home country. "Taxi" brings together 58 fictional monologues with Cairo cabbies recreated from the author's own experience of traversing the city. The experience takes the reader on a roller-coaster of emotions as bumpy and noisy as the city's potholed and chaotic streets.Described as an urban sociology, an ethnography, a classic of oral history - and a work of poetry in motion - "Taxi" tells Herculean tales of the struggle for survival and dignity among Greater Cairo's 80,000 cab drivers.


Paperback, 216 pages, February 2008
Published by Aflame Books

[bigger story > taxis in African cities ]

Chicago

by Alaa Al Aswany

Chicago was first published in weekly instalments in the opposition newspaper Al-Dustour. "The main strength of The Yacoubian Building was its political edge. Al Aswany is more daring here: in the last third of the novel, a visit by President Mubarak to the students in Chicago is effectively satirized. (...) Farouk Abdel Wahab's English translation is often awkward. Most of all, the sexual element is so persistent as to seem pathological." - Sameer Rahim, Times Literary Supplement

[fiction in newspapers?]