Table of Contents Foreword by Ahdaf Soueif
5
The Origins of the Rebellious Egyptian Personality by Yasmin El Shazly
6
2012
2011
The Seeds of a Graffiti Revolution by Rana Jarbou
2
9
Prelude to a Revolution
13
The 18 Days of the Revolution
14
The Day of Revolt
15
How to Revolt Intelligently
20
The Friday of Anger
23
The Battle of the Camels
34
The Fall of Mubarak
44
The Utopian State of Tahrir by Caram Kapp
48
The Rule of SCAF
50
The Army and the People Were Never One Hand
55
Martyr Murals
56
Constitutional Amendments Referendum
58
The Crescent and the Cross
63
Mad Graffiti Weekend
64
Mask of Freedom
68
May 27, Second Friday of Anger
71
The Revolutionary Stencil Booklet
78
The Sad Transition by Sad Panda
79
The Battle of Abbaseya & Friday of Kandahar
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Graffiti, Social Media & the Public Life of Images in the Egyptian Revolution by C. Elias
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Maspero’s Black Sunday
92
Aliaa El-Mahdy vs. Samira Ibrahim
99
The Battle of Mohamed Mahmoud Street
100
The Eye Sniper
102
The Generals Badeen and Seidhom
104
Occupy Cabinet Clashes
113
Spraying NO by Bahia Shehab
117
Mad Graffiti Week
120
Kazeboon
126
Tank vs. Biker
127
First Anniversary of the Revolution
131
The Port Said Massacre
132
The Wall: People’s Chronicle and Voice of the Revolution by Ahmed Aboul Hassan
134
Scarabs, Buraqs and Angels by Basma Hamdy
146
Art and Social Transformation by Basma El Husseiny
154
The Sheikh of the Revolution
156
The Story of General Batran
158
WALLS OF FREEDOM
2013
Free Sambo
158
Mina Daniel
158
No Walls: The Invisible Walls of Cairo
160
The Second Battle of Abbaseya
170
Presidential Elections
172
The Muslim Brotherhood Rule
179
SCAF Retreats to the Barracks
180
The Innocence of Muslims Movie
180
The Mona Lisa Brigades
181
Backwards by El Teneen
182
Congratulations on the New Coat of Paint
184
Quran: The Revolution’s Voice and its Holy Witness by Ahmed Aboul Hassan
190
Operation Pillar of Cloud
194
Pharaoh Morsi
195
Ittihadiya — A President under Siege
200
Jika
204
Graffiti and Social Matters by NeMo
205
Jack is Out of the Box by Ganzeer
206
Second Anniversary of the Revolution
209
State of Emergency Declared
210
Tamarod Launch
217
Arab Women and Street Art by Aya Tarek
218
Occupy Ministry of Culture
221
The Ruler and Freedom by Abood
224
The Revolution against Morsi
228
The Rise of General Sisi
234
The Coup
234
The Presidential Guard Massacre
236
How Obama Grew a Beard
237
The Mandate
238
The Tamarod Movement
239
The Rabaa Massacre
241
Everything was Possible by Omar Robert Hamilton
242
Transliterations of Rabaa by Mikala Hyldig Dal
244
The Power of Destruction by Basma Hamdy
246
The Revolution Blender by El Zeft
252
The Anti-Protest Law
255
Not the End of the Story
260
Artist Index
264
Photo Index
266
Credits
268
3
25 January
2011
The 18 Days of the revolution
tHe 18 days of
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tHe revolution
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WALLS OF FREEDOM
25
January 2011
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5
The Day of Revolt 25 January 2011: Purposely chosen, Egypt’s 4
3 pm: “Blood rushes through my body as the protesters grow in number till I am no longer able to see the beginning or end of our march. I recall the chants, all of them, and the look on the faces of the resi dents looking out from their windows in utter shock and disbelief. The protest everyone thought would only amount to a couple of hundred was growing by the thousands.” Sondos Shabayek
1 Riot
police line up awaiting orders as Egyptians protest in Tahrir Square / Mohamed Mahmoud Street
2 Riot
police move through Tahrir Square, surrounded by protesters
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Riot police line up, securing all roads leading to Tahrir Square / Taalat Harb Street
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A riot policeman runs towards clashes with protesters / Tahrir Square
5 A
man uses his bag as a shield against stones and rubber bullets as protesters clash with riot police / Kasr El-Aini Street
National Police Day marks the start of the revolution against the government of President Hosni Mubarak. About 17 political parties and opposition groups join the call for protests initiated by the “We are all Khaled Said” Facebook page and the April 6 Youth Movement. Even the previously dismissive Muslim Brotherhood now voices support, but falls short of formally calling its members to participate. Social networks anticipate large numbers of protesters, and many hope that the Tunisian spark will jump over to Egypt. The actual turnout is unprecedented and exceeds all expectations. At least 50,000 protesters from all walks of life demonstrate in Cairo. Tens of thousands more take to the streets in other cities. First clashes break out when police and Central Security Forces (CSF) — who are in full force in the streets — attack non-violent protesters. Civilian and police casualties are reported. The government blocks Twitter, and Anonymous takes down several government websites including the Ministry of Interior (MOI). In its first statement the MOI falsely accuses the Muslim Brotherhood of being behind the protests. In Cairo, Tahrir Square (Liberation Square) becomes the center of protest, and preparations start for an open-ended sit-in as the first tents are erected at night.
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25 January
2011
The 18 Days of the revolution
1
“That moment when someone carries me on his shoulders to help me write my proud bomb ‘Down with Hosni Mubarak’… and we turn back to the protesters, and I swear I see every single eye staring at me. And so I shout ‘Down, down with Mubarak’ and everyone repeats after me.” Hany Khaled
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WALLS OF FREEDOM
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January 2011
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1 “The
vagina of your mothers (Egyptian swear word), Mubarak and Gamal,” graffiti on a bridge close to Tahrir Square
2 “Down
with Mubarak,” protesters on an army tank
3 “Protesting
until you leave …” protester writing on an army tank
4 “Be
careful, guys …” protester writing on an army tank
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4
February 2011
The 18 Days of the revolution
Friday of Departure 4 February 2011: Demonstrators call for
Mubarak’s ousting. The protests are largely peaceful around Tahrir Square, and the army patrols checkpoints. Defense Minister Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi visits the troops and greets protesters amid chants of “the people and the army are one hand.” Wikileaks releases a US embassy cable saying that army officers refer to Tantawi as “Mubarak’s poodle.” Violent clashes ensue elsewhere in Cairo. In a show of solidarity, Christians form a “human chain” in Alexandria to protect Muslim protesters performing Friday prayers. The New York Times reports backdoor dealings with the Obama administration to put Tantawi and Suleiman in power. The US still refuses to publicly advise Mubarak to step down. “We have said clearly that we have no ambitions to run for the presidency, or posts in a coalition government,” Mohammed alBeltagi says on AL Jazeera (rom). 5 February 2011: Things are quieter following yesterday’s protests. The leadership of the ruling party National Democratic Party (NDP), including Hosni Mubarak’s son Gamal, resigns. A bomb blast hits a gas pipeline in Sinai that supplies Jordan and Israel. Another explosion is reported in an empty church in Rafah.
Sunday of the Martyrs 6 February 2011: Muslim and Christian protesters gather together in Tahrir Square, offering funeral prayers for the dead. Suleiman meets with representatives of opposition groups, including Mohamed Morsi. Many others reject all negotiations. Vice President Suleiman offers concessions, while accusing “foreign elements” of plotting against the nation. The Muslim Brotherhood agrees to keep Mubarak in power for a transition period. The army attempts to remove barricades and move further from the Egyptian Museum into Tahrir, but is stopped by a human chain of protesters.
1
Suleiman offers more concessions on state TV but tells ABC news that Egypt does not have a “culture of democracy.” The Muslim Brotherhood now gives Mubarak one week to leave or threatens to reconsider its ongoing negotiations with Suleiman. Protests spread to the Parliament in Cairo and continue in Alexandria and other cities. Thousands of workers strike throughout Egypt and violent clashes are reported from previously quiet southern Upper Egypt.
and “leave,” written on the bottom of a shoe carried as a protest sign / Tahrir Square
2 Mubarak
does not equal Egypt / Illustration /
Ganzeer 3 “La
Vache qui rit MUUH Barak” sign held by protester, a spin on a popular joke referring to Mubarak as the laughing cow, the name of a brand of cheese
4 Mubarak@Egypt.com:
Sign out
5 “If
the people, one day, wanted to live ¶ Then fate will surely answer their call ¶ Their night will begin to fade ¶ And their chains are certain to be broken”/ Popular poem by Tunisian poet Abu Al-Qasim Al-Shabi
6 Protester
7 February 2011: The number of protesters is
dwindling after two weeks. Semblances of normal life return, and banks and shops open for business. Web activist Wael Ghonim, the administrator of the “We are all Khaled Said” Facebook page, is released by state security after having been detained, incommunicado and blindfolded for ten days. Ghonim appears on Egyptian private TV and breaks down in tears when he sees images of those killed during his imprisonment. This emotional interview exposes slanderous state propaganda against the young revolutionaries and touches millions of Egyptians, galvanizing the revolution.
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holds a photoshopped image depicting Mubarak, his wife, ousted President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya as homeless people with a sign that reads: “Damn whoever still wants to rule after all that! Donations in dollars, please!”
7 “Revolution
till victory,” sign depicts two arms wrestling: “the revolution” on one arm, “the regime” on the other
8 Chant:
“leave means take off … you who doesn’t understand”
8 February 2011: Massive crowds from all walks of life pack Tahrir Square with renewed vigor on the 15th day of protests. Many join for the first time today. Ghonim receives a hero’s welcome when he speaks to the masses.
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1 “Go”
WALLS OF FREEDOM
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February 2011
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July 2011
The RULE of SCAF
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The Battle of Abbaseya 23 July 2011: On the anniversary of the 1952
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revolution’s military coup, Field Marshall Tantawi promises to “pave the way for the pillars” of a democratic Egypt. Thousands of protesters march from Tahrir Square to the Ministry of Defense. They protest against SCAF and reiterate the demands of the July 8 sit-in. At Nour Mosque in Cairo’s Abbaseya district, the march is attacked by civilians carrying swords, knives, and Molotov cocktails. Military police use tear gas against the protesters, who find themselves trapped between the barbed wire blocking the Ministry of Defense and the loyalist attackers — mainly Abbaseya residents. Approximately 300 people are injured. SCAF posts a statement on Facebook accusing the April 6 Youth Movement of the violence, trying to divide the army and the people, claiming they are driven by foreign interests. Friday of Kandahar 29 July 2011: Hundreds of thousands of Isla-
1 A
stencil of an army officer throwing a baby in a fire, symbolizing the demise of the future generation if SCAF continues to rule Egypt. It’s also a response to the propaganda banners widely circulated by the armed forces showing an army officer holding a baby with the words “The army and people are one hand.” The stencil was defaced the following day / Sad Panda / July 2011
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2 “The
people want the fall of the regime”/ El Teneen / Tahrir Square
3 “Beware
that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche / Sad Panda
4 A
sketch made into a paste-up in Merghany Tunnel showing an amalgam of political and cultural icons / Artist’s sketch / Sad Panda
WALLS OF FREEDOM
mists protest in Tahrir Square, calling for an Islamist state, the implementation of the Shariah, and the denouncement of secularism. The protest, organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups, is a show of force and displays mobilization skills that leave many intimidated. After the blatant hijacking of the square, liberal and secular groups suspend their sit-in and withdraw from the square. They claim that a signed agreement of unifying demands was violated by the Islamists. They later dub this day the “Friday of Kandahar” — it is a defining moment for the revolution.
July 2011
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4
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November 2011
The RULE of SCAF
1
the battle of mohamed mahmoud STREET Friday of One Demand 18 November 2011: Hundreds of thousands
protest on Cairo’s Tahrir Square and in other cities in one of the largest turnouts since the fall of Mubarak. They demand that the army hands over power to civilian rule, and they rally against the supra-constitutional principles announced by SCAF. People from all walks of life attend, but the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists dominate the organized demonstration, which they officially end at night in rejection of a planned sit-in.
the martyrs’ families. A massive battle ensues. Mohamed Mahmoud Street, which leads the way from Tahrir Square to the Ministry of Interior, becomes its epicenter. The police are using tear gas grenades, rubber bullets, shotguns, and live ammunition. Protesters fight back with stones and firebombs. Photo and video evidence of continuous shooting by the Central Security Forces as well as injuries in the field hospitals clearly prove the use of live ammunition — yet the Minister of Interior’s aide claims on TV that not even a single rubber bullet was fired. Several people die of gunshot wounds and other injuries, and hundreds are left injured, with an alarming number of reports of eye injuries due to targeted rubber bullet shots.
a grave miscalculation, the police use tear gas to disperse a small group of remaining protesters and martyrs’ families who are holding their sit-in on Tahrir Square. Violence escalates after the angry revolutionaries manage to repel the initial attack. The police and Central Security Forces return in full force in the afternoon as the protesters quickly grow in numbers. They are joined by many, including Ultras, angered by the attack on
20 November 2011: Large numbers of military police in collusion with Central Security Forces try to clear the square with extreme force. Citizens are horrifically beaten with iron sticks, and tear gas and live ammunition are used. Dead revolutionaries are seen being thrown into trash piles by military police and CSF thugs. A video surfacing on YouTube shows a policeman firing rubber bullets deliberately into the eyes of revolutionaries while his colleagues stand by, congratulating him. The death toll rises as protests continue in several cities. SCAF states that nothing will prevent the parliamentary elections from taking place, which are scheduled to start on November 28,
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WALLS OF FREEDOM
19 November 2011: In the early morning, in
and thanks the officers for “self-restraint in dealing with the events.” Several political parties and individual candidates announce they are suspending their election campaigns in the wake of the extreme violence against protesters. Mohamed Mahmoud Street has become a virtual war zone.
1 A
man holds ten empty birdshot and rubber bullet cartridges during the battle / Mohamed Mahmoud Street / 21 November 2011
2 A
tree in Tahrir Square is covered with demands and messages from protesters / Martyrs’ families sit-in / Early morning 18 November 2011
3 Military
police beat protesters near Tahrir Square / 20 November 2011
November 2011
The RULE of SCAF
21 November 2011: Four makeshift field hospitals have been set up around Tahrir, some of which come under brutal attack by the police overnight. Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and his cabinet resign as a reaction to the Battle of Mohamed Mahmoud, now raging on for a third day. More and more videos of the extreme violence used by army soldiers and police appear. A new aggressive type of tear gas is reported, with victims suffering seizures and convulsions, some suffocating to death in the field hospitals. Most cartridges found are produced by the US company Combined Tactical Systems, which flies an Israeli flag at its headquarters. With the official death toll at 33 and thousands injured, the battle has already turned into a massacre. Tens of thousands gather on Tahrir Square, demanding a trial for SCAF and the execution of Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi. The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, Mohamed El-Beltagi, is thrown off Tahrir Square by protesters enraged by the Brotherhood’s failure to join in the protests or suspend their election campaign. 22 November 2011: Field Marshal Tantawi
1
The Eye Sniper Eye lesions were common injuries since the start of the revolution. Ahmed Harara lost his eye on January 28, 2011, during the bloodiest battle to topple Mubarak. A shotgun pellet to his eye and other wounds put him in a coma for days. During the Battle of Mohamed Mahmoud, a noticeable increase of similar injuries occurred. Harara was back in the streets fighting for the revolution. On November 19, police took his second eye with a rubber bullet. Injured protesters wearing eye bandages became commonplace in the following days. A YouTube video revealed the shocking viciousness of police brutality. Caught on mobile phone camera, a policeman snipes at protesters’ eyes with a rubber bullet shotgun in Mohamed Mahmoud Street. He and his colleagues are visibly content, and an officer congratulates him, saying, “In his eye! It was in his eye! Bravo, boss!” A hunt for the identity of this “Eye Sniper” began on social media and in the streets. Activists promised a reward of 5,000 Egyptian pounds for anyone providing useful information. They also distributed wanted flyers and painted stencils of his face all over downtown Cairo. He was identified as Lieutenant Mahmoud Sobhi El-Shenawy and was eventually sentenced to three years in prison in March 2013.
Ahmed Harara was blind but his spirit was unbroken. He was named “the living martyr.” His sacrifice and selfless attitude inspired many people to join the revolution. “I would rather be blind, but live with dignity and with my head held high,” he is quoted as saying. Another activist who lost his eye in the Battle of Mohamed Mahmoud is Bassem Mohsen. In December 2013, he was killed protesting against the military.
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makes a speech on national TV and promises that power will be transferred to an elected president before the end of June 2012. However, his speech of lies — “we never killed a single Egyptian, man or woman” — is aimed at Egyptians who stayed at home, rather than at those who suffered the violence caused by the military first-hand. Another mass protest takes place in Cairo. The Muslim Brotherhood still does not join the protest. Mohamed Mahmoud Street and also Tahrir Square are showered by large amounts of tear gas. Some army officers in uniform publicly join the protests against SCAF and are celebrated in the square. All of them are later arrested and punished. 23 November 2011: The battle enters its fifth day, with fighting still concentrated on Mohamed Mahmoud Street. In an attempt to separate the police and the revolutionaries, a truce is negotiated by sheikhs from Al-Azhar and military officers. The short lull in violence that follows is broken by the police with tear gas grenades. The Egyptian rumor mill spins fanciful tales of a mutiny in the military and government members again fantasize about “foreign hands,” citing the arrest of three US students during the riots. Rights groups estimate the death toll is at least 38. 1 “Wanted:
Search with the people, Lieutenant Mahmoud Sobhi El-Shenawy, a Central Security Forces officer accused of shooting dozens of free revolutionaries’ eyes,” stencil depicts two images of Shinnawi / Ammar Abo Bakr / November 2011
January 2012
The RULE of SCAF
1
3 January 2012: The third round of parliamentary elections begins in nine provinces. The last stage of this complicated voting process will take place over several days. Islamists lead by a wide margin in the vote. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) is poised to become the largest party in Parliament, and the fundamentalist Salafi Al-Nour Party is well on its way to taking a surprising 25 – 30% of the vote. 5 January 2012: The chief prosecutor demands the death sentence for Mubarak, Adly, and their aides, arguing that they were responsible for the killings of anti-regime demonstrators. The interior ministry announces that Police Day and the revolution’s anniversary will be combined into one celebration on January 25. The Muslim Brotherhood proclaims that it will participate in a celebration and not a demonstration on the anniversary of the revolution. 9 January 2012: Political forces, including 54 political parties, call for nationwide protests on January 25 to pressure SCAF to hand over power to an elected president by April 2012. 11 January 2012: SCAF member Major General
Badeen, head of the army’s Department of Moral Affairs, announces January 25 as a public holiday. The army plans a huge celebration in Tahrir Square. Revolutionary activists are outraged, accusing SCAF of being the leaders of the counter-revolution.
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1 Protesters
wearing Guy Fawkes masks and the Arabic keffiyeh (scarf) stand on top of an erected military barricade / Mohamed Mahmoud Street / 4 January 2012
2 Mad
2
Graffiti Week flyer / Ganzeer
3 “The
army above everyone”/ Poster / Ganzeer / 13 January 2012
Mad Graffiti Week 13 - 25 January An Appeal to Artists Everywhere: “This is an appeal to help save lives. The Egyptian Military Council has unleashed a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests by the Egyptian people, calling for the resignation of the military council and a cancellation of the sham elections that they’ve been running under their supervision. Soldiers have shown us no mercy, hitting fallen women with their batons, stomping on skulls with their boots, and shooting unarmed civilians dead. I’ve seen this happen with my own eyes and was unable to stop it. It’s a soul-shattering pain like no other. […] Our only hope right now is to destroy the military council using the weapon of art. From January 13 to 25, the streets of Egypt will see an explosion of anti-military street art. If you are a street artist elsewhere in the world, please do what you can in your city to help us.” Ganzeer on December 20, 2011; this appeal was distributed widely and far beyond Egypt.
WALLS OF FREEDOM
January 2012
3
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February 2012
The RULE of SCAF
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The Port Said Massacre 1 February 2012: After an Egyptian premier
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league football match in Port Said between Al-Ahly (Cairo) and Al-Masry, fans of Al-Ahly are viciously assaulted by an armed and seemingly organized mob inside the stadium. As soon as the game ends, the gates to the pitch are opened and hundreds storm Al-Ahly supporters. Police forces do not make the slightest attempt to stop the attack. Al-Ahly fans are assaulted with knives, clubs, swords, broken bottles, and stones. Some are thrown to their death from the stands. A Central Security Forces brigadier general orders the stadium lights to be turned off. Fireworks are shot at panicking Al-Ahly fans and as fire breaks out in the stands they flee to exits and dressing rooms. Many suffocate or are crushed to death in the narrow corridors — exit doors have been closed and emergency gates even welded shut. 74 Al-Ahly supporters are killed and close to 1,000 are wounded. Many hold SCAF responsible and believe the attack was orchestrated by the police as revenge on the Al-Ahly Ultras. The Ultras, due to their long history of fighting with the police, have been the backbone of many street protests and violent confrontations during the course of the revolution. Many indications support this accusation. The police did not conduct any search of fans at the entrances, which is quite unusual, and witnesses recount that police
WALLS OF FREEDOM
incited the attacks and worked with outside thugs. And, for the first time in the history of Port Said, the governor and chief of police did not attend a game of such importance. The Second Battle of Mohamed Mahmoud 2 February 2012: Tens of thousands of protesters, many of them Ultras, descend on the streets to protest the massacre. Two are killed in Suez after police open fire against those trying to storm a police station. Heavy clashes also ignite close to the Ministry of Interior on Cairo’s Mohamed Mahmoud Street. 3 February 2012: Protesters fight Central Security Forces through clouds of tear gas in Cairo. The property tax authority building close to the Ministry of Interior is set on fire. One protester is killed by birdshot, while a soldier dies after being run over by an army vehicle. Approximately 1,700 people are wounded and security forces intensify their attacks as night falls. The government fires several senior officials, and Port Said’s director of security and the head of investigations are arrested. 4 February 2012: After a third day of battle, the
health ministry says that seven people have been killed by birdshot in Cairo and another five in Suez by live ammunition. Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim claims only tear gas was used and that the police exercised the utmost self-restraint. In an interview
February 2012
5
by Islam Issa for Comment Middle East, the Al-Masry stars, the Zekri brothers, confirm that the Port Said Massacre was organized and that the police worked with the attackers. According to Karim Zekri, some of the attackers did not recognize him — the captain of Al-Masry — making it impossible for them to be actual fans of the club. They testify that they, along with many Al-Masry fans, were helping get Al-Ahly fans out of harm’s way. 5 February 2012: Before dawn, army troops build three new concrete walls, making a total of eight barriers blocking the Ministry of Interior. Egyptian authorities announce that 43 NGO workers — including 19 US citizens, five Serbs, two Germans, and three non-Egyptian Arab nationals — will face criminal trial. They are accused of carrying out “political training programs,” supporting election campaigns, and illegally financing individuals and groups. Late that night, at least one protester dies in another intense battle raging in Cairo. Thousands throw stones and Molotov cocktails at police forces. Some are using homemade birdshot pistols. The police cloud whole quarters of downtown in tear gas and continue to attack using armored personnel carriers with birdshot and rubber bullets. 1 Protesters
clash with central security forces during the Second Battle of Mohamed Mahmoud Street / 4 February 2012
2 Clashes
continue as protesters protect their faces from tear gas / 4 February 2012
6
3 A
protester displays tear gas canisters and cartridge shells / Mohamed Mahmoud Street / 4 February 2012
4 Ultras
flags and the Egyptian flag hover in solidarity with the Port Said victims as clashes continue / Mohamed Mahmoud Street / 4 February 2012
5 “Your
sun won’t rise until mine sets”/ Stencil of UA07, the symbol of Ultras Ahlawy / El Zeft / 4 February 2012
6 “Would
you just try to understand us or is our mere existence a threat to you?”/ Ultras White Knights / Mansoura / 25 February 2012
7 A
young street kid leans against a wall covered in graffiti with a face mask on his head and tear gas residue on his face. The large red scrawl reads: “The military are liars”/ Mohamed Mahmoud Street / 6 February 2012
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February 2012
The RULE of SCAF
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WALLS OF FREEDOM
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March 2012
The RULE of SCAF
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WALLS OF FREEDOM
March 2012
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March 2012
The RULE of SCAF
The First Constituent Assembly 17 March 2012: Egypt’s Parliament votes on
the composition of the Constituent Assembly, to write a new constitution. The Islamist-led Parliament ignores proposals submitted by minority parties about guaranteeing a quota for the representation of women, Christians, and other sectors in the assembly. Instead, they decide to keep 50 out of 100 seats for members of Parliament, i.e. themselves. Pope Shenouda III, the patriarch of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church, dies at the age of 88, after leading the church for 40 years. 18 March 2012: An IMF delegation arrives in
Egypt to discuss a $3.2 billion financial package for Egypt in response to a loan request submitted by authorities. The government, which is running out of foreign currency, has not informed Egyptians of its austerity measure and reform plans, which are supposed to convince the IMF to approve the loan. 21 March 2012: Another acute shortage of fuel and butane gas hits Egypt. Long lines at pump stations lead to protests and clashes throughout Egypt. Egypt’s Minister of Oil, Abdallah Ghorab, claims that there is no shortage, only a “distribution problem.” At the same time, workers at Cairo’s Railway Station join a public transportation strike, preventing trains from arriving in and departing from Cairo. 23 March 2012: The US decides it will release the $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt that had been on hold since the start of the NGO prosecutions. Most of the aid goes directly to US weapons manufacturers. 24 March 2012: The Muslim Brotherhood,
closely aligned with the Supreme Council of the Armed Force’s positions for months, releases an unusually critical statement aimed at SCAF. The MB slams the failure of Prime Minister El-Ganzouri’s government and asks if SCAF’s continued support of his cabinet is meant to “abort the revolution and orchestrate the presidential elections.” The MB, poised for more power, has previously proposed forming its own government. The Egyptian Football Association bans Port Said’s club, al-Masry, for two seasons as punishment for the Port Said Massacre. One person is shot and 100 injured in ensuing clashes between angry fans and security forces. The Association already canceled Egypt’s premier league season after the massacre. 25 March 2012: In an ongoing war of words,
26 March 2012: The Parliament finishes voting to finalize the list of Egypt’s Constituent Assembly members. 65 of 100 seats are taken by Islamists. Only six women and five Christians are voted into the assembly.
Arabic Al-Ahram website, SCAF is considering a pardon for the MB Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat El-Shater. El-Shater was released from prison in March 2011 after serving seven years for terrorism and money laundering.
27 March 2012: Thousands of student MB youth
Muslim Brotherhood Runs for Presidency 31 March 2012: Finally breaking its continued promise to the Egyptian people not to file for candidacy, the Muslim Brotherhood names Khairat El-Shater as its presidential nominee. Calculatedly revealing its rift with SCAF to prepare the public, the MB claims
SCAF issues a statement hitting back at the Muslim Brotherhood, which has “questioned the integrity of the armed forces and its council.” It calls the accusations lies and warns everyone to “be aware of the lessons of history.”
at Al-Azhar University call for the removal of the El-Ganzouri Cabinet. Senior members of the MB’s Freedom and Justice Party tell The Guardian that foreign governments covertly lobbied to strike a deal with SCAF, providing a safe exit for the ruling generals in exchange for a smooth transition. According to the
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March 2012
1
they were forced to run. The group had been under increased pressure from within to clarify its position, especially from the MB youth. Some had shown sympathies for Aboul Fotouh, who was expelled from the MB for running. The MB threatened every member who supported him with expulsion.
Previous pages 162-163:
An accurate trompe-l’œil depicts the continuing one-hundred-year-old architecture of the street, and its arabesque windows. A boy stands on his bicycle and peeks through the gaps in the concrete blocks, travelling on a journey through memory. He can now see the violence and brutality that the street witnessed, narrated by the detailed figures in the distance / Ammar Abo Bakr, Mohamed Elmoshir, Layla, Hanaa El Degham and team / Sheikh Rihan Street
1 Piled
on top of each other in an almost chaotic explosion of line and color is a tangled web of people and gas cylinders. The similarity between the long queues of the parliamentary elections and the long queues for gas cylinders inspired the artist to portray the tragedy that Egyptians suffer amidst the preoccupation with political wins. The extreme shortage of gas cylinders in some cities even triggered violent clashes between citizens / Hanaa El Degham / Mohamed Mahmoud Street
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June 2012
The Muslim Brotherhood Rule
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June–August 2012
THE Muslim Brotherhood rule Morsi Declared Winner 24 June 2012: Mohammad Morsi’s election
victory is announced. He wins with 51.7% (13.2 million) of the vote in his favor. Tahrir Square is roaring in celebrations by Muslim Brothers and affiliated Islamists. In order to prevent Ahmed Shafik’s victory, countless non-Islamist supporters of the revolution have voted for Morsi. Morsi vows to solve five key issues within his first 100 days in office: the security vacuum, traffic congestion, fuel shortages, bread and fuel scarcities, and garbage and waste in the streets. 25 June 2012: In his first meeting with SCAF
after winning the elections, Mohamed Morsi’s position shifts radically from the MB’s recent public critique of the council. According to MENA (Middle East News Agency), Morsi now praises SCAF for its “wise leadership of the country” and “for managing the electoral process with the utmost transparency,” making it “a model for democracy and fairness.”
6 July 2012: President Mohamed Morsi tasks a 16-member fact-finding committee to investigate the killing of over one thousand protesters since the start of the revolution. 8 July 2012: In a surprising move, Morsi decrees that he is overruling SCAF’s dissolution of Parliament, which was based on a Supreme Constitutional Court ruling. 10 July 2012: After SCAF warns “all state ins-
titutions” to respect all of its constitutional declarations, the Supreme Constitutional Court suspends Morsi’s decree that reinstates Parliament. 11 July 2012: President Morsi affirms in a
New Cabinet Sworn in 2 August 2012: The new Cabinet consists of
Islamists, technocrats, and ministers from the military-appointed El-Ganzouri government that until recently had been staunchly opposed as “incompetent” by the MB. As a matter of course, Field Marshall Tantawi remains Minister of Defense, and the new interior minister is General Ahmed Gamal El-Din, assistant of his predecessor. The prominent Judge Ahmed Mekki (who has criticized the judiciary as politicized) becomes Minister of Justice, while the Muslim Brotherhood member Abdel Maqsoud takes over the Ministry of Information — the most controversial appointment. The ultra-conservative Salafist Al-Nour Party, as well as a number of liberal and nationalist parties, had refused to join the government.
statement that he will respect the court’s rulings. He leaves for his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia, assuring the kingdom that he has no plans to “export Egypt’s revolution.” 4 August 2012: Morsi apologizes for the increased power and water cuts that have 15 July 2012: After meeting Mohamed Morsi sparked angry protests around the country. the day before, US Secretary of State Hillary Sinai Border Guard Massacre 28 June 2012: Sameh Fahmy, Mubarak’s former Clinton holds talks with the head of SCAF, oil minister, and business tycoon Hussein Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. Her convoy 5 August 2012: Masked gunmen assault an Salem are both sentenced to 15 years in prison is pelted with tomatoes and shoes in Cairo. army base and kill 16 border guards in Rafah, for selling gas to Israel below market price. near the Palestinian border. President Morsi Workers Strike promises swift action to impose control over 29 June 2012: In a symbolic gesture, Morsi 18 July 2012: Labor strikes that started four Sinai and vows that the perpetrators “will takes a presidential oath in front of a packed days ago in the Nile Delta city of El-Mahalla pay dearly.” Tahrir Square. He says that he will respect the El-Kubra and in Suez demand basic wage rights of anyone, whether they support him raises. Today the strikes are joined by about 6 August 2012: President Morsi and Field or not. Morsi promises to do everything in 35,000 workers. Marshal Tantawi visit Rafah together to assess the situation. Meanwhile, the Muslim his power to secure the release of prisoners, Omar Suleiman dies Brotherhood’s website accuses the Mossad including Omar Abdul-Rahman, the “Blind Sheikh” imprisoned in the US for mastermin- 19 July 2012: Mubarak’s henchman and former of being behind the attack. ding the first World Trade Center bombing. Vice President Omar Suleiman dies while undergoing medical tests in the US. Morsi 7 August 2012: During the state funeral Morsi resumes Presidency pardons 572 prisoners held in military cus- for the murdered soldiers, Prime Minister 30 June 2012: Morsi is sworn into office before tody, including 17 leaders of the Al-Gama’a Hashem Kandil, ex-MB Aboul Fotouh, and the Supreme Constitutional Court as the Al-Islamiyya and Islamic Jihad (the group Salafist Al-Nour Party spokesperson Nader Parliament (in front of which the president behind the assassination of President Sadat), Bakr are attacked with bottles and shoes. In is traditionally sworn in) remains dissolved. some of whom had been sentenced to death. Morsi’s absence, the kooky talk show host Morsi later attends a military parade in his Tafik Okasha, a staunch supporter of SCAF, honor and is congratulated by Field Marshall 22 July 2012: A gas pipeline in Sinai running chants slogans against Morsi and the MB. Tantawi: “We will stand by the side of the from Egypt to Israel is blown up for the fifpresident the way we did with the revolution.” teenth time since the January 2011 uprising. 2 July 2012: After reclaiming its legislative
powers back from Parliament, SCAF approves the state budget for 2012/2013 brought forward by the former military-appointed Kamal El-Ganzouri government. Only 20% of the budget may be used for Morsi’s own policies.
New Prime Minister 24 July 2012: After long speculation, President Morsi appoints the dull Hisham Kandil as new prime minister. The relatively unknown surprise candidate was Minister of Water in the last El-Ganzouri Cabinet.
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gypt is not the Muslim Brotherhood. A Sufi E Sheikh bows down in reverence. Sufism is a branch of Islam that is generally rejected by Salafists and the Muslim Brotherhood. The piece expresses that the Muslim Brotherhood does not own Egyptian Islam / Ammar Abo Bakr and Hanaa El Degham / Berlin
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stripped by military soldiers in Tahrir — indicate that the violated rights of women are not a real problem to them. Their passivity towards the massacre of Copts in Maspero is an indication that they are not planning to change anything about sectarian wars.
Backwards by El Teneen The goal of the political Islamists — Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and Salafists — was not to realize the goals of the revolution such as “bread, freedom, and social justice.” 1 Their goal from the start was to obtain exclusive power.
Morsi’s claim from Tehran that the Egyptian revolution has realized all of its goals is very revealing. The situation is clear since Khairat El-Shater proclaimed that the “Nahda or Renaissance Project”2 had not yet been established with a set action plan and that the media had misunderstood that it was.3 Add to that the statement by Sheikh Hazem Shouman, an Egyptian Salafist, who stated: “We [referring to Islamists] use democracy only to reach power.” The political Islamists are proving that they support an Islamist state post-revolution and not a democratic one.
Political Islamism does not stand behind revolutions. Morsi’s first visit as president was to Saudi Arabia, a country that had welcomed Bin Ali. He did not visit Tunisia, for example, the country that inspired Egypt’s own revolution. Where is the Egyptian support for Syria or Sudan or Bahrain? It’s both embarrassing and disgusting. Pure revolutionary blood means nothing to the state of the MB. Only an idiot would believe that they will bring justice to the Martyrs who died at the hands of Mubarak’s regime and Tantawi’s soldiers. Have they achieved anything in the satirical trial of Mubarak? Under the MB’s watch the military does not get tried for its crimes against humanity, but instead it is awarded with a “Nile Medal.” Could there be any more blatant form of betrayal to the revolution? Even though I am speaking about the MB and the Salafists together, there is a difference between their goals and mistakes. The MB is in power and must be held responsible for its attempts to create a fascist regime that has betrayed the revolution. However, the Salafists are in a different position because their regressive ideology is being abused by the MB in order to dominate and rule. This combo of Islamist politics kills all hope that this country can take a single step forward. The two are not to be trusted: the military and the MB.
Let’s recall what Shouman used to say: “What do you mean by Liberal Baradei? What do you mean by Secular Baradei?”And let’s not forget Abdel Moneim El-Shahat who is famous for the honest statement: “Democracy is a sin and blasphemous but we can’t really admit it.” Within months we were faced with the “Friday of Kandahar” 4 when Saudi Arabian flags filled Tahrir Square. Political Islamists are not revolutionaries. On the contrary, any objection to their leaders is a sin punishable by death. Sadly, they believe that enforcing that punishment is a form of Jihad. They’re also not worried about freedom and all that nonsense; in fact, controlling the media and shutting people up is the greatest achievement of the MB since Morsi came into power. They’re also not concerned with human or women’s rights. Their words and actions about the way the military dealt with protesters — whether Samira Ibrahim and other female protesters who were subjected to “virginity tests,” or the girl who was stepped on and
All the things that the revolutionaries consider gains, such as freedom of protest and freedom to criticize authority, are not gains but rather losses to the political Islamists. They are problems that must be addressed and eliminated before they affect Morsi sitting on his throne. I am not against Islamists in theory, but what they have done and said must make me against them. However, if they change and start working towards a country of “bread, freedom, and social justice” — the very reason why the revolution happened” — then I will be the first person to support them. We didn’t have a revolution for the political Islamists. On the contrary, the revolution started in order to fight the fascist state. The MB is basing its state on a foundation of lies and will not change, because its main goal is to stay in power. The revolution is against the repressive ruler who cannot be criticized or challenged. This state that the MB is creating uses the same philosophy of Mubarak supporters. Its leaders have the same strategy masked under a different face. The true direction of the political Islamists of MB and Salafists in all walks of life is … backwards.
1
This was the slogan of the Egyptian revolution chanted in Tahrir Square and these are the basic demands that Egyptians were hoping to achieve 2 After his release from prison in March 2011, the Deputy Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) Khairat El-Shater was tasked by the Brotherhood’s Guidance Council to perform a comprehensive review of the movement’s overall strategy in post-Mubarak Egypt. This new strategy has often been referred to as “The Nahda Project” (Nahda means “renaissance” or “rise”) 3 El-Shater has previously stated that he had been planning for the Nahda Project during his prison sentence. MB members, including President Mohamed Morsi, have referred to the project repeatedly 4 “Friday of Kandahar” is the name of the million-man protest that took place on July 29, 2011. It was initially planned to be an inclusive solidarity protest but Islamists dominated with huge numbers waving Saudi flags and demanding Shariah be implemented. Secular and liberal groups abandoned Tahrir. “Kandahar” refers to a conflict-ridden city in Afghanistan. The media satirically dubs the protest as “Kandahar” and the Islamists embrace the name
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1 “Backwards,”
depicting the Egyptian Salafist leader Abdel Moneim El-Shahat, created in the style of Shepard Fairey’s OBEY / El Teneen / Agouza / September 2012
El Teneen, Arabic for “Dragon,” lives and works in Cairo, Egypt. He started doing street art in the first days of the revolution in 2011. In his pieces, El Teneen called out the blatant lies and conspiracy theories of Egyptian state media, condemning the brutality of the military junta that ruled Egypt for more than a year and a half, and criticizing political Islamists and their extremist take on freedoms. After 18 days in Tahrir Square, Mubarak stepped down and his military junta, the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, took over both his power and his failed, base methods. Celebrations were short and sweet. After witnessing their brutality and deceit first-hand, El Teneen stencils warnings against the danger they pose to the revolution, contradicting the murals glorifying them. The most dangerous weapon the SCAF possesses is their media propaganda. Sadly, the simple request “bread, freedom, and social justice,” which Egyptians shouted as they took to the streets, is largely ignored. Besides street art interventions, El Teneen has exhibited artwork in both group and solo shows in Egypt. contemporarywing.com/artists/el-teneen
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Androgyny / Aya Tarek / City Leaks Festival / Cologne, Germany / October 2013
Arab Women and Street Art by Aya Tarek* A few weeks ago, I receive a call asking me for an interview for a
documentary film about street art in Egypt. Naturally, I ask the director what aspects she is planning to tackle in her film. She replies, “Graffiti and the Egyptian Revolution in Cairo.” I try to explain to her that my work is not at all political and that I do not work in Cairo but in Alexandria, my hometown. “It’s no problem,” she says. “We’re looking for any female street artist in Egypt, and you’re one of the only ones we found.” This woman, like many other journalists and filmmakers who have recently been contacting me, has barely seen any of my work, and she does not seem inclined to. Just as long as I am an Arab Woman and a Street Artist, that is all that matters. When I began my career back in 2008, street art was a distant dream, a ridiculed art form in Egypt. I had inherited my grandfather’s studio in downtown Alexandria, where I worked with my crew. My grandfather was a graphic designer from the 1960s to the 1990s, and he specialized in cinema poster making. He left behind a run-down modern 1960’s studio space, located at the foot of a neoclassical building near the wood and paper markets in downtown Alexandria. The mid-century aesthetics, along with the modernist design and printing appliances that he left us to experiment with, are what initially influenced my artistic style. The studio, which officially became known as Art Establishment, was where our ideas and techniques were born, and the streets of Alexandria became our very own open gallery. Working in public space had its own charm (although at times it could be quite challenging). Especially in areas where public art was not recognized, it took us time and effort to get the community to acknowledge the value of what we were doing to their precious walls. The question of being a woman working on the street was at the time quite irrelevant; for us, gender was not an issue. We did not feel compelled to address the question of the oppression of women in Egypt, for to us and to the passersby, it was about aesthetics. It was about the value of the work: it was about art. Nowadays, female artists constantly go through the trouble of trying to detach themselves from labels stuck upon them due to their gender. Similarly, 20th-century Egyptian (male and female) artists have also been the victims of critics’ pigeonholing due to their nationality. The label itself is not important, but it is rather the inevitable alienation of the artist once he or she becomes an “object of study” that destroys the work. This becomes most apparent when the work itself is critiqued differently — when it is evaluated as “women’s” art, or “Egyptian” art rather than simply as art — and when the conceptualization of the work stems from the initial boxing of the artist. In 2009, director Ahmad Abdalla invited me to take part in his film Microphone. By that time I had worked on several murals around the streets of Alexandria. The film aimed to shed light on the Alexandrian cultural scene by featuring skateboarders (another growing scene in Egypt that was also born in Alexandria), musicians, and street artists within a dramatic plotline. For the film I created a number of murals. I felt a responsibility to accurately exhibit the street art scene in Alexandria. I developed techniques especially for the film and challenged myself to create original representative pieces. The film was produced at the end of 2010 and was to premiere on January 25, 2011.
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January 25, 2011: an unforgettable date. The beginning of the 18 days of protests that ended with the toppling of Hosni Mubarak and the rise of the graffiti trend in Egypt. It was a prosperous time for local and foreign media in the region. Today, two years later, the trending news topics oscillate between the oppression of women and the rise of street art in Egypt, notably Cairo. To fuse the two together would be a double win for the media. Local and foreign journalists have been thriving on questions of gender, ranging from the rights of Arab women in the region, to sexual assault, to women’s mediocre achievements in the arts. Being a Woman Street Artist in this particular time and place means being put in the spotlight, being constantly bombarded with questions. The media focus on Arab Women and Street Art is both tricky and problematic. It plays on the widely known fact that many Arab countries have a patriarchal society. “Arab Women and Street Art” also suggests a very simplistic perspective on a much more complex subject, for it assumes that all Arab women have something in common: not just that they are women but that they are Arab women, and not just that they are Arab women but that they are Arab Women Street Artists. The phrase implies that all Arab Women Street Artists are similar. More important, it implies that their art is all the same, and that the rarity of their existence makes them a subject worth tackling. In my situation, when I began working as a street artist it was not a male-dominated scene. In fact, there was practically no scene at all in Egypt. It was only after the 2011 uprisings that the graffiti scene began to boom, and quickly became viewed as a male-dominated art form. The assumption that public space in Egypt is a man’s place is widespread and understandable, especially with the growing focus on — and politicization of — sexual harassment. The domination of men in the street, with their constant need to reassert their masculinity, alienates women from the public sphere and places them on a vulnerable pedestal. This is the problematic and troubling result of a male weakness, yet it is women who suffer the consequences. This reality does not imply that all Arab Women Street Artists derive their inspiration from their gender, nor does it assume that Arab Women Artists cannot be critiqued just as their male counterparts are. In my case, it has always been about the work, about aesthetics, about creating beauty within chaos. *Co-written by Sama Waly
Aya Tarek (born 1989) is a painter, street artist, and co-founder of Kanschaft, who lives and works in Alexandria, Egypt. Her art explores the notion of urban communication. Aside from her conceptual approach, her vibrant, comical work transmits a sense of simplicity and controversy. Through her sitespecific murals, she investigates ideas about the surrounding public spaces. Tarek has participated in various exhibitions and events in Alexandria, Cairo, Sharjah, Manama, Beirut, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Florence. facebook.com/beautyqueenofazarita | twitter.com/queenofazarita
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1 A
woman holds a gas nozzle, a commentary on the fuel crisis in Egypt / Paste-up / The Mozza / Maadi
2 Chant:
“They said freedom, they said justice, we only saw treachery and deceit”
3 “The
martyr is the hero,” on the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Cairo. This mural was painted the week before the June 30 demonstrations. It depicts Jika’s funeral and his grieving mother. Gaber “Jika” Salah was a beloved 16-year-old activist who was fatally shot in November 2012. He was considered by many as one of the first victims of the Morsi regime (see p. 204) / Mohamed Elmoshir / Sabry Abou Alam Street, Downtown
4 An
1
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extended donkey as a historical timeline of dates and important numbers that affected the Egyptian revolution. They include: 1958 (article 162, the establishment of the emergency law in Egypt), 6.6.2010 (death of Khaled Said), 18.12.2010 (Tunisian Revolution), 25.1. (January 25 Revolution), 1.2.2012 (Port Said Massacre). The donkey’s body includes many other dates of key events leading up to the 30.6. — Tamarod’s deadline for Morsi — which points to the donkey’s backside / Mona Lisa Brigades / Zamalek
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The Coup 3 July 2013: Overnight, the gunfight at the Nahda Square pro-Morsi rally at Cairo University ends in a bloodbath, leaving 18 dead (mostly killed by bullets) and 600 injured on both sides. Security forces on the anti-Morsi side are heavily involved in the confrontation. SCAF posts on its official Facebook page, “We swear to god to sacrifice our blood to save Egypt and its people against any terrorist or radical or ignorant.” Tamarod urges opponents of the president to rally in all public places, and it asks the presidential guard to arrest Morsi. The Ministry of Interior vows to “use all possible means to protect the Egyptian people,” and to work alongside the army. Essam El-Haddad, presidential aide, posts on Facebook that Egypt is in the midst of a “military coup” that will tell the world that “democracy is not for Muslims.” The 4:30 pm deadline passes without news, but large troops with personal carriers and tanks are soon deployed. Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Beltagy tells CNN that “the people at Rabaa El-Adaweya Square are ready to die to stop what is happening.” Both pro-Morsi Rabaa and anti-Morsi Tahrir — where policemen
July 2013
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hand out water and juice — are packed with people, as are Ittihadiya, Nahda Square, and many other squares in the country. After a long meeting with Egyptian leaders, General Abdel Fatah El-Sisi speaks on state TV. He suspends the constitution and installs the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court (Adly Mansour, who assumed this post only two days prior) as the interim president of the country. El-Sisi announces a roadmap for early presidential elections. The general is not alone; he is flanked by a broad spectrum of political and religious leaders of the country. Beside a number of top brass military and police commanders, there is the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the Pope of the Coptic Church, ElBaradei as representative of the National Salvation Front, the three founders of Tamarod, and — most surprisingly — a representative of the Salafist Al-Nour Party, the MB’s former allies. While one after another speaks to the nation, the police storm and shut down the Islamist TV channels Al-Misr 25, Al Hafez, and Al Nas, and raid offices of Al Jazeera Egypt. The April 6 Youth Movement releases a statement saying, “Today the demands of the people have been met.” As millions erupt in enthusiastic celebrations throughout the country, there is little doubt that this is a
popular coup. The participants at MB rallies in Cairo, surrounded by the army, are in shock but stay peaceful. 80 women suffer mob sexual assaults on Tahrir. In the village of Dalga, close to Minya, Christian homes and a local church are looted and burned by an angry mob. At least ten are killed in governorates outside Cairo. 4 July 2013: In the midst of mass celebrations
and demonstrations, Egyptian air force jets draw hearts in the sky above Cairo in the national colors. Morsi and his aides are held in military custody. Arrest warrants are issued for more than 300 leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists. Adly Mansour is sworn in as the interim president and invites the MB “to participate in building the nation.” Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are overjoyed. King Abdullah is the first to congratulate, swiftly followed by Sheikh Khalifa. Both are staunch adversaries of the Muslim Brotherhood, and praise the army and General El-Sisi. The MB rejects “dealing with the usurper regime” and calls its supporters to nationwide protests on Friday. Apart from Cairo, huge pro-Morsi rallies take place in Damanhour, Beni Suef, and other cities. Dozens are wounded in
Sharqeyya, a Nile Delta province. In Arish, a soldier is killed in one of several Islamist militant attacks on checkpoints in the Sinai. Friday of Rejection 5 July 2013: Hundreds of thousands, if not
millions of Muslim Brotherhood supporters take to the streets across Egypt to demonstrate. Egyptian TV stations do not broadcast the protests. At a rally in front of the Republican Guard headquarters, where Morsi is suspected to be held, shots are fired from behind the army barricades at unarmed protesters. Five are reportedly killed and 69 wounded. The Supreme Guide of the MB, Mohamed Badie, makes an appearance on the stage at Rabaa El-Adaweya Square. He says: “We 1 Army
helicopters fly over the area surrounding the Ittihadiya Palace in a show of support as protesters cheer and wave their flags / Heliopolis
2 A
protestor holds a sign that reads “Leave,” “go out,” and “We authorize Egyptian army”/ Ittihadiya Palace / 3 July 2013
3 Joke
posters of General Abdel Fatah El-Sisi in the style of Shepard Fairey’s Obama Hope portait / Nazeer / Maadi
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tHE pOWER OF dESTRUCTION by basma hamdy
opponents in a form of “political vandalism” during the great purges of the 1930s.1 What is so threatening about images, I asked myself, which causes influential leaders to go to such extremes to eliminate them?
“For me, an image is the sum of its destructions.” Pablo Picasso, 1954 I wondered about the man who was ordered to look through the reels of Egyptian
movies filmed during the rule of King Farouk and to remove his portrait from the scenes. It would have required great effort to etch out the image of the overthrown king frame by frame, each time leaving a scratchy black ghost in its place. Nasser loyalists sought to erase Farouk from Egypt’s history following the abolishment of the monarchy in 1953, just as Stalin erased his own political
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In 1353 BC, immediately following the death of his father, Akhenaten ordered all references to the god Amun to be removed across Egypt. He was said to have been replacing Egypt’s polytheistic religion with mono1
David King, The commissar vanishes: the falsification of photographs and art in Stalin’s Russia, (New York: Metropolitan Books, 1997), 7
1
theism. However, soon after he died, his act was reversed and his own name was removed from all temples. Ancient Egyptians believed that destroying someone’s inscription or car touche was equivalent to destroying the person himself, and this held great significance in the afterlife. This “damnatio memoriae” (condemnation of memory) persisted throughout Egypt’s history. Thousands of years later, after January 2011, a court ordered that images of Mubarak be removed from Egypt’s streets, squares, and public institutions.
1 Egyptian
Identity Mural / “When I first opened my eyes, and before my mother knew me, they applied kohl to my eyes reaching my temples, so I can look like your statues.” Kohl is sometimes applied to babies’ eyes when they are first born, a tradition believed to have originated in Ancient Egypt. A baby’s black-lined eyes are compared to ancient statues, showing the strong ties between Egypt’s future — personified as a baby — and its past — represented as ancient Egypt. The mural represents Egypt as a woman, with
golden-brown skin and Mediterranean features, a fusion of ancient jewelry and make-up, with the thick braids of a fellaha (peasant girl) / Project by Haitan — painting by Ammar Abo Bakr, calligraphy by Sameh Ismael, poetry by Ahmed Aboul-Hassan, sculptures by Alaa Abd El Hamid, frames by Nora Nessel and Jan Nikolai / Kasr El-Nil Street, Downtown / June – July 2013
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The Revolution Blender By El Zeft I took to the streets on January 25, 2011, without knowing the slightest thing about politics. All I had seen were videos of people being tortured in police stations, and police violently crushing everyone who crossed their path. My only concern was to change this reality.
For three years, I would jump into a blender of bodies, batons, tear gas and gunshots to advocate the rights of the martyrs and continue their cause, every time someone would fall. In the meantime, another would be killed, so you’d forget about the first one for a bit and agitate for the rights of the next, only to turn around in the end and realize you never really brought justice to Khaled Said’s rights — the one in whose name you were chanting slogans the very first day. Then you are forced into struggles you don’t even understand, from the referendum to parliamentary and presidential elections, to yet another referendum. And in between each one, blood has to be shed before you can move on to the next. In the meantime, people are yelling at you that you will go to heaven if you choose this, and you will go to hell if you choose that. The truth is, however, that we were always going to hell, but right here on earth.
I’m weak and a traitor to the revolution. Somehow, the revolution has become the pet subject of precisely those two factions, who do it the most harm. No — fuck both of you! Yesterday, supporters of religious rule killed supporters of military rule in Alexandria, and the military authorities killed supporters of religious rule in al-Manassah. One side killed people in al-Manial, Bayn al-Sarayat, and the Ittihadiyah Palace before that, and the other side killed people at the Republican Guard, Ramses, and Rabaa. And you all-knowing ones, to whom the truth is as clear as the sun, which one of these do you want me to side with? Or shall I just pick the side on which more victims fall and be done with it? The truth is not as clear as the sun. Falsehoods exist, and both sides are treacherous. Expressing sympathy with one side now because they are being oppressed does not mean that they are not criminals themselves. On the contrary, it is their previous crimes that brought them to their present position.
Then there is the disgusting and vile media, the first and foremost enemy of the revolution, which seems to be broadcasting from another planet, about other people. I still remember the first day of the revolution; Al-Ahram ran a headline the day after that read “The people and the police celebrate with flowers and chocolate.” This is one of the things that prompted me to paint in the streets, to create an alternative to mainstream media, one by the people and for the people.
About three years after I first took to the streets to chant slogans against the interior ministry, the interior minister appeared saying that the ministry never once killed a protester, and that there would be no security without the return of political security. I guess that’s why you were ashamed of your uniforms, and took them off and ran away on January 28, 2011, before the people could lynch you. That day will come again Mr. Minister, for I believe time has proven that the only guarantee is the proverbial “What goes around, comes around.”
Now I came out of the blender, only to enter a grinder — one of military rule and religious rule. They’re fighting each other for power and I’m supposed to side with one of them, because otherwise
What I want to say is that I will not raise the portrait of any ruler. The revolution I dream of, the one I took to the streets for on the first day, does not raise portraits of rulers. Rather, it holds them
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1 The
Battle Mural (part 1): Features a face-off between an armed street protester wearing a gas mask and holding a Kalashnikov with the police officer who shot Belal Ali Gaber / Paste-up / El Zeft / 14 October 2013
accountable for their crimes. My sympathy with one faction does not mean joining their ranks in the street, for I find them immoral, and they too intend to revive the same repressive state — be it a religious or a security regime — that the people removed by paying the highest price. I sympathize more with those your state — both of your states — murdered. “[Remember] when they came at you from above you and from below you, and when eyes shifted [in fear], and hearts reached the throats and you assumed about God [various] assumptions. (10) There the believers were tested and shaken with a severe shaking. (11)” (Quran Surat Al-’Ahzab 33:10, 33:11)
2 The
Battle Mural (part 2): Belal Ali Gaber, a 19-year-old student, killed at the hands of the police in a peaceful pro-Morsi march on October 11, 2013. He was the only victim but his death received attention due to a video showing his killing / Ammar Abo Bakr / 14 October 2013 Flowers, detail of Battle Mural / Ammar Abo Bakr
3 Paper
Believe in your Revolution. El Zeft wrote and submitted this text on the eve of being conscripted for one year of compulsory military service.
El Zeft is a street artist living in Cairo. He began making street art postrevolution with a stencil on the 11th anniversary of the death of Mohamed Al Durra. “I am trying to deliver a message to the Egyptian people. Before the revolution I was affected by Banksy’s work on the apartheid wall. I wanted to do something similar in Egypt but wasn’t motivated enough. However, after the revolution I felt that I had to do something to reach people. Most graffiti in Egypt is political. We used to be afraid when we saw a beret and epaulets, but now we have become fearless … now we can say what we want. I am not really an artist, I am a human being trying to reach people in a different way.” facebook.com/el.zeft.7
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Walls of Freedom
is a powerful portrayal of the first three years of the Egyptian revolution that began on January 25, 2011. The story is told through striking images of art that transformed Egypt’s walls into a visual testimony of bravery and resistance. Created in close collaboration with artists on the frontlines of the battle, the book documents how they converted the streets into a dynamic newspaper of the people, providing a muchneeded alternative to the propaganda-fueled media. This comprehensive survey of iconic street art of the Egyptian revolution includes a chronicle of the day-to-day volatile political situation as it rapidly unfolded. Walls of Freedom traces the revolutionary journey, from the early pinnacle of extraordinary hope and inspiration, to its decline into today’s violent Orwellian nightmare. Haunting images of key events captured by acclaimed photographers and activists set the stage for this political drama. Enriched with essays by artists and experts across many fields, Walls of Freedom contextualizes the graffiti in the historical, socio-political, and cultural backgrounds that have shaped this art of the revolution.
BASMA HAMDY is an Egyptian artist, designer, and educator who is dedicated to researching and documenting the street art of the Egyptian revolution. She graduated from the American University in Cairo in 1998 and completed an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in 2003. Her research interests include Arabic typography, cultural preservation, and Egyptian pop culture. She has been teaching art and design in the Middle East for ten years.
www.fromheretofame.com
DON KARL aka STONE is a cultural activist, graffiti writer, author, and publisher. He started painting graffiti in 1983 and published his first book on train writing in 1986. Many books and articles have followed. He co-wrote the book Arabic Graffiti and has curated numerous international urban art projects such as Cubabrasil and White Wall Beirut. Since 2011 he has worked closely with Egyptian street artists on events and exhibitions. He currently runs the publishing house From Here To Fame in Berlin.