Just before the summer of 2013 we would like to ask you to make a contribution to our work. We are working on a very, very tight budget and need your support to make ends meet.
Last year you (readers of our newsletters) responded to our request for donations with in total 1,200 Euros for which we are very grateful. Thanks to your contributions, as well as those of the University of Vienna and those of others we have been able to end the year 2012 without a deficit.
We would much like to continue our work in bridge building with the help of student interns in 2013. Therefore we need your support.
Picture of June 7 2013 at the office of the Tamarrod movement in Cairo, showing signed petition forms as part of Tamarrod's campaign to demand Morsi's resignation and early elections.
(Photo: AFP - Mohamed El-Shahed)
June 30 marks the one-year anniversary of President Morsi and Egypt continues to be in a precarious situation. There is much anti-Muslim Brotherhood sentiment. Opponents of the President launched the Tamarrod (Rebel) campaign asking for his resignation. Simultaneously, supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have called for protests. Many Egyptians, including government officials, are holding their breath. Will demonstrations result in bloodshed? Or will both sides keep their promises and protest peacefully? The Minister of Interior stated he would not use violence against peaceful demonstrations. The Minister of Tourism asked for restraint.
In light of these events, AWR continues to uphold its mission in exposing biased media reporting. In addition, AWR conducts independent research and is currently investigating the position of different political actors in post-revolutionary Egypt. This research, in cooperation with the University of Vienna, aims to place stigmatized concepts, such as “Islamists” and “Islamism” in a broader context. With all these biases and stereotyping, it is important that our interns conduct interviews with key Egyptian figures. Interns transcribe the interviews, which can be accessed via our website. Transcripts provide an alternative and an uncensored source of information. .
The above-mentioned research will be published by Tectum publishers, related to Vienna University. Under the authority of CIDT, Eline Kasanwidjojo and Quinta Smit are coordinating this research. In addition to their own writing, they approached various authors to contribute to the book. The authors are: Jayson Casper (Jama’a Islamiya and Jihadi movements in Sinai), Aidan Mascarenhas-Keyes (Islamic institutions), Giuseppe Cecere (Sufi political participation), Nick Gjorvad (non-Islamist participation), Eline Kasanwidjojo (the Muslim Brotherhood) and Quinta Smit (Salafi political participation).
This research presents the opportunity to interpret current events from different perspectives. It offers a unique approach to a topic often misunderstood due to incomplete and biased reporting. However, we can only complete this book with your help. We would thus like to ask you this time to fund this project so that the authors can successfully complete the book on Islamist movements in Egypt.
Your contribution would be most appreciated!
With best wishes,
Dr. Cornelis Hulsman
