Date of source: Thursday, May 27, 1999 to Wednesday, June 2, 1999
NGO representatives and activists for human and women’s rights stepped up their campaign this week against the proposed NGO law in a bid to prevent it from being passed by the People’s Assembly. NGOs believe that the bill infringes upon their autonomy and inhibits civil action.
Date of source: Thursday, May 27, 1999 to Wednesday, June 2, 1999
A bill that regulates NGO activities has been approved in principle by the People’s Assembly. The bill faced severe criticism, with independent and opposition deputies arguing that the bill was at the expense of civil rights and political freedoms because it obstructs the formation of certain NGOs...
Date of source: Thursday, May 27, 1999 to Wednesday, June 2, 1999
Shortly after Ali Abul-Saoud Mustafa, a fugitive Egyptian Islamist, was arrested in the United States last month, he was accused by American prosecution authorities of cooperating with Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden in a worldwide anti-American conspiracy. The Egyptian government had requested...
Date of source: Thursday, May 27, 1999 to Wednesday, June 2, 1999
Despite press reports claiming the rejection of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiyya to ongoing efforts by some of its former members to establish a political party, the would-be founders vow to move on. Dialogue is said to be taking place between leading members of several Islamist groups including the Gamaa...
Date of source: Thursday, May 27, 1999 to Wednesday, June 2, 1999
Almost two years after a group of Egyptian political activists defected from the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to establish a political party, Al-Wasat (Centre), there have been indications that the party may never see the light of day. The lawyer of the would-be founders, Mohamed Selim El-Awwa, says...
Date of source: Thursday, May 27, 1999 to Wednesday, June 2, 1999
The decree giving women the vote and allowing them to stand as candidates in parliamentary and municipal elections in 2003 was issued by Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah last week and has sparked off fierce debate in the tiny Gulf state. The Islamist movements are up in arms over the...
Date of source: Thursday, May 27, 1999 to Wednesday, June 2, 1999
Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni managed, to a large extent, on Sunday [May 23, 199], to win the support of Shura Council members for some of his decisions, especially the relocation of the Museum of Islamic Arts to the Citadel area and the organization of an international celebration to...
Date of source: Thursday, May 27, 1999 to Wednesday, June 2, 1999
The minister of justice has announced new restrictions on the marriage of Egyptian women to foreign men, many of whom are Saudis. But the proposal has come under fire from many quarters. It could push men to seek an Urfi marriage.
Date of source: Thursday, May 27, 1999 to Wednesday, June 2, 1999
The unprecedented rise in the number of Urfi marriages among university students has prompted the Islamic Research Academy to condemn the practice as illegitimate. However, if all Urfi marriages become illegal (haram) as stipulated in the statement made by the IRA, this could block one of the most...
Date of source: Thursday, May 20, 1999 to Wednesday, May 26, 1999
The author reviews the new NGO bill’s controversial provisions as well as its positive aspects.