In a serious precedent that reveals the Egyptian regime’s tightening grip on freedom of expression against intellectuals, the security forces canceled a seminar held by Dr. Abdul Wahab Al Meseiri about “the analysis of jokes”.
Attendants at Saqiet Abdul Moneim el-Sawi [a cultural center], Zamalek, were informed that a seminar on “classifying and analyzing jokes” by the noted intellectual Dr. Abdul Wahab Al Meseiri, the general coordinator of Kifaya Movement, scheduled on Sunday evening, was cancelled.
The Saqiet officials said that the seminar was canceled because Dr. Abdul Wahab Al Meseiri felt ill; however, Dr. Al Meseiri, arrived suddenly and informed them that the state security phoned him on Saturday and told him that it, the state security service, canceled the seminar, but he insisted on coming so that every one knows that the reason for canceling the seminar isn’t his ill health but the state security police that controls every thing in Egypt.
Incidentally, al-Messiri is a linguist and his seminar would not have been, in all likelihood, that political. But since he can’t talk about jokes in public, I’ll reproduce below one I received by email this morning:
Hosni Mubarak goes to a primary school to talk to the kids. After his talk he offers question time.
One little boy puts up his hand and Mubarak asks, “what is your question, Ramy?”
Ramy says, “I have 4 questions:
First: Why have you been a president for 25 years?
Second: Why don’t you have a vice-president?
Third: Why are your sons taking over the country economically and politically?
Fourth: Why is Egypt in a miserable economic state and you’re not doing anything about it?”
Just at that moment, the bell rings for break. Mubarak informs the kids that they will continue after the break.
When they resume Mubarak says, “OK, where were we? Oh! That’s right…question time. Who has a question?”
A different little boy puts up his hand. Mubarak points him out and asks him what his name is.
“Tamer,” the boy says.
“And what is your question, Tamer?”
“I have six questions:
First: Why have you been president for 25 years?
Second: Why don’t you have a vice-president?
Third: Why are your sons taking over the country economically and politically?
Fourth: Why is Egypt in a miserable economic state and you’re not doing anything about it?
Fifth: Why did the bell ring 20 minutes early?
SIXTH: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH RAMY!!!????”
[…] Egypts war on jokes. See also Eric Martin, who gets it: Mubarak is making this move now because he senses an opening – created by the his increased strategic importance as a potential anti-Iranian ally. […]
That joke has been circulating for so long that I’d be willing to bet the Cow has heard it by now.
Ah, Mubarak’s just jealous because Morocco beat him to it. So nice to see things are looking up inCondi’s favorite 3rd world democracy.
Great joke — they’ve got the same one for Bashar al-Asad. Just change the questions:
1. Who killed Rafik Hariri?
2. Why did we occupy Lebanon for 30 years?
3. If we weren’t the ones who killed Hariri, why did we leave so suddenly and why are we so scared of the UN tribunal?
4. Why did the bell for recess ring 20 minutes early today, and
5. Where is Omar?!
[…] blogger Issandr El Amrani links to an article which claimed that the State Security banned Kifaya leader Dr. Abdul Wahab Al Meseiri from holding […]
I attended the March9 conference in which Professor Al Messiri chaired one of the sessions and he talked about his upcoming jokes lecture in Al Sawy center. He told the audience a few of the jokes and they were all very funny and highly political. I guess the state security spies attending the conference reported that to the authorities who in turn decided that the lecture should not take place.
One of the jokes he said went as follows (as far as I remember):
A man is driving his car in the desert and all of a sudden it breaks down.
He comes out of the car and tries to find anybody to help him but realising that he is in the middle of nowhere he waits by his car.
Soon he sees an airoplane approaching so he gathers everything he had in the car and puts them on fire to attract attention however the airoplane flies by without noticing him.
He waits some more and then seeing another airoplane approaching he burns his car but once again the airoplane passes by without noticing him
After a while he sees a third airoplane approaching so he takes off all of his clothes and puts them on fire but again he is ignored.
Exasperated the man cries out loud “YEKHREB BEIT EL HOKOUMA” (Damn the government)
In two minutes a police pick up truck appears and arrests him.
Another joke went as follows (again, as far as I remember):
An Arab leader dies and goes to hell. There he finds himself waiting in a line where paper slips with numbers on them are being distributed. He gets a paper with number 25 written on it.
He looks around and discovers that there are many doors with numbers on them, so he enters door number one and finds that people are being tortured with burning candles, he then goes to door number two and finds that people are being tortured with burning coal, he goes to door number five and finds people are being totured with burning steel bars and so on, so he walks away depressed looking for his door when a man approaches him saying, “what brother? why are you so depressed?”
So the Arab leader answers,”well, they have given me this number and from what I have seen it won’t be good”
“Why? What number is it?” the man asked looking at the leader’s slip of paper and then in a shocked tone he says “what? they have given you 25?!! I am Abul Lahab and they gave me 22!!”
(Abul Lahab was an enemy of the prophet and the Muslims and was so evil and bloody that a small surah in the Quran is dedicated to him and his wife in which God promises both will end up in hell.)
Just received an SMS suggesting that Egyptians wear black on Monday the 26th in protest of the constitutional referendum.
An additional idea would be to gather at the polling stations but stand outside in silent protest.
Wow, it is interesting to see how far governments will go to stop what they don’t like. They still spread there own ideology though. I just hope that everything works out for the Egyptians.
Jason.
http://www.easternoffice.com/residential/automation/home-security