Economists write up special Egypt report

Economists write up special Egypt report

Locked up in an Egyptian prison in the early 1960s, Sayyid Qutb wrote a book that has inspired successive generations of Islamists . A close look at this and other interesting issues has prompted the “Economist” to compile a  report on many aspects concerning Egypt, including issues on its people, politics, education and economy and even its role as a regional peacekeeper in a land which is priviledged to be in the most advantageous geographical position in the world.

Topics include the fate of the Arab world’s two most important states which  lies in the hands of ageing autocrats Hosni Mubarak, an 82-year-old air-force general who has ruled Egypt since 1981 and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who assumed the throne of the Arabs’ richest country five years ago but has run the show for longer, is reckoned to be 86. The grim reaper will bring change in both places soon.

After three decades of economic progress but political paralysis, change is in the air, according to Max Rodenbeck TRAVELLING into Cairo, Egypt’s monster-sized but curiously intimate capital, it is hard to tell if these are the best of times or the worst. Visitors who have long known the city are in two minds

A discussion on President Gamal Abdel Nasser who brought Egypt dictatorship, economic ruin and humiliation in the six-day war with Israel proves to be rather interesting. Still, Egyptians’ contrasting responses to their leaders’ passing raises an obvious question. Hosni Mubarak, who has now been in power longer than his two predecessors put together, arouses little of the passion that either of them did.

Although Most Egyptians put up with a lot for all of Egypt’s abundant riches, the plain fact is that most Egyptians remain poor. People take comfort in the fact that Religion in Egypt is considered the highest honour among the Muslims but the desire to appear so leads many into hypocrisy and pharisaical ostentation.