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No chapter in Egypt's contemporary history has been more turbulent and unpredictable than the past three years. In a very short period of time, the Arab world's most populous country has seen a transition from rule by an iron-fisted dictatorship to a populist uprising to military omnipotence to Islamist electoral victory to constitutional turmoil to societal polarization. Egypt's iconic revolution has been neither victorious nor defeated. Egypt in Flux is a collection of essays on the political, social, economic, and cultural dimensions of change in the country's ongoing revolutionary current.

In the light of the escalation of sectarian tensions during and after Mubarak's reign, the predicament of the Arab world's largest religious minority, the Copts, has come to the forefront. This book poses such questions as why there has been a mass exodus of Copts from Egypt, and how this relates to other religious minorities in the Arab region; why it is that sectarian violence increased during and after the 2011 Revolution, which epitomized the highest degree of national unity since 1919; and how the new configuration of power has influenced the extent to which a vision of a political order is being based on the principles of inclusive democracy. The book examines the relations among the state, the Church, Coptic citizenry, and civil and political societies against the backdrop of the increasing diversification of actors, the change of political leadership in the country, and the transformations occurring in the region. An informative historical background is provided, and new fieldwork and statistical data inform a thoughtful exploration of what it takes to build an inclusive democracy in post-Mubarak Egypt.

In his latest exploration of the Egyptian malaise, Galal Amin first looks at the events of the months preceding the Revolution of 25 January 2011, pointing out the most important factors behind popular discontent. He then follows the ups and downs (mainly the downs) of the Revolution: the causes of rising hopes and expectations, mingled with successive disappointments, sometimes verging on despair, not least in the case of the presidential elections, when the Egyptian people were invited to choose between a rock and a hard place. This is followed by an outline of a possible brighter future for Egypt, based on a more balanced and faster growing economy, and a more democratic and equitable society, within a truly independent, modern, and secular state. The story of what happened to the 2011 Revolution may be a sad one, but if viewed within the larger context of Egypt's economic and social developments of the last century, on which the author's previous books threw very useful light, it can be regarded as one important step forward toward a much better future.

Djekhy & Son, two businessmen living 2,500 years ago in the densely populated neighborhoods built around the great temple of Amun at Karnak, worked as funerary service providers in the necropolis on the western bank of the Nile. They were also successful agricultural entrepreneurs, cultivating flax and grain. In 1885, the German Egyptologist August Eisenlohr acquired a unique collection of papyri that turned out to be Djekhy's archive of mainly legal documents. Using this rich trove of evidence, augmented by many other sources, the author has painted a vivid picture of life in ancient Egypt between 570 and 534 bce, during the little-known Saite period. Approaching the subject from both business and personal aspects, he gives us a fresh look at some facets of ancient Egypt that have mostly been hidden from view-such as putting up one's children as security for a loan.

Revised and substantially expanded for a new edition, this learning aid now contains more than 3,500 Arabic verbs from 1,450 verb roots. Entries feature English definitions, the perfect and imperfect tenses and verbal noun of each verb, and sentences to illustrate the correct usage and clarify the meaning.

In a compact, easy-to-use format, Modern Standard Arabic Grammar offers a convenient guide to grammar for any student of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the version of Arabic mostly commonly used in journalism, formal writing, and literature. Drawing on over a decade of experience as a full-time teacher of Arabic, Azza Hassanein explains the rules in straightforward English, illustrating usage with examples throughout. The book covers all the rules of grammar and morphology that students require for elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels of Arabic. As a compact guide, it is an ideal auxiliary, no matter what textbook the student is using. While students of the language will find Modern Standard Arabic Grammar extremely helpful, it is also a valuable tool for linguists who want to acquire a clear idea about the skeletal structure of the language, as well as translators who are working with written Arabic.Covering all the important grammatical rules of MSA, from nisba adjectives and nominal and verbal sentences to more complex constructions such as conditional sentences and the subjunctive, this unique handbook fills a real need for the growing number of people worldwide learning Arabic.

Together with such figures as the scholar Taha Hussein, the playwright Tawfik al-Hakim, the short story writer Mahmoud Teymour and-of course-Naguib Mahfouz, Yahya Hakki belongs to that distinguished band of early writers who, midway through the last century, under the influence of Western literature, began to practice genres of creative writing that were new to the traditions of classical Arabic. In the first story in this volume, the very short ''Story in the Form of a Petition,'' Yahya Hakki demonstrates his ease with gentle humor, a form rare in Arabic writing. In the following two stories, ''Mother of the Destitute'' and ''A Story from Prison,'' he describes with typical sympathy individuals who, less privileged than others, somehow manage to scrape through life's hardships. The latter story deals with the people of Upper Egypt, for whom the writer had a special understanding and affection. It is, however, for the title story (in fact, more of a novella) of this collection that the writer is best known. Recounting the difficulties faced by a young man who is sent to England to study medicine and who then returns to Egypt to pit his new ideals against tradition, ''The Lamp of Umm Hashim'' was the first of several works in Arabic to deal with the way in which an individual tries to come to terms with two divergent cultures.

In an innovative concept in the teaching of Modern Standard Arabic, this new content-based book aims to bolster study for advanced students in both linguistic skills and literary appreciation through the reading of short stories in the original Arabic by four great but very different writers: Mahmoud Taher Lashin, Naguib Mahfouz, Yusuf Idris, and Tayeb Salih. Creative reading tasks and exercises focus on the writing and literary styles of the four writers, while grammar is reinforced through text analysis and writing assignments, with an emphasis on building vocabulary and idiomatic expressions, as well as developing a deeper understanding of cultural issues. With an integrated skills approach, al-Rubaa contains not only reading but also writing, listening, and speaking activities.The stories included in the book are:¿ by Mahmoud Taher Lashin: "From the Diaries of Noah," "That's Right"¿ by Naguib Mahfouz: Stories 26 and 29 from Tales of Our Alley, Dream 6 from Dreams of Convalescence¿ by Yusuf Idris: "House of Flesh," "In Passing"¿ by Tayeb Salih: "A Song of Love," "A Step Forward," "Yours until Death"

How do Egyptian Muslims celebrate Ramadan? How do Copts-Egyptian Christians-celebrate Easter? What should you expect to find on the table when invited to eat in an Egyptian home? What do you say when an Egyptian colleague sneezes? Exactly what do Egyptians do with a mortar and pestle, a sieve, and a bag of nuts seven days after the birth of a baby?Samia Abdennour, once an outsider from Palestine, now thoroughly at home in Egypt, is here to tell you all about these matters-and many more. In a book that aims to introduce the unfamiliar newcomer or interested foreign reader to the hows, whats, and whys of Egyptians life, the author covers such diverse topics as birth, marriage, and death; religious festivals and fasting; food in the home and on the street; business etiquette and terms of politeness. She describes how some traditions differ between the two religious communities, the Muslims and the Copts, and how some customs are shared by all Egyptians-like the spring festival of Shamm al-Nisim ('smelling the breezes') that goes back to pharaonic times. With Egyptian Customs and Festivals, you need never be at a loss in a social situation in Egypt-or fail to understand what your neighbors are up to. Illustrated throughout with color photographs of daily life and special occasions, this fascinating and informative book is a must-have for anyone new to Egyptian culture.

This unique and invaluable dictionary presents 6,500 words commonly needed by foreigners speaking Arabic in Egypt

Introduces the student to the Arabic language by means of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic

Cairo, January 1952. Egypt is at a critical point in its modern history, struggling to throw off the yoke of the seventy-year British occupation and its corrupt royalist allies. Hamza is a committed young radical, his goal to build a secret armed brigade to fight for freedom, independence, and national self-esteem. Fawziya is a woman with a mission too, keen to support the cause. Among the ashes of the city love may grow, but at a time of national struggle what place do personal feelings have beside the greater love for a shackled homeland? In this finely crafted novel, Yusuf Idris, best known as the master of the Arabic short story, brings to life not only some of the most human characters in modern Arabic fiction but the soul of Cairo itself and the soul of a national consciousness focused on liberation. ''Like the Russian aristocrats of Chekhov, the provincial bourgeoisie of Flaubert, or the Ibo villagers of Achebe, Idris raises his authentic characters into convincing types within their context: he makes us live their agonies and hopes.''-Ferial Ghazoul