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Monday, 25 June 2018

Ramadan comedies anger Arab audiences with racist humor

It’s a slow news day for Egypt in the international press, with news dominated by talk of our imminent exit from the 2018 World Cup (even Mona Eltahawy is getting in on the act in the New York Review of Books). Also getting a bit of attention: Wire service reports on the latest three-month extension of the state of emergency and the president signing off on the ride-hailing apps act.

Otherwise, it’s a mixed bag of nuts this morning:

  • Political correctness is not something we do well, particularly when it comes to race: Social media backlash against Ramadan comedies featuring actors in blackface as poor, lazy characters (see photo, above) is the subject of a piece from the Associated Press.
  • Egypt is increasingly becoming vital to Russia, where President Vladimir Putin aims to supplant US influence in the Middle East and raise Russia’s great power status, Anna Borshchevskaya writes to the National Interest.

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