Happy Eid — If You Are Not Palestinian or Lebanese

It was supposed to be a happy Eid for the two girls — at last — after two hard years of survival and hunger that made them, like every other child in Gaza, older than their age and afraid of what tomorrow might bring.

It was supposed to be a happy Eid eve. Their mother took them to one of the remaining markets in Gaza to buy Eid outfits, to make them feel happy, to make them feel like children — but they are Palestinian kids living in Gaza, where the odds of happiness, like any other child's, are very few.

They went after the Day of Arafat Iftar to get the clothes, only to find the Israeli army bombing the market. Suddenly, everyone was scattered, everyone was searching for everyone else — and above all, for safety.

The two girls — the eldest stepped into the role of the adult, looking around in shock, while the younger one, in disbelief, shook her head and waved her arms in denial as their mother lay badly injured in the street.

1st May Labour Day : The Seven Factory Girls.

It is May Day — Labour Day, aka International Workers Day in Egypt — and I have to say that, despite all the official statements, I am a bit disappointed and angry.

Two weeks ago, Egypt had its own mini–Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, and it did not stay in the news cycle for more than 72 hours — or, to be more accurate, the social media news cycle — before it disappeared. And that made me angry.

On 14 April, a tragic incident unfolded in the Ard El-Geneina area of Cairo's working-class Al-Zawiya Al-Hamra neighbourhood, after a massive fire broke out inside a sports trainers and sneakers factory on Mohamed Amin Street.

Preliminary investigations confirmed seven people dead, as civil defence forces continued to comb through the site to identify any additional casualties or injuries resulting from the blaze.

That was the initial official statement. Then, unofficially, the details of the tragedy began to emerge.

Seven young women died, and five others were injured after a fire broke out in an unlicensed shoe manufacturing workshop in a very narrow alley in Cairo's Zawiya Al-Hamra district, authorities said.

The blaze erupted inside a three-storey building of approximately 70 square metres per floor, operating without a license as a leather shoe production facility. The ground floor was used for storage, while the first and second floors served as production areas — a layout that accelerated the fire's spread due to the concentration of flammable materials on site.

The so-called factory after the fire

The victims were girls between 19 and 30 years old, earning roughly 100 Egyptian pounds per day.

An initial inspection found a complete absence of occupational safety measures and no emergency exits, which investigators say trapped the workers as the fire spread rapidly through the smoke-filled space over nearly four hours.

Eyewitnesses reported that the doors were locked and the windows were closed and secured, blocking any means of escape.

Residents called for a full investigation and accountability for all parties responsible, starting with the workshop owner, who denied any wrongdoing. Security forces arrested the workshop's owner following the incident.

The incident — a grim echo of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire — renewed scrutiny of unlicensed industrial operations and the enforcement of safety regulations in residential buildings across Cairo.

Free Ahmed Shihab El-Din , Journalism is not a crime "Updated : Ahmed is Acquitted and left Kuwait safely"

Updated on Thursday, 23 April  2026: a Kuwaiti court acquitted US-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin on all charges following nearly two months of detention. He has not yet been released, though.

Updated on  Saturday, 25 April 2026: Ahmed Shihab-Eldin and left Kuwait safely.

The news came officially from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, an award-winning Kuwaiti-American journalist of Palestinian origins who posts prolifically on social media, especially on Twitter, where he is known as @ASE, was arrested in Kuwait on March 3, 2026.

"It is understood that authorities have charged him with spreading false information, harming national security, and misusing his mobile phone – vague and overly broad accusations that are routinely used to silence independent journalists," the CPJ statement said, calling on the Kuwaiti government to release him.

In the days before his detention, Shihab-Eldin — who was visiting his family in Kuwait — shared publicly available videos and images related to the US-Israel war on Iran and the Iranian retaliation on Gulf states, just as any respectable professional journalist would do in his place.

Ahmed Shihab El-Din in Doha Film Festival 

On March 2, he shared photos and videos of a US fighter jet that crashed in Kuwait on Substack. 

That video had been geolocated and verified by CNN. None of his posts were photos or videos he took himself.

What makes this case particularly absurd from a legal standpoint is the timing.

Kuwait enacted Law No. 13 of 2026, aimed at safeguarding and protecting the supreme interests of military authorities, on March 15— nearly two weeks after his arrest on March 3.

He was therefore arrested and charged under a law that did not yet exist at the time of his alleged offense.

The law carries prison terms of up to 10 years for spreading false rumours related to military entities with the intent of undermining confidence in them.

CPJ launched a campaign for his release under the hashtag #FreeAhmed with an online petition.

Several international organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch demanded his release.

The story was covered by several Western news outlets. Several US senators and members of Congress raised his case as an American citizen — but as of today, nothing has moved on the Kuwaiti side.

Updated: Most critically — as of yesterday, April 22: his international legal counsel issued an urgent statement saying they were "extremely concerned for Ahmed's safety and wellbeing" in Kuwaiti detention.

Watch: Abdulkhaleq Abdulla’s Viral Interview with Rabab Al-Mahdy on the UAE, Saudi Rivalry, Egypt, and Sudan

This interview was likely one of the most-viewed videos in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates over the past week.

The interview is in Arabic. I wish I could remember the name of the AI service that translates YouTube videos and provides English subtitles. I came across one but forgot the name. If you know it, please drop it in the comments.

It features Emirati political scientist Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla in conversation with Dr. Rabab Al-Mahdy on the podcast “El-Hal Eah?” (“What is the Solution?”).

The podcast is produced by Alternative Policy Solutions (APS), a public policy research project at the American University in Cairo (AUC).

For me, “El-Hal Eah?” has been one of the most important interview podcasts in Egypt in recent years, tackling a wide range of issues—from politics and economics to history and law. This episode marks the opening of the podcast’s seventh season.

The interview was recorded in Cairo during Ramadan, just days before the outbreak of the Israeli-American war on Iran. It runs for over an hour.

For those unfamiliar with him, Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla is one of the UAE’s most prominent political science professors and commentators on social media.

Most notably, he previously served as an advisor to Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ), the president of the United Arab Emirates.

Abdulla is also known for his book The Gulf’s Moment, in which he argues that leadership in the Arab world has shifted from traditional powers—such as Egypt, Syria, and Iraq—to rising Gulf states, particularly the UAE.

He appeared on the show to address accusations that the UAE has become the “Sparta of the Middle East.”

Rabab El-Mahdi is an associate professor of political science at the American University in Cairo (AUC). She currently leads AUC’s Alternative Policy Solutions (APS) research project.

Al-Mahdy succeeded in bringing into mainstream Arabic media discussions that had largely been circulating informally on social media—particularly regarding the evolving rivalry, or “frenemy” relationship, between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Western Palm Sunday 2026 in Jerusalem: When the City was closed for prayer

The gates of our city will never be sealed—
For I am going there to pray.

I will knock on every door—
And the doors will open, one by one.

And you, O River Jordan, will wash my face
With waters holy and pure.

And you, O River Jordan, will wipe away
The footprints of the savage passing through.

 When I saw the photos of Cardinal Pizzaballa standing in prayer outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City—barred from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to mark Western Palm Sunday—I was reminded of the words of the Rahbani Brothers, immortalized in 1967 by Fairuz, the Lady of Lebanon, in “Zahrat al-Mada’en” (زهرة المدائن), meaning “The Flower of Cities.”

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa holding the Palm Sunday Mass outside the walls of
old Jerusalem "AFP"

Jerusalem’s doors were, indeed, closed to worshippers on Palm Sunday 2026—for the first time in centuries—under the Israeli occupation of the Old City.

 The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land said in a joint statement that, on the morning of Palm Sunday, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo —also the official guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre—were prevented from entering the church as they headed to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass.

Egypt Storm 2026: Thunderstorms, hail , heavy rain as well as Nuclear Rumors

And so, it turned out to be one last winter storm—not the beginning of a nuclear winter, as many online in Egypt feared on Tuesday.

In case you missed it, Egypt is currently experiencing a brief period of unstable weather, including thunderstorms and heavy rainfall.

The Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) had issued early warnings, stating that the wave would begin on Tuesday evening, bringing rain, slightly cooler temperatures, and stronger winds across several regions before gradually improving by the weekend.

According to the EMA, the instability would start along the northwestern coast—including Salloum, Matrouh, and Alamein—before spreading to the Nile Valley and Sinai.

Rainfall was expected to intensify on Wednesday and Thursday, becoming more widespread and occasionally accompanied by thunderstorms, particularly along the northern coast, the northern Delta, and parts of Sinai. Lighter showers were forecast to reach Greater Cairo and the Canal cities.

For once, the Egyptian government took a proactive step, suspending classes in schools and universities on Wednesday and Thursday to spare millions of Egyptians the usual traffic chaos.

Ironically, Tuesday itself felt like a calm, early-spring day across the country.

That calm, however, fueled suspicion. Some began to believe something more sinister was coming—and within hours, that suspicion evolved into a full-blown conspiracy theory, amplified by a video from the Kuwait National Guard.

Watch this: ElBaradei on Iran

Watch this interview with Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, former Vice President of Egypt and former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in which he discusses Iran and the current war.

ElBaradei speaks with David Hearst of Middle East Eye.

Mohamed ElBaradei was heading the IAEA when it began talks with Iran in 2009. He was also leading the UN’s nuclear watchdog in 2003 when he stated explicitly that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.

What is happening to Iran, the Nobel Peace award laureate says, reminds him of Iraq—perhaps even worse, to be honest.

From January 25 to Iran: What Middle Eastern Regimes Still Haven’t Learned Since 2011

This is the annual post marking the January 25 Revolution of 2011 in Egypt, published on January 28—the true day of the Revolution.

Although it may seem like a distant memory, it has rarely felt closer. Many—if not all—of the causes and conditions that led to that moment, which reshaped the Middle East (if not the world), still exist today, in one form or another, across almost every country in the region—not just in Egypt.

Step Down sign from February 4 million man protest in Tahrir square 

I am writing this post while Iran stands on the brink of war, following mass protests that were hijacked by the U.S. and the Israeli regime and brutally cracked down on by the Iranian regime. The result has been a tragedy: thousands killed, thousands more detained, and millions waiting in fear, uncertain about what the future holds.

I cannot ignore what is happening in Iran, as we remember the January 2011 Revolution—the peak moment that truly launched the Arab Spring, with all due respect to the Tunisian Revolution. For context, Tunisians themselves protested earlier this month against their government and President Kais Saied, who has turned out to be little more than a Temu-version strongman.

After the 12-day war in the summer of 2025, I thought the Iranian regime might finally read the writing on the wall and grant greater freedoms to its people, especially after Iranians stood firm during the Israeli–U.S. war.

Once again, the Iranian people proved—like people everywhere—that they are the first and true line of defense, resilient despite years of repression and crushing economic sanctions. For a brief moment, videos from Iran suggested a slight opening: more women appeared unveiled in public. Yet economic hardship deepened, demanding urgent reform.

Kodak Agfa presents in Photos : A Cairo Christmas 2025 “25 December Korba Edition”

It is time for one of our annual posts on Egyptian Chronicles: The Christmas in Cairo Post, Vol. 1.

As usual, this will be a photo post capturing Christmas decorations across Cairo as the city marks 25 December — the Western Christmas, observed by Western Christian denominations.

Christmas decorations on building No.6 in Baghdad Street, Korba

This year’s celebrations come as Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank attempt to observe Christmas in a semi-normal way, despite Israel’s continued violations of the ceasefire in Gaza and ongoing settler attacks in the West Bank — raising the question of whether a ceasefire truly exists at all.

Israeli police have already arrested a Palestinian dressed as Santa in Haifa, yet Palestinians continue to seek moments of normalcy after two years of genocide and amid an uncertain future.

The damned dam: No, Trump Did Not Stop a War Between Egypt and Ethiopia

Egypt issued a new statement last week warning that Ethiopia’s latest unilateral and unregulated operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has caused sharp fluctuations in water flows along the Blue Nile.

This unexpected surge has forced the Egyptian government to open the Toshka spillway to safely absorb the excess water.

This is the second—or perhaps even the third—such warning Egypt has issued within a span of three months. Honestly, I’ve lost count.

Now, I am seizing this moment to clarify a recurring claim: Donald Trump did not stop a war between Egypt and Ethiopia.

There was no war between Egypt and Ethiopia to begin with.

I will acknowledge that real progress was indeed achieved during Trump’s first term. In February 2020, the parties were genuinely on the verge of signing an agreement before Ethiopia backed away at the last moment.
Still, there was no war, nor any military confrontation, for Trump to “stop” in his previous or current term.

The only time Egypt and Ethiopia were actually at war was in the 19th century, when Khedive Ismail attempted to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, Mohamed Ali Pasha, in Sudan.

That time when Eric Adams met Egypt’s Mr. 1

I won’t speak about the glamorous Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) inauguration in this post — that event deserves a quieter, clearer moment, away from all the noise.

Instead, I want to talk about something else that caught the attention of many Egyptians last Saturday, right after the GEM’s glamorous opening ceremony.

That “something” was none other than a campaign ad by New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, targeting Arab American voters with a video in which he spoke Arabic.

أنا اسمي زهران ممدان وعم رشّح حالي لأكون العمدة الجديد في مدينة نيويورك pic.twitter.com/ptfVdpansX

— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) November 1, 2025

Speaking in a mix of Levantine and Egyptian accents, Mamdani visited a bodega — most likely Yemeni-owned, as many are — and greeted the resident cat with the Egyptian phrase “Ezayak ya basha” (How are you, Pasha?).

He also stopped by a Palestinian falafel shop, which, unsurprisingly, infuriated several pro-Israeli Zionists online.

But aside from that “Ezayak ya basha” moment, there was another scene that meant a lot to many of us — a subtle reminder of Egypt’s enduring soft power. In the background, one could hear a familiar tune: Mona Abdel Ghany’s 1987 hit “Yalla Ya As-hab” (Come Along, Friends).

Even though Mamdani studied Arabic in Egypt and his wife is Syrian American, I doubt either of them recognized that song. Clearly, someone on his campaign team is Egyptian — and has excellent taste in nostalgic 1980s pop.

But this wasn’t the only unexpected Egyptian pop culture cameo in New York City’s most heated mayoral race of the 21st century.

Just last month, we witnessed what could only be described as a meeting of the titans: Egypt’s Mohamed Ramadan meeting with former New York Mayor Eric Adams. (Yes, as you probably guessed from this post’s title.)

#6Oct73 : The battle and siege of Suez

Today is the National Day of Suez Governorate, commemorating the Suez city’s heroic resistance during the October War of 1973.

Colored by Google Gemini
An Egyptian resistance fighter from Suez 

The siege of Suez lasted about 101 days — from October 24, 1973, to January 28, 1974 — marking the final phase of the war.

On October 23, Israeli forces under Ariel Sharon attempted to storm the city despite the Israeli commanders’ concerns, expecting minimal resistance due to a fatal strategic error by President Anwar Sadat.

Acting on a request from Syrian President Hafez al-Assad to ease pressure on the northern front, Sadat ordered further offensives eastward on October 14, despite Egypt’s initial success crossing the Suez Canal.

This move went against the advice of senior commanders, including Chief of Staff Saad El-Din El-Shazly, who warned that pushing beyond the SAM (surface-to-air missile) umbrella would overextend Egypt’s forces.

The resulting withdrawal of units from the western bank weakened the sector near Deversoir (between the Egyptian Second and Third Armies) , leaving it thinly defended — a gap that Ariel Sharon’s division exploited on October 23 to cross into the west bank.

Once across, Sharon’s forces deployed an armored brigade and a paratrooper battalion to cut off supplies to Egypt’s Third Army.

What followed was an epic defense on October 24.

Criminal Procedures Law amendments: Approved but still unconstitutional!!

Too many things are happening in Egypt and along its borders this week — but this is a particularly important development that deserves everyone’s attention.

On Thursday, Egypt’s House of Representatives approved amendments to the Criminal Procedures Law but postponed their enforcement until October 2026, following presidential directives that sent the legislation back for revision. The delay aims to allow additional time to ensure the law’s effective and orderly implementation.

Ancient Egyptian Deity of Justice Maat and the Egyptian Parliament

In September, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi referred the draft law back to parliament after objections were raised to several provisions, including Article 105. Parliament had originally passed the 544-article bill in April, following three years of preparation and five months of debate.

Now, the parliament has approved the amended version on the final day of its session — and what a finale it was.

According to the government, the legislation aims to modernise Egypt’s justice system and will take effect at the start of the next judicial year, in October 2026, following presidential ratification.

The Ministry of Justice explained that the postponement reflects practical and organizational considerations highlighted in the president’s observations — including the need for extensive technical and administrative preparations, such as establishing phone-based notification centers in all district courts, training judicial personnel, and completing the digital infrastructure required for the law’s implementation.

However, despite parliamentary approval, controversy continues to surround the amendments — particularly Article 105, which allows prosecutors, under certain urgent circumstances, to interrogate defendants without their lawyer present.

Yes, you read that right: “to interrogate defendants without their lawyer present under certain urgent circumstances.”

The amendment, proposed by the Ministry of Justice and adopted by the special parliamentary committee, stipulates that if a lawyer cannot attend promptly, the prosecution may request the local bar association to appoint one — or proceed with the interrogation until the lawyer arrives. The appointed or retained lawyer retains the right to review all procedures conducted in their absence.

And Egypt faces its first man-made Nile flood thanks to Ethiopia’s GERD

Egyptians slept on Thursday, wondering what would happen after reading the Egyptian prime minister Mostafa Madbouly that the Nile floodwaters are expected to inundate riverbank areas and informal housing in Monufia and Behaira during October, as the River Nile water discharge is forecast to exceed average seasonal levels.

Then they woke up on Friday only to find that there were warnings issued to 15 governorates.

The warning was to expect Nile floodwaters are expected to inundate riverbank areas in Luxor, Qena, Sohag, Assuit, Al-Minya, Bani Suef, Giza, Cairo, Qalyubia, Monufia, Sharkia, Gharbia, Kafr El-Sheikh, Dahaqliya and Damietta.

Dalhamo village after the man-made flood 
by Doaa Adel 

Then videos taken by local journalists showing the River Nile flooding the riverbank areas and islands in Monufia began to go viral, especially from Dalhamo village, part of Ashmoun district, where Citizens lost their houses and cattle.

Christian Palestinians Hit Back at Netanyahu’s Lies at UNGA80

This is the third consecutive year I’ve dedicated a post to Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the 80th United Nations General Assembly aka UNGA80 aka UNGA2025

This year’s address was one to remember—not for its content, but for its audience. Netanyahu found himself speaking to rows of empty chairs, as most UN member state delegations walked out in protest rather than listen to a leader wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.

Bibi addressing the world or rather mostly empty seats

Over a hundred diplomats from more than 70 countries, including Egypt, staged the mass walkout, crowding the aisles to exit the hall as the Israeli prime minister entered. Unfortunately, representatives from the UAE and Bahrain chose to remain.

Just as he did in 2023 and 2024, “Bibi” returned with his trademark Middle East map. This time, he singled out the familiar “bad actors”—Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran—while delivering yet another long list of falsehoods.

There is a curse for real carrying a map in this photo

The difference this year was striking; Netanyahu addressed the General Assembly not only with an arrest warrant hanging over him, but also to an audience largely reduced to empty seats.

Now, as usual and as expected, Bibi shared a whole string of lies about Palestine and the Palestinians. This post was going to be dedicated to his general lies.

Yet it is better to leave it to the Palestinians themselves to refute Netanyahu’s lies—especially the Christian Palestinians he cynically invoked in an attempt to win the support of the Christian world.

I am sharing this because, as usual, the mainstream media has chosen not to.

The Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs in Palestine issued a statement in English and Arabic, directly rebutting the Israeli Prime Minister’s claims.

The statement reaffirmed that it is Israel’s colonial policies of ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and genocide that have devastated the Christian presence in Palestine.

The committee noted that before the 1948 Nakba, Palestinian Christians made up 12.5% of the population of historic Palestine.

Today, that number has fallen to just 1.2% in historic Palestine, and only 1% in the territories occupied since 1967. This decline is the direct result of Israel’s policies of forcible displacement, land confiscation, and systematic oppression.

Alaa Abdel Fattah is a free man again

After a bitter and prolonged legal struggle, the famous Egyptian-British Blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi granted a presidential pardon to six prisoners, including the Egyptian-British blogger and human rights activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, for the remainder of their sentences earlier Monday.

Updated at 23/9/25 : 

Alaa Abdel Fattah was released early Tuesday morning, and he arrived at his house in Dokki from the police station when his family, friends and reporters were waiting for him at the prison. 

So, the family went back, and we saw those wonderful photos and videos.

Watch: Three and a Half Hours with Hussein Al-Shar’a, the Syrian President’s Nasserite Father

Last week, the Syrian podcast “To Be Continued…” hosted a particularly intriguing guest. For the first time, Arabi TV’s affiliated podcast featured Dr. Hussein Al-Shar’a — the father of none other than Syria’s current President, Ahmed Al-Shar’a.

The Shar'as by Sora Open AI 

If you think his son, the former FBI’s most wanted man Abu Mohamed al-Golani, is a controversial figure, then you should meet his father: a veteran oil economist and researcher.

Anas Al-Sharif’s last message from Gaza to the world

This is Anas Al-Sharif’s last message, last well, if you may say.

He prepared in case he was killed by the Israeli army after long months, days and hours of threats.

It was shared on his official social media account shortly after his assassination, along with 6 men, including 4 crew members from journalists, cameramen and their driver, in a direct targeting of their tent at Al-Shifaa Hospital early Monday morning.

The Israeli Occupation Forces did some as they are gearing up for a complete re-occupation of Gaza.

The names of those who were killed in this massacre were: Al-Jazeera reporters Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Aliwa as well as their driver Mohammed Noufal. 

This is the whole Al-Jazeera Crew in North Gaza.

Among the other victims photographer, Mohamed El-Khaledi.

Either way, the coverage continues inshallah, as Al-Sharif said.

For 670 days, Anas Al-Sharif became that young voice of Gaza echoing in millions of houses in the Arab world and beyond. I got many emotions to the level that I feel that I can’t write anything now, but the least thing I can I share his last message.

This is its official translation into English:

“This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. First, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.

Allah knows I gave every effort and all my strength to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of the Jabalia refugee camp. My hope was that Allah would extend my life so I could return with my family and loved ones to our original town of occupied Asqalan (Al-Majdal).

But Allah’s will came first, and His decree is final. I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification—so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half.

I entrust you with Palestine—the jewel in the crown of the Muslim world, the heartbeat of every free person in this world. I entrust you with its people, with its wronged and innocent children who never had the time to dream or live in safety and peace.

Their pure bodies were crushed under thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered across the walls. I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you.

Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland.

I entrust you to take care of my family. I entrust you with my beloved daughter Sham, the light of my eyes, whom I never got the chance to watch grow up as I had dreamed.

I entrust you with my dear son Salah, whom I had wished to support and accompany throughout life until he grew strong enough to carry my burden and continue the mission. I entrust you with my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers brought me to where I am, whose supplications were my fortress and whose light guided my path.

I pray that Allah grants her strength and rewards her on my behalf with the best of rewards. I also entrust you with my lifelong companion, my beloved wife, Umm Salah (Bayan), from whom the war separated me from for many long days and months.

Yet she remained faithful to our bond, steadfast as the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend—patient, trusting in Allah, and carrying the responsibility in my absence with all her strength and faith. I urge you to stand by them, to be their support after Allah Almighty.

If I die, I die steadfast upon my principles. I testify before Allah that I am content with His decree, certain of meeting Him, and assured that what is with Allah is better and everlasting.

O Allah, accept me among the martyrs, forgive my past and future sins, and make my blood a light that illuminates the path of freedom for my people and my family.

Forgive me if I have fallen short, and pray for me with mercy, for I kept my promise and never changed or betrayed it.

Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.

Anas Jamal Al-Sharif 

06.04.2025”

Egyptian X-File: What was that international conspiracy implemented in Cairo that Akher Saa issue no.926 spoke about?

On the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of July 23—our official National Day, regardless of whether it's considered a movement, a coup, or a revolution—I came across something by pure coincidence last week.

It was issue no. 926 of Akher Saa magazine, published on 23 July 1952.

“An International Conspiracy Implemented in Cairo.” 
The cover of Akher Saa issue no.926 on 23 July 1952

Gracing the cover was the beautiful (and now, most likely, late) daughter of Mr. Mahmoud Beik Saleh El-Falky, then undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance in Alexandria’s Corniche district. Strangely, the magazine never mentioned her name on the cover—despite prominently featuring her. I’m not sure why.

1952 was probably among the final years when Akher Saa still featured socialites on its covers.

What intrigued me even more is that I believe Mahmoud Beik and his daughter are buried in the famous El-Falky Cemetery, established by Mahmoud Pasha El-Falky—the pioneering father of modern Egyptian astronomy.

Sadly, the El-Falky Cemetery was demolished this past April to make way for a new highway, despite public outcry and campaigns to spare Cairo’s historic City of the Dead. 

We lost that irreplaceable part of Cairo, despite all efforts and even a presidential committee formed to assess the situation, which concluded that there was no need to remove those cemeteries. 

Back to the magazine: the headline on that same 23 July 1952 issue read, in bold—
“An International Conspiracy Implemented in Cairo.”

The Land of Abraham and Sons: Damascus Did Not Cease Being After All

This post was revised by both Chat-GPT and Deepseek for correction, as language models, both AI models checked the theories in their own language, which is English.

This post is actually a pilot of a series of posts dedicated to the prophecies of the Middle East in the Bible, which Christian Zionists use to mess up the Middle East every couple of years.

“Damascus will cease from being a city.”
— Book of Isaiah, Chapter 17

This verse from the Book of Isaiah went viral online on Wednesday, shortly after the Israeli airstrike on Damascus, the Syrian capital.

It was shared by a wide range of people—from devout American evangelicals to some inexplicably cheerful Assad supporters.

This well-known prophecy from Isaiah 17:1 (KJV) reads:

"The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap."

The verse is part of a prophetic oracle, a biblical term referring to a divine message delivered by a prophet—typically announcing judgment, destruction, or doom upon a particular nation or city.

Damascus is one of several ancient cities mentioned in Isaiah’s oracles of judgment. At the time, it was the capital of the Aramean Kingdom, a political rival to both Judah and Israel (Samaria).

The prophecy foretells that Damascus will cease to exist as a city and will become a “ruinous heap.”

But here’s the problem: Damascus has been destroyed more times than San Francisco in a Hollywood disaster film—and it never actually ceased to be.