News Release Example

Lauren Niswander, Junior In Undergrad – Houghton College

6/3/12

Egyptian anti-government demonstrators gather in Tahrir Square, the center of anti-government demonstrations, in Cairo, Egypt (photo: AP)

Events of the Egyptian Revolution include a timeline that is quite recent in its span.  The events began with the spark of revolt against a longtime, 30 years to be exact, autocratic ruler, Egyptian president named Hosni Mubarak.  This protest movement was organized by Egyptians against government, and demonstration to take down the president took place in Tahrir Square in Cairo Egypt’s capital.  In a sense the uprising was in its making a peak of both a political and social upheaval in Egypt on multiple levels. This week even though the Revolution of Egypt still continues.

In organization of Muslim Brotherhood and also the more traditional, extreme Muslim Salafis Jihadist following Sunni Islam tradition there began a mounting of anti-government cause January 25^th, 2011 with thousands of Egyptians nationwide protested in the streets in contradiction Hosni Mubarak and his administration chanting "Bread and Freedom" and "The People Want to Bring Down the Regime." A crackdown on protests under the administration permitted a violent breakup of protests, and many were arrested.

Many have not favored both the autocracy of Mubarak, but moreover a majority long has favored Mubarak because the likes of his pro-democracy pushes in policy.  Many have been confused by some of his policy though as well, as he seemed sometimes to have had a different policy outlook early during his military reign than later and more recently when we was prime minister, president.  While he may have served with his father as minor official in the Ministry for Justice and in the Egypt Military Air Academy, this lead up to military education and vocation later with the former Soviet Union and becoming the air force chief of staff that led a surprise attack on Israeli forces on the Suez Canal (1973 Yom Kippur War). These efforts led him to promotion from president of the time Anwar Sadat to the position of vice president to work on cracking down the Egyptian cabinet and national security for egalitarianism.  He even led the ’78 Camp David Accords with Israel where a treaty was signed to end years of conflict between Egypt and Israel.   He worked to improve general peace in foreign policy, visiting and making ties with countries like the US, China, Syria, Iraq etc.  These however were not moves which the Muslim fundamentalists agreed, as with their assassinated of Sadat in October 1981, protests which as Mubarak assumed leadership position demolished related protests with his crackdowns, jailing more than two-thousand five-hundred militant Islamic groups members and adapting a new policy responsibility for himself resembling Sadat’s.

With only 3 Arab nations agreeing with Mubarak and Egypt’s ties with Israel, so Mubarak began renewal of allies with Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and U.S. President Bill Clinton stimulating compromise with Arafat for nations to acknowledge Israel as a nation and to make peace with them. Many disagreed with this peace policy, his stringent organization of officials, ministers, parliament such as firing them for unnecessary absences or corruption. In 1987 Mubarak won election to a second six-year term as he became known for diplomacy close with the US and Israel.

Though there were these acts and others such as his 1990 sentence of forty-five thousand troops to help combat the Iraqis’ invasion in Kuwait in 1993 he was reelected with an astounding 96.3 percent Egyptian people's democratic vote and approval of stance against violence of fundamental Islam; such also came with ’92, ’93 & ’95 assassination threats against him as two policemen were murdered in these plots against him. He pressed on still ridding of the old Egyptian law consisting of torture, threats to the press, and other human rights abuses. Another year of Revolution began as he experienced reelection September 1999 to a fourth six-year term in office. 2000 was the first Egyptian head to visit Lebanon since 1952. In October 2001 Mubarak ordered hundreds of Islamic militants to stand trial in Egyptian courts acts of terrorism.

I agree with the “Hands Along The Nile” Organization website, ‘…to link Americans and Egyptians for intercultural understanding’.  Like Mubarak who tried to make peace of Egypt with every nation I could think of although not always successful, his concessions brought the most successful foreign policy Egypt has ever seen.  Egypt’s interim military rulers have apparently agreed to allow observations of foreign election and political parties to enforce a stable rule.  Concessions made by the Egyptian liberals to form a bill of rights that would prevent Islamist majority from imposing restrictions on individual freedoms in the name of upholding religiously based morality is thrown down by the current peoples presiding in the overthrown Egypt governmental administration.

You see, in the Nile region of Egypt there lies many a’ religion. On February 11^th last year, and after an enduring 18 days of mass protest across the country the Prime Minister Mubarak was pulled from office.  Just this past Tuesday protests prove that a reelection with his name on the ballet may prove just as successful as his astounding majority last election there. Many women are upset, as are Coptic Christians after such clashes with Muslim extremists leaving 12 people dead, more than 200 injured and a church burnt earlier this past month.  Since February and the new interim administration, women who protested in favor of the new government have been in turn imprisoned, and while in prisons beaten, given electric shocks and have also been subjected to strip searches. In addition, there are no female members appointed on the Constitutional Amendments Committee by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces which reflects that pre-Sadat regime that once existed with stricter Islamic Radicalism, Sharia Law. We will see in the next few weeks whether the Egyptian Revolutionists will prevail, or if Mubarak has received democratic-elected position for a 5^th term.  For many, ideals of the old still exist such as with Sunni Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf (son of Egyptian Imam and Sunni scholar Muhammad Abdul Rauf) who would like to see Islam be the rule instead of complete peace and negotiation between all peoples, "What's Right With Islam Is What's Right With America."