7 leading thinkers react to the ‘turmoil’ in the Middle East

Tonight I went to an Intelligence Squared event entitled “Turmoil in the Middle East: Is the genie of democracy out of the bottle?” where 7 key academics and journalists on the Middle East reacted to the events in recent weeks.

On the panel were Oxford academics Tariq Ramadan and Eugene Rogan, brilliant SOAS academic Deniz Kandiyoti, City Uniersity academic Rosemary Hollis, journalists Nabila Ramdani and Roger Cohen and American military strategist Edward Luttwak.

I can’t go into too much detail as it was a two-hour event but I wanted to summarise the top 5 points I took away.

How the rest of the Arab world didn’t cover Mubarak’s speech

Those expecting a knock-on effect of the Egyptian Revolution across the Middle East should look away now. The true extent of misinformation in some of the region’s dictatorships was revealed when President Mubarak gave a speech to his people and it was completely ignored by state media in several of the Arab  countries where regime change has been urged.

Egyptian protests in London: a tale of two potential futures

Today at the Egyptian protests in London there were two separate and hostile protests that indicate the issues facing a post-Mubarak Egypt; one was secular and pro-democratic in its aims while the other was religious and supportive of a  pan-Islamic caliphate.

Hague’s suprisingly supportive statement on Egypt

Watching William Hague’s latest statement on Egypt I felt it was surprisingly supportive of the protesters. While he obviously didn’t advocate the cause of revolution he accepted those on the streets had “legitimate economic and political grievances.” He also stressed that the British government had a relationship with Egypt not with the government and condemned the repressive measures used in the country.

Why I am beginning to believe in the Egyptian revolution

Earlier today I went to the Egyptian Embassy in London to view the protests against the Mubarak regime. I have only limited knowledge about Egypt so I cannot talk with much authority about the forces within the country but I was impressed with the turnout in London – especially considering it was a cold, wet Tuesday afternoon.