Issue No. 602
Opinion
Previous issue
Site map
|
|
5 - 11 September 2002 Issue No. 602 Opinion |
Current issue Previous issue Site map | |
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
More than a politician
Some people live their lives in the shadow, afraid to speak their minds, terrified of taking risks. Others live in the thick of events, at the cutting edge of history.Khaled Mohieddin is one of the latter. A founding member of the Free Officers, he was one of the few who spoke for democracy and told the army to return to their barracks in March 1954. Nor was this the only time Mohieddin would stick his neck out over matters of principle. As editor of Al-Masaa newspaper, Mohieddin refused to take part in the government-orchestrated campaign against Qassem's regime in Iraq. The Tagammu', which he founded in 1976, fell out with Sadat over the bread riots of 1977, and again over the latter's visit to Jerusalem and the peace process.
Not a man to let personal differences cloud his judgment, Mohieddin stood by Nasser during the 1956 Suez campaign and the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement. He defended the achievements of the July Revolution when many turned against it. And he refrained from denouncing Sadat as a traitor when it became fashionable to do so. He spoke his mind, regardless of the consequences, and his dignity and honesty made him a legend. This is what makes the 80-year-old Tagammu' leader a unique figure in Egypt's political life. Perhaps, at roots, he is not really a politician at all for that is too reductionist, too devalued a term. Khaled Mohieddin is more than that.
This week's soapbox speaker is a journalist and political analyst with the weekly Al-Ahali.
|
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
