Quote & Unquote

' To act as a bridge between cultures would have been an impossible task were it not for the fact that, in the office of the Weekly, we have ourselves been busy forming bridges. The paper is itself the product of a constant dialogue between Egyptians and those from other countries. My thanks, then, to all our readers, whose interest in the Weekly makes the entire project possible, and my thanks too to my colleagues on the paper, whose hard work has made the first anniversary issue a reality.'

1992

'Is it tautologous to call that perspective Egyptian? Perhaps. But the distinguishing feature of that perspective, I think , is that in criticising the many problems that beset our society, we have never allowed ourselves the luxury of assuming that there are no solutions. We criticise from an Egyptian perspective, precisely because our criticism takes on board the necessity of finding solutions.'

1993

'There is no shame in admitting the limitations of the dominant view of the most effective means of combating terrorism. Until now, emphasis has been placed on the role of the security forces, laying the burden of responsibility squarely on the shoulders of policemen. Yet despite the success of this policy in pushing terrorism beyond Egypt's borders we have to face the fact that it is unlikely to succeed in uprooting the phenomenon completely; it treats only symptoms, leaving root causes untreated. The elimination of these causes can be effected only through enlisting additional weapons -- school text books, newspaper articles, television programmes -- and utilising all possible means to raise public consciousness according to a clear and carefully formulated plan.'

1995

'From the start, Al-Ahram Weekly set out to provide the English-language reader with objective, in-depth coverage of the Egyptian and Arab scenes: politics, economy, culture and society. The challenge we set ourselves was to do this from 'an Egyptian perspective'. As we hope our readers will have realised over the past years, this has never meant whitewashing or propaganda, but rather providing as honest and objective a look at contemporary Egyptian and Arab reality as possible -- as seen through Egyptian and Arab eyes.'

1998

'The last 12 years have not been easy. Maintaining the standards that distinguish the Weekly from rival publications has only been possible because of the dedication of its staff. The task, though, has been facilitated by the fact that the newspaper possessed a clear concept of what it should be before the very first edition went to press. Our aim has always been to produce a liberal weekly, objectively oriented, providing our readers with an unequivocally Egyptian perspective on local and regional affairs. However sensitive or potentially sensational the issues dealt with, we have endeavoured always to present them in a calm, fair-minded manner.'

2003

Hosny Guindy