A Portrait of Egypt: A Journey Through the World of Militant Islam

Rating:
Summary: Maybe I live in another country?
Review: After reading the first two thirds of Ms Weavers book I am confused: what's the point of chosing the title "A Portrait of Egypt" when writing a book about religious extremism?

Despite this (major) mislead, the book provides a) some good introduction into modern Egyptian history!; b) some good understanding of why certain things happened and still happen in Egypt; and c) some good information on the who is who in this mess of islamists & terrorists...

However, please... DO NOT read this book if you are looking for information about everyday Egypt;... DO NOT read this book if you are trying to understand more about Islam (not even militant Islam, despite the title).

I still haven't decided whether it's a good or a bad book, for sure it's an interesting read - but ONLY IF you have background/previous knowledge and can constantly double-check the information given in the book.

Footnote: In another comment Sharon argues that Mubarak is the third president of Egypt. To clear up the confusion, on this point Ms Wezver did her homework well - the first president, before Gamal Abdel Nasser was Mohamed Naguib, though only for limited time but still.

Rating:
Summary: A Political Portrait
Review: Don't expect a history of Egypt or a travel guide in this book--you won't find that kind of information--but you will find a very credible political analysis of Egypt today. I thought I was savvy about mid-East politics, but this book taught me a lot. Mary Ann Weaver makes a convincing case for the belief that Egypt is a ticking bomb of political discontent. I appreciate her thoughtful reporting, since the press is so preoccupied with Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, that Egypt is almost never in the news. Mary Ann Weaver is also an excellent writer.

Rating:
Summary: A Political Portrait
Review: Don't expect a history of Egypt or a travel guide in this book--you won't find that kind of information--but you will find a very credible political analysis of Egypt today. I thought I was savvy about mid-East politics, but this book taught me a lot. Mary Ann Weaver makes a convincing case for the belief that Egypt is a ticking bomb of political discontent. I appreciate her thoughtful reporting, since the press is so preoccupied with Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, that Egypt is almost never in the news. Mary Ann Weaver is also an excellent writer.

Rating:
Summary: Islam needs a face-lift
Review: For a woman, she is courageous for her pursuit of series of interviews with those moslem fanatics while at the same time playing a diplomatic role. Since most (moslem) religious men are rarely comfortable talking to a woman, I wonder, how much truth she could get out of them. Nonetheless, the author did a great job by taking us into the mindsets of many of those mullahs and fundamentalists, who believe MANKIND consists two kinds only: moslem kind and non-believer kind. Ms.Weaver's book shuold be a guidebook for moslems like myself to realize that Allah is LOVE;not HATE. Allah is all forgiving;not VENGEFUL. And Allah certainly doesn't need those who monopolize HIM by hiding behind the pages of Koran. Ms.Weaver has got lots of spunks!!!

Rating:
Summary: Weaver is a brave woman, but....
Review: I wonder what was her real purpose of this book. A part of me thinks it is because she's sad of the fundamentalist changes that have taken place in Egypt, but another part of me thinks it may be that she is trying to make Islam look bad. First of all, I noticed the book was not organized very well. You'll have to read the book to see what I mean. Not only that, I feel almost tricked by the title. No, this is not "a portrait of Egypt." This book is about Islamic EXTREMISTS. And there are extremists in all groups, everywhere in the world. Anyone who knows Egypt well knows this is not what Egypt is about. I just hope this is not the average American view of Islam or Egypt. I hope Americans are less ignorant than to hold these views. But I'm probably being too hopeful (sigh.)

As I mentioned, Weaver examines extremist Islam , not even fundamenlist Islam. She doesn't discuss the difference between the two. The biggest difference between the two is that extemist Islam is much less common! So naturally, she doesn't mention moderate Islam. Instead, the only good, or peaceful, Muslims she suggests are those actually fighting against "Islamism", like the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs. It's as if she divides Egypt in two groups, the leftists and the Islamists, when in actuality, Egypt has much more diversity in its people than most countries, whether Arab, African, or whatever. (By diversity I mean class divisions, traditions, and lifestyle.) Actually, another thing that offended me is the term "Islamism/Islamists." What the hell does that mean? Is, for example, someone who prays, who fasts and performs all the main Islamic orders, considered an Islamist? If by definition this is true, then why does she, throughout the book, refer to the TERRORISTS as Islamists?! If she purposely did this, I can only regard her as an unprofessional, scornful writer. But even if she didn't purposely fail to distinguish between the two, well she needs to be more careful. This is a 280-page book, with a clearly large budget spent on its reasearch, so why the carelessness?

Oh, I didn't elaborate on the lack of organization, so here goes. First of all, there is no table of contents for the chapters. So each chapter title was something of a shock to me. I kept thinking, how is this a "portrait of Egypt"? Another example of lack of organization is that she claimed in the beginning that Mubarak is Egypt's fourth president. Um, excuse me, but how? The first was Nasser, the second was Sadat, and the THIRD is Mubarak. This is just another example of her carelessness.

One good thing I will say about this book is the vast collection of interviewees, ranging from international filmmaker Yousef Chahine, to the current president Mubarak. I must also admit, she put her life in great risk by interviewing terrorists and organizers of some Islamic groups. So kudos for that, Mary Anne.

The last thing I want to mention is that she states in the Introduction that she doesn't wish for this book to be regarded as an educational tool, that this is "simply one woman's journey through the world of militant Islam." Well, it doesn't read as such. It reads as more fact-filled and documentary-like. How else can you explain the countless interviews she went out of her way and risked her safety for? And remember, she IS a staff writer for the New Yorker. To sum this up, the book is highly biased. And she finds fault in EVERYTHING, including all 3 Egyptian presidents, whom she doesn't say one good thing about. This is an insult to me and all Egyptians who respect and admire our presidents, because they are heros. Sadat didn't get a Nobel peace prize for nothing.

Rating:
Summary: Sounding a warning
Review: Mary Anne Weaver's account of life in modern Egypt leaves you wondering if the country will soon succumb to a fundamentalist revolution aka Iran. Interesting that this would be a concern at a time when Iran is trying to moderate the effects of its own revolution. This book is most valuable as a snaphot of Egypt that can be compared to life in the country thirty years ago before Islamic militancy began to take hold. It is also a good overview of political events in the country during the interveaning years. I found it well written and an informative journalistic account.

Rating:
Summary: Sounding a warning
Review: Mary Anne Weaver's account of life in modern Egypt leaves you wondering if the country will soon succumb to a fundamentalist revolution aka Iran. Interesting that this would be a concern at a time when Iran is trying to moderate the effects of its own revolution. This book is most valuable as a snaphot of Egypt that can be compared to life in the country thirty years ago before Islamic militancy began to take hold. It is also a good overview of political events in the country during the interveaning years. I found it well written and an informative journalistic account.

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT OVERVIEW OF THE ISLAMIC EXTREMISM IN EGYPT
Review: This is excellent reading for those of you who know little of modern Egyptian politics or the rise of the revolutionary Islam in the Middle East. This book shows exactly how the US military aid went awry in Afghanistan, it delineates the major extremist islamic organizations as well as key players involved. Throughout the years the author must have had incredible access to political leaders and oficials at all levels, including Mubarak, the current President in Egypt and Sheikh Abdel-Rahman, the mastermind of the first attack on the world trade center and the man believed to be behind the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. This book is not about Egypt, but the expansion of extremist Islam and the resultant struggle for power in it. Not only does this work show a connection between the Afghan war and the rise of Islamic extremism, but it also shows how Edyptian terrorists can be tied to Bin Ladin and how the US is drawn into the conflict beyond its support of Israel. Considering that this work was written well before the events of September 11, it is uncanny how accurate this book turned out to be with regards to its message of the dangers posed to the US by Islamic extremism.