Egyptian Revolution 2.0

A Conversation with Bahaa El-Taweal, Khairi Abaza, Reuel Marc Gerecht, Samuel Tadros, and Jonathan Schanzer

In light of the rapidly changing situation on the ground in Egypt, the U.S. must now determine how best to support Egypt’s transition, protect U.S. interests, and advance democracy in the region. Are we supporting a military dictatorship over a popularly elected Islamist government? What does the future hold for the non-Islamist Tamarod movement? Will the Muslim Brotherhood rebound from this defeat? What does this crisis portend for the Muslim Brotherhood bloc, including Qatar and Turkey?

Panelists:

Bahaa El-Taweal is a Washington-based journalist, working as a U.S. Correspondent for OnTV channel and Youm7 Newspaper. During the Mubarak era, Mr. El-Taweal published stories that revealed political corruption, torture crimes and human rights violations. In 2010, Mr. El-Taweal published a series of exclusive stories about the murder of Khaled Saeed, the crime that sparked the Egyptian revolution. Previously at OnTV, Mr. El-Taweal worked in Cairo as a producer for “Last Word” one of the most popular and respected political talk shows in Egypt. Mr. El-Taweal has worked extensively in Egyptian media, and has covered news stories about the Egyptian revolution for Vanity Fair, Le Monde, CBS, DR Nyheder (National television of Denmark), and Assafir Newspaper.

Khairi Abaza is a Senior Fellow at FDD, noted for his focus on democratic reform in the Arab world, the spread of terrorism, and the influence of the media on politics. He arrived in Egypt just before the June 30, 2013 demonstrations and will be returning to share his first-hand observations of the unfolding developments. Mr. Abaza’s columns appeared in various publications such as International Herald Tribune, The New Republic, Newsweek, Foreign Affairs, The National Interest, and The Weekly Standard. He is also a commentator on several American and international television stations such as Fox, BBC, France 24, Al-Jazeera and CBC. Previously before coming to Washington, Mr. Abaza worked for ten years in Egyptian politics. He served as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and secretary of the Cultural Committee of the Egyptian Wafd Party.

Reuel Marc Gerecht is a Senior Fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He focuses on Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, terrorism, and intelligence. Mr. Gerecht is the author of The Wave: Man, God, and the Ballot Box in the Middle East, Know Thine Enemy: A Spy’s Journey into Revolutionary Iran and The Islamic Paradox: Shiite Clerics, Sunni Fundamentalists, and the Coming of Arab Democracy. He is a contributing editor for The Weekly Standard and a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, as well as a frequent contributor to the The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and other publications. He was previously a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the director of the Middle East Initiative at the Project for the New American Century. Earlier, he served as a Middle Eastern specialist at the CIA’s Directorate of Operations.

Samuel Tadros is a Research Fellow at Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom focusing on how the rise of Islamist movements impact religious freedom and regional politics. Prior to joining Hudson, Mr. Tadros was a Senior Partner at the Egyptian Union of Liberal Youth. Mr. Tadros previously worked for the Heritage Foundation, focusing on religious freedom in Egypt. His articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Current Trends in Islamist Ideology, National Review, World Affairs, and The Weekly Standard. Mr. Tadros is a Professorial Lecturer at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. He is currently writing a book on the Copts and the modern politics of Egypt.

Jonathan Schanzer is the Vice President for Research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He previously worked as a terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and for several other U.S.-based think tanks. Dr. Schanzer has co-authored two studies on the impact of social media, including Palestinian Pulse: What Policy Makers Can Learn from Palestinian Social Media and Facebook Fatwa: Saudi Clerics, Wahhabi Islam and Social Media. In addition, Dr. Schanzer’s book, Hamas vs. Fatah: The Struggle for Palestine, is still the only book on the market that analyzes the internecine conflict between the two most powerful Palestinian factions. Dr. Schanzer has testified before Congress and publishes widely in the American and international media.