Iran, Egypt, Turkey should form an Islamic triangle: Al-Azhar imam
Tehran Times Political Desk
TEHRAN – Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayyib, the imam of Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, has called on Iran, Egypt, and Turkey to establish an Islamic triangle, Iranian MP Nasser Soudani has said.
Soudani made the remarks in an interview with the IRNA correspondent in Beirut published on Saturday in reference to a meeting of an Iranian delegation with al-Tayyib, which was held in Cairo on July 26.
Soudani quoted al-Tayyib as saying that the Iran-Turkey-Egypt triangle would serve the interests of the Islamic world.
According to IRNA, the imam of the Al-Azhar Mosque also called for the expansion of relations between Arab countries and Iran.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Soudani said that al-Tayyib hailed the fatwa (religious edict) that Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei issued on October 2, 2010 that prohibits insulting the companions of Prophet Muhammad (S) and his wives.
Ayatollah Khamenei’s fatwa was issued after Kuwaiti Shia cleric Yasser al-Habib insulted Aisha, a wife of Prophet Muhammad (S).
via tehran times : Iran, Egypt, Turkey should form an Islamic triangle: Al-Azhar imam.
Foreign Minister Mohamed al-Orabi and his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, have discussed the details of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Cairo, scheduled for 21 July, Orabi said.
In a press conference Saturday, Orabi said the meeting came within the framework of annual strategic dialogue between Egypt and Turkey, and a High Level Strategic Cooperation Council between Egypt and Turkey will be announced during Erdogan’s visit.
He said that Egypt and Turkey form a strong strategic foundation for stability in the Middle East, and as two of the most highly populated countries in the region, cooperation must be developed between them in various fields.
“We currently seek to improve relations and establish forums of strategic dialogue between Cairo and Ankara,” he added, saying Erdogan’s visit will constitute a step toward better relations.
“We [Egypt] and Turkey represent the voice of moderation and stability in the region and we have the ability to work together to achieve them,” said Orabi.
“We support all the Palestinian initiatives without any reservations,” said Davutoglu. Orabi said Turkey will remain supportive of Palestinian reconciliation and back Egypt in future efforts.
Davutoglu said that this was his fourth visit to Egypt in six months, and there will be more in the coming months. This visit was to prepare for Erdogan’s visit, his first to a foreign country since Turkey’s recent elections.
He added that Erdogan will head a high-level delegation comprising several Turkish ministers seeking to discuss all aspects of bilateral cooperation.
Davutoglu is scheduled to visit Benghazi next Sunday to discuss the crisis in Libya.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
via Egypt’s PM: Bilateral Egypt-Turkey council to be announced | Al-Masry Al-Youm: Today’s News from Egypt.
Despite much talk about the possibility of reproducing the Turkish state model in Egypt, which would give the military a role in internal politics to safeguard the secularism of the state, experts remain suspicious of the idea.
Photographed by AFP
Hassan Nafaa, a political science professor at Cairo University, said the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) positions itself at an equal distance from those who started the revolution and want to bring about genuine change and reform, and remnants of the former regime who are leading a counter-revolution.
On the sidelines of a conference entitled “The Impact of Arab Revolutions on the Arab-Israeli Conflict”, held in Istanbul, Turkey, Nafaa told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the success of the Turkish state model for Egypt depends on how far the latter’s religious groups have been influenced by the Turkish experience, which he said has resolved the apparent conflict between Islam and democracy.
He added that the success of this model in Egypt depends on how much Islamic parties in Egypt see Turkey’s Justice and Development Party as a model, but the Turkish and Iranian models cannot be exported to Egypt or any other country.
Nafaa said the SCAF is protecting the revolution as well as remaining members of the former regime, and the three forces are interacting on the political scene.
He added that the SCAF wants to be neutral because it is more concerned about the security of the state and the society than about the conflict between these two powers, but the current conditions in Egypt require the SCAF to take one side – either to protect the revolution or the powers working against it.
Arm al-Shobaki, a political expert at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, praised the Turkish model, saying Turkey’s Justice and Development Party has employed religion in a successful way. At a conference held at the Alexandria Library two days ago, he said the party has not used a single religious slogan it its campaigns, yet has achieved significant economic growth for Turkey.
He added that Turkey has succeeded in formulating a constitution to define the relationship between the army and the political authority and to create a democratic relationship between Islamic and secular parties. It has also succeeded in communicating with the Arab and Islamic worlds.
Shobaki added that benefiting from the Turkish model does not mean it should be “cloned” , saying this would belittle Egyptians’ revolution.
Discussing the economic success of Turkey, the dean of Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of Istanbul Aydin, Veysel Ulusoy, said sustainable economic growth rates are required to achieve a reasonable outcome.
A participating Turkish researcher said the election of the Justice and Development Party for the third time in parliamentary elections can be attributed to its success in introducing radical political, cultural and structural changes.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
via Experts say Turkish model cannot be imported as is | Al-Masry Al-Youm: Today’s News from Egypt.
Rapid urban expansion has turned the historic cities of Cairo and Istanbul into overcrowded, traffic-clogged mega-metropolises full of blight, congestion, and pollution. To this problem, similar and unlikely sounding solutions have been proposed in both countries: Build two new Cairos and Istanbuls.
Dense urban development in Cairo (left) and Istanbul (right). Photos: reibai / Creative Commons (L) and Jennifer Hattam (R).
The plans to build two new mixed-used developments east and west of Cairo — not so creatively named Eastown and Westown — drew praise from the Middle East environmental website Green Prophet:
Initially conceived to absorb Cairo’s overflow, and to develop a more pedestrian-friendly model that will ease traffic congestion and pollution, these new metropolitan centers will both service 2.5 million people within 10 years.
Moving away from the former development model that separated residential and commercial areas, forcing residents to own cars or use public transportation in order to maintain their daily lives, Eastown and Westown will knit all services into one urban fabric.
The project also has been conceived with an eye toward sustainability, Green Prophet wrote: “In particular, many designers are considering glazing to reduce solar gain, responsible building materials, good insulation to improve energy efficiency, and passive design that will minimize energy dependency in the first place.”
Plans for two new Istanbuls announced by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan prior to Turkey’s national election were more controversial. While Erdoğan claimed the two new satellite cities would alleviate overcrowding and earthquake danger, critics slammed the vagueness of the plans and the lack of environmental impact or feasibility studies. They said the new developments would only draw more migration to Istanbul while paving over some of the last forested areas around the city.
via A Tale of Two New Cities for Cairo and Istanbul : TreeHugger.
Air Arabia Egypt, a leading low-cost carrier in the region, said it has started direct services to the Turkish city of Istanbul from its main hub in Alexandria.
The airline’s inaugural flight to Istanbul took off from Burj Al Arab International Airport on Friday.
Roundtrip flights will operate twice per week between Alexandria and Istanbul Sabiha International Airport. The flights depart Alexandria on Fridays and Sundays at 5pm and arrive in Istanbul at 7.55pm.
The return flights depart Istanbul at 9.05pm (local time) and arrive in Alexandria at 10.05pm (local time).
Commenting on the launch, AK Nizar, head of Commercial said, ‘We are delighted to announce the start of our flights to the city of Istanbul. Turkey has become a central destination and we are proud to start our services twice a week from Egypt, offering travellers between the two countries a new option for air travel.’
‘We are confident the new services between Alexandria and Istanbul will offer customers great value for money to travel between the two cities as well as encourage mutual growth in travel and tourism,’ he observed.
According to him, Air Arabia Egypt only flies new aircraft of the type Airbus A320. ‘On its entire network, Air Arabia Egypt offers full economy class with an average seat pitch of 32 inches and a free baggage allowance. Food and beverages can be bought during the flight,’ he added.-TradeArabia News Service
A photography exhibition tracing urban change in Istanbul, Beirut, Amman, Cairo and Dubai will open in Townhouse Gallery of contemporary art next Sunday
Ahram Online, Tuesday 14 Jun 2011
Bas Princen
On Sunday 19 June, the Refuge–Five Cities’ Portfolios exhibition will open at Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary art.
The exhibition features photography by Bas Princen, an architect and photographer of public spaces based in Rotterdam. Through his photographs, Princen captures urban landscape in Istanbul, Beirut, Amman, Cairo and Dubai, tracing the changes these cities have undergone.
Princen studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven and the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam and has exhibited in various international group and solo shows. He contributed to the research project ‘Shrinking Cities’ and the art project Atelier HSL. In 2004 he published his book Artificial Arcadia and received the Charlotte Köhler prize for promising young artists and architects. Together with Milica Topalovic in 2006 he was nominated for the shortlist of the Prix de Rome Architecture.
The opening will host a discussion with the artist.
The exhibition will be on-going until 6 July at the first floor in Townhouse Gallery of contemporary art located in Hussein El Me’mar Pasha street, off Mahmoud Bassiouny street in Downtown Cairo.
via Refuge–Five Cities’ Portfolios to open at Townhouse Gallery – Visual Art – Arts & Culture – Ahram Online.
