قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "من صلى عليَّ صلاة واحدة صلى الله عليه بها عشراً". رواه مسلم

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "من صلى عليَّ صلاة واحدة صلى الله عليه بها عشراً". رواه مسلم

Could Egypt fall apart?

(CNN) -- The renewed bloodshed and defiant protests in Egypt prompts a provocative question: Could Egypt really collapse?

Just two years into a revolution that ignited during the Arab Spring, Egypt's defense minister warned this week the raging conflict "may lead to the collapse of the state and threaten the future of our coming generations."

On Wednesday, analysts described that statement as overreaching, but none dismissed the severity of the country's problems.

"His comments were a bit over the top," said Joshua Stacher, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center of Scholars.

Port Said rages against Morsy

Young people rebelling in Egypt

Police, protesters clash in Cairo

Rumbles in the ranks in Egypt

"It depends on what your definition of what 'collapse' is," added Steven A. Cook, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. "The economy is certainly in terrible shape."

James Coyle, director of global education at Chapman University in California, said the comment by Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Fattah al-Sisi was "a bit of an overreaction."

"But five days of riots and tens of deaths and thousands of demonstrators still in Tahrir Square two years after the fall of (Hosni) Mubarak, I can understand why he would say it."

Analysts agreed that the remarks should serve as an alarm.

"It was a warning to everybody -- the opposition, the Brotherhood -- that they've got to get their act together," said CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman in Cairo. He was referring to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist party to which President Mohamed Morsy belongs.

The military -- the powerful bulwark for Egyptian secularism that temporarily governed the country after the revolution ousted longtime ruler Mubarak -- is worried about civil war.

"This is a telegraphed message to everybody that this is getting out of control," Wedeman said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also addressed the defense minister's warning of a collapse.

"I hope not," she told CNN Tuesday. "That would lead to incredible chaos and violence on a scale that would be devastating for Egypt and the region."

Morsy's government needs to understand that the revolution's aspirations "have to be taken seriously" and that "the rule of law applied to everyone," she said.

"It's very difficult going from a closed regime -- essentially one-man rule -- to a democracy that is trying to be born and learn to walk," Clinton explained. "I think the messages and the actions coming from the leadership have to be changed in order to give people confidence that they are on the right path to the kind of future they seek."

Exacerbating the political crisis is Egypt's woeful economy, where the lifeblood of tourism is all but dead and the currency is devalued, analysts said.

Recent demonstrations in Port Said and nearby cities along the Suez Canal are symbolic because that region was among the first where the Mubarak regime lost control during the 2011 unrest leading to revolution, analysts said. The region has long felt distant from Cairo.

Demonstrators this week ignored the curfew Morsy imposed on the region following bloodshed on the second anniversary of the revolution last Friday. Protesters fed up with slow change clashed with authorities, leaving seven people dead.

Rage exploded again when a judge sentenced to death 21 residents of Port Said for their roles in a deadly soccer riot last year. At least 38 people were killed in the two days of violence after the verdict.

The defense minister denied reports that the army used live ammunition on the protesters, state-run media said.

"What struck me this time was the call for emergency law and emergency measures, and it was just ignored," Cook said. "The people in Port Said were demonstrating and just thumbed their nose at the government."

Protesters behind the Egyptian revolution now feel betrayed, particularly as the state security agency was changed in name only to homeland security, Stacher said. No one from Mubarak's coercive security apparatus was sentenced for any violence during the revolutionary rallies, he said.

Protesters now just throw rocks at police during most encounters, he added.

"This all boils down to something very basic," Stacher said. "The people demanded real change in Egypt but were lied to and their wishes were postponed and they were told they weren't important.

"And the generals went around and created this exclusivist coalition (with Morsy's government), which is what people were protesting against in the first place," Stacher said.

In fact, protesters began calling Morsy "Morsilini," a reference to the late Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini who was Adolf Hitler's ally. That nickname arose after Morsy gave himself sweeping powers in November.

Morsy later canceled most of those powers following demonstrations. That turn of events hurt Morsy's image because he was enjoying international attention for playing a constructive role in the recent, bloody conflict in Gaza between Hamas and Israeli forces, analysts said.

The stakes are high for a country strategically positioned in Middle Eastern politics and in world trade through the Suez Canal.

"I don't think the international community can afford for (Egypt) to collapse economically ... or politically," Cook said.

The defense minister's warning is "very important" because "it shows the military has been in consultation about this. That's why I take it more seriously," Cook added.

In the coming month, Egyptians will go to the polls to elect a lower house in Parliament. The election will be a bellwether on how Morsy's Muslim Brotherhood now stands against the opposition coalition National Salvation Front, analysts said.

"They are smart people," Stacher said of opposition leaders, "but the problem is that they don't seem like they want to have a real democracy either."

For now, the Egyptian military doesn't appear to want to intervene and run the Egyptian government again as another president is selected.

"If the situation deteriorates further, the military might not have a choice and it might find a warm reception," Cook wrote on his blog for the Council on Foreign Relations.

In a revolution, the first government typically doesn't stay in power, as seen in the Russian and French revolutions, Coyle explained.

"Usually it gets replaced by more radical elements of society," he said.

Women stood at the forefront of the Arab Spring

Women stood at the forefront of the Arab Spring, taking to the streets shoulder to shoulder with men in an effort to overturn oppressive old orders.

But while their efforts have seen dictators ousted and reforms introduced, the greater rights for women many hoped would emerge from the upheaval have not materialized.

Indeed, says Lebanese activist Diala Haidar, the rise of political Islam throughout the region in the wake of the uprising has raised the specter of hard-won gains for women being lost.

Haidar and four other women's rights activists across the region started a campaign, The Uprising of Women in the Arab World, on Facebook in October 2011, to highlight injustices against women throughout the region.

They can't betray women as long as we stand up for our rights and take advantage of this moment in history
Diala Haidar, co-founder of The Uprising of Women in the Arab World campaign

"The Arab Spring took place under the banner of freedom, dignity and equality, and the three can't be established if women are left behind," said Haidar, 28, a laboratory supervisor.

"At every stage of history we have been given the excuse, 'It's not the time to discuss women's issues -- we are at war, it's a revolution,' or whatever. It's our time to say 'We need our rights,'" she added.

Read more: Going under the knife for a manly mustache

The Facebook page has attracted more than 78,000 "likes" and there is now a website. Two campaigns are currently running: One asks people to submit photos with a message of solidarity with women in the region written in Arabic.

The other, launched on United Nations' International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25, encourages women to share their stories of violence, abuse and harassment, in an effort to shine a spotlight on such incidents.

Dozens of women have given their accounts, with a recurring theme that they have felt unable to speak out or hold the perpetrators to account.

"The revolution won't take place in secrecy, it will take place in the light," said Haidar. "We have to start sharing our stories and concerns and aspirations publicly. It can prove that these incidents ... are not exceptional cases but part of a whole society that we should work to cure from this violence."

In our culture, these issues are taboos and it is better to suppress them for the sake of the family's 'honor' What an absurd honor
Rahma, a Tunisian woman who was molested at a young age

One account of abuse on the website is given by Rahma, a 22-year-old Tunisian woman, who writes of being sexually molested aged nine by a man who she says has never been held accountable.

"In our culture, these issues are taboos and it is better to suppress them for the sake of the family's 'honor,'" she writes. "What an absurd honor."

Haidar says the campaign is trying to challenge patriarchal cultural attitudes surrounding "honor," often enshrined in discriminatory legal systems that punish the victims of sexual crimes.

"We have to get rid of the blame that society inflicts upon us when it comes to issues of sexual harassment, rape and domestic violence," she added.

Read more: In Lawrence of Arabia's footsteps

In a recent case highlighting the extent of the problem, a 27-year-old Tunisian woman who was allegedly raped by two policemen after they approached her and her fiance in a car was subsequently charged with indecency, which carries a potential six-month sentence, when she filed a complaint against the officers.

The charges were eventually dropped (although the prosecutor has appealed the ruling), and the woman was offered a state apology, but not before the case attracted large protests and criticism that the woman's treatment reflected the attitudes of the country's new Islamist leaders.

Earlier this year, international outrage erupted over the plight of a 16-year-old Moroccan girl who committed suicide after a court ordered her to marry her rapist.

The revolution won't take place in secrecy, it will take place in the light. We have to start sharing our stories and concerns and aspirations publicly
Diala Haidar, co-founder of The Uprising of Women in the Arab World campaign

Read more: My heart is still in Gaza

A rise in sexual violence in the form of mob attacks on women on the streets was a pressing issue in post-revolutionary Egypt, said Haidar, as was the concern that women's equality would not be enshrined in the sharia-influenced draft constitution.

Haidar added that the campaign was targeting other issues across the region including the persistence of patriarchal personal status laws, honor killings, female genital mutilation and forced marriages.

Fatima Nabil, 16, from Aden, Yemen, submitted a painting to the campaign.

"I have a friend my age who was forced out of school into marriage," she told CNN. Her paintings were an attempt to "express the injustice suffered by women, because they live in darkness and constraint," she said.

But Haidar said it is still "too early" to say that the Arab Spring has failed women and that could only happen if women allowed it.

"They can't betray women as long as we stand up for our rights and take advantage of this moment in history," she said.

"If we consent to this it will happen, but if we don't it will never happen."

سعوديات يحتجزن اتناء احتجاج لاطلاق سراح المعتقلين..السعودية رمز الظلم Activists: Saudi women arrested at detention protests

Saudi women protest

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Activists report arrests of women in Saudi cities
• Protesters unhappy with pace of judicial system
• Saudi officials have been reluctant to comment

(CNN) -- Dozens of women and at least five children were arrested on Saturday after demonstrations were held in two Saudi cities, Riyadh and Buraida, according to human rights activists. The women were demanding the release of relatives they say have been held for years without access to lawyers or a trial, the activists said.

Mohammed Al-Qahtani, a prominent activist currently on trial in Saudi Arabia on charges that include breaking allegiance to the Saudi king, told CNN the women who were protesting are "female relatives of political prisoners."

"They are asking the authorities to either take these prisoners to court," said Al-Qahtani, "or set them free."

Activists: Saudi women, children arrested

Saudi activist pushing limits for reform

Women joining Saudi parliament

In the capital city of Riyadh, one activist who was part of the demonstration said it was held outside a building that houses one of the country's government-backed human rights groups.

The activist, who requested anonymity for fear for her safety, said she had to quickly flee the scene to avoid arrest. About 50 women demonstrated there, and at least two of them had been arrested as police tried to disperse the crowd, she said.

"They went out there today to ask that their relatives be freed," said the activist. "They have been in prison for a long time and have had no lawyer and no trial."

According to two other activists, three of the women arrested in Riyadh were the wife and daughter and granddaughter of Suleiman al-Rashudi, a political activist who was arrested in December after giving a lecture in which he said protests were permitted in Islam.

Al-Rashudi previously spent five years in detention and was found guilty last year of, among other things, financing terrorism, incitement against the king and attempting to seize power.

One amateur video purportedly shot at the scene shows women, some who brought their children, chanting, "The people call for the liberation of the prisons."

In Buraida, the provincial capital of deeply conservative Qassim Province, activists say at least 26 women protested and were arrested outside the city's Board of Grievances on Saturday -- the scene of a similar protest in early January.

Many of the women brought their children, who they say were also arrested.

One of the female protesters, Um Abdullah, spoke to CNN by phone as she was being held in a police station in Buraida.

"I demonstrated for the release of my husband, Abdulmalek Al-Muqdin," explained Um Abdullah, "who has been in jail without charge for 12 years."

According to Um Abdullah, whose son was detained alongside her, the police told her and the other women that they would be released if they signed a piece of paper that would compel them to show up at any government office if summoned to do so, but the women refused to do so.

One amateur video posted online purports to show several of the women, and some of the children, in the back of a police bus after having been detained. In the video, the women express solidarity with the political prisoners in Saudi Arabia.

Despite repeated efforts, CNN has been unable to reach Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry for comment. Protests are prohibited in Saudi Arabia.

In early January, a small group of women held a demonstration in the same part of Buraida, calling for the release of detained family members. Their arrest, a short time later, caused great outrage and sparked several days of small protests in various cities.

Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry confirmed to CNN later in the month that the women were eventually all released.

When asked in late January about demonstrators' claims that their relatives are political prisoners who should be released, Interior Ministry Spokesman Major Gen. Mansour Al-Turki told CNN that Saudi government officials would not comment on cases currently being "looked at by the courts.

تونس .مواهب من باريس

مواهب المعارضة وفرنسا وإعلامها في تونس وفرنسا لا تتوقّف عند ذلك الحدّ، لذلك نعرّفكم بالسيّدة مواهب مصباح، التي تكلّمت من فرانس 24 الناطقة بالفرنسيّة، القناة المناضلة مع بلدان الربيع العربي العاملة على خرابها عاجلا لا آجلا. تكلّمت هذه السيدة الموهوبة وهي ناشطة في حزب تقدميّ ديمقراطي بالمعيار الفرنسي، فعلّقت على حدث الاغتيال، ثمّ بثّت نداءها المستغيث قائلة بالحرف الواحد:' ندائي لفرنسا التي تساند الديمقراطية في مالي، فرنسا التي تقاتل الإسلاميّين في مالي، لقد حان الوقت لتنظر إلى ما يحدث في تونس: نفس الإسلاميين ونفس الجهاديين ونفس السلفيين الذين يتواجدون في مالي يعيشون في تونس أيضا'.
هكذا تتعالى أصوات تونسيّة مطالبة من فرنسا التدخّل المباشر في تونس على شاكلة تدخّلها في مالي بالطائرات والقنابل لمطاردة التونسيين على أرضهم.. فهل توجد هذه الفصيلة عندكم أيّها القرّاء من المحيط إلى الخليج. هل لديكم مواهب تحنّ إلى سطوة المستعمر الغاشم.؟! نرجو أن لا يكون في أرضنا العربيّة مواهب كثيرة على شاكلة 'المتردّية' مواهب مصباح التي تريد العودة بتونس الخضراء إلى ظلمة القهر والاستعمار بدعوى الخوف علينا من 'الظلاميين'، ونتمنّى لها السير على هدى مصباح عقلها، هي والقوى المعارضة الواقفة على أطلال فرنسا

في الربيع العربي هناك فئتان لايجرؤان علي رفع شعرات

في الربيع العربي هناك فئتان لايجرؤان علي رفع شعرات ضد اسرائيل ولكن ضد العرب "الثوار" انفسهم والإخوان المتأسلمين. وان عرف السبب ..بطل العجب

تونس المستعمرة

تونس المستعمرة

بعد أن شوّه برنامج 'المبعوث الخاص' على فضائيّة فرانس2، (قبل شهر) صورة تونس بمغالطات لا حصر لها، في بادرة استباقيّة أو تمهيديّة أو توليديّة للجريمة التي وقعت، كشفت عمليّة اغتيال بلعيد الموقف الفرنسيّ المعادي لثورة الشعب التونسيّ بشطب تونس من قائمة بلدان الربيع العربي، وكأنّ فرنسا حارسة لذلك الربيع او راعية له أو عاملة على إنجاحه، وهي التي ساندت بن علي إلى آخر رمق في نظامه. وفي سياق زلّة اللسان التي وقعت فيها قارئة الأخبار على فرانس 24 فوصفت تونس بالمستعمرة، تحدّث وزير الداخليّة الفرنسي إيمانيال فالس عن تونس وكأنّها مقاطعة تابعة لبلاده، فقال:'إنّها لم تعد مثالا للربيع العربيّ' وألحقها بقرار منه بالبلدان الظلاميّة التي تهدّد القيم الديمقراطيّة في تونس وفي حوض المتوسّط، وتجعل باريس في حالة انشغال وقلق. والأخطر من كلّ ذلك أنّه طمأن الصحفيّ من (إذاعة أوروبا الأولى) بأنّ 'فرنسا ستساعد القوى الديمقراطيّة' حتّى تعيد البلاد إلى الجادّة الصحيحة وتنقذ مسارها من الأخطار التي تهدّد استقرارها، فتونس سقطت في قبضة 'القوى الرجعيّة التي تشكّل خطرا على مكاسب النساء وتجبرهنّ على التحجّب' على حدّ قول هذا الوزير المتحامل، حمّال الحطب.
الصحفيّ الذي حاور الوزير حوّل تونس إلى بلد يعيش وضعا مشابها لمالي أو سوريا وتساءل عن مصير اللاجئين التونسيين الذين سيفرّون من الحرب أو الظلام أو الحجاب أو الخطر الداهم الذي قد يكون ديمقراطيّة وتحرّرا من كلّ أشكال الهيمنة السابقة التي كانت فرنسا حارسة لها، فقال الوزير مطمئنا للصحفيّ وللتونسيّين: 'فرنسا كانت ومازالت، أرض غوث وحماية'. كلام خطير كهذا، لم يغضب، وسائل إعلامنا الوطنيّة، فمرّ دون ضجيج يذكر، وأهملت ردّ وزير الخارجيّة الذي شاهدناه على الجزيرة فقط. وبنفس الإهمال، تجاهلت 'القوى الديمقراطية' ذلك التدخّل بصمت مطبق والسكوت من علامات الرضا. وكلّ ذلك يكشف مدى التنسيق بين فرنسا راعية الديمقراطية و'معارضتنا الوطنيّة التقدميّة الحداثيّة' التي تصلح دون غيرها لحكمنا وتطمع في الوصول إلى ذلك بواسطة النعوش الانتخابيّة والعروش الأجنبيّة.