A6 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012 Last Days of the Pharaoh by Bradley Hope, Kindle SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012 Single: Amazon, 2012. 48pp; Available through REGION Amazon’s cloud reader or on the Kindle/IPad/etc ‘Last Pharaoh’s’ last stand Bradley Hope, a US journalist based in Cairo who has just published Last Days of the Pharaoh, examining Egypt’s 2011 uprising, describes to Times of Oman some of the interesting facets of his e-book sojourn MEHRE ALAM [email protected] MUSCAT: This is the story of how Egypt’s ‘last Pharaoh’ fell. A lot has already been written about it. But this one throws light on some of the untold anecdotes of those 18 fateful days that reshaped Egypt’s history, and indeed the region’s. Egypt-based US journalist Bradley Hope, who has weaved his tale based on interviews with senior officials and political leaders close to Hosni Mubarak, believes that sometimes one can get to the truth — of what Bradley Hope (centre) in Libya last year, where he was reporting on the happened during a big event — only fall of Muammar Gaddafi. – Supplied picture after some time has passed by. “The pace of news in the region (Middle East) has been so fast over years as a police reporter and feature very small in the scheme of things. I the last year-and-a-half that there writer for the New York Sun before think most Egyptians are willing to hasn’t been a lot of time for look- joining an Abu Dhabi publication. give President Mursi some time to ing closer at what happened in the “The key thing about Badrawi is he prove himself before they take to the countries of the Arab Spring,” Hope, was a reformer within the NDP, not streets again.” a New York University graduate, told someone criticising it from the out- Recalling some of the most telling Times of Oman. side. His philosophy was that change anecdotes on Mubarak that come No wonder that while reporting on could come from within the party forth from his long interviews, Hope Egypt’s transition, he found himself and I am not sure that was actually said Badrawi’s dramatic and frank constantly wondering what exactly possible, considering the NDP’s long discussions with Mubarak stand happened during those 18 days, and history and the dominance of the out the most during those 18 days, whether the people at the helm were old guard who were involved since particularly on February 9, when he completely corrupt, completely de- the 1970s. watched the president realise that lusional, or a mixture of the two? “I think it is fair to say there was a his regime was finally at its end. “Many of the NDP (Mubarak’s flaw in thinking the party could be re- “But my favourite person in the National Democratic Party) officials formed from within. What Mubarak e-book is Mohammed Ashoub, who and others who were close to the truly needed to do — and it would was Mubarak’s make-up artist. He president (Mubarak) were scared of have been good if he did this in the provided a lot of detail about what speaking in those first months, but 18 1980s — was to reform the political Mubarak was like — his love for his months later they began feeling more system so that there were periodic grandson; how he was exhausted and comfortable about giving their side rotations of power and room for real retreating from day-to-day affairs. of the story,” said Hope, while ear- political parties to exist and contest It’s important to render dictators as marking some of the key challenges seats in parliament.” human beings — with all their weak- he faced in his writing sojourn. nesses and strengths — to under- “The biggest challenge was first to Lack of vision stand historic events. convince these former top NDP of- Mubarak’s greatest failure, accord- “It doesn’t mean you have to like ficials to speak, but after that it was ing to Hope, was his lack of vision Mubarak and justify his decisions, checking and cross-referencing their for Egypt, both politically and eco- but it complicates an understanding accounts for accuracy. Some of the nomically. The consequences, Hope of how he ruled Egypt. It would be discussions they had can’t be easily reiterates, are felt everyday in Egypt, healthy for Egypt to stop seeing eve- confirmed because the other people where people struggle to get by and rything in terms of black and white involved are in prison — or in the most political parties are still very — for the purposes of reconciliation case of Omar Suleiman, the former inexperienced because they are and moving on.” spy chief of Egypt, dead,” said the so new. “Even if it turned out that Finally, as a US journalist based in scribe who moved to Cairo in April Mubarak and his family had stolen the Middle East, would he acknowl- 2011 to cover North Africa as a for- no funds from Egypt during the last edge the existence of this “percep- eign correspondent. several decades, his lack of reforms tion deficit” in the West when it Among the most notable inter- represent enough of a crime,” rea- comes to the portrayal of the ground views in the book is the one with sons the 28-year-old author, who situation here in this region? Hossam Badrawi, the last secretary- is the co-founder of the New York “I think some Americans have a general of the then-ruling NDP, who Moon, an experimental publication nuanced view of the Middle East. was appointed during the 18-day up- based in New York. The US has many great newspapers, rising and failed to save the regime. As a journalist based in Cairo, how with very talented and knowledge- Do you think Badrawi could have does he rate current Egyptian Presi- able foreign correspondents, so changed the history of Egypt if he dent Mohamed Mursi’s performance there is a lot of coverage of events had been able to convince Mubarak so far? Does he see this year’s August in the region. Sometimes the cover- of the need to announce political protests as an ominous sign of the age is very US-centric, but often it is reforms and handing over power, things to come? quite excellent. immediately? “It is hard to make an assessment “But, at the same time, few Ameri- “Badrawi ultimately failed to con- of a president this far into his term. cans travel to the Middle East and vince the president — and his close He obviously has a vision for Egypt, I think there is a lot of room for im- advisors — to follow his advice. We which is laid out in the Muslim provement when it comes to under- can never know what would have Brotherhood’s Renaissance Project. standing the culture, political history happened if Mubarak had followed But it will take us several years to and religious life in these parts. his plan completely, but it would determine whether those ideas were “I think the inverse is also true. have certainly made it possible for a what Egypt needed at this sensitive Many people in the Middle East softer exit for the Mubarak family,” moment in its history. don’t fully understand the US in all replied Hope, who worked for two “The protests last month were its intricacies.”.