Jadaliyya

[Essam Sharaf and Army Generals. Cartoon by Carlos Lattuf. Image from Wikimedia Commons.]By Soraya Morayef 15 July 2012 Over the past sixteen months, much has been written about Egypt’s leaderless revolution, with many blaming its seeming sluggishness on the absence of a single figure to unite and represent the now fragmented revolutionary forces. To me, and perhaps others, Essam Sharaf was—however briefly—a potential candidate for this task. On 4 March 2011, right after his appointment as Egypt’s first post-revolution prime minister, Sharaf took the oath in Tahrir Square and spoke to thousands of protesters gathered in the area.

[Untitled. Illustration by Salma El Tarzi]by Wiam El-Tamami Jadaliyya, 30 July 2013 We were on the edge of Tahrir Square on Wednesday 3 July when the army made its announcement. The square burst into jubilation. A member of our team checked his smartphone. He shouted over the din of drumbeats and squealing vuvuzelas: “Morsi's gone. They've appointed the head of the constitutional court in his place and suspended the elections.” We watched the celebrations.