Assessing Egypt’s New Regime: BU’s El-Baz sees Morsi’s victory as a boon for democracy

By Susan Seligson

BU Today

June 27, 2012

The whole world is watching Egypt’s first freely elected leader in 60 years, U.S.-educated engineer Mohamed Morsi. Last week Morsi narrowly defeated (51.7 percent to 48 percent) former President Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, for the presidency. Morsi faces formidable challenges at home, where the military’s role remains unclear and unemployment is rampant, as well as scrutiny from the West and Israel. A longtime member of the officially banned Muslim Brotherhood, he became a candidate after the Brotherhood’s first choice, Khairat el-Shater, was disqualified. Greeting throngs of elated supporters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Sunday, Morsi proclaimed himself a leader for all Egyptians, vowing to protect the rights of women and children, Muslims and Christians, and on Monday he announced plans to appoint a woman as vice president.

Among those optimistic that a Morsi presidency can lead Egypt out of its economic turmoil and make it a model of moderate Islamic rule is Egyptian-born Farouk El-Baz, a College of Arts & Sciences research professor of archaeology and a College of Engineering research professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of the BU Center for Remote Sensing. El-Baz was science advisor to the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat from 1978 to 1981. “Egypt’s first free presidential election represents a game-changing event throughout the Arab world,” he said last month, on the eve of the historic election that empowered Egyptians for the first time in memory. BU Today checked in with El-Baz, who has family in Egypt and visits there several times a year, to get his assessment of Morsi’s victory and its potential impact on the average Egyptian, the future of Egypt’s peace with Israel, and the country’s foreign policy.

BU Today: What does Mohamed Morsi’s victory mean to the Egyptian people?

El-Baz: All is good; it’s the first free election in Egypt in 60 years, and the celebration in Tahrir Square will go on for days. For Morsi to be successful the military must no longer be voicing orders to a civilian president or an elected parliament.

The election was close. What accounts for so many voters choosing to support Shafiq, a candidate from Mubarak’s embattled regime?

There was a huge percentage of the population that was sick and tired of the messiness. There was no order in the street. After Mubarak’s resignation there were people saying, we won’t work tomorrow, or, we want to double our salaries. There were other irresponsible acts due to there being no government, and some interpreted the situation as a nation being without laws. People feared there would be a surge in crime and thought Egypt needed a tough leader to put everyone back in line. A vote for a man of Mubarak would be a vote for law and order.

Did the vote tallies reflect a class division?

Yes. The Shafiq supporters—the fear voters—were mostly factory owners, owners of small banks and other businesses. The people who voted for the Muslim Brotherhood were mostly from poorer sections of society, and they voted for the Brotherhood because it has catered to them for years. Long before the election, the Brotherhood collected alms, called zakat, from rich people and dispensed them to the poor. And so the poor would say, we will vote for those who came to help us.

Morsi has been called “lackluster.” What’s your take on him?

Well, he is lackluster. He’s a university professor, so what do you expect? He’s uppity. He doesn’t know how to speak to normal people, and he doesn’t know how to put his hand on their pulse. But there were enough men in the Muslim Brotherhood who never took their hands off the pulse. They will give him instruction.

Do you anticipate any major changes in foreign policy under Morsi?

Most likely very little is going to change. Egyptian foreign policy has run very well for years, keeping good relations with the East and the West, with China and Russia, keeping Egypt in the mainstream and not aligning with crazy people. Morsi made a few positive remarks about Iran and negative remarks about Israel, but such comments are all for street consumption.

What would Egypt be risking if it shifts allegiances or in any way alienates the West?

Egypt must hold on to western aid, and especially to tourism. A lot is at stake. Supposedly 10 percent of Egypt’s economy relies on tourism, but that just accounts for hotels and sites. I think it’s more like 30 percent when you consider all the people who sell things to tourists. Vast numbers of Egyptians live off tourism, and the new government must not endanger this at all.

Is unemployment one of the biggest challenges this administration faces?

There’s a clear understanding that one of the most important things to do is improve Egypt’s economy. There is huge unemployment—25 percent of college graduates have no jobs and no prospects.

Does Morsi’s victory pose any dilemmas for the Obama administration?

In real life, there is no challenge to Obama, and the Obama administration is very pleased with the result, and has said so. The reason for this is that the administration has been making calls on all of the Brotherhood leaders and sounding them out on the subjects of jihadists and threats to the peace with Israel. And all have given their assurances that none of these fears are grounded.

But the conservative Israeli press is voicing fears of the dismantling of the 1979 Camp David peace treaty, at the very least.

The Camp David Accords are nonmodifiable. In Israel you have two groups of people. There are the troublemakers and the fundamentalists, who are making a mountain out of a molehill, and they will continue to do that. But then there are all the pragmatists, who recognize that some day some accommodation must go to the Palestinians and resolve this situation for good. Even though I’m 75, I think that accommodation will happen in my lifetime. People will say, enough is enough, we have to befriend these people.

Could Morsi’s presidency serve to soften Western views of Islam?

The world may take this as a sign that moderate Islam can be a real winner, and economically viable. Egypt can be a role model, as it was in the Arab spring. And the change can, by default, ameliorate potential problems of political Islam and make it harder for Islamophobia to thrive.

Are Egypt’s non-Muslim citizens nervous about living under the rule of an Islamic Brotherhood leader?

This is something to watch. Egypt’s majority is Islam, so others must live with that. But a lot of Christians are saying, “Islamic rule is a nightmare for us; we must get out of here.” In spite of government and other reassurances, they say, “You don’t understand.” For Egypt to be stabilized, Morsi must take this into account, and he stated this in his first TV appearance: Egypt is for Egyptians of all positions, genders, and religions. Of course, the people will have to see acts, not just words.

The ruling military council is reportedly still claiming control over legislation and other aspects of government. What will the role of the military be in the new Egypt?

They are as confused about this as you are. It’s a big problem. The military wants to keep its budget out of civilian discussion, and keep its companies thriving. They are the greatest builders of roads in Egypt, and have free labor. They have to give this up. You can’t have a constitution that allows this. The military’s job is to protect the country; that is its role. You do as you’re told.

Link to article/video

 

Marking the End of a Chapter of Space Exploration

April 17, 2012

NECN: Greg Wayland

A moment in American history played itself out in the skies over the East Coast on Tuesday as the space shuttle Discovery took a piggy-back flight on top of a Boeing 747.The shuttle made the trip from Cape Canaveral, Fla. to Washington-Dulles International Airport.

Along the way, adoring crowds on Florida beaches and along the route looked up to catch a glimpse.

The shuttle was heading to a final resting place in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, marking the end of NASA’s shuttle program. Discovery will be towed to its museum home on Thursday.

It was a poignant sight as the shuttle Discovery was perched atop a jumbo jet passing over the nation’s capital on its final flight.

MIT Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics Jeff Hoffman donned a bright red T-shirt worn by the 35 original shuttle astronauts – seeing as he was one of them.

TFNG – as the shirt reads – stands for “Thirty-five New Guys,” and they even had a slogan: “We Deliver.”

“Actually, on our 30th anniversary, we printed this and we said, ‘We delivered,’” said Hoffman.

He said the shuttle program amassed enormous space knowledge, but it had run its course.

“Had we continued to fly the shuttle, that would preclude any development of new spacecraft,” said Hoffman. “And, frankly, I’d like to see NASA get back in the exploration business. Let’s go beyond Earth’s orbit.”

That’s fine, said Boston University scientist Farouk El-Baz, but not quite all of it.

“I think it is a very sad moment for the space program because it seems that we have just given up on space research and space missions as the United States of America,” said El-Baz.

El-Baz worked with NASA on the Apollo program. The problem, he said, is that the shuttle was originally conceived as a space transportation system.

“What we needed was not a space transportation system but a better launch facility and that can be improved all the time,” said El-Baz. “Because with the shuttle, we were stuck for 30 years with exactly the same launch vehicle and the same way of putting things into space, meaning no development, no new ideas, no initiatives.”

For his part, Hoffman sees promise in private sector space operations.

“That’s where the real hope for growth and economic development comes, and I think there’s a lot of possibilities,” said Hoffman. “It could be a very exciting decade ahead of us.”

February 17, 2012

Link to article and recording

The leader of Egypt’s largest Islamist party has rejected U.S. threats to cut aid over a spat about nonprofit groups operating in the country, saying they are out of line and could imperil the peace deal with Israel.

The comments by Mohammed Morsi, the leader of the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, were carried by the state news agency Thursday and were posted on the party Facebook page.

Egypt claims the four U.S. groups are fomenting protests against the country’s military rulers and sowing discord. Judges have referred 16 Americans, including six currently in Egypt and barred from traveling, and 27 others to criminal court. No date for the trial has been set yet.

This flap has raised questions over Egypt’s ability to transition to a full democracy.

But Egyptian-born Dr. Farouk El-Baz, who was an adviser to late Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat, says Egypt is experiencing normal post-revolution shockwaves. He’s confident that democracy will prevail.

By Brian Nitz

February 6, 2012

Can mega well bring peace to Sudan?

At least 300,000 people died and almost three million were displaced by the Darfur conflict in Sudan. Egyptian-American geologist Farouk El-Baz believes that limited access to water is one of the root causes of this conflict. Doctor El-Baz is director of Boston University’s center for remote sensing. He is known for his use of satellite images to search for water in the Mideast and North Africa. His work led to the discovery of a large underground water source in Egypt’s East Uweinat region near the borders with Libya, Chad and Sudan. This Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) contains over five million cubic feet of groundwater and is already bringing life and prosperity to a desolate part of the Eastern Sahara.

In 2007, Dr. El-Baz (left) used satellite-based ground penetrating radar to discover an ancient lake in the northern Darfur region of Sudan. At over 19,000 square miles this “Northern Darfur Mega-Lake” is vast– approximately the size of Lake Erie in North America.

Some time in recent geological history the lake slipped hundreds of meters beneath the desert sands and vanished from sight. Doctor El-Baz believes this underground lake can help restore peace to the Sudanese people so he proposed a 1000 wells project for Darfur.

The discovery of this lake brings hope, but Sudan’s complex problems will not disappear overnight. El Baz says it took more than a decade to convince the Egyptian government to dig wells in the NSAS region. It will take time to access this newly discovered water beneath Darfur.

It is also true that unequal access to natural resources can fuel conflict. How will Sudan assure that access to this life-giving resource is shared fairly amongst the people who need it? The Nile waters agreement provides a template for a legalistic solution but what are practicalities of pumping this deep water and distributing it across such a large region? Hugon Kowalski of UGO Architecture & Design proposed an award-winning solution in the form of water tower skyscrapers. These multi-use buildings were inspired by baobab trees and would host a water-cooled hospital, school and offices along with the water pumps and treatment plant.

Mr. Kowalski’s dreams are large and bold as they must be for such forward- thinking designers. It is important to refine such ideas to best meet regional needs and to carefully consider the impact of mining fossil water in this part of the world. But the people of Sudan may not have the luxury of time to wait for a perfect solution.

Link to article

The U.S. Department of the Interior and NASA presented the 2011 William T. Pecora awards to Alan H. Strahler, professor of geography and environment at Boston University, and to the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing at a ceremony Tuesday in Herndon, Va.

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WASHINGTON — NASA and the U.S. Department of the Interior presented the 2011 William T. Pecora awards to Alan H. Strahler, professor of geography and environment at Boston University, and to the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing at a ceremony Tuesday in Herndon, Va.

Strahler was recognized for his contributions to remote-sensing science, leadership and education, which have improved the fundamental understanding of the remote-sensing process and its applications for observing land surface properties. The Canada Centre for Remote Sensing received the group award for outstanding collaboration across national boundaries.

The awards were presented at the Pecora 18 Symposium by Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division in the Science Mission Directorate and Lori Caramanian, Department of the Interior’s deputy assistant secretary for water and science.

“Understanding of our home planet and predicting future global environmental changes require both individual technical efforts and worldwide collaborations,” Freilich said. “This year’s awards acknowledge just how important sustained, decades-long efforts by individuals and nations are to Earth science, and the benefits they can bring to the world.”

Strahler’s early theoretical contributions in describing the interactions of light with forest trees led to realistic and quantifiable approaches employed today in many areas of remote sensing. Strahler also advanced the field of image analysis by developing new methods for incorporating spatial information. His innovative methods for incorporating spatial information such as size, shape, and texture in the interpretation of remotely sensed image data were important in the coupling of remote sensing with geographic information systems.

The Canada Centre for Remote Sensing was recognized for advancing the understanding of Earth over a period of 40 years through the development of important technologies and innovative applications.

The centre contributed substantially to the success of global remote-sensing technology through partnerships with many different groups, domestically and internationally. As a national remote-sensing program, the centre served as a model for numerous other countries where visiting scientists learned advanced remote-sensing science and how to organize a national remote-sensing program.

NASA and the Department of the Interior present individual and group Pecora Awards to honor outstanding contributions in the field of remote sensing and its application to understanding Earth.

The award was established in 1974 to honor the memory of William T. Pecora, former director of the U.S. Geological Survey and undersecretary of the Department of the Interior. Pecora was influential in the establishment of the Landsat satellite program, which created a continuous, nearly 40-year record of Earth’s land areas.

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

- end -

Dr. El-Baz discusses the fall of Moammar Gadhafi’s government and his time spent with the defeated leader.

Link to article

Egypt Proving To Be A Leader In Digitally Preserving Culture

By SHEILA RILEY, FOR INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY Posted 07/29/2011 04:46 PM ET

Egypt’s complicated relationship with technology includes preservation and promotion of its heritage along with attempts to silence political opposition.

During the December and January protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the government clamped down on Internet access. Egyptians turned to social media to spread their message, and then-President Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down.

But the government has long sponsored numerous technological efforts on behalf of its culture.

“Since the advent of the Internet, the Egyptian government has been doing a very admirable job in preserving the ancient archaeological heritage,” said Farouk El-Baz, a Boston University academic.

Egyptian-born El-Baz directs the university’s Center for Remote Sensing, a research facility that uses technology to discover and preserve archaeological sites.

Cyberspace is home to archaeological maps, excavation reports, data, explorers’ narratives of Egypt, and images of ancient Egyptian, Islamic and Coptic art and artifacts.

El-Baz says a lot of digitization occurs in the basement of the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, which houses the world’s largest collection of pharaonic artifacts.

North of Cairo on the Mediterranean, an online treasure trove of Egyptian history and culture exists at the New Library of Alexandria, at bibalex.org. It includes a digital archive of some 10,000 maps and 3,500 papyri.

The library’s digitization of books include “Description de l’Egypte,” 20 volumes of observations compiled by French scholars and scientists during Napoleon Bonaparte’s 1798-1801 expedition.

Egyptophiles online also can visit Eternal Egypt, at eternalegypt.org. A joint effort of Egypt andIBM (IBM) in Arabic, French and English, it includes virtual tours of sites and museums, along with a 3D reconstruction of King Tut’s tomb.

Shama Kabani, president of Dallas-based Marketing Zen Group, got a firsthand look at Egypt’s use of technology to portray its complex history in June. She visited Cairo’s Smart Village, a technology cluster and business park. There, visitors can view Culturama — cultnat.org/general/Room/pages/Culturama.aspx — a nine-screen panorama of Egyptian history featuring an interactive timeline.

Kabani was in Cairo as part of a joint program of the U.S., Egypt and Denmark to train Egyptian entrepreneurs.

Culturama presents the big picture, say, the years King Tut ruled. And it presents the minutiae, which might be the hieroglyphics on the boy king’s royal chair.

It provides critical context that a visit to the pyramids, while fascinating, cannot, she says.

“Egyptian history is intricate and detailed,” Kabani said. “There’s also a lot of overlap with Islam and Christianity.”

Another advantage to Culturama is that it can incorporate new information, she says.

“It has the ability to evolve,” she said. “If new images or artifacts are discovered, they can be included easily in the timeline.”

There are also nongovernmental efforts to tell Egypt’s stories via technology. The American University in Cairo, which has a campus on Tahrir Square, runs one.

Called University on the Square, AUC’s project is putting together an online chronicle of the two-and-a-half weeks leading to the Mubarak regime’s overthrow. The website is aucegypt.edu/onthesquare/Pages/ots.aspx.

“We’re archiving the moment in Egypt when there was a large-scale desire for a democratic civil society,” said Bruce Ferguson, dean of humanities and social sciences.

Ferguson heads the AUC effort. The independent, English-language liberal arts university was established in 1919.

AUC’s goal is preservation.

“The purpose is to collect and present as much of the images and experiences of Tahrir Square during the revolution,” Ferguson said.

What happens with the materials later isn’t the main concern, he says.

“Future historians will do with it what they please,” he said. “We just want to capture as much of it as possible.”

University on the Square will include interviews, photographs and videos that describe the experiences of students, faculty, staff and alumni in Egypt and elsewhere.

“We don’t think that it just happened in Tahrir Square,” Ferguson said. “Because of the technology, we think that the revolution was experienced around the world.

“People are grateful for the opportunity to tell their story and for a place to preserve their images.”

Similar efforts are under way. The National Archives of Egypt will collect material for an online repository from the entire country, Ferguson says.

The Tahrir Square protests and their aftermath haven’t slowed government programs to preserve Egyptian culture, say Boston U’s El-Baz.

“One of the interesting effects of Tahrir Square is that Egypt became even more protective of its heritage,” El-Baz said.

Link to Recording

By Gary Niederhoff

July 25, 2011

Big Picture Science – Water the Chances: Farouk El-Baz