Bassem Youssef, a devotee of Jon Stewart’s who satirized the extreme turmoil of Egyptian politics, has bowed out of his program, Al Bernameg, reinforcing the perception that the country is still far away from anything close to resembling a healthy political discourse. This news also comes on the heels of the newly elected military-general-turned-President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi officially taking the reigns as ruler of Egypt.
[Youssef] declined to specify who had brought pressure on the program, but his decision follows the election of field marshal Abdel Fatah al-Sisi as president, replacing the president he had ousted, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi.
The third season of Al Bernameg (The Program) had been scheduled to return last Friday following a mandatory hiatus during presidential elections to prevent influencing the vote, Time reports.
`The present climate in Egypt is not suitable for a political satire program,” he said Monday. “I’m tired of struggling and worrying about my safety and that of my family.”
In announcing his decision, Youssef denied that was buckling to pressure, saying, “Stopping the program sends a much stronger message than if it continued.”
Full Article: USA Today.
For his part, Jon took a moment to pay tribute to his friend and protégé:
While this is terrible news for anyone cheering on truly democratic reforms in the Middle East region, Youssef deserves a great deal of credit for trying to bring a Daily Show-esque program to a country that fostered the Arab Spring. We hope that the ending of Al Bernameg will not be the end of Youssef’s reign as the “Arab World’s Jon Stewart,” and that we will see more satire from him in the future.
Bassem Youssef Ends His Program, Citing Safety Concerns
Bassem Youssef, a devotee of Jon Stewart’s who satirized the extreme turmoil of Egyptian politics, has bowed out of his program, Al Bernameg, reinforcing the perception that the country is still far away from anything close to resembling a healthy political discourse. This news also comes on the heels of the newly elected military-general-turned-President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi officially taking the reigns as ruler of Egypt.
For his part, Jon took a moment to pay tribute to his friend and protégé:
While this is terrible news for anyone cheering on truly democratic reforms in the Middle East region, Youssef deserves a great deal of credit for trying to bring a Daily Show-esque program to a country that fostered the Arab Spring. We hope that the ending of Al Bernameg will not be the end of Youssef’s reign as the “Arab World’s Jon Stewart,” and that we will see more satire from him in the future.