Dalia Ziada

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Dalia Ziada
داليا زيادة
Dalia Ziada outside her office in Cairo, Egypt
Born (1982-01-02) January 2, 1982 (age 42)
Cairo, Egypt
NationalityEgyptian
Education
Occupation(s)Writer, Activist
Known for
  • Author of "The Curious Case of the Three-Legged Wolf - Egypt: Military, Islamism, and Liberal Democracy"
  • Civil society movement in Egypt's 2011 revolution
  • Advocacy for liberal democratization in Egypt
Awards
  • Distinguished Alumni Award, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (2014)
  • Presidential Award for Citizenship and Public Service, Tufts University (2011)
  • Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Journalist Award (2010)

Dalia Ziada (in Arabic: داليا زيادة ; born 2 January 1982) is an Egyptian writer. She is the author of The Curious Case of the Three-Legged Wolf - Egypt: Military, Islamism, and Liberal Democracy and other internationally acclaimed non-fiction books on Middle East politics. She currently works as the Chairperson of the Liberal Democracy Institute, and executive director of MEEM Center for Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean Studies.[1][2][3]

Early life and education

Dalia Ziada was born in Cairo, Egypt. Her mother is an Arabic school teacher and her late father was a Lt.Cl. engineer in the Egyptian Armed Forces.[4][5] Ziada studied international security at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the United States.[3][6]

Career

Ziada is recognized for playing a central role in the civil society movement that initiated Egypt's 2011 revolution against the Mubarak regime. She was named by CNN as one of eight agents of change in the Middle East,[7] and by The Daily Beast as one of the most fearless women in the world for two years in a row.[8]

Ziada's story and struggle for liberal democratization in Egypt are profiled in American best-selling books such as Robin Wright's Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion across the Islamic World;[9] and Lily Eskelsen Garcia's Rabble Rousers: Fearless Fighters for Social Justice.[10][11]

Ziada worked as the executive director of Ibn Khaldun Center for Democratic Studies,[12] and as regional director for The American Islamic Congress.[13][14] Currently, she leads two think tanks: Liberal Democracy Institute, and MEEM Center for Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean Studies.[15] In addition, she is a board member of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the National Council for Women in Egypt.

Ziada regularly contributes pieces of analysis to prominent regional and international publications (in Arabic, English, and Turkish) on issues related to geopolitics and defense policy in the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and Africa. Since 2006, she has run a bilingual blog commenting on issues related to human rights, civil freedom, civil-military affairs, and international relations. In 2010, the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures awarded her its Euro-Mediterranean Journalist Award for her blog.[4]

2023 Hamas-Israel war

During the 2023 conflict between Hamas and Israel, Ziada expressed strong support for Israel's military actions against Hamas. Her public stance led to significant backlash in Egypt, resulting in threats to her safety and accusations of espionage and incitement of war crimes.[16] Ziada condemned Hamas for its attack on Israel on October 7, which resulted in significant civilian casualties and abductions. She argued that the Israeli military's response, aimed at dislodging Hamas from power in Gaza and securing the release of hostages, was justified.[16]

These remarks sparked a significant controversy, leading to her going into hiding due to safety concerns. Her stance was seen as particularly controversial in Egypt, where public opinion tends to be critical of Israel and sympathetic towards the Palestinian cause. Despite the threats and legal challenges she faced, Ziada maintained her position, advocating for peace and condemning the actions of Islamist organizations, including Hamas.[16]

Bibliography

Published books

  • Author, The Curious Case of the Three-Legged Wolf - Egypt: Military, Islamism, and Liberal Democracy; Liberal Democracy Institute 2019[17]
  • Co-author, Paradox of Repression and Nonviolent Movements; Syracuse University Press 2018[18]
  • Editor, The Status-quo of Civil Society and Liberal Democratization in the Arab World; Ibn Khaldun Center 2012[19]
  • Co-author, A Modern Narrative for Muslim Women in the Middle East; American Islamic Congress 2010[20]
  • Author, Lam Alef, a collection of poetry in Arabic; Maktoub Publishing 2009
  • Translator, Civil Rights and the Montgomery Story, comic book in Arabic; American Islamic Congress 2008[21][22]
  • Editor, Egypt, Whereto? The Future of Democratic Reform; Tharwa Foundation 2008[23]
  • Translator, Implacable Adversaries: Arab Governments and The Internet; Arab Network for Human Rights 2006[24]

Awards and honors

  • Received the Distinguished Alumni Award from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University (2014)
  • Selected by The Diplomatic Courier as one of the “99 Foreign Policy Leaders under 33 years old” (2013)
  • Named by Newsweek for two years in a row (2011-2012) as one of the world's “most influential” and most “fearless women,” consecutively
  • Named by CNN as one of Arab world's “eight agents of change” (2012)
  • Selected by The Daily Beast as one of the world's 17 bravest bloggers (2011)
  • Received Tufts University's Presidential Award for Citizenship and Public Service (2011)
  • Received Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Journalist Award for her blog (2010)

References

  1. ^ "Research Africa Reviews Vol. 4 No. 1, April 2020" (PDF). Liberal Democracy Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-07-12. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  2. ^ "Liberal Democracy Institute | مركز دراسات الديمقراطية الحرة". Liberal Democracy Institute. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  3. ^ a b "Dalia Ziada". WISE Muslim Women. June 2011. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  4. ^ a b Solayman, Hanan (October 27, 2010). "Egyptian blogger Dalia Ziada Winner of Anna Lindh Journalism Award: Keep fighting for women rights!". EMAJ Magazine. Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  5. ^ Ziada, Dalia (June 4, 2006). "Who is Dalia Ziada?". Dalia Ziada?. Archived from the original on April 29, 2007.
  6. ^ "Egyptian Political Activist Dalia Ziada To Speak, Teach Short Course | News Center | Allegheny College". Allegheny.edu. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  7. ^ Bohn, Lauren (3 February 2012). "Women and the Arab uprisings: 8 'agents of change' to follow". CNN. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  8. ^ "American Islamic Congress's Dalia Ziada on women's rights in Egypt, being honored by the Women in the World s". CNN. 8 March 2012. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  9. ^ Bazzi, Mohamad (2011-09-09). "Welcome to the Counter-Jihad". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  10. ^ "Dalia Ziada". Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  11. ^ "NEA President Lily Eskelsen García will be at Women and Children First for a book signing! – Region 67". Archived from the original on 2020-08-08. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  12. ^ "Dalia Ziada". www.wilsoncenter.org. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  13. ^ "AIC Egypt Director interviewed at 'Change Your World Cairo 2012' summit". American Islamic Congress. 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  14. ^ "Dalia Ziada Archives". American Islamic Congress. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  15. ^ "Dalia Ziada - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy". www.washingtoninstitute.org. Retrieved 2020-08-08.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ a b c Winer, Stuart (23 November 2023). "Egyptian author, a liberal activist, forced to flee for backing Israel over Hamas". The Times of Israel.
  17. ^ "Volume 4, Issue 1 – April 2020 – Research Africa بحوث افريقيا". Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  18. ^ "The Paradox of Repression and Nonviolent Movements". ICNC. 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  19. ^ "ابن خلدون يصدر تقريرًا سنويًا حول التحول الديمقراطى فى الوطن العربى فى 19 دولة". بوابة الأهرام (in Arabic). Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  20. ^ "A Modern Narrative for Muslim Women in the Middle East". www.wilsoncenter.org. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  21. ^ "Martin Luther King's Ideas Reverberate In Egypt". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  22. ^ Schneider, Nathan (2011-02-14). "MLK comic finds new life in Egypt". Waging Nonviolence. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  23. ^ ""مصر إلى أين؟" توثيق يرصد مستقبل الإصلاح". اليوم السابع. 2008-12-22. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  24. ^ "HRinfo releases report on Internet use in Arab world, detailing hostility of governments toward new media for free expression". IFEX. 2006-12-13. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
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