DISCLAIMER: If you happen to be super sensitive regarding the Egyptian Revolution or the elections, this article is not for you. So spare yourself getting annoyed and writing paragraph-long angry responses and just scroll away.
The Egyptian people have a knack for making jokes and having a laugh about dire situations, even when they are in the thick of it. After a little over a year of being somewhat of a ‘sawra spectator’ it has come to my attention that the best thing to come out of this entire revolution has been the jokes, (I told you this wasn’t for sawra-sensitive types). After watching the slow agonizing procedure in which Mohamed Morsi was declared Egypt’s new president, it felt like the world would stop spinning….BUT right on cue, the jokes started pouring in, business as usual apparently. All I could do was laugh at the bombardment of ikhwan-related jokes that came my way shortly after the announcement.
“All “ENTER” keys on keyboards will be redesigned to say “ENTER INSHALLAH”
“WEZARET EL KHARGEYA sayatem tagheer ismo le WEZARET EL MORASLAAT MA3 EL KOFFAAR”
“Two and a half hours have passed since Mohamed Morsi became president, only 3 years, 364 days, twenty two hours and thirty minutes left”
During the presidential elections, I came across a series of YouTube videos by a user named “Sha3r Sedry” (a joke in itself). What he did was take a couple of popular English pop/rock songs and lay down his own set of lyrics to the music…result? COMIC GENIUS…and he’s actually got flow.
Sha3r Sedry wrote a song about the ikhwan to LMFAO’s ‘Sorry For Party Rocking’; the video featured him in a buttoned up shirt, rolled up jeans and sneakers ‘a la ikhwan’, dancing ridiculously on the roof of a building. Besides his moves and bouncing belly, his lyrics were just as amusing (and true). “Ikhwan Party Rocking” is perhaps the best video of them all.
Next up is “Smoussa Criminal”, a jab at then presidential nominee Amr Moussa to the music of ‘Smooth Criminal’ by Michael Jackson. Sha3r Sedry appears in a suit, fedora and holding a cigar (depicting the sha3b’s impression of Mr. Moussa as a rich cigar-toting alcoholic). Sha3r Sedry’s pitiful moonwalk at the end of the video can be overlooked on the account of the hilarity of his videos.
“Highway to Abu Ismail” is a remix of AC/DC’s famous ‘Highway to Hell’, in which Sha3r Sedry cleverly pokes fun at perhaps the most ridiculous presidential hopeful of all, Sheikh Hazem Salah Abu Ismail. The video doesn’t feature any ridiculous dancing or outfits, this one is all about the words. Gems like “wala t2ool bikini, wala 7amalaat, el Sheikh Hazem hayghaty kol el setat” are what you can expect in this post.
“I Gotta Shafik” is the fourth and final installment in this hilarious set of YouTube videos, set to the music of Black Eyed Peas’ ‘I Gotta Feeling’. Sha3r Sedry attempts to recreate Ahmed Shafik’s signature look with his rimless glasses, pullover and wristwatch sticking out of his sleeve. He actually does a pretty good job, except for his bulging belly and thick black hair. The words in this post are perhaps the funniest of all, referencing Ahmed Shafik’s accomplishments in the army, his contribution to the airport and of course…his pullovers.
Check out these videos and have a laugh, because it has become quite clear that the joke is on us.
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqz3vVBtwBM (I Gotta Shafik)
2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obwcymd60ZI&feature=relmfu (Smoussa Criminal)
3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15tzDuLBKn8&feature=relmfu (Highway to Abu Ismail)
4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RNXYd7tSbo&feature=BFa&list=HL1340106016 (Ikhwan Party Rocking)