Bassem Youssef, Egypt’s top satirist, has returned to television for the first airing of his show since it was shut down three months ago. The heart surgeon turned comedian sent up the public and media for the adulation heaped on Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the army chief widely expected to be the country’s next president.  In taking aim at the frenzy of support Sisi, Youssef went further in his criticism of the army-backed political order than anyone else currently allowed on the airwaves. Pledging not to discuss political issues that got his popular show The Program taken off the air by private broadcaster CBC in November, Youssef showed that all topics in the country lead back to Sisi, who overthrew President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.  After attempting in a mock game show to explore subjects ranging from cooking to sports, Youssef asked with exasperation: “So what are we going to talk about?”  “There’s not another subject to talk about,” he concluded, adding that he would flip through Egyptian television to find another topic. This led to a montage of Egyptians of all ages and various backgrounds, from talk show hosts to belly dancers, expressing their love for Sisi. When the clip ended he stuck a fake gun to his temple.  Youssef first poked fun at Egyptians for idolising Sisi three months ago in the first episode of the show broadcast since Morsi’s ouster. The CBC channel then suspended his show, saying it had caused discontent and violated editorial policy. Since then a state crackdown on Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood has escalated and expanded to include other critics of the army-backed interim government. The Brotherhood was declared a terrorist organisation in December.  Several foreign journalists have been charged with aiding Egyptians belonging to a “terrorist organisation”, demonstrating that simply interviewing or interacting with members of the Brotherhood could earn reporters jail time.  State and private media speak with reverence about Sisi and cast anyone who dares critique him, including Youssef, a traitor.  Sisi is expected to announce his candidacy for president any day and to win by a landslide in an election due within six months. Many compare him to Gamal Abdel Nasser, the colonel who led a coup against the monarchy in 1952.  In Friday’s programme, broadcast by privately owned station MBC Masr, Youssef promised to continue his show. “We won’t fear anyone,” he said as the unmistakeable profile of Sisi appeared behind him. “It’s better we don’t say anything about him,” he said quickly. “That’s not fear, that’s respect.”  There was no need for political satire, he then told the audience, because “the world is stable and everything is stable in the country”.  In the seven months since Morsi’s ouster hundreds of his supporters have been killed by security forces and thousands have been jailed. Bombings and assassinations of security officials have spread from the Sinai Peninsula to cities including Cairo as the state struggles to tame militant violence. At least 250 police have been killed in militant attacks since Morsi was overthrown.  As in the episode broadcast before his show was pulled Youssef did not touch on the bloody events of recent months. “He again focused on extreme forms of admiration and over-exultation ... when it comes to Sisi but there is also a subtle criticism of Sisi himself,” the Egyptian political commentator Bassem Sabry said after the show.  Youssef, both inspired and praised by the US comedian Jon Stewart, rose to fame with a satirical online show after the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak. His popularity skyrocketed when his TV program took aim at Morsi, drawing the ire of his government. Youssef was investigated on allegations of insulting Islam and the president.  Critics of the Morsi government saw this as an attempt to stifle dissent. The charges were ultimately dropped. Egypt’s army-backed leaders now face even harsher criticism from local and international human rights groups.  Whether Youssef will be allowed to stay on air if he keeps up his sharp commentary was another topic of the broadcast. “Second episode?” Youssef asked before bursting into laughter.
Comedian whose show was cancelled three months ago returns on different TV station to poke fun at army-backed government