海角大神

The newspaper bureau is closed. 鈥淧ass by聽tomorrow,鈥� reads one sign, slapped across the metal shutters. 鈥淐losed until further notice,鈥� reads another.

The building is not real 鈥� it appears in a cartoon published in an Egyptian daily newspaper, Al-Masry Al-Youm 鈥� but it may as well be.聽As popular strongman President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi completes his fifth month in office, many critics of Egypt's worsening human-rights record risk聽having their doors closed for good.

Egypt鈥檚 cartoonists have traditionally been among society's most searing political critics. Straddling the line between journalism and satire, they can express what others can鈥檛.聽鈥淭he cartoon is a weapon,鈥� says Anwar, the pen behind last week鈥檚 cartoon. 鈥淎ll artists have the gun - they just need to know when, where and whom to shoot.鈥�

Yet his trenchant image stood out for its rarity. After three years of revolutionary tumult, and the fall of two presidents, Egypt鈥檚 subversive cartoonists are mostly taking another tack.聽Gone are the irreverent depictions of the leader of the day. And dissenting聽media outlets, particularly those linked to Mr. Sisi鈥檚 Islamist predecessor, Mohamed Morsi, have been forcibly closed, or have ceased publication of their own accord, wary of voicing criticism of Egypt鈥檚 popular new leader.

鈥淭here are periods in history that are not suitable for serious criticism,鈥� says Douaa聽el聽Adel, another cartoonist at Al-Masry Al-Youm.聽鈥淵ou can criticize, but you must not bring down the system - these people who chant against the military regime don鈥檛 understand that the only option is the Muslim Brotherhood."听

Most media are firmly on board.聽On Oct. 26, leading newspaper editors convened to issue to a statement supporting 鈥渁ll measures taken by the state in combating terrorists and protecting national security." A week earlier, Sisi had called on Egyptians to rally in the face of terrorism following two militant attacks on soldiers in the restive North Sinai region left 33 dead. It was the deadliest day for the Egyptian army in decades.

There has been pushback. Over three hundred journalists signed their own pledge over the weekend, saying the editors鈥� statement 鈥渄oes not distinguish between fighting terrorism and initiating a new fascism."听

Sisi is hardly the first Egyptian leader seeking to neuter the news. For decades, successive dictators ensured that the media broadly supported the government and its policies. Mr. Morsi, Egypt鈥檚 first popularly elected leader, also wielded power as a blunt instrument against reporters, cartoonists, and artists. 聽

In 2012-13,聽Islamist lawyers went after those who depicted religious leaders in a manner they deemed offensive; a host of leading cartoonists, journalists and television presenters were saddled with lawsuits accusing them of insulting religion.

Bulwark against fundamentalism

Egypt鈥檚 new leadership, which came to power after a military coup, casts itself as the bulwark against a political trend that indulged Islamic fundamentalism and dreamed of turning the country into a theocracy. That tilt, and the popularity of the July 2013 coup, makes聽cartooning a perilous profession for those who like to poke fun at those in power.

Amr Selim, an elder statesman of Cairo's cartooning scene, says the space for dissent has shrunk.聽And like Ms. Adel, he sees his work as a patriotic duty: 鈥淣ot everything is perfect, but Egypt must move forward,鈥� he says.

It wasn鈥檛 always this way. In the repressive days of longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak, Mr. Selim was the first to break the informal ban on depicting the leader of the day, drawing him from behind.

鈥淎 lot of people say that cartoonists pushed the revolution forward because we broke taboos and showed another side to things,鈥� he says. During the 2011 uprising that unseated Mubarak, Selim says he was deeply moved to find protesters carrying his images on placards in Tahrir Square.

Things changed under the聽interim聽junta that followed. Amid a febrile atmosphere, cartoonists and journalists pushed the envelope, learning by trial and error what the authorities of the day deemed acceptable.聽The results were popular, often spreading across social media like wildfire.聽Some received threats for their criticism of the army.

Lawsuits for insulting religion

But under Morsi, the atmosphere started to change. Both the administration and its Muslim Brotherhood base were acutely sensitive to criticism. Adel聽and聽Selim soon聽faced lawsuits and threats over their cartoons.

鈥淏eing sued for insulting the president is one matter, but being accused of insulting religion is another,鈥� says Adel. 鈥淚 know I鈥檓 a good Muslim, and I wear the hijab. But I started to fear for my safety when I went out on the street.鈥�

Her most controversial cartoon depicted members of the ultraconservative Salafist movement using religious promises to encourage support for a constitution with an Islamist slant.

鈥淚 drew cartoons like this because I wanted to protect religion,鈥� Adel says. 鈥淚 do not believe it belongs in politics.鈥�

Since the fall of the Brotherhood, Adel and Selim have kept criticism to a minimum. They insist that they receive no instructions from the top, but concede that the threat of a backlash聽from Sisi聽loyalists聽remains a concern.聽Adel says she worries about being singled out for mockery by one of Egypt's popular television shock-jocks.

On Adel鈥檚 desk sits a recent cartoon that she particularly likes. It shows a harried looking journalist, being harangued by a pack of angry chat show hosts. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like they鈥檙e telling him what to think,鈥� she explains.

Pressure on media outlets

Pressure also comes from Egypt's feared security forces.聽Last month, the editor-in-chief and a reporter from Al-Masry Al-Youm鈥� were hauled before state security prosecutors and interrogated for fourteen hours after the paper declared it would publish investigation records into alleged fraud in the 2012 presidential election. A print run of the paper was also recently pulled over an interview it featured with an Egyptian spy.聽

Anwar says little has changed since 2011. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still the case that everyone is seen as being with one side, or against it,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd most people now are supporters of the regime.鈥�

鈥淭he only guarantee of freedom of speech, as I see it, is the existence of cartoonists."听

But just days later,聽the newspaper聽published his image of the shuttered office聽on the inside page.聽And聽on Thursday, it was Adel鈥檚 turn to send another shot across the bows.聽In her cartoon, a journalist edges along a tightrope labeled "the margin of freedom." Below, waits the hand of authority, its fingers poised to flick and send him spinning.