Egyptian heart surgeon and avowed Jon Stewart fan Bassem Youssef tells how the 2011 Cairo uprising galvanised him to speak out and poke fun at his country's politics
Early last month, a heart
surgeon gave a talk at Egypt's American University in
Cairo. As talks by cardiac specialists go, it was very well received. At the
end, the students
mobbed him – turning what should have been a brisk stroll to the car park into a
snail-paced plod.
Then again, Dr Bassem
Youssef is not just a heart surgeon. He doubles as a superstar satirist, the
most popular – and most unlikely – presenter on Egyptian television. On Friday
nights across the country, millions sit down to watch Youssef's piss-take of
Egyptian politics: Al Bernameg, or The Programme. Find a cafe at 11pm, and
chances are they'll be screening it. Crash a dinner party, and they'll probably
be talking about it. One well-known Cairo intellectual wrote
recently of a classy supper that ended early so the diners could watch
Youssef. For some, his show is one of the few concrete success stories of the
2011 uprising....."
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