A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Friday, October 5, 2012

Oops! Union Ad for Oct. 6 Congratulating "Muhammad Morsi, Commander of the Great October Victory"

Tomorrow is October 6, anniversary of Egypt's crossing of the Suez Canal in 1973 (and also the date of Anwar Sadat's assassination in 1981). October 6 is still Egypt's Military Day and I'll have more on that later, but this is too good not to lead with. Zeinobia's Egyptian Chronicles blog has a great example of what happens when you just keep re-using the same old template: a magazine ad (below) in which the Oil Workers Union congratulates "President Muhammad Morsi, Commander of the Great October Victory."

But he keeps telling us he's Egypt's first elected civilian President! And he didn't graduate from college till 1975, so he was pretty precocious to win a war in 1973!

Of course Anwar Sadat was President in 1973 and Husni Mubarak was Air Force Commander, so calling the President the "Commander of the Great October Victory" has served perfectly well for the past 39 years. Just change the name of the President and keep the rest of the ad intact ...

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