Famed Egyptian journalist Makram Mohammed dies at 85

Cairo: Veteran Egyptian journalist Mokram Mohammed, a vociferous critic of the Muslim Brotherhood, has died in a hospital in Cairo, his family said. He was 85.

Mohammed was the elected head of the Egyptian Syndicate of Journalists several times. In 2017, he became the chief of Egypt’s media regulator, the Supreme Council for Media, a post he held until June 2020.

The Egyptian government mourned Mohammed, who journalistic career spanned around six decades. “We have lost one of the Egyptian press landmarks, who devoted his pen during his long, dedicated career to defending the nation’s causes with all sincerity,” the government said in a statement. “With his pen, he contributed to society’s enlightenment against a lot of misleading fallacies,” it added.

Mohammed had survived an assassination bid in 1987 when militant assailants shot at his car in the Tahrir Square.

Famed journalists

A holder of a degree in philosophy, Mohammed initiated a career in journalism in late 1950s, becoming one of Egypt’s most famed journalists. He worked as a military correspondent in Yemen. He also served as a managing editor of Egypt’s flagship newspaper Al Ahram and chief editor of the illustrated weekly magazine Al Musawar for 24 years.

In recent years, he wrote a daily column in Al Ahram. He often lashed out at Islamist groups, including the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

His funeral is due to be held after the Friday prayers in Cairo.