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Hi Dr. Bassem,

I'm an Algerian Arab living in Canada and I've been an avid follower of your shows, from your YouTube debut at the B+ Show to what became, for a short time, the most watched and popular satirical news program in the Arab world, to Amreeka Bil Arabi where you engage with Arab-Americans through comedy.

So here are my questions for you. I apologise if they're too many, please feel free to answer selectively.

1. After Morsi's removal, the radical shift in the vehemence of your satire suggested the regime was pressuring you into softening your criticism of the military and soon-to-be-president General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Recent telephone leaks corroborate this. Did you receive any similar pressures when the Muslim Brotherhood was in power? Did they have any real effect on the satirical extent of the show?

2. Many critics argue that you played an important role in the demise of Mohammad Morsi by ridiculing him and desacralizing his status as an elected president. You also endorsed the June 2013 protests. Now that a military dictatorship has been reinstated and the press' freedom has been obliterated, do you have any regrets? If you had to deliver your show again during Morsi's presidency, would you do it in the same way?

3. Do you plan a censorship-less YouTube comeback? You know, just like the good old times :)

4. Much of El Bernameg's appeal comes from its usage of the Egyptian colloquial dialect, with its colourful expressions and natural flow. I believe your production team is also amongst the first to introduce expletives in a widely watched show, which, for those unfamiliar with the conservatism of Egyptian society, is huge. It seems impossible to convey that kind of humour through Standard Arabic. People around the Arab World learn to read and write in Standard Arabic and yet barely use it in daily life. If anything, it may hinder their creative potential. Do you believe it would be beneficial to erect "Egyptian Arabic" from dialect to language and teach children to read and write in a language they use every day? I'm playing devil's advocate here and would hate to see Standard Arabic disappear but I would love to hear your input.

As a moderator of /r/arabs, I'm a staunch pan-Arabist and I'm very grateful for the opportunities you've given artists from different Arab countries to perform on your show. Amidst the political turmoil and cross-border enmities, you've effectively acted as a rallying force in the collective cultural scene.

Thank you once again and I wish you the best of luck for the future!

Thanks for the kind words and for taking the time to reply! Stay strong buddy.

There's a huge difference between colloquial Arabic dialects (what is actually spoken) and Modern Standard Arabic (what is written in the press and in official documents). As a simple example, here are ways to say "now" in different Arabic dialects:

Dialect	"Now"
Modern Standard Arabic	Al-Aan
Moroccan	Daba
Algerian	Dorka/Dork/Derwek
Tunisian/Libyan	Tawa
Egyptian	Delwa'ty
Levant (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine)	Halla
Iraqi	Hessa
Gulf	El-Heen

Over at /r/arabs, we've conducted a little experiment where the same story is told in different dialects. It was even featured in the Economist! You can read more about it here.

Would you call Standard Arabic a more formal variation of the language that would be used only in Holy/Formal documentation's and communication/writing?

Though all Arabs understand Standard Arabic since it is taught in school, it comes across as formal and unnatural. Imagine someone conversing with you in Shakespearian English.

Note however that a large part of the dialects (my guestimate is at least 90%) is rooted in classical Arabic. The main source of unintelligibility between dialects arises from pronunciation and grammatical structure. This is a fascinating topic but I'm not really disposed to address it adequately. It would be great to have a linguist chip in (pinging you /u/alpharabbit).

Sorry, I'm not in the best position to answer this since I've never lived in Egypt. You're better off asking this to an Egyptian or having a go at it on /r/egypt.