Today, following an announcement that President Mubarak would hand over power to the army, Egyptians and global observers eagerly awaited Mubarak’s evening speech, only to find that he was late to enter. While waiting, a few Twitter users started up a hashtag, #ReasonsMubarakIsLate, to speculate on his delay and showcase that famous Egyptian sense of humor. Amira al Hussaini has another post over at Global Voices (I actually wrote mine for the site, thinking I was so clever, only to realize I’d duplicated the efforts of my lovely editor!)
Professor at American University of Cairo @Firas_Atraqchi joked:
Doing the polka with Amr Adib and Hassan Youssef #reasonsmubarakislate
Lebanese tweep Leila Saleh (@LSal92) quipped:
#ReasonsMubarakIsLate He’s rounding up Abbas, King Abdullah & Saudi king for a sleep over at Obama’s.
Miran Hosny (@MiranianDilemma) speculated:
Trying to get on the Oprah Show for one last emotional appeal and a hug #ReasonsMubarakIsLate
Laila El-Haddad, whose nom de plume is @GazaMom, jests:
Negotiating the terms of his farewell concert with Amr Diab #ReasonsMubarakIsLate
Popular Arab-American blog @KABOBfest couldn’t help but mock reports of Mubarak’s vast wealth:
You think it’s easy packing gold bullion bars into vintage Louis Vuitton luggage? #ReasonsMubarakIsLate
@SeifSalama, perhaps nodding to slow Internet speeds, joked:
Downloading Skype. #ReasonsMubarakIsLate
The hashtag got approval from activist Hossam El-Hamalawy (@3arabawy), who tweeted:
The hashtag #ReasonsMubarakIsLate is hilarious! :D