Welcome to Egypt’s Fake Weddings: Get High, Leave Lots of Cash
To modernize Egypt, President Sisi will have to find a way to tax the country's vast informal economy
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By the time the booze was drunk, the hashish smoked and the five belly dancers had concluded their gyrations, the groom had collected $16,000 – a “profitable wedding,” in his words.
His bride wasn’t there. No matter . “Some people hold weddings to celebrate, others do it as a business,” said the groom, Mohammed, a used-furniture salesman. For Mohammed, the party was one of an ongoing series of fundraising events put on by his community group, a collection of hundreds of friends and relatives. One day he gives money to a fellow member. On another he is the recipient.