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| Africa: North |
| Egypt attacks may mean new wave of terror, locals debate cause |
| 2005-05-08 |
| When a suicide bomber struck historic Khan El-Khalili bazaar April 7, killing three tourists and wounding 18, Egyptian officials called it an "individual act." Last weekend, authorities described two more attacks near two other tourist sites, the Egyptian Museum and the Citadel, as the work of "an isolated group." First, a terror suspect exploded a bomb, killing himself, while fleeing police. Less than an hour later, his sister and fiancee fired on a tourist bus, then killed themselves. Those attacks wounded four tourists and three Egyptians. The Interior Ministry quickly identified the perpetrators of all three incidents as a small cell from a poor section of Cairo. Yet many Egyptians wonder if this is the start of a new wave of terror. Others fear such attacks may stop Egypt's tentative steps toward democracy, a key element of U.S. plans to reform the region. "We must expect this terrorism ... from the Islamist groups," says Negad Borai, a human rights lawyer and democracy advocate. "We must look at the Islamic methodology, which encourages these actions. "But if you close the peaceful route for change, you will open the violent route for change." The latest attacks -- following the bombings of Sinai tourist resorts in October -- come amid unprecedented political activism, including weekly demonstrations for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak, who has ruled for 24 years, surprised political foes in January by supporting multi-candidate presidential elections this fall. But the road since then has been rocky. Last week, Egyptian authorities identified another wanted terrorist -- Mohammed Yousri Yassin, 17, brother of the man who blew himself up near the Egyptian Museum. That led to headlines as in a daily independent Arabic newspaper, Masri Al-Youm: "Will Mohammed Yousri appear with another bomb?" Nabil Sharif El-Din, a former state security officer who tracked Islamists for 15 years, offers an ominous answer: "There is a new generation of Islamists in Egypt," distinct from such traditional groups as Gama'a Islamiya or Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Both battled the Egyptian regime in the 1980s and '90s. Both denounced last month's attacks. Gama'a Islamiya led a bloody 1997 attack in Luxor that killed 58 tourists and six Egyptians. It declared a cease-fire after many of its leaders were imprisoned. Egyptian Islamic Jihad split apart in the 1990s. One of its leaders, Dr. Ayman Zawahiri, and his followers joined Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, while others remained in Egypt and called a truce. "This new generation is important because it is not an organization, and that makes it harder to deal with," says El-Din, now a journalist who runs a liberal Web site, ELAPH. Many Egyptians squarely blame the government for the latest attacks. Unemployment is estimated at 17 percent, 50 percent of Egyptians live on less than $2 a day, and a large percentage of the populace is young -- a potentially explosive mix. A newspaper published by the Al Ghad political party, headed by populist presidential candidate Ayman Nour, blames terrorism on political repression that has "wounded large parts of the Egyptian people." Other Egyptians point to the age of last month's attackers -- all in their teens or early 20s -- and their impoverished slum life as factors. "There are millions just like them, inhabiting the depths of poverty and hopelessness, suicidal and desperate," journalist Hani Shukrallah wrote in Al-Ahram Weekly. He said the "utter misery of their lives" is illustrated by the Yassin family's address "on Sharia Al-Magary -- or Sewage Street." "They have real hardships," says Dr. Bahgat Korany, who directs Middle Eastern studies at American University in Cairo. "Many of these people don't have jobs, and they can't make ends meet." He believes "a favorable context" to jihadist actions "allows more people to come together in this way." Increased terrorism would further damage the economy, especially the vital tourism sector. In 2004, Egypt collected $6.5 billion from a record 8.1 million tourists; tourism dollars earned at historic landmarks are the only income for millions of Egyptians. Attacking that industry was a prime Islamist tactic of the '90s, aimed at weakening the government and agitating tourism workers. A year after the Luxor massacre, tour guides sat on near-empty Nile cruise ships, begging this journalist to encourage tourists to return. So far, the impact of recent attacks is unclear. Several European tourism companies are putting Cairo tours on hold but still sending tourists to the Sinai. Many Cairenes were surprised that the two women involved in last weekend's tourist bus attack were completely veiled in black, including the face veil or niqab. After firing on the bus, one woman shot her companion in the head before killing herself. Niqab-clad women often unveil only in front of husbands or family, and frequently pass through security checks untouched. Now, pressure to search niqab-clad women is likely, and "this could lead to more friction and lack of trust," Korany says. Although other women have participated in terror attacks, this was the first instance of women committing suicide here, according to El-Din, the former terrorist-hunter. Cairo's press called the incidents "suicide attacks," unlike terrorism in Iraq or Israel, which it usually labels as acts of "martyrdom." El-Din blames such media "incitement" for helping to create hostility toward the United States and Israel while diverting public attention from domestic problems. "The government loves America in the shadows, but not during the day," he says. "They don't mind taking the money from America but can't have America leading the political reforms. "The media say they love the continuing 'martyrdom' operations in Iraq and in Palestine. ... So why can't there be 'martyrs' in Egypt?" he asks derisively. He sees "no difference between what happens in the heart of Cairo and what Zarqawi does in Iraq." Shukrallah, the editorial writer, blames the political and intellectual classes of the government as well as the opposition for contributing "to the Yassins' murderous choices by waxing poetic or rationalizing away the equally murderous choices of bin Laden and the video-butchers of Iraq." He accuses both of leaving "millions of young Egyptians prey to the Internet-disseminated drivel of militant Islamism." "The media says the problem is America, the problem is Israel, Iraq," says El-Din. "No, the problem is here in Egypt." The government-sponsored National Council on Human Rights recently reported cases of torture in prisons or police stations -- a contention of independent human-rights groups for years -- and warned some people turn to terrorism as a result. Other government critics suggest the mastermind behind April's attacks was avenging a cousin's death in police custody. Meanwhile, police made hundreds of arrests in the attackers' slum neighborhood. Korany says Mubarak's government is divided between reformers and proponents of the status quo. The recent attacks will reinforce the latter, he predicts, but "not stop those who push for reform." Some observers say the attacks, and the protests for political change, should be a wake-up call for the government to solve Egypt's problems. Last week, however, police arrested more than 200 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, including spokesman Dr. Essam el-Erian, during demonstrations throughout the country. The Al Ghad party claims police attacked its presidential candidate and his supporters 50 miles north of Cairo, killing one and injuring 20. If the government does not change such tactics, El-Din predicts more terrorist attacks "and maybe lots more people will die." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 Insh'allah. What happens is as Allah wills it...like losing all those wars to Israel. ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-05-08 15:42 |