Americans are not the
terrorists target
Responding to what has been published in the last two Caravan issues concerning
the AUC security after Luxor’s crime, some points have to be crystal clear.
In the last issue I read an article by Ms Nagwa Shoeb, the director of
PR, whom I remarkably appreciate her opinion concerning that accident,
and the bright way she expressed the common AUCian feelings and thoughts
about it. In the issue before the last one, the warning of the acting president
to the students was published. For that warning, I found myself obliged
to write a comment.
Away of the current dilemma whether it is the "strict Islamic
fundamentalist groups." (as the BBC claims), or the "external forces that
aim to hinder Egypt from taking a leading role in the Middle East" (as
the Government journalists claim), are the one that committed that bloody
crime, the situation is still nebulous.
The Egyptians are willing to believe in the latter opinion.
We have a very good tendency to think that anything happens in Egypt is
result of an OUTSIDE conspiracy. We, thus, became the masters of
the Conspiracy theory. I read once in Al-Ahram an article by Dr Saad El-Din
Ibrahim concerning the death of princess Diana, and Emad El-Fayed. Dr Ibrahim
found that three quarters of the people he questioned believed in a conspiracy.
Imagine that we tried to repeat this survey concerning the crime of Luxor,
we will find people claiming it is Iran, Sudan, Afghanistan, Israel, USA,
Qatar, or Britain, as some Government newspapers are trying to say these
days. However, all this is without a single evidence. Perhaps the planning,
funding, ideas, training..etc, is from outside, however we should know
that there is something WRONG in us that encourages them to attack
us.
The accident was nothing more than a security "buffoonery,"
according to the President description. It is merely an incompetence of
the Egyptian police. The real thing I want to draw attention to is that
this can happen everywhere. It happened before in the World trade center
in NY, in a federal building in Oklahoma, the assassination of JFK in Dallas,
the assassination of Rabin in Tel Aviv, the toxic gases in Tokyo underground,
the collective massacres in Algeria, the Red Brigades attacks in Italy,
and more.
Based on all the evidences I have mentioned, there is not a
single reason for increasing panic among the AUCians. That what the AUC
administration aims to, but this not what the American embassy aims to.
I found in my Email, and all the AUCians who have Emails, an Email from
the American embassy saying that the American institutions are in danger.
Based on recorded data (Check www.cnn.com), among all the terrorists' attacks
in Egypt, only one victim was American, and she was shot by that wacko
called Saber who committed El-Tahrir crime. This warning led one of my
American friends to leave Egypt back to the states.
Assume that that warning, as I call it, was based on intelligent
data. Then where had this report been since the start of the terrorists'
attacks in Egypt since 1955, when Nasser was shot in Alexandria. I think
that the terrorists would not say, between day and night, "Ok Guys, the
target now is America. They are "Kafara" (dis-believers), and they
are biased against Islam. Let’s start the Jihad boys."
In conclusion, terrorism is a crime that does not attack anybody
in specific. It kills randomly. It has nothing to do with religion, either
in Egypt, USA, Italy, Spain, Japan, and anywhere. There is no need to give
warnings without any evidence. We have a famous Egyptian proverb that says:
"It is better for us that the catastrophe happens instead of waiting
for it."
Published in the Caravan, Fall'98.
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