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Attacking the Israeli Embassy in Egypt Reveals Much Deeper Problem
By Tawfik Hamid
www.tawfikhamid.com
Last Friday saw some of the worst violence in Egypt since Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president, was ousted.
Hundreds of Egyptian protesters broke into the building housing Israel's embassy in Cairo, destroying meters of concrete wall outside the embassy. Some of the protesters managed to get into the building, taking down the Israeli flag and throwing the Embassy documents out of the window.
The Israeli ambassador, his family and many of the embassy staff were taken out of the country by an Israeli military aircraft.
Clashes with the Egyptian police forces ended in three people dead, dozens arrested and more than 1,000 injured.
This attack on the Israeli embassy revealed a very deep and complex problem.
The main underlying factor that led to such a barbaric attack on the Israeli embassy happened few weeks ago when a young Egyptian named Ahmed el-Shahat climbed 13 floors in a tall building to reach the Israeli Embassy, removing its blue-and-white flag and raising the Egyptian banner in its place. The descending climber was celebrated as a hero by the huge crowd who burnt the Israeli Flag in a barbaric manner. The normal response to this act ought to be persecuting El-Shahat by the legal authorities in the country for attacking a foreign Embassy. Instead, the response in Egypt was as follows:
1- El-Shahat was treated as a hero by many Egyptian newspapers and magazines.
If this was the reaction that occurred to a criminal as a response to destroying the Israeli flag, should we then be surprised to witness more violent attacks on the Israeli Embassy- as the one that occurred last Friday?
If El-Shahat was persecuted and treated as criminal, the latter attack on the Israeli Embassy would not probably have occurred. The message that was conveyed to the Egyptian youth was simply: Attack the Israeli embassy to become a hero.
On the positive side, it seems that the Egyptian government has learnt the lesson. The government has started legally prosecuting those who attacked the embassy last Friday and vowed tough measures against the protestors who attacked the embassy. This is a good step; however, it is insufficient toprevent similar attacks in the future. The following is needed to avoid this serious problem in the future: The Egyptian Government MUST
1- Prosecute El-Shahat for attacking the Embassy and removing the Israeli flag on Aug 21. 2- Start a media campaign to teach the public the economic benefits that Egypt gained because of the peace treaty with Israel. 3- Explain to the public the negative consequences for Egypt if it ended the peace treaty with Israel (such as the loss of Sinai). 4- Teach the Egyptian students in public schools the Peace Treaty with Israel so that they understand its value and importance. 5- Encourage the Islamic Scholars to teach the public how breaking the treaties with others is against Islam {Quran 17:34 You MUST respect your treaties as respecting treaties is a very serious obligation}.
In brief, the recent attack on the Israeli Embassy in Cairo illustrates how ignoring a problem at an early stage can make it much more complicated. Had the Egyptian government reacted strongly against the 'Spider man' and treated him as a criminal -NOT a hero-, the attack of last Friday would not probably have happened.
[i] The Prime Minster of Egypt need to resign for doing such a catastrophic mistake. |
ABC's Test for Radical Islam |
The time has come to define Radical Islam. Please ask your local mosque, Islamic Shool, and Islamic organization to clearly, unambiguously and publically denounce the following concepts:
Apostates killing
Beating women and stoning them to death for adultery.
Calling Jews pigs and monkeys.
Declaring war on Non Muslims to spread Islam after offering Non Muslims three options - subjugate to Islam, pay Jizia (a humiliating tax), or be killed.
Enslavement of Other Human Beings.
Fighting and killing Jews before the "End of Days".
Gay Discrimination and Hostility. A true moderate person or organization must be able to immediately denounce the above concepts and stand publicly and unambiguously against them. The Muslim world can not expect the world to consider Islam peaceful as long as they teach and promote such tenets. A clear stand is needed from leading Islamic Scholars all over the world against such teachings. |
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Discliamer: The information represented in this newsletter represents only the personal views and opinions of Dr. Tawfik Hamid, and not the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. |
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| Dr. Tawfik Hamid |
Dr. Tawfik Hamid
(aka Tarek Abdelhamid), is an Islamic thinker and reformer, and one time Islamic extremist from Egypt. He was a member of a terrorist Islamic organization JI with Dr. Ayman Al-Zawaherri who became later on the second in command of Al-Qaeda. Dr. Hamid is currently a Senior Fellow and Chair of the study of Islamic Radicalism at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. |
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