Egyptian Press Reactions to the Sharm Al-Sheikh Bombings

The July 23, 2005 bombings at Sharm Al-Sheikh prompted many reactions in the Egyptian media. [1] Various causes were cited: incitement in Egyptian mosques and media, the Middle East policy of the U.S. and Israel, alleged Mossad involvement in the attacks, Egyptian President Mubarak's policy, and the Egyptian security apparatuses' treatment of the Sinai population.

The following are excerpts from articles and columns in the Egyptian press on the bombings:

Sheikh Al-Azhar Condemns Martyrdom Attacks, "Except Resistance Operations in Palestine"

The Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Dr. Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, released a communiqué condemning the attacks. In an interview to the Lebanese daily Sada Al-Balad he clarified his position on martyrdom operations: "[He] who kills a soul without just cause, it is as if he has killed all humanity' – except for those who carry out the resistance operations in Palestine. As for [the martyrdom operations] in Egypt and Iraq – they are considered suicide."

In Tantawi's view, the Sharm Al-Sheikh bombings "are not Jihad, because [the meaning] of Jihad is to fight an enemy, and not a believer – whom Allah forbids to kill.

"The three monotheistic religions respect human rights and the right to life. The Islamic Shari'a forbids killing innocent civilians, women, and children, whether Muslims or not. As long as they live among us in brotherhood and peace, Allah forbids us to forfeit their blood." [2]

Terrorism is the Result of Incitement in Egypt's Mosques and Media

While the leading government paper Al-Ahram focused on the goals of the terrorists, [3] other columnists focused on the causes.

Abd Al-Qadr Shahib, the new editor of the Egyptian government weekly Al-Musawar, claimed that the extremism of the Sharm Al-Sheikh terrorists was the result of incitement in Egyptian society: "There are talking Satans among us, who, by their statements, incite the youth to terrorism, so that they will turn into a group of murderers in the name of Islam... There is no dispute that those who blew themselves up are not a satanic plant that suddenly appeared, but rather are the product of a society with extremist thoughts that are easy to control, and [it is also easy] to turn those with such thoughts into terrorists willing to blow themselves up in order to damage residents and the country.

"Thus, it would be naïve to think that the Sharm Al-Sheikh crime is retaliation for the [arbitrary] arrests of Sinai residents by the police… These [youths] became extremists because of the ongoing incitement to extremism that we have permitted in our society. Unfortunately, this incitement still continues, from the mosque pulpits, in the press, on television and radio." [4]

In another article, columnist Dr. Abd Al-Ati Muhammad wrote: "We have allowed... anyone who so desires to sow perverted thoughts about Islam, while the writers, thinkers, decent people and the men of Al-Azhar and its respectable institutions do not find the appropriate opportunity to lead the shaping of Islamic thought. It is time to restore to this institution its pioneering leadership, without delay." [5]

In contrast, Magdi Salem, the editor of the religious government daily Aqidati, rejected the claim that the religious establishment was inciting to violence and terror: "Those who exploited what happened at Sharm Al-Sheikh, in order to indiscriminately attack the clerics and activists, are, in my opinion, no different from those who burned the mosques in Europe in response to the London attacks.

"Al-Azhar's clerics and activists advocate only the wasatiyya [the mainstream in Islam] that is tolerant, [opposes] harming peaceful people, and differentiates between self-defense and aggression – since killing a single soul is like killing the entire world…" [6]

The Terrorism is the Result of the West's Middle East Policy

Political scientist Dr. Amira Al-Shinwani wrote: "Terrorism will be eliminated by eliminating its causes. There is no doubt that we do not justify terrorism in any way, shape, or form, or the killing of civilians of any religion or nationality. [But] terrorists see the strong countries using the same kind of terrorism or even worse – by killing people, and by destroying towns and villages, as is the case in Afghanistan and Iraq, and by the elimination the Arab people on Palestinian lands by Israel.

"[This is happening] with the encouragement of the world's strongest countries, which are expected to spread justice and peace among peoples and countries. [The terrorists] see that the international community does not intervene, abandoning the Muslims in all countries to massacres – not only in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places, but also in the Christian city of Srebrenica, Bosnia…

"Terrorism, from London to Sharm Al-Sheikh, will never be eliminated except by abandoning the policy of oppression and double standards, and by making justice prevail among peoples..." [7]

A similar argument was voiced by Egyptian opposition circles. The Muslim Brotherhood issued a communiqué condemning the attacks, while insisting that what created the culture of violence and terrorism is "the acts of international tyranny, aggression against the peoples, and wars in which the forces of imperialism attacked most of the world's peoples..." [8]

Columnists and Experts: Israel May Be Behind the Attacks

Mursi 'Atallah, editor of the government evening paper Al-Ahram Al-Masai, wrote: "I am not ruling out the possibility that some of the terror groups are, consciously or unconsciously, acting for the [foreign] intelligence apparatuses.

"A short time ago, the Sharon government held a reception for Mossad agents who had carried out a number of terrorist attacks in Cairo in 1954, and had attributed them to extremist Egyptian Islamic organizations. [That] was before the truth came out, and sparked a scandal that took Israel by storm, becoming known as 'the Lavon affair.'" [9]

The editor-in-chief of the opposition weekly Al-Usbu', Mustafa Bakri, published an investigation into the Sharm Al-Sheikh attacks, and claimed that the Mossad had an understanding with terror organizations, according to which the latter would abduct Egypt's Ambassador to Iraq Ihab Al-Sharif for the Mossad, and in exchange the Mossad would help them carry out the Sharm Al-Sheikh attacks.

Bakri wrote: "The Mossad wanted to catch Ambassador Ihab Al-Sharif… and to interrogate him, because he had deceived top Israeli officials and had managed to obtain dangerous information connected to Israeli military armament and some of the Israeli nuclear program's new developments…

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"The Mossad branch in Baghdad was ordered to use its relations with one of the terrorist organizations whose operatives had entered Iraq from one of the neighboring countries, and to draw up a plan to abduct and interrogate Al-Sharif. The information indicates that the Israeli Mossad in Iraq has strong connections to this dubious group, which seeks to spark sectarian civil war in Iraq, and that the relations between them are based on interests – the Israelis can give these groups arms and explosives, and in exchange they will receive a promise that Israeli interests, both international and regional, will not be harmed by them…"

According to the investigation, the terrorist group's operatives agreed "to carry out the [abduction] operation, and in exchange 'Israel' would help them, as best it could, to carry out a large terrorist operation within Egypt, particularly in the Sharm Al-Sheikh region…

"At first, the Israelis hesitated, because they thought that Sharm Al-Sheikh would be full of a large number of Israelis, who might die in this operation. The Mossad leadership suggested that the operation be in Cairo instead of Sharm Al-Sheikh, but the agents who belong to the terrorist organization in Iraq were opposed to this idea, and insisted that the operation be carried out at Sharm Al-Sheikh."

The investigation further stated that "'Israel' had facilitated the entrance [into Egypt] of some terrorists agents... via its border with Egypt, and had also facilitated the entrance of cars, and provided over a ton of explosives, that were later proven to be identical to the explosives used in the operation at Taba [in October 2004]. [Similarly], it was agreed with some local activists in Egypt that [the latter] would carry out this operation... The Mossad took complete control of this operation, in exchange for obtaining the greatest booty – the abducted Egyptian ambassador…

"In the final planning stage supervised by the Mossad agents, and after it became certain that all Israelis were complying with warnings not to go to Sharm Al-Sheikh, they focused on killing as many Egyptians and foreign tourists as possible. This is because 'Israel' thought that the operation would serve Israeli goals, since the damage to Egypt's tourism and the undermining of its stability would compel it to capitulate completely to Israeli demands.

"It should be assumed that after the success of this operation, the abducted Egyptian ambassador would be handed over to the Mossad agents in Iraq so that they could interrogate him. If Israel were to issue an order to execute him, it would hand the ambassador back to the group that abducted him [for them] to execute him in Iraq, and [either] the body of the Egyptian ambassador or the act of killing him would appear immediately on videocassette. These things would likely solve the riddle completely." [10]

The possibility of Mossad complicity was also raised by General Salah Al-Din Salim, advisor to the National Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Cairo: "In the initial stages of the terror attacks, it is difficult to determine who carried them out. But it is easy to prove who are the interested parties who stand behind them and who could benefit from them. Foremost is Israel, which is making efforts to embarrass the Egyptian leadership, to set unfair conditions for completing its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and to eliminate the national resistance, whose activity is defined by both Israel and the U.S. as extremist and terrorist, and [one that needs] to be eliminated." According to Salim, Israel aspires, by means of terrorist attacks, "to upset the military security arrangements with Egypt, particularly the deployment of the Border Guards units along the international border between Egypt and Israel…" [11]

Similar statements were also made by General Osama Halawa, attorney for Egypt's Supreme Court of Appeals and former president of the Police Court: "The Israeli Mossad is capable of playing this role in order to thwart the peace process and to harm Egypt's security and economic interests – particularly tourism in the Sinai… All the circumstances prove that an intelligence apparatus stands stood behind this [terror] organization [which carried out the attack]. [Therefore], the Egyptian security [apparatus] must be more alert, and must – before [checking] Egyptian [civilians] – pay attention to the security check procedures of foreigners, particularly the Israelis, in order to prevent a recurrence of such terror acts." [12]

In contrast, Nabil Omar, columnist for the government daily Al-Ahram, wrote that the terrorist attacks were a result of a crisis in Muslim society, and not related to any Israeli involvement. In an article titled "The Mossad and Jihad!" he wrote: "We must admit that our religious culture is in a crisis characterized by violence and by suicides against other [people], and that is known only in the Islamic culture and the Japanese – Kamikaze – culture.

"Throughout the Jews' history, they are not known to have carried out such acts. True, they have the ability to carry out terror operations – but they do not need to sacrifice their own lives to do so. Second, we must answer a simple question: What will Israel gain from these operations? Of course, the operations thwart [Egypt's] growth, and encourage internal struggle between the Islamists and the state – but what price is Israel likely to pay if,... its involvement becomes known?! The price will be very high, and [Israel] has no interest in paying it … and [this price] is cutting off its relations with Egypt, abolishing the Egypt-Israel peace accord, and returning to a state of war, along with great problems with the world."

On the other hand, Omar agreed that perhaps "Israel is activating Islamic groups by remote control, without their knowledge," which would also only prove that there is a "religious and cultural crisis due to which human beings are murdering innocent people with the belief that this is Jihad for the sake of Allah! [So] the crisis is in us and only in us – even if others are taking advantage of it!" [13]

Opposition Columnists Blame Mubarak and the Security Apparatuses

Columnists in the opposition papers blamed the Mubarak regime's policy for terrorism in Egypt. Abdallah Al-Sinawi, editor of the Nasserite weekly Al-Arabi, wrote: "It is inevitable that every political investigation will blame President Mubarak's regime. From the criminal standpoint, the security breaches [in Egypt] are responsible [for the attack], while the political breaches caused Egypt to be defenseless in coping with the violent and terrorist groups. The regime's policy is unsatisfactory, and its legitimacy is worn out... The political pressure is increasing, and continues without a solution on the horizon. A real national dialogue is missing.

"In an atmosphere of political rioting, the terrorism and violence that threaten every country emerge, and impel it into a swamp of blood… It is almost certain that the new terror organizations will be able to strike other areas in Egypt, to scare the Egyptians, and to damage its sick economy, which relies primarily on tourism…

"The first necessary step in strengthening Egypt is to repair the internal front, by means of comprehensive constitutional political reform and by means of a halt to the farce of the presidential elections – and perhaps [even] by postponing them for a few months, so that there will be real elections among real candidates." [14]

Magdi Muhanna, columnist for the independent daily Al-Masri Al-Yawm, said there was a connection between the Sharm Al-Sheikh attacks and the Egyptian security apparatus's treatment of the Sinai residents suspected of involvement in the Taba attacks: "The recent attacks took place because of [human rights] violations against the Sinai residents by the [Egyptian] security apparatuses following the Taba attacks, [as] reported by the organizations and the human rights centers …

"The first conclusion is that there is a need to reexamine the security policy, so that it will halt the [human rights] violations and deal with the mistakes [by security personnel] – the most prominent of which is the arbitrary arrests following the Taba attacks, and the mistreatment of the families of the accused." [15]

Renowned Egyptian Playwright Ali Salem: The Terrorists Have a Sick Mentality

Egyptian playwright and satirist Ali Salem wrote: "I say once again to those who sent the dynamite to kill Egyptians that [even] a heel of any Egyptian who was killed or wounded in these attacks is worth more than your thick heads. You are all sick, and your disease does not exempt you from punishment. Neither the desire to exalt the name of Allah nor the desire to enter Paradise justify blowing up the Egyptian workers. Neither Paradise nor the freedom of the homelands justify your crimes. Mental sickness is the only explanation.

"First the battle was between you and the governments of the region, and now you have declared war against the Egyptian people. Because you are cowards, you chose the weakest link [of the Egyptian people], which is not protected by anyone – those working in the tourism sector. Because your souls are dark and full of animosity and hatred, you chose the time of relaxation from hard work in order to tear their bodies to shreds..." [16]

* A. Shefa is a MEMRI Research Fellow.