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UPDATED Friday, September 15, 2001
11:00 PM Cairo time
"A Declaration of War against Whom?"
by Tarek Atia
A comprehensive tour of the Egyptian press in the wake of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks... Find out what Ahmed Maher, Amr Moussa, Salama Ahmed Salama, Magdi Mehanna, Osama Anwar Okasha, and Ahmed Bahgat had to say about the tragedy in the States.
Saturday saw the crisis catalyzed by the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon take on much clearer dimensions. One had only to glance at either Al-Wafd or Al-Akhbar, which featured identical front page banners: "America beats the drums of war". Al-Ahram featured the same headline inside.
While the US's seemingly already determined strike on Afghanistan was the main focus of the news, coverage of the troubles being faced by Arabs and Muslims abroad in the wake of the attack on the US was extensive as well.
Al-Wafd featured it as its main banner headline on Friday, the front page screaming out "Tremors of Judgment Day: Hate Campaign Against Arabs and Muslims in America and Europe". Saturday's papers are also filled with photos and stories from Muslim and Arab communities everywhere, showing them praying, and lighting candles for the victims.
Al-Ahram features a photo of an American Muslim waving a large American flag from the roof of a mosque. Below him a large billboard reads "PRAYER SERVICES FOR THE VICTIMS OF OUR NATIONAL TRAGEDY Five Times Daily".
Meanwhile, Egypt has asked America to provide the same level of protection to its institutions and citizens in the US, as it provides for US institutions and citizens in Egypt. The message was conveyed by Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher to the US charge d'affaires in Cairo, who condemned the anti-Arab and Muslim harassment that had taken place and promised it wouldn't happen again.
Maher said Egypt shared in American anger at what had happened. He said the important thing now was to find a best-case solution, preferably one that went through channels like the UN or the Security Council.
"'We are cooperating with the United States in the investigation that is going on right now and exchanging any information between the two countries that will help in uncovering the mysteries of this crime,'' Maher is quoted by Reuters.
At the same time, the foreign minister "said Washington should think carefully before passing judgment over the attacks. 'We are happy that the United States agrees with us about the need to refrain from rushing to judgment , and that it needs to take time to think about the way to respond to this crime.'"
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa -- during his phone conversation with US Secretary of State Colin Powell -- also asked Powell to respect the rights of Arab and Muslims in the United States, and protect them from the threats against them. Moussa urged Powell not to jump to conclusions which might produce dangerous results. Powell, for his part, assured Moussa that the US was aware of all these factors, and that they were taking the necessary steps to protect Arab and Muslim Americans.
Al-Wafd's editor-in-chief Magdi Mehanna does not mince words in his back page "Fil mamnou" (Out of Bounds) column on Saturday. "What kind of terrorism is America and the rest of the world talking about," asks Mehanna, "that they're going to fight a war against together?" He precedes this question by pointing out that the US and Europe standing aside while Israel commits atrocious acts against the Palestinians is a form of terrorism. He says globalization that is forced on poor countries and ends up drowning them is a form of terror. In fact this last factor, Mehanna argues, if not addressed in a moderated political manner, will result in even more terrorism. The crazy thing, he says, is that the same countries being terrorized have agreed to join the US in its fight against some yet unknown terror.
In a column entitled, "A Declaration of War against Whom?", Salama Ahmed Salama in Al-Ahram says the alliances being forged by the US and Europe in the wake of the attack are rather telling -- and that the Middle East should be watching carefully for what comes next. Salama says the current strategic scenario is former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's dream vision. Barak appeared just after the incident immediately calling for a Western alliance against terror, defining that terror as just 5 or 6 Arab or Islamic nations and organizations.
Al-Ahram's Ahmed Bahgat, meanwhile, asks several questions about the tragedy, the first that comes to his mind being, "How could the world's strongest country be surprised like this? How could all the different security apparatuses have failed to detect and stop this?"
Scriptwriter and columnist Osama Anwar Okasha writes in Al-Wafd that the "giant body of this "super" nation has given birth to a revealing wound. The American people have been injured by an exaggerated wound that won't heal... and which will leave many scars. And will create a different America which we still don't know or haven't yet seen." Okasha also argues that all possibilities are open regarding the identity of the perpetrators, including international spy agencies or home-grown factions within the US. All of these thoughts are presented by Okasha in a brief paragraph at the end of his most recent column, which was on a completely different issue. The news hadn't yet hit when the column went to print, and he only had time for that little addendum, it seems. One can only imagine what he's going to say next time.
...Developing...
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Previous stories:
Unimaginable terror:
Who will be hit next?
Cairenes -- like the rest of the world -- remain glued to their television screens early Wednesday morning, shocked by the events unfolding before the world's eyes.
Confusion on the second day:
New developments from around the world
Praying for patience and moderation
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