What western governments and the western media know about conditions in Egypt, and its second uprising in two years, is no more than my knowledge of hieroglyphics, which is zero. In front of me are political cartoons from three British newspapers. In The Guardian, we see an Egyptian man asking the Sphinx – in the form of an army officer – about when to call something democracy, or a coup. General Sphinx answers, "Who cares?" In The Observer, Egypt's army appears as a wolf whose paws are dripping blood. In front of him is an unarmed supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood. At his back is "secularism," whose robe is stained with blood at the bottom. In The Independent, the Egyptian army is an open-mouthed crocodile that is about to swallow a small child, labeled "democracy," as Obama stands ready to give the animal sacks of dollars. I selected these three newspapers out of the British and American papers available to me on a daily basis because they are liberal and moderate and cannot be classified as anti-Arab or anti-Muslim, like many American media outlets that support Israel. Even so, civilians rule in Egypt, and the Muslim Brotherhood is armed, and the assistance goes to Israel before it goes to Egypt. They insist that a coup took place against a legitimately elected president. I insist that the Muslim Brotherhood deceived the Military Council, and that an uprising ousted Mohammad Morsi, something the foreign ministries in London and Paris refuse to see. The United States is threatening Egypt with a cut-off in aid, which was followed by a similar threat by the European Union. Egyptian security personnel certainly committed violations in the confrontation with the protestors, and I condemn any instance of murder. However, the security forces were confronting terror, both real and imminent. The Muslim Brotherhood has always used violence. The terror groups, from al-Qaeda in Afghanistan to armed gangs in the Sinai, and in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya and elsewhere, are all offshoots of the thought of the Brotherhood, and their members carry weapons. Do the masters of western policy remember what Egypt suffered from in the 1990s? Do they remember the names of the Gamaa Islamiya, Takfir wal-Hijra, and Islamic Jihad? All of these groups were led by Muslim Brotherhood people who split from the group, and they carried out terror. Some of these people returned to political action, with the Brotherhood, as if dozens of innocent tourists at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, or retired Greek tourists in a bus in Cairo, had not been killed. Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham went to Egypt to discuss something they could use against the transitional government. Every day, I would read a statement by Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, in support of Israel, and in support of every war against Arabs and Muslims. He is the colleague of McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, and a political extremist who supports only Israel. Graham considered himself an expert on Egypt after 48 hours. Any official from Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, or an Arab citizen like me, knows nothing, even if he feels that he is from Egypt as much as any Egyptian. The Israelis are living a delusion for which they will soon pay the price. When Senator Rand Paul, another Republican, from Kentucky, tried to get a resolution halting military aid to Egypt, the Israeli lobby intervened and asked members of the Senate, which it had bought, to oppose the move, and it did not pass. The Israelis believe that they will have a better relationship with the team of General al-Sisi, whom they have known since the days he served in Army intelligence. In fact, what binds the Brotherhood, the Army, and every Egyptian citizen is a hatred of Israel, which treacherously killed thousands of Egyptians in the past. If we take a look at Iraq, where an unannounced civil war is raging, the al-Qaeda-inspired terrorists to the Shiite and the pro-Iranian rulers also share a hatred of Israel. I argue that hatred of Israel is the only common denominator for all Arabs and Muslims. Egypt is the "Mother of the World," and the mother of all Arabs. A statement of support for Egypt came from Saudi Arabia, voiced by King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz, and its foreign minister, Saud al-Faisal, reflecting the stance of all Gulf countries, which have also declared their determination to support Egypt and stand beside it. As for the west, its stances have been ignorant, interest-based and sick, while Egypt is stronger, thanks to its people, and to Arab support. [email protected]
