Terror in Cairo

Yesterday, on February 23rd 2009, an explosion hit Cairo’s Khan al-Khalili, a famous tourist spot. So far it is not yet clear who is responsible for the terror act. The way the action was carried out might be a sign that the explosion was not caused by “professional” terrorists but by “frustrated youths”.

Despite being a frequently visited tourist country, Egypt has been a target for Islamist terrorists for decades. The first Salafi group, the Muslim brothers, was founded in Egypt. That was back in 1928. When Egyptian presidents Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak followed a non-religious way of politics, Islamists were quick to declare war on them. Especially in the southern part of the country, terrorists were quite successful in cutting off government influence off villages and small towns. No wonder current president Hosni Mubarak makes no bones about Islamists.

Egypt’s Al-Ahram, however, presents this caricature (Feb 24th), entitled “The return of the black cloud”:

The black cloud carries the word “irhab – terror” in it. Beneath it the chap utters: “It fades!” It seems that many Egyptians do not take terrorism seriously. At least according to this caricaturist.

The Development of the Egyptian beauty in the course of time …

… that’s what the title of this beauty here (Al-Ahram, Jan 29th) reads:

And with beauties it deals. Please keep in mind that you have to read it from right to left! This means that the beautiful girl represents the type of Egyptian female of the past, while the ugly virago on the left stands for the modern madame of the Nile.

To be honest, this is no joke. In the past, until deep into the 20th century, even the peasants in Egypt would leave their women unveiled. It all changed with the emergence of Salafi Islam (also known as Islamism) and the growing influence from Saudi Arabia, beginning in the 1970′s. Except for the luxurious upper class and sometimes for the middle class, it is nowadays hard to find a Muslim female Egyptian without a veil. The lower class and of course religious smart-asses of all backgrounds have fully adopted the Islamic doctrine of hiding women under woven fabric. If you agree with this, then answer us this question: If displaying your hair is Satanic, why did HE fail to create women with a natural veil? Imagine this – a piece of skin like a huge eyelid to cover your hair. Flirting on a totally new level…

However, it is great to find such a rare masterpiece of self-criticism in Al-Ahram. We want more of that, don’t we?