Faisal’s Tobril

Cairene has a critical piece that really touches on the true essence of freedom and democracy since he apparently dislikes the Muslim Brotherhood as much as I.

Today is the 34th anniversery of the much-acclaimed (in Egypt) 6th of October war (which took place in 1973). The 6th of October is, and has been, a National Holiday since the war. It is also the day that former Egyptian president Anwar El-Sadat was assassinated by a group of Islamic extremists during the 1981 6th of October Military Victory Parade.

So my grandmother was watching Good Morning Egypt and the two female anchorwomen had an Egyptian physician as a guest. They were discussing a number of things, including a prosthetic joint that this physician had developed and that, according to him, is considered the most advanced in the world at this point in time.

What really irked me though is what the anchors started babbling on about at the end of the segment; the gloriousness of the 6th of October war. Now, it has to be understood that this happens annually, on every 6th of october day (Most Egyptians who watch Egyptian or Arab television on this day know of this). This time though, for some inexplicable reason, I payed more attention to what they were saying, particularly that the Egyptian physician in question had participated in the 1973 war.

One of the anchors asked the physician about his feelings on the war and how it felt, as an Egyptian, to have been a member of the Egyptian armed forces during this glorious war. The man, predicably, went on about how he was honored to be part of such an event etc etc

The anchors, before bringing this segment to a close, went on about how we should let all the youth know of the 6th of October war and how it was a monumental event in the history of Egypt. She said that this “education” should start at home with parents informing and educating their children on the lessons from the war and how it brought together all Egyptians as one people and, of course, of the “glorious” role the Egyptian Armed Forces played in securing our lands and winning back all the land lost in 1967.

WTF!!

I don’t need to discuss how the 6th of October war, whilst a strategic victory for Egypt, was not quite the military annihilation of the Israeli Armed Forces the Egyptian government’s propaganda machine claimed and still claims it was. I will not delve into the fact that the 1967 obliteration of our Military facilities and complete and utter destruction of our Air Force (not to mention the complete Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula) was the fault of our Armed Forces… so it really was the duty of the military as an institution and the Egyptian government (being a de facto military government) to return all occupied Egyptian lands because this, as well, should be as clear as day.

What annoyed me was that the military junta in power today (I can’t claim to know much about Sadat’s time since the dude was assasinated a couple of month before my birth) insists, to this day, on exploiting the 6th of October day and milking it for all it’s worth to subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) manipulate the minds of Egyptians into thinking that without the military establishment, Egypt is worth jack sh*t.

Please keep in mind that our current President was Air Marshal (most senior-ranked officer in the Air Force) at the time of the war. He supposedly led the first strike (where hundreds of Egyptian military planes carried out supposedly precision strikes against Israeli strategic and tactical targets, including early-warning stations, in Sinai at 2 pm on the 6th of October in 1973 (He is frequently praised for this even outside of the occasion of the 6th of October. In fact, non-Egyptians wouldn’t be mistaken in thinking that “Leader of the October Air Strike” is an official title of Moh’d Hosni Mubarak.

Why in bloody hell are Egyptians as a people, 34 years after the event, commemorating on such a wide scale a war which wasn’t even a complete military victory?! Why is this THE event (according to the Egyptian government-owned media) that is supposed to instill in Egyptians feelings of national pride?!

I should think that the answer is obvious: There isn’t really all that much in the country that we can be proud of. If this were true, they would be flaunting amazing growth rates, high standards of living and how every Egyptian family goes to sleep well-fed, well-clothed and well-sheltered.

But they don’t. Because they can’t. Life is sub-par for most Egyptians; prices are always increasing without the equivalent rise in real wages, the air we breathe is polluted, the public insitutions are amongst the shittiest in the world in terms of getting work done… I could go on forever.

The problem isn’t that we have problems. The Problem is that the Egyptian government attempts to divert the attention of its citizens from things that matter by using under-handed strategies of propaganda perfected, along the ages, by authoritarian regimes globally.

Disgusting.

There are times when people use the exact wrong words to express themselves. An example of this is this post by Egyptian-Australian blogger Neferteeti.

So the Egyptian government, or administrative court according to an article she cited in her post, passed another decision which reflects the general religious intolerance of the government towards non-Muslims. Why then would Neferteeti blame Islam, as a religion, for this?

She says:

Ever considered becoming a Muslim? Think carefully! Because it’s a strictly one way road… moreover, if you live in Egypt, the blessed government and even the juidiciary system will enforce this rule

And

and tell me, why is Islam so scared to let people choose? Why is the governemnt so determined to keep religion in the forefront of the average Egyptian’s life?

It is a well known fact that religious scholars of all religions, including both the Christianity and Judaism, have differed over a variety of topics and issues ever since all these religions sprang into being. Christians frequently tell me that the difference between Islam and Christianity is that Christianity is a religion of peace.

I will choose not to question that last statement, BUT do you mean to tell me that the Crusades were written somewhere in Christianity? Or that the Catholic Pope and other rulers and leaders at the time took the decision to carry out expeditions in the name of The Lord? If one was to blame anyone, would it be them or Christianity?

Do we blame Christianity, or the Aryan race, for Hitler’s mass murder of European Jews? Or do we blame one man, Hitler himself, for the actions taken by members of the Nazi party and the army of the Third Reich?

I should think the answers to the question would be: The men themselves (and not Christianity) as well as Hitler (and not Christianity nor the Aryan race).

It does not require a religious scholar nor a person of astounding knowledge to realize that the application of the different supposed rules of different religions are carried out differently from region to region and country to country. Compare Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Morrocco, Turkey and Egypt, if you need facts.

If you know all this, and I will suppose that you must have missed this in your anger over the decision, why do you blame the religion? Blame the government. Blame the administrative court judges. Blame Gomaa. But how could you blame a faith and a belief?

This is particularly true when the article Neferteeti cited has this particular bit:

“As a Muslim, I say that there is no limit to the freedom of religion and, without it, heaven and hell would be … meaningless as the Koran assures the individual freedom of belief and disbelief [and] in return [people] are responsible for their choice,” Mohammed Munir Mogahed, a founding member of Egyptians Against Religious Segregation, said recently in the Egyptian daily, Al Masry Al Youm.

The man, who stands with you in your anger and objections, makes the situation clear enough. If you disagree with this, what’s up with including this article in your post and asking your readers to check it out for more information?

I’ve learnt that the path to religious tolerance lies in carefully thinking through all the things we hear and understanding how those different from us, in matters of faith or belief, think. The Egyptian government, may it burn, does not seem to be doing this.

Why is it that some of us, rightful in our objections, are emulating their modus operandi?

Two interesting things came to my knowledge in the past day. The first was through personal experience and the second was something that a friend told me about. They may be inconsequential to some (my friends certainly thought so), but I found them worthy of mention.

First thing

I went down to Maadi Grand Mall (located in Maadi, a Cairo neighborhood and where I live) yesterday to this internet cafe that I have been frequenting, on and off, for the last 7 years. It is the one of two internet cafes that I’ve been to in Maadi  (the second one foundered and closed down) and I’ve gotten to know the owner pretty well over the years.

This day, he had a paper sign on his glass door which said, roughly and in Arabic, “Under the instructions of the Ministry of Interior, all internet users must leave their data with the management.”

A few days before that, coincidentally, I was at the store when this dude comes in with a clipboard and talks to the store owner for 10 minutes. I heard him talk about a meeting and other things. When the man left, I turned to the store owner and asked him what that was about. He said the man was a plain-clothes officer from the Maadi Police Station who was informing him about this annual State Security (Amn EL Dawla) meeting of Internet Cafe owners.

And now this.

Oh, and when I asked him if this paper sign was related to the meeting, he said yes… and  that it was State Security that gave him the instructions. He also said not to worry about it and that nothing will come of it.

Second Thing

A friend of mine just came back from a trip to Lebanon and she told me that they now give them little slips of paper on the plane, before landing, asking them to fill in how much foreign currency they have, how much Egyptian currency they have amongst other things. Apparently, you aren’t allowed to be bringing in any gift that is worth more than $1,500 too. Also, they’ve gotten quite uptight about letting young males of military age that have not yet completed military service from leaving the country unless it’s for a medical reason or they’re visiting their parents who are outside of the country.

They are required, it being Egypt, to provide tons of documents proving these claims.

I now know for sure that I won’t be going to that internet cafe to use the internet. I cannot explain the psychological effect of knowing that whatever I do on the net can be traced back to me, even if I don’t want it to be. That day I went, I was just checking my email accounts… but still, it’s the “Big Brother” feeling.

Hello. We’re here. We know what you’re doing. Ha ha ha. You won’t get away with it, whatever it is.

I’ve been told by friends that this was already in effect in various other neighborhoods around Cairo… that may be so, but this is definitely a first for Maadi. What this means to me is that State Security are spreading their tentacles and giving us healthy doses of good, old fashioned totalitarianism.

Is it my fault that the only reason I sit at ahwas downtown is because they’re readily accessible to me and my friends and not because of any cultural reason or excuse? Is it my fault that I don’t want to attend all these “really cool” foreign movies that are shown around different Cairene venues year-round because I honestly don’t believe I’m a cultured person?

Is my fault that I don’t like attending plays, ballets and/or symphonies or because I don’t enjoy them or (in the case of music) don’t see the reason why I have to listen to some orchestra playing when I can get an almost perfect copy of the aforementioned piece on my PC?

Is it my fault that I think art died with the turn of the 20th century and thus I would love nothing better than to visit Florence, Paris, London, Rome but not all these art galleries where people express themselves in ways I don’t even come close to understanding?

Is it my fault that I prefer movies with happy endings even though they may be the complete opposite of what real life is? Is it my fault that I prefer watching most movies at home rather than at a cinema?

Is it my fault that I’d rather write a small piece/article/whatever on the state of Egyptian or international politics than demonstrate? Is it my fault for saying that yes this government is f*cked up beyond all recognition and yet not forget that one has to give credit for things done correctly?

Is it my fault that I consider myself liberal yet wanting to shove some self-righteous morality, ethics and lessons of behavior down the throats of most Egyptians? Is it my fault that everytime I see a police officer, I cannot quell the feeling of rage that rises up inside me because of the way things are?

Is it my fault that there comes a point where one stops trying to come up with solutions and just gives up? Is it my fault that I’m laying the blame on everyone but myself? Is it my fault that my pure and utter disgust and shame have pushed me to levels of apathy I did not know I possessed?

I suppose there’s a yes there somewhere… so I suppose it is.

Another personal post, my second in a row in fact.

On Wednesday the project I work for officially closes down and on Thursday I am officially out of a job.

Maybe this will mean more time for blogging? At least until I get another job.