Egypt – Hopelessness, Frustration Spawning a New Generation of Terrorists
Mr. Abdel Fatah, how do you view the latest attacks in Cairo?
Nabil Abdel Fatah: These recent attacks indicate a return to forms of religiously inspired violence. This in turn is being provoked by years of growing corruption in politics and society as well as a growing alienation between the ruling political elite and broad segments of the population. This is how aggression builds up, and we are now witnessing its release.
In many institutions, for instance, in parliament, there is no lobby to represent the social and political interests of the population. Moreover, as a result of political stagnation in Egypt, the ruling elite lacks a political vision. Many perceive politics as an affair that does not concern the whole of Egyptian society, but only the national party, the government and its president.
Because of its bureaucratic and dictatorial nature, the National Party has lost touch with reality. It no longer has broad support within the population, and young people have given up their hopes for change. The result is a social vacuum, which is the primary cause behind the return to terrorism. On the other hand, the government seems incapable of effectively dealing with the various religious and political developments taking place in society.
For twenty years the government has claimed it wanted to combat terrorism, but its policies and the media have not really dealt with the problem. An analysis and examination of the political leanings and motives of young people, of why they are joining violent and radical organizations, is not taking place.
The youth who carried out these attacks see themselves trapped in a moribund political landscape in which they have no opportunities to voice or express their opinions, nor to engage with the various political forces.
Furthermore, civil society has been hemmed in with legislation, administration, and security interests. The issue of security, the trust placed by the ruling elite and decision-makers in the security apparatus, has top priority in Egypt. Sensitive topics such as the Copts, Al-Azhar, Islamic organizations, and the press are viewed in this context.
Different views exist about the motives spurring the latest terrorist attacks. But official attempts to explain the motives have not been denounced by the organizers of the attacks. The Egyptian government has pursued the strategy of explaining the terrorist attacks as an expression of outrage over events in Palestine, Iraq, and American policy in the Middle East. This, too, may be a motive, but most likely it is not the only one.
But the government's explanations contribute nothing to a scientific appraisal and to a real understanding of the events. This will be possible only when politicians are willing to find social, cultural, and democratic solutions for the problem of religiously motivated violence.
Ultimately all this aggravates the phenomenon of terror, which the latest attacks have again pushed to the fore. I believe the terror will continue, because its causes still exist.
Can we actually talk about a new generation of Islamist terrorist groups? Or were the latest attacks carried out by individuals not supported by any organizations?
Abdel Fatah: We are certainly dealing with a new generation of Islamist hardliners here. In the beginning the government claimed that individual persons or families were committing the acts. But this hasty conclusion was a mistaken and dangerous assumption.
Even if these attacks were committed by individuals without a particular motivation, which I strongly doubt, we are still confronted with a dangerous problem. The attempt to disavow this problem with such narrow explanations is doomed to fail. The reality is that there are political currents in society which aim to carry out attacks on Egyptians, innocent foreigners, and public institutions.
In the past experts have repeatedly pointed to the problem that certain residential areas have been expanding uncontrollably. The persons who carried out the latest attacks came from these areas. Since living conditions in these neighborhoods are inhumane, experts have developed alternatives to improve living conditions there. So far these recommendations have fallen on deaf ears.
Anger, outrage, hopelessness, and frustration have engendered a new generation that is orienting itself more and more on Al-Qaida, uses simple technological means, and draws on the political perceptions and the terrorism of those who carried out the attacks in the United States on September 11.
I think that the persons responsible for the latest attacks can be attributed to the organizations of Islamic jihad. Therefore, in my opinion, the debate about whether or not the attacks were carried out by individuals is superfluous.
How do you explain the participation of women for the first time in such terrorist attacks?
Abdel Fatah: Mobilizing women, in my view, marks a new development. Until now their activities has not gone beyond transmitting messages between various cadres of the organization, obtaining information about persons and places as possible targets of terrorist attacks, and harboring perpetrators who were on the run from security forces.
This new and dangerous development shows how successful political Islam has been in influencing the cultural and religious lives of Egyptian women. It dominates women's lives by forcing them to wear certain clothing such as the veil and to behave in a certain way. Their environment is determined by Islamized behavioral patterns in which faith plays a central role.
In fact, part of the strategy of the Salafiya movement and the Muslim Brotherhood is to pave the way for a return to Islam within the whole of Egyptian society by successfully controlling the private sphere of women and youth and Islamizing their lives.
But of course personal reasons also play a role. A failed marriage tipped the scales for one woman who participated in the recent terrorist attack. But her upbringing, characterized by an overvaluation of religion, was also a factor. This overvaluation is a result of the complexity that prevails in the realm of fatwas and religious propaganda in Egypt.
This chaotic and precarious situation makes it even more imperative that Egyptian society shake off its stagnation and backwardness and start advancing on numerous fronts with progressive visions in politics, science, and education.
What effect will these attacks have on the reform movement in Egypt?
Abdel Fatah: I think that every side will use these terrorist attacks to promote their own interests. The voices which oppose changes in the status quo are calling for emergency laws to combat terrorism. Of course such laws cannot prevent terrorist attacks. On the contrary, they point to a lack of political continuity and strike at the very core of the constitutional state.
But, on the other hand, there are also positive signs that political sentiment in Egypt is changing. More people have become openly critical of the social structure created by the constitution, politics, and media. It has changed little since 1952. Perhaps recent events can be an impetus for reforms.
How can these terrorist attacks be effectively dealt with?
Abdel Fatah: Egypt deals with terrorism the same way it did twenty-four years ago. But repression and a security apparatus as the only weapons are not enough.
I believe that one solution is to combat terrorism more directly with scientific methods. For instance, experts should be given access to the information in the execution plans found in the flats of the organizers of the latest attacks.
In addition, the question about the motives behind the groups carrying out such attacks must be examined from a larger perspective. And the restraints imposed on civil society must be eased so that the misguided energies of young people can be absorbed and redirected back into peaceful channels.
Also, we urgently need to challenge the fatwas and religious speeches that have been in effect for the past fifty years. They no longer help us in our lives today, but instead work against us.
Interview: Nelly Youssef
© Qantara.de 2005
Nabil Abdel Fatah works at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo.
Translation from German by Nancy Joyce
Qantara.de
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