Eye on scandal

By Fatemah Farag

Taking advantage of this new type of political news many local newspapers have treated their readers to all the details. Perhaps the most flagrant of examples of this was provided by Al-Ahali, weekly mouthpiece of the leftist Tagammu Party. On its front page rested a topless Monica Lewinsky, her hand extending to much publicised, but unseen, parts of the body of Clinton, standing next to her. This, we are told by Al-Ahali, is for the purpose of clarification of the sexual positions taken by the couple. Most articles begin with 'apologies' to the reader for having to embarrass him/her with all the sexual details -- but then, thankfully, there is no shame in science, religion or history.

"It is a lot more interesting than the regular news," said Fathi Mohamed, a computer engineer, as he bought his morning newspaper from the corner newsstand. "Of course it is disgusting, but then the state of the world is also disgusting."

Others are not amused. "We only copy the worst things in the West," complained Maamoun El-Hodeibi, spokesman for the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. "In their culture, there are no taboos regarding sex. Giving in to sexual lust is all right. We as Muslims, however, consider this to be a great sin and only talk of it within limits."

Reactions have varied according to the political inclinations of those who express them. There are those who gloat, some because they are witnessing the humiliation of a man who has symbolised the forces that have ensured their own humiliation and some because the scandal symbolises the downfall of "degenerate Western values". Then, there are those who fret that the positive influence the US could have played in pushing the Middle East peace process forward is now lost.

Reactions are also mixed regarding the stars of the saga. "I don't think that the intimate details of homes should be exposed in such a manner," said Fathiya Mohamed. "No man should go through such humiliation for something of that nature. Anyway, I think that his wife is a great woman, very strong."

Others are more critical. "Clinton's behaviour was a surprise. It is not that he had an extra-marital affair... It is that it was such very tawdry behaviour," said Hassan Nafaa, a Cairo University political science professor.

As for Monica, everyone seems to be obsessed with evaluating her looks. She does pretty well on the Egyptian scale.

The tantalising images are sometimes shrouded in conspiracy theory. Galal Dweidar, editor-in-chief of Al-Akhbar, off-handedly reminds us that Monica is Jewish when discussing possible impeachment scenarios. In fact, since the scandal became public several months ago, some Arab writers have described the whole affair as an Israeli plot to weaken Clinton, making him incapable of putting pressure on Binyamin Netanyahu. Mahmoud Salah, editor-in-chief of the weekly Akher Sa'a, wrote that the scandal was planned to the obvious benefit of Israel and, more specifically, Netanyahu-style policies.

But as Hassan Nafaa points out, "Clinton was the most pro-Israeli of US presidents and, besides, the peace process had already fallen to pieces way before the scandal broke out; hence there is no connection between the American failure to activate the peace process and Clinton's present vulnerable position."

But Hodeibi held a different view. "This whole affair has paralysed the US administration, preventing it from taking any initiatives with regard to the Middle East peace process," he said.

In his first statement on the Middle East since Independent Prosecutor Kenneth Starr levelled the damning charges against him, Clinton announced on Monday that he was intent on exerting a maximum effort to achieve progress in the peace process. But if Clinton is not impeached, all seem to agree he will do little to advance a just peace settlement in the region. "The real problem is what a president under such stress could do -- what kind of irrational action he might undertake," Nafaa said.

If he is impeached, there are those who claim that Al Gore is even more pro-Israeli than Clinton. But as Nafaa pointed out, "the Arabs always look towards the other side instead of looking at themselves. We should consider what we can do to influence the other side."