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Al-Ahram Weekly 10 - 16 June 1999 Issue No. 433 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 10 - 16 June 1999 Issue No. 433
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Books Living Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A macabre situation
By Dina EzzatCairo and Tehran have been exchanging signals of good intentions on and off for the past couple of years. Both sides have been allowing businessmen and low-ranking officials to exchange visits and promote economic ties. Still, relations between the two countries continue to resist real progress. Khaled El-Islambouli, leader of the squad that assassinated President Anwar El-Sadat, and Reza Pahlavi, the former shah of Iran who was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic Revolution, are the main stumbling blocks in the way of improving ties. The name El-Islambouli is given to a major street in the Iranian capital while the remains of the shah are buried in the heart of Cairo, the city that gave him refuge after he fled his country.
Egypt sent Foreign Minister Amr Moussa to Tehran in late 1997 to take part in the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit as a sign of goodwill and readiness to improve bilateral relations. But President Hosni Mubarak has been unequivocal in stipulating that full diplomatic ties between Cairo and Tehran cannot be resumed until the Iranians remove El-Islambouli from their street signs.
This position was reiterated recently. In reply, Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, speaker of the Iranian parliament, suggested last week that the Iranian government might not be unanimously opposed to changing the offending street name if this would help improve relations with Egypt. "Iranian officials have always made decisions on the basis of the country's dignity and interests," Nateq-Nouri told a news conference.
This, however, does not seem to be the opinion of the still-influential hard-liners within the Iranian regime. Indeed, Nateq-Nouri was attacked for his statements in some newspapers they control. Jumhouri Islami said that Nateq-Nouri was not in a position to take such a decision, particularly when he is fully aware that the remains of the shah -- seen by the hard-liners of the Islamic revolution as a tyrant -- are buried in Egypt. The newspaper suggested that if Egypt wanted the name of El-Islambouli removed from street signs, they would, in turn, have to remove the remains of the shah.
Egyptian officials have opted to ignore the controversy. Moussa said that Nateq-Nouri's statements "were very positive". However, he refused to comment on the proposal that Egypt disinter the shah's remains.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Egyptian diplomatic source said, "We were never officially requested by the Iranian government to remove the remains of the shah. When we brought up the issue of the street, they referred to the shah's tomb, but no official request was ever made in this respect."
The source added that the comparison between naming a street after the assassin of a head-of-state and the burial of a dead man in Egypt was not valid. "After all, it's simply un-Islamic to ask for the grave of a dead man to be opened," he pointed out.
Another official said: "Egypt will not reciprocate the removal of the street name by removing the shah's remains. This much the Iranian hard-liners should know."
An Iranian diplomatic source in Cairo, speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly, said: "The Iranian government is seriously intent on improving relations with Egypt. The interests that Egypt and Iran share, whether political or economic, should be the focus of attention, and not the small little details." The source added that minor problems would eventually be solved, once the two countries established serious common economic ties. The source would not say if the Iranian government is considering the removal of El-Islambouli's name from the controversial street.
The controversy aside, Cairo and Tehran are still allowing businessmen to come and go between the two capitals. On Tuesday, Said Salah, head of the Egyptian Trade Fairs Authority, flew to Tehran to supervise an exhibition of Egyptian products that will be held in the Iranian capital within days.
"Egypt will follow this policy, but it's not going to take any step forward on the political front unless the name of the street is changed," said an Egyptian official.
As a matter of fact, the street name is causing Egypt greater concern than language in the constitution of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that suggests that it is the Guards' duty to support all Islamist militant groups who seek to topple secular regimes in the Muslim world and establish theocratic societies.
According to one Egyptian source, "If Iran was to remove the name of El-Islambouli from that street, it would be a clear message that the Iranian regime had ceased to exercise its extraterritorial policies, and that whatever language there is in the constitution of the Revolutionary Guards has been rendered obsolete."
The source added, "So, it's not just that we are being unreasonable about the name of a street."
Egyptian-Iranian diplomatic relations were severed by Tehran following the Islamic revolution. Tehran has often been critical of Egypt's involvement in the Middle East peace process. For its part, Cairo has been critical of Iran's alleged involvement in supporting Islamist militant groups in the Arab world. The criticism has been toned down somewhat.
