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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 September 1999 Issue No. 445 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 September 1999 Issue No. 445
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Focus Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Beating the rule of terror
By Ibrahim Nafie
No sooner had Egypt emerged from successive wars in defence of its own security and that of the Arab nation (1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973) than terrorism posed as a new threat to domestic stability and security. With the assassination of President Sadat in 1981 terrorism began to threaten the very fabric of Egyptian society.
President Mubarak had no alternative but to turn his attention to terrorism. Today, almost two decades later, he has succeeded not only in eradicating terrorism but also in placing development and democratisation at the top of the agenda.
But between the assassination of Sadat in 1981 and the attempt on Mubarak's life in Addis Ababa, terrorism was the single most significant obstacle to national revival and recovery. From his first day in office, then, Mubarak was braced to fight a terrorist movement that had become a murderous machine.
A review of the events of the seventies reveals that the origins of terrorism were located outside Egyptian society. Non-Egyptian ideological and religious sources influenced the formation of terrorist groups, or else they drew their members from among those tortured in Egyptian prisons under Nasser. Members of the Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya were a group of university students brainwashed by various religious and leftist groups opposed to Sadat's regime.
In the seventies, the shooting at the Military Technical Institute that claimed the lives of 11 and injured 27, was led by Saleh Serriya, someone of Palestinian origin, who declared the regimes of the Arab world to be sinful and called for their overthrow by the use of force. Three years later, the Takfir wal Higra movement emerged, abducting and murdering Sheikh El-Dhahaby, a former minister of Al-Awqaf. The operation was masterminded by Shukry Mustafa, who had adopted terrorist ideas in prison in the sixties. Mustafa not only declared the regime sinful but vilified society as a whole.
On 6 October 1981 Sadat was assassinated in a joint operation between the Gama'a and the Jihad. Jihad has its roots in the Military Technical Institute, and was established in Alexandria by Salem El-Rahhal, a Jordanian. The Gama'a is descended from the so-called religious associations, established on university campuses to direct cultural, religious and social activities.
Mubarak, when he became president, found himself head of a state exposed to threats from every side. In addition to terrorism, Egypt's economy was faltering and relations with its Arab neighbours had deteriorated. Mubarak's strategy was to address the situation with policies focused on three fronts -- to enhance democracy, development and stability. The therapy worked astonishingly well in the years between the assassination of Sadat and the massacre in Luxor in 1997.
Terrorism, though, which had stopped Egypt from reaping the dividends of victory in 1973, surged forward in the late eighties and nineties. After six years of political stability and social order (1981-1987) during which many difficult reforms were undertaken, terrorist activity erupted again to threaten political and social stability. In 1987 there were three attempts on the lives of political figures. Three interior ministers, and a prominent journalist, were all targetted in separate incidents that were all masterminded from abroad. There were also many attempts to drive wedges between Copts and Muslims, particularly in Fayoum, Minya, Imbaba, Ain Shams, Al-Umraniya and the Pyramids areas. By 1990 the speaker of the People's Assembly had been murdered.
In 1992, terrorist activity resumed and Farag Foda, astaunch critic of fundamentalist teachings, was murdered along with several others. In 1993 there were attempts on the lives of the minister of information and another minister of the interior. In August of the same year, Atef Sidky, then prime minister, narrowly escaped after being fired on by a group of terrorists who intercepted his motorcade. A young schoolgirl was killed in that shooting.
But as the terrorist schemes' aims of disrupting the economy, obstructing development and fuelling social unrest became ever more apparent, the terrorists were further alienated from mainstream society. The policies of President Mubarak had been effective in raising awareness of the destructive nature of the movement.
By 1994 terrorism was already on the decline. It was facing difficulty in recruiting sympathisers. Many leaders had been arrested and external sources of funding were being carefully monitored. As a reaction, and to reassert their presence on the scene, a few terrorists targetted the Nobel Prize laureate, Naguib Mahfouz. Fortunately they failed in this cowardly attack, though the writer's hand was badly injured. The whole incident appeared to be the action of an increasingly desperate band intent on securing international attention by selecting victims that would guarantee coverage in the world's media.
The death knell of terrorism, though, came as a result of the attempt on President Mubarak's life in Addis Ababa, on 26 June 1995. Egyptians rallied around their president, in a genuine show of love and support, and pledged to renounce terrorist ideas forever. Until the dreadful massacre in Luxor took place in November 1997 terrorism appeared to be something of the past. The carnage at Luxor, however, back-fired as far as the terrorists were concerned, as the entire population recoiled with revulsion from the results of their bloody extremism.
Mubarak, then, is already likely to be remembered for his numerous victories. Indeed, his is the record of a true hero -- and his heroism has never faltered, not as a military pilot in the October war, not as an architect of peace in the Middle East, and certainly not in the long and hard won victory over terrorism.
