13 - 19 September 2001
Issue No.551
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 13 - 19 September 2001 Issue No.551 |
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Condemning aggression
"Egyptians' feelings about the incident are deeply contradictory," said Mosbah Qutb, senior member of the leftist Tagammu Party, reflecting on popular sentiments about the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington as Shaden Shehab and Fatemah Farag report. "On the one hand we are a civilised people -- a people who truly believe in peace and have great respect for human life, and to see such loss fills us with pain. On the other hand is our acute awareness that this is the United States whose policies are directly responsible for so many deaths and so much misery throughout the world, particularly, of course, in the Middle East."
At the other end of the political spectrum, and speaking for the Liberal Wafd Party, Ibrahim Dessouki Abaza, assistant secretary- general, told Al-Ahram Weekly, "We [the Wafd Party] like all Egyptians, strongly condemn terrorism. We condemn terrorist activities against the United States; equally, we condemn terrorism by Israelis against Palestinian civilians." Abaza took the opportunity to add that he hoped that the "horrific attack on the United States would make the world feel the pain of the Palestinian civilians who are crushed every day."
Diaeddin Dawoud, chairman of the Nasserist Party agreed with Abaza. "What happened to America is a great tragedy that we condemn categorically. At the same time," Dawoud said, "it is a pity that civilians had to pay the price of the American administration's miscalculations." He added, "American policies have made a lot of enemies, not only in the Middle East but throughout the world -- actions like dropping the [atomic] bomb on Hiroshima or even their position in Durban. I hope they learn their lesson."
A statement released by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi said, "Al-Azhar is against terrorism, regardless of its source or target. The killing of innocent men, women, and children is a horrible and ugly act that is against all religions and against rational thinking."
For their part, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood said that they were "horrified" by the attack on the US and they expressed their "condolences and sadness." In a statement received by the Weekly, the Brotherhood said that they "strongly condemn such activities that are against all humanist and Islamic morals." The statement added that they "condemn and oppose all aggression on human life, freedom and dignity anywhere in the world."
Speculating on the relevance of information available to date, the Tagammu's Qotb noted that "the choice of targets -- symbols of modern capitalism and the American military -- indicate that the attacks reflect strong opposition to contemporary capitalism and the global system. There are many groups that harbour such views -- even within the US itself -- and this must be taken into consideration." He went on to warn against "attempts being made by the US and the Western media in general, to lay blame on specific parties. "It is obvious that the US has no idea who is behind the incidents and the world must stand united against the Americans venting their anger against the most convenient target."
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