A hideous message

By Naguib Mahfouz

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Last week's terrorist bomb near Al- Azhar was a catastrophe. Can any good ever come from such a horror? In killing and wounding innocent people did the terrorists want to strike a blow at the Egyptian tourist industry? How is that supposed to help the Egyptian economy? How could that be of any benefit to the thousands of Egyptians whose livelihood is connected with that tourist district? What possible harm is there in people coming to Egypt to see our Islamic monuments, to purchase our handicrafts and to taste the friendship and hospitality of our people?

Was there some kind of message behind this cold-blooded slaughter of Egyptians and foreigners alike? Were the terrorists trying to tell us that they are still around and ready to strike whenever they choose?

Whatever its diabolical purposes the incident confirms that some young people have reached such a level of anger and despair they no longer attach any value to life -- neither their own, nor the lives of others. It is not sufficient merely to condemn. We must also ask ourselves how we might have driven a young man to such a frame of mind that he could commit this crime and what we might do to spare others such depths of anguish.

Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.