Terrorism (and Conspiracy Theory) Update
Several Egyptians have been arrested in connection with the Taba bombings, and the government is saying a Palestinian living in Egypt (who was killed in the blast) was the ringleader. According to the government, this was a “primitive” operation carried out in response to events in Palestine. If so, this is “good” news for Egypt and for us: an isolated attack against Israel by a few first-time terrorists is a less destabilizing scenario than a new Al-Qaeda inspired or even orchestrated terrorist group out to overthrow the Egyptian government.
The country as a whole, meanwhile, has remained calm, and from what we hear there have been no mass cancellations from tourists. The fact that the attack was so near to Israel and targeted Israelis seems to have convinced most people this is more about the Arab-Israeli conflict than about Egypt itself. This still may not be correct, however. We should keep in mind that the Egyptian government has every reason to paint this tragedy as part of the Palestinian problem and not a problem in and about Egypt itself.
A NOTE on conspiracy theories: as most of you probably know, conspiracy theories are very popular in this part of the world. In fact, when asked if Israel might have organized the attack in Sinai against its own people to make Egypt look bad, President Mubarak said it was too early to know for certain who did it. The fact he couldn’t just come out and say “that’s ludicrous” is telling. In the minds of many people, the Israelis are capable of anything, including murdering their own people. Similarly, I talked with a student who suggested, as a theory, that the US government organized 9/11. I don’t think this student believed it, but it seemed to him a reasonable, if unlikely, theory that should not be ignored. One of Faith’s friends, meanwhile, honestly believes the story about the 4,000 Jews being warned to not come in to work in New York on 9/11. Just yesterday, I was talking to a student (one of my favorites) who was convinced that Bush was going to invade the entire Middle East, including Egypt, and take everything over. Other students have suggested the US wants to exterminate all Muslims.
Where do these theories come from? More importantly, WHY are they so popular? There are, I think, four main reasons:
First and most importantly, there is no free press here, while the Egyptian people have very few opportunities to know how their own government functions. Egyptians thus are at the mercy of an often inscrutable government, while Egypt as a whole seems at the mercy of vast forces beyond its control, forces often identified as related to--or actually AS--”the Jews” and/or America. (Often Jews are seen as pulling America’s strings here.) In short, accurate information and independent news sources can be very hard to come by, and in their absence all sorts of bizarre ideas arise to fill the blanks in.
Second, there is a great deal of pride in this part of the world. In the past, this region was very powerful and it makes no sense to people that this greatness could have failed without extensive back-stabbing, manipulation, and treachery on the part of outsiders.
Thirdly, Islam is, like Christianity, a universalistic religion. Everyone, according to Muslims, should be a Muslim, since Islam and the Quran were given to humankind by God as the one “straight path” they should follow. Muslims should thus be favored more highly by God than anyone. In the modern world, however, this favor is not evident with respect to economic, military, or cultural might. What went wrong? Conspiracy theories help provide a relatively comforting and unambiguous answer to this question.
Finally, Egypt HAS, of course, been manipulated and used by outsiders for centuries. Foreign rule of one kind or another was imposed on Egypt for some 2,000 years, while in modern times Egypt was ruled by the British. The memories of foreign control and domination are still fresh in people’s minds here, memories supported vigorously by the schools—including ours. The feeling that Egypt is being controlled by outsiders almost seems to have become a habit here.
That said, I’ve come to the conclusion that the best thing I can do is, when given the chance, attempt to problematize some of these theories with a few well-chosen questions. For instance, “if Israel orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, why does Osama Bin Laden claim credit for them? Doesn’t that imply that Osama Bin Laden is, in one sense or another, working for Israel?” To the girl who thought we were going to invade the entire Middle East I wondered whether or not the U.S. could afford it. People would violently resist, after all, and the cost of fighting ten insurgencies in ten different countries would be far, far higher than the value of the oil America would seize. I don’t know how well these questions work, but my goal is not to get people to have a particular opinion. I only want them to ask more questions and recognize that things are more complicated than they are assuming.
I have to add one other thing: the people who say these things are not raving, hateful lunatics: they are very kind adults and kids who have treated us wonderfully and for whom both Faith and I feel a great deal of affection. If you think this doesn’t make any sense, then maybe I’ve helped problematize some of your theories as well.
The country as a whole, meanwhile, has remained calm, and from what we hear there have been no mass cancellations from tourists. The fact that the attack was so near to Israel and targeted Israelis seems to have convinced most people this is more about the Arab-Israeli conflict than about Egypt itself. This still may not be correct, however. We should keep in mind that the Egyptian government has every reason to paint this tragedy as part of the Palestinian problem and not a problem in and about Egypt itself.
A NOTE on conspiracy theories: as most of you probably know, conspiracy theories are very popular in this part of the world. In fact, when asked if Israel might have organized the attack in Sinai against its own people to make Egypt look bad, President Mubarak said it was too early to know for certain who did it. The fact he couldn’t just come out and say “that’s ludicrous” is telling. In the minds of many people, the Israelis are capable of anything, including murdering their own people. Similarly, I talked with a student who suggested, as a theory, that the US government organized 9/11. I don’t think this student believed it, but it seemed to him a reasonable, if unlikely, theory that should not be ignored. One of Faith’s friends, meanwhile, honestly believes the story about the 4,000 Jews being warned to not come in to work in New York on 9/11. Just yesterday, I was talking to a student (one of my favorites) who was convinced that Bush was going to invade the entire Middle East, including Egypt, and take everything over. Other students have suggested the US wants to exterminate all Muslims.
Where do these theories come from? More importantly, WHY are they so popular? There are, I think, four main reasons:
First and most importantly, there is no free press here, while the Egyptian people have very few opportunities to know how their own government functions. Egyptians thus are at the mercy of an often inscrutable government, while Egypt as a whole seems at the mercy of vast forces beyond its control, forces often identified as related to--or actually AS--”the Jews” and/or America. (Often Jews are seen as pulling America’s strings here.) In short, accurate information and independent news sources can be very hard to come by, and in their absence all sorts of bizarre ideas arise to fill the blanks in.
Second, there is a great deal of pride in this part of the world. In the past, this region was very powerful and it makes no sense to people that this greatness could have failed without extensive back-stabbing, manipulation, and treachery on the part of outsiders.
Thirdly, Islam is, like Christianity, a universalistic religion. Everyone, according to Muslims, should be a Muslim, since Islam and the Quran were given to humankind by God as the one “straight path” they should follow. Muslims should thus be favored more highly by God than anyone. In the modern world, however, this favor is not evident with respect to economic, military, or cultural might. What went wrong? Conspiracy theories help provide a relatively comforting and unambiguous answer to this question.
Finally, Egypt HAS, of course, been manipulated and used by outsiders for centuries. Foreign rule of one kind or another was imposed on Egypt for some 2,000 years, while in modern times Egypt was ruled by the British. The memories of foreign control and domination are still fresh in people’s minds here, memories supported vigorously by the schools—including ours. The feeling that Egypt is being controlled by outsiders almost seems to have become a habit here.
That said, I’ve come to the conclusion that the best thing I can do is, when given the chance, attempt to problematize some of these theories with a few well-chosen questions. For instance, “if Israel orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, why does Osama Bin Laden claim credit for them? Doesn’t that imply that Osama Bin Laden is, in one sense or another, working for Israel?” To the girl who thought we were going to invade the entire Middle East I wondered whether or not the U.S. could afford it. People would violently resist, after all, and the cost of fighting ten insurgencies in ten different countries would be far, far higher than the value of the oil America would seize. I don’t know how well these questions work, but my goal is not to get people to have a particular opinion. I only want them to ask more questions and recognize that things are more complicated than they are assuming.
I have to add one other thing: the people who say these things are not raving, hateful lunatics: they are very kind adults and kids who have treated us wonderfully and for whom both Faith and I feel a great deal of affection. If you think this doesn’t make any sense, then maybe I’ve helped problematize some of your theories as well.
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