Egypt. & the innocents

international | crime and justice | other press

Sunday July 24, 2005 12:29

by iosaf .:. the ipisphi ·.·

you may know its an impossible caliphate but not why, & what of that, for the west is impossible too

*Over 80 dead in bombings yesterday.

*Ambassador to Baghdad killed two weeks ago.

*One wrongly accused citizen for the bombs in london that week.

*Been trying to get on well with everyone since Arafat's funeral in 2004.

*trying to get a tourism economy together.

*home to one of the several "pan-arabic" political traditions.

*about to have a presidential election dismissed by the main parties as a farce, which has led to them boycotting it.

*neighbours Israel, Libya, Sudan, Saudi Arabia.

*Jack Straw said yesterday that "egypt's fight is our fight"... is it?
I'll let the Irish reader or whomever else ponder the story of Magdi El-Nashar, the "other innocent".

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Magdi El-Nashar has been cleared by Egyptian authorities of having any links with the 7 July London bombings that killed 56 people. El-Nashar who has been at the centre of much-publicised investigations since last Thursday remained in custody late Wednesday, until the paper went to press.

While authorities in the UK did not formally name the Egyptian chemist a "suspect", his name surfaced as part of investigations into the identities of three of the alleged bombers. A link was made between one of them, 18-year-old Hasib Hussain from Leeds, and El-Nashar, who obtained his PhD in biochemistry from Leeds University.

Even though El-Nashar admitted to having known Husain, a British-Pakistani, the chemist insisted that he had no role whatsoever in the attacks. By then, however, he had already become something of a household name worldwide, and especially in three of the places where he had lived: North Carolina in the United States; Leeds in the UK; and the Bassatin area of Cairo where he grew up.

In Bassatin, his neighbours expressed their disbelief that such "an intelligent, well-educated and refined scholar" could be the subject of suspicion. Many of his neighbours interviewed by Al-Ahram Weekly http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/
opined that El-Nashar must have been mistakenly arrested.

Reportedly, El-Nashar told investigators that he had met Husain, whose name appeared in El-Nashar's personal organiser, at a mosque and helped him to rent an apartment in Leeds that belonged to an Iraqi doctor. Further, El-Nashar denied having visited Husain in his flat -- where the British police say they found traces of ingredients used in manufacturing explosives similar to those used in the attacks -- and challenged any evidence of his involvement or knowledge of the blasts.

El-Nashar also denounced the attacks, and explained that he had returned to Egypt on 30 June for a holiday, and was planning to go back to Britain following his release to resume his studies. All his belongings are still in his flat in Leeds, he said.

Asked by interrogators about his religious affiliations and frequent visits to a local Leeds mosque, El-Nashar reportedly said that, "visiting the mosque and being a devout Muslim who prays is not a crime to be taken against me, and does not make me an extremist or a terrorist."

Much the same sentiment was echoed by El-Nashar's neighbours in Bassatin. "He performed his prayers at the mosque and so what? All Muslims are required to pray, does that brand us all as terrorists?" one asked.

The day following El-Nashar's arrest, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said he had no links with Al-Qaeda network, describing reports linking him to the group as "groundless" and based on hasty conclusions.

Despite these denials, speculation about the possibility of extraditing the chemist to the UK continued throughout the week. These rumours were based on a long- standing and well-known Egyptian campaign to bring UK-based militants who had been sentenced by Cairo military courts in absentia back home to serve their time. The possibility was thus dangled that the wanted chemist might be exchanged for them.

The prosecutor-general's office, however, appeared to quickly close the door on that possibility, when it issued a statement denying any likelihood of El-Nashar being extradited. If there proved to be valid charges against him, it said, he would be tried and held in Egypt. In any case, there is no extradition treaty between Egypt and Britain.

Meanwhile, in the UK press, allegations continued to be bandied about regarding El-Nashar possibly providing answers about how the bombs were detonated. The extent to which British police were involved in the questioning of El-Nashar in Cairo also remained up in the air.

According to British press reports quoting a security source, officers from Scotland Yard had flown out to Cairo shortly after El-Nashar's arrest, and were liaising closely with the Egyptian authorities, although they were not allowed to pose direct questions.

At the same time, Egyptian security sources denied that Britain had requested or sent any of its security bodies to take part in the interrogation process, adding that the British police said the questioning carried out by their Egyptian counterparts was "transparent and reliable". Until the paper went to press, there was no comment from the British police confirming or denying such reports.

"There is complete security cooperation with the British side, which is convinced from the questioning carried out by Egypt that El-Nashar has no role in these explosions," a senior security source was quoted as saying. Pending further questioning, added the source, the chemist "will not be released at present".

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul- Gheit said that he would be meeting with the British ambassador in Cairo to discuss the latest developments in El-Nashar's case. A British Embassy spokesperson, however, declined to comment on the matter, saying the embassy never discussed ongoing investigations.

At the National Research Centre (NRC) where El-Nashar worked for 10 years, his professors were incredulous that such a bright academic personality would become entwined -- even incorrectly -- in a terrorist-related incident. According to NRC head Hani El-Nazer, the "intelligent and clever" chemist started working on his masters in biochemistry in 1996 and finished in 1998.

In 2000 El-Nashar applied for a grant at the North Carolina State University for his PhD, where his application was accepted. There, his professor said he needed to update his masters before he could move on to the PhD. Seeing that as a waste of time, he applied for a PhD grant at Leeds University and was accepted. El-Nashar obtained his PhD this year, and returned to Egypt to present his certificate to the NRC for accreditation.

He then requested to continue his post- doctoral studies at Leeds where he was due to start in August, which "shows that Leeds University and his professors there encouraged him to continue," El-Nazer said.

While not knowing him personally, El-Nazer noted that El-Nashar's reputation is that of a man committed to hard work and academia.

El-Nashar, who is currently single, got married in 2000, and divorced a year later. He has a three-year-old daughter, Noha, who lives with her mother in Cairo.

According to the imam of the mosque in the neighbourhood where El-Nashar grew up, he used to help high school students with free chemistry lessons.

Mohamed, El-Nashar's younger brother, described their family as being beloved by his neighbours, for its "decent and tolerant" manners.

material © Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved. sue me.

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Egyptian ambassador to Iraq has been murdered. July7
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70716
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an account of Egyptian state tv as i saw it yesterday in a comment to another "innocent".
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=71065&condense_comments=false#comment115858

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Comments (8 of 8)

2 things.

by iosaf

Tue Aug 02, 2005 12:42

1st thing -
Egyptian youth. I touched on the upcoming presidential elections in the article above, that lengthy process of "democratisation", and so here is a timely link from the BBC on the serious repression of political activism in Egypt. It would be a mistake to attempt to understand the repression of the last week solely in terms of a police reaction to the bombing of Sharm el Sheikh, it goes much deeper than that, the same heavy authoritarian states that criminalise and oppress liberal social movements and grass roots organisations are the very same states that see terror groups organise logistically, ideologically, and financially in their territory; attacks either in their territory or abroad. I have always maintained that normal political activity is a pre-requisite to peace at all levels. There is no coincidence that I-t-a-l-y is the most repressive european state and also the one that has harboured the most terrorism, of all ideological types. This is what I meant by the two picture comment left July 6th to the sunday papers "dark side of the moon" edition linking state repression and terrorism with stateless terrorism. Good link from BBC:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4709011.stm

2nd thing -
Thanks to the death of the Saudi King all the arab nations will get to meet today in Saudi arabia whilst mingling with whomever isn't on holidays from western states ahead of the Egyptian summit tomorrow. They like funerals, its one of the few occassion when the mafia crew really smile for the camaras. The last two opportunities for them to come together were - the funeral of Pope 12/4/05 and of Arafat 11/11/04.

Egypt has convened an "exceptional summit" of Arab nations in Sharm el Sheikh

Thu Jul 28, 2005 21:29

"I call for an exceptional Arab summit and I propose that it be held in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday, August the 3rd," Mubarak said in a speech.

Mubarak said there was an urgent need to formulate a common Arab position on what he called worrisome developments in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A summit in Sharm el-Sheikh would also help Egypt restore the resort's image after the bombings, which could hit hard the lucrative Egyptian tourism industry.

The town has hosted several major summits over the past decade, some of them related to Middle East peace. The Egyptian government has promoted it as "The City of Peace".

& more at link

Let me repeat

by iosaf .:. ipsiphi ·.·

Mon Jul 25, 2005 14:32

We condemn all Terror attacks as dividing communities and point out that those events which are generally understood as "al qeada" are an emergent form of imitative terrorism which for their very existance feed on extremist religious responses to policy decisions made in the West.

We can not
fight a war on terror,
forge an alliance of civilisations,
find a middle east peace solution,
placate the civil war in Iraq
stop the Iraqi insurgency
solve the problems of Afghanistan
solve the base problem of Pakistan and Punjab
promote democracy and liberalism and associated trade and commerce and prosperity in the islamic world-
*at the same time*

That is the impossible ambition of the West, and if we continue with this, we give the "impossible caliphate" of the terrorists more oxygen amongst those who speak, read and think in arabic, we allow them to further their true agenda of bringing all muslim states to domestic situations based on fundamentalist extremism. Its time to make rational choices, as Europeans on the border with the muslim world we stand the most to lose after our neighbours following the US lead. Or sooner or later, the english posters will give way to arabic posters, and the victims will no longer accept our solidarity.

the workers of Sharm el-Sheikh. they are victims of the event and the consequences for the moment they speak english.

3 groups have now claimed responsibility.

by ipsiphi

Mon Jul 25, 2005 14:11

The first and most credible claim came on the same day from those calling themselves Al Q organisation in El Sham (Syria) and Al Kinana (Egypt), the so called "Abdula Azam brigade".

The second claim was reported by the independent Egyptian daily Al Masri el Youm, and is signed by a group called "brigade of Martyrs of the Sinai", the group said the attacks on the anniversary of Egypt's revolution were in revenge for the clampdown in Sinai after the Taba bombing in 2004 in which 34 died.

The third claim was reported by Al Ahram the state controlled news group I linked to above. The group calling itself "mujahiddin of Al Kinana (egypt)" The 3rd claim says the attack was carried out by 5 of its members using three cars, a taxi and a microbus laden with explosives to attack the resort.

The State authorities officially list the dead at 63 and 7 non-nationals, but hospitals report closer to 90. The figure above of 88 seems reliable. The non-nationals came from - UK, Spain, Turkey, Israel, Czech republic, Netherlands, Ukraine and Russia. Though that exact list is to be confirmed.

The first claim was made by the same general entity, that means it uses the same style, loosely related sites, (these sites go offline all the time) as those who claimed the bombing of 2004 in Taba.
Their statement said the bombing was revenge for- "the crimes of evil against the muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Chechnya" as much as "the oppression by the apostate Egyptian government of the bedouin after the Taba attack".

The Egyptians have surrounded 2 bedouin villages Ruweisat and Khurum in the Sinai.
There version of the events does not tally with the 2nd claim. They have said the bombs were caused by 2 car bombs and 1 suitcase bomb.
Pakistan has denied any official contact from the Egyptians, who seeking 6 pakistanis on false documents has for the first time pointed a finger of blame at either Pakistan or her citizens.

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I can not underline enough the difference between what occured (and occurs) in Europe with these attacks. please do not lose sight of the fact that arabic is the language of Egyptians, and thus these groups and the claims they make are widely read and influence the post-trauma of the terror event. Please do not forget that Egypt and her allies are attempting to create societies which combine liberaI political and social traditions with the social and cultural traditions of Islam. These events are different "there". These attacks are made in the name of their religion, and against the slow process of democraticisation in these states, and exacerbate impatience with those reforms, and inequalities amonst the complex ethnic and cultural groups who are ruled by these states.

I am going on record as saying that the muslim states which border the Mediterranean are much less capable of cultural and political damage limitation after these events. They can not chose to ignore the "follow-up". The terrorist may not win in London, or NYC or Madrid we are certain of that. We are resolved. But the potential to destabilise states such as Egypt and the relation between muslim societies across the whole gamut of Islam is huge and very dangerous for Europe in the longer term. This is the fundamental mistake of the "coalition of the willing" and their involvement in Iraq.

We can not fight a war on terror, forge an alliance of civilisations, find a middle east peace solution, and placate the civil war in Iraq and the insurgency at the same time. That is the impossible ambition of the West, and if we continue with this, we give the "impossible caliphate" of the terrorists more oxygen amongst those who speak, read and think in arabic.

In the list of condemnation of the July 7 bombings by the Left in the UK & Ireland

Mon Jul 25, 2005 11:39

indymedia ireland appeared & so did my name.
With the caveat that we ought not feel we have to condemn what it ought be taken for granted we condemn. We were at that time looking to the G8 meeting and condemning its inaction on war, poverty, hunger and the planet's climate.

"We condemn all bombs and all war."

You would think Toneore, if we had succeeded in globally marketing a free to use no-war logo based on an illustration of a bomb with a line through it, most readers would presume we are anti-bombs too.

It ought be clear from the title and the illustration of this article that the effects of these bombings on the next generations of muslim youth in the southern mediteranean is important to me.

& it ought be important to everyone. These attacks have a potential to destabilise the countries of north africa which dwarfes their effect on London, or Ireland. I am writing about the future, cultural and political in which those kids will grow up, the immediate history which will influence them.

If every day I have to preface every new article or comment with a condemnation, or a list of innocent victims, then my politics are being hijacked by others who refused to accept the wisdom of our counsel all the way along.
A global analysis based on the observation that injustice and inequality foster division and religious fundamentalism in poorer countries and that those injuistices and inequalities are the result of western led economic and trade policies, (& in the case of the middle east and africa - western support for weak states which are neither nation states or true democracies), military misadventures and intrusive cultural hegemony. Western foreign policy led by the USA made several mistakes of generational importance in the Levant and Maghreb one of which was the occupation of Iraq.
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The authorities see a link to the 2004 bombing (details in the first comment above) and are looking for Pakistanis.

Iran Condemns Bombing, so do Locals

by toneore

Mon Jul 25, 2005 03:56

toneore at eircom dot net

IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN HAMID REZA ASEFI

"The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the bombings in Sharm al-Sheikh. We extend our sympathy to the families of the victims and the countries which have suffered including Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Netherlands, Britain and others.

We strongly condemn such actions - using terrorism to achieve one's goals. "

Local people also strongly condemned the bombing:

"May God retaliate on them. Those are people that have no religion, no morals. There is no difference between Egyptians and foreigners. We are all human beings."

How come Indymedia Ireland cannot bring itself to also condem this terrorism instead of dressing it up in some package of blame with the words "West" and "Our Fault" on it? And this, Iosaf, is your way of bringing social and economic justice?

updates. rolling news. be a part of it. call the number. touch the screen.

Sun Jul 24, 2005 22:32

The categories no longer may be thought helpful.
What was one issue, or one state, now sees cause & effect, throughout the system.

The system the "circles of influence" in which you and your's live now include the Middle East as never before, the Mediteranean with both Turkey "anatolia" and the west "maghreb" are sending you news, names, dates, causes & effects, issues throughout the system.

The Egyptians now know that the explosive that was used was of high quality and foreign origin.

They now feel that our direct interest is served, and our tourists are safely returned. Even 4000 Israelis thought to cross the Taba and go home.

They have begun what the global TV call
"a! man!hunt!".

What they've got so far is bedouin in the Sinai.

some say dozens others say 70. Let's presume all the smugglers on the caravan routes, (are we naive enough to imagine camels as well?) are now being questioned or (how is it is put? - oh yes) helping the egyptian police with their inquiries.

Q.
Didn't 4000 people just go zooming up that motorway and over the Taba?
A.
Oh very bright, yes they did, but they're from Israel who wants Egypt to control the traffic of arms in the Sinai.

Unfortuanately for the security in its most real sense of the "circles of influence" of what may be called "civilised states" often the most unhelpful people in the macro-inquiry are the investigators on the case. It has always been one of the grossest injustices of war, and the special types of crime that acompany war and need war to be comitted.

Meanwhile a man was killed when the bomb he was carrying exploded in Cairo. Perhaps he died before he said his prayers. What if one goes to heaven if killed in a suicide bomb attack? Would that make us feel better? You are a "martyr for peace now" welcome to the afterlife you've your papers. Would we be angry if the bomber got in to? Do we all go to different heaven? What if you didn't go to heaven in a suicide bomb attack and lived a really bad life and went to hell, would you expect to find the suicide bomber there, and wonder would it have been better if you'd caught that bus?

The workers of the Sinai Resort as seen on CNN adverts throughout 2004, marched in their thousands to say no to Terror. & no to other people making decisions on their route to heaven today.

Saleem = Pax = Shalom = Peace.

look! the universality of yoga. Of course you might not call it yoga, but its good to bend over backwards on occassion. you feel better afterwards. honestly you do.

Media opinions, directions and other background info on Egypt

Sun Jul 24, 2005 13:17

The strictly controlled Middle East times' opinion piece today by Claude Salhani, international editor at United Press International says "Lebanon's political volcano ready to erupt".
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050721-035629-8996r
They also report a video from the current Saddam Hussein trial, standing accused since Sunday 17th of July in a case relating to the 1982 killing of 143 residents of the Shia village of Dujail, northeast of Baghdad. The killings took place after Saddam survived an assassination bid in the village. The former dictator, his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim Al Hassan, former vice president Taha Yasin Ramadan, former top judge Awad Badar Al Bender and others are to be tried in connection with this case.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050721-031140-4519r
and a review of arabic daily editorials dated july 18 which gave reaction to 7/7/05-
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050712-034700-8781r

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"Egypt today" an online magazine lead article entitled "The Writing's on the Wall" looks at the clean up of graffiti ahead of those troublesome elections. It is an indication of "where Egyptians were at" a few days ago.
http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=5316
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Egptians have wanted a seat on the UN Security council, this has been going on for a while
http://allafrica.com/stories/200507110104.html
they are really trying very hard to be statesman like on the local stage. Remember Arafat's funeral.
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But they are accused of intefering in and monitoring their rights organisations.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200507080899.html
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Football is very important to them, they want the game (they claim they invented) in Cairo, and were pleased to go to the top of the FIFA continental africa rankings in the last week, they'll be in the same group as Benin, Cameroon (very good team) their neighbours Libya and Sudan and Cote d'Ivoire the continental games will be played in 2006 and Egypt hopes they help them with future bids.
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Since 1992 there have been 14 attacks on tourism interests in the Egyptian state.

2005:
• July 23: A rapid series of car bombs and another blast ripped through a luxury hotel and a coffeeshop in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, killing at least 88 in Egypt's deadliest-ever terror attack. The casualties were mostly Egyptians, but many foreigners were among the dead and wounded.
• April 30: Two veiled women open fire on a tour bus in Cairo, then shoot themselves. Also, a suspect in an April 7 attack dies when the bomb he is carrying goes off during a police chase. All three attackers die and seven people, four of them foreigners, are wounded in the violence.
• April 7: Suicide bomber detonates a homemade bomb near the Khan al-Khalili market, killing two French citizens and an American.

2004:
• Oct. 7: Islamic militants detonate bombs in the Sinai resorts of Taba and Ras Shitan, killing 34 people, including more than 10 Israelis, and wounding more than 100.
1997:
• Nov. 17: Islamic militants kill 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians in an attack at the Pharaonic Temple of Hatshepsut outside Luxor in southern Egypt. Police kill all six assailants. The massacre devastates the country's important tourist industry.
• Sept. 18: Two gunmen kill nine German tourists and their driver in an attack on a tour bus outside the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo. Eighteen people are wounded.
1996:
• April 18: Four Islamic militants open fire on Greek tourists, killing 18, outside the Europa Hotel on the Pyramids Road in Cairo. Seventeen people are wounded.
1994:
• March 4: Islamic militants open fire on a Nile cruise ship at Sidfa in southern Egypt, killing a German woman.
• Aug. 26: A 13-year-old Spanish boy is killed and three other people are wounded when militants fire at a tourist bus near Nag Hamadi in southern Egypt.
• Sept. 27: Two German tourists and two Egyptians are killed when a militant opens fire in central Hurghada, a Red Sea resort.
• Oct. 23: A British man is killed and three Britons and their driver wounded in an attack on their minibus near Naqada in southern Egypt.
1993:
• Feb. 26: A bomb explodes at popular coffee shop in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, killing a Swede, a Turk and an Egyptian. Eighteen others are injured, including two Americans.
• Oct. 26: A gunman kills two Americans and a Frenchman and wounds three other foreigners at a Cairo hotel.
1992:
• Islamic insurrection begins in Egypt. An early casualty is a British woman tourist killed in an attack on a bus near Dairut in southern Egypt.

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Egypt with her neighbour Libya shares the distinction in the muslim world of helping to develop distinct forms of "pan-arabism".
Understanding how those philosophies developed and after the perceived "failures" mutated in the contemporary muslim world, from north africa or west africa to Asia is essential for understanding the "impossible caliphate" and its missionaries of terror, and more importantly its wrongly accused innocents. This critical approach ought accompany examination of our own failings, the "failure" of our social, industrial and political systems to offer peace, justice or equality.

Egypt & the Innocents. "may all those who believe war in Iraq is essential to the future think about these innocents & the world their minds will be formed in"

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Egypt. & the innocents

Comments (8 of 8)