Egypt is, after all, a land of symbolism. Its edifices convey an uninterrupted recorded history of 7000 years. From the Pyramids and the Sphinx, to the Hanging Coptic Church where the Holy Family hid from persecution. From the Muhammad Ali Mosque, a symbol of an Egypt moving ahead of a dying Ottoman Empire, to the new Suez Canal where water is expected to flow this February, creating two Suez Canals -each a one-way global waterway.
It is a confident Egypt, in search of a new age of progress through science and technology, in search of 13 million tourists a year, in search of pivoting to the East to end vestiges of dependency on the West, and in search of assertive secularism over the non-content Islamism of the Brotherhood which dupes its adherents by the fiction of being a Muslim Brotherhood.
Throughout this 10-day period of stay in Cairo, I was able to discern tangible evidence of the framework of the New Egypt after only six months of El-Sisi presidency. No -I am not in anybody's pay!!
"Tahya Misr" (Long Live Egypt) is the new motto which reflects a post-revolutionary focus on Egypt itself. No more ideological preoccupation with non-Egyptian issues under an inarticulate banner of "Arab nationalism."
With the Egyptian economy in a sorrowful state, coupled with terroristic attacks targeting Sinai, Egypt is forging an eastern axis with Saudi Arabia, other Gulf States (all sources of generous capital infusions eclipsing any US aid), plus Jordan.
That axis has a central global mission: combating ISIS and other barbaric marauders. It requires coordination with Cairo, an Arab wing of the Anti-ISIS international coalition. Hence a twenty-one gun salute greeted El-Sisi this December upon his arrival at the Amman airport. Units of the proud Jordanian Arab army strutted to the tunes of bagpipes as El-Sisi and King Abdulla II saluted.
In mid December, a two-day conference sponsored by "Dar Al-Tahrir" and publicised under El-Sisi name, was organized as "The Anti-Terrorism Conference." It was addressed by Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab who declared that "those who seek to transfer their terror trade to Egypt shall fail. For Egyptian culture, and all shades of Egyptian public opinion, confront terrorism through a culture of religious moderation and of total support of the army and the police as they daily combat that scourge."
The broad representation at that conference of the Cabinet at the ministerial level was indicative of the variety of official contributions to that globalized the historic task of terrorism containment. The ministers of interior, energy, supply, religious affairs, communication, local development, culture, oil, transitional justice, and the presidential advisor on national security.
The conference targeted five fronts through which anti-terrorism should be tackled. Aside from the military blunt instrument, there are other tasks: improvement of public services; continuation of Al-Azhar's efforts to rebut the misguided notions of extremists; bettering the advocacy of religious tolerance through mosques and churches; revamping the educational curricula at all levels; and monitoring groups and associations which advocate exclusion.
More anti-terrorism conferences: This time by joint co-sponsorship by Al-Azhar and the Coptic church. Headed by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Dr. El-Tayib, and Pope Toadros, their respected voices were raised to stress that there is absolutely no conflict between Islam and Christianity. The conferees denounced the mixing between the barbarism of terrorism and Islam, a faith of moderation and tolerance. While terrorism, the conference noted, seeks the expulsion of Copts from their homeland, Islam does not decree jihad except for self-defense and repelling aggression against faith and country. Its exercise is the monopoly of governments, not of free-lancers. In this regard, there is no difference between ISIS, Al-Qaeda, the Friends of Jerusalem, and the Muslim Brotherhood. They are all links in the same satanic chain.
Now the thrust of external Egyptian foreign policy beyond the Arab homeland is in the direction of containment of Turkish Islamism, as exercised imperially by Ordogan. This seems to be the knob of Egyptian focus on the Mediterranean, which is marked by espousal of Athens, Nicosia, Italy and France. An epitome of diversification when seen through the Egyptian "NACH OST" (thrust toward the East). Witness the forthcoming visit by Putin to Cairo.
As a tenet of this diversification of the New Egypt's foreign policy is the sidelining of Ordogan of Turkey as a delusional master of an uncertain destiny. It is a quiet assault on the neo-Ottomanism which sees the Muslim Brotherhood as a loyal opposition. Only idiots may assess the blood-thirsty Brotherhood as a democratizing force.
Aside from the big picture, the new normal, the New Egypt is forging ahead:
- The Giza Zoo is full of visitors, especially entire families;
- The trains are running; the buses are again crowded;
- Thousands of customers are crowding little shops selling produce, fruits, as well as housewares, all made in Egypt;
- Syrians are not herded into refugee camps, but are fully integrated within a welcoming Egyptian society;
- Restaurants are busy serving all types of cuisine;
- Tourists are back, with some of them taking pictures through their apps even with President El-Sisi;
- International conferences are being held in Cairo and elsewhere;
- The name of a Copt recently martyred by terror gangs in Sinai Kyrollos is now given to, a primary school in the province of Sharkia where the 29th Pharaonic family held sway in Tal Basta -a mere 3 miles from my village -Kanayat.
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