Egypt's official stance is moving toward blaming the Alexandria church bombing on al-Qaida, based on the idea that only a foreign party could carry out or plan such an attack. This trend in the official discourse is prominent, even though the Egyptian government itself has on many occasions denied that al-Qaida exists in Egypt, and has never linked this group in the past to any terror act. At the same time, other Arab media outlets, led by those of governments and organizations that are “pro-defiance,” have accused Israel, American “imperialism”, or both, of being behind the attack. In both cases, that of the media of Egypt and the “defiance” camp, there has been a traditional preference to cast blame on others, based on the idea that we practice nothing but virtue! Fine. Then let us say: I hope it was al-Qaida, and Israel, that bombed the church. If this accusation is proven, it will confirm that Egypt is domestically secure, that national unity is in good shape, and that there is a slim likelihood that a Christian would attack a mosque or a Muslim a church, in today's Egypt. However, can we truly rule out any domestic involvement? Doesn't the sectarian climate, which is spreading in Egypt and other Arab countries and is sometimes given political cover by higher powers, allow unstable elements, paid killers or sectarian fanatics to exploit the situation to achieve any gains? In Egypt itself, doesn't the prevailing climate against Copts, who form a considerable percentage of the Egyptian people, facilitate crimes such as the one we saw in Alexandria, historically known as an oasis of tolerance and liberalism, not only in Egypt, but the entire Middle East? Egypt's politicians, before its security officials, should consider these questions and answer them. Heading off this climate is the quickest way to foiling foreign parties that might want to penetrate Egypt's national fabric. Two comments about the Alexandria crime caught my attention. The first was by the governor of Alexandria, General Adel Labib: a problem has begun to grow recently, that of sectarianism, and we should stand against this. The governor said that there are many problems in Egyptian society, whether among Christians or Muslims, but when a problem takes place between the two sides it becomes a sectarian problem, and should be treated rationally. Meanwhile, on the al-Ahram English website, Hani Shukrallah wrote an extremely clear and bold piece, criticizing the sectarian climate in Egypt, which as usual is claiming a minority as its victim. He wrote: “But most of all, I accuse the millions of supposedly moderate Muslims among us; those who've been growing more and more prejudiced, inclusive and narrow minded with every passing year… I've been around, and I have heard you speak, in your offices, in your clubs, at your dinner parties: ‘The Copts must be taught a lesson,' ‘the Copts are growing more arrogant,' ‘the Copts are holding secret conversions of Muslims'.” In a climate such as this, fanaticism is not restricted to a single group. The reactions by Copts, as we saw in the slogans at demonstrations, or the attack on the convoy of the sheikh of al-Azhar and the mufti of Egypt who came to give their condolences over those killed in the bombing, confirm that Egypt today is a blazing fire that must be put out. Security measures alone will not suffice, even though they are more than necessary. Instead, bold political decisions must accompany these measures, even if they hint at being more biased toward the Copts for the present. Once again: I hope that it was al-Qaida, or Israel, that bombed the church. However, this wish does not absolve Egyptian officials of their responsibility for safeguarding domestic unity in Egypt. This unity can only be secured by seeing civil society achieve true equality for all Egyptians. A society such as this is the only protection against external intervention, whether it is al-Qaida and its ideas, or the enemies of Egypt who lie in wait for it. A society such as this, when it arises, has no need to fear any external plots, if they exist.
