Watan newspaper GIVEN all the spiteful innuendo which has been directed toward the Kingdom by our freshly emancipated neighbor, it is quite clear that the post-revolution Egypt desperately needs to seek counsel from its intelligentsia. Conversely the wise sages who sit amongst the busy fools need to cover the mouths of those who choose to ignore years of mutual respect that has gone before the days of the Jizawee's drugs case. We also need to hear the voice of the millions of Egyptians who lead a dignified and decent life in Saudi Arabia. We need them to testify of our decency as hosts to the millions who visit the holy places each year. As a Kingdom forever keen to maintain law and order, we are merely acting as any self-respecting nation would do in this circumstance – we are asserting our right to protect our borders from criminals who want to pollute our streets with forbidden narcotics. We have no interest in wrongly framing innocent people and conspiring against them – especially when those involved share a common history with us. It is so sad to witness the self-important defiance of those who are uttering such baseless accusations against our rulers. Moreover, feigning blindness to the positive aspects of the relations between Saudi and Egyptian people is treachery of a much higher magnitude. To let a handful of thieves and drug traffickers hijack a wonderful relationship between two nations is tragic beyond belief. The dignity of an Egyptian is the dignity of every Muslim and Arab national. The golden rule applies to all “do unto others as we would have done to ourselves”. We assume the best of each other and pray for each other's health and material success. We too feel proud of the Nobel Prizes Egyptians have won. The magnificent 7,000-year-old civilization requires its citizens to be decent honoring their forefathers' legacy. However, under no circumstances, post revolution or otherwise, does a nation have the right to humiliate and slander others with no justification. Even after unleashing a voluminous dictionary of abusive words against Saudis, we have exercised extraordinary patience. Our custom prevents us from perpetuating vile untruths – irrespective of the vile provocation we have been subjected to by a small minority who do not represent the entire Egyptian people. We won't allow these people's attempt to drag us into their quagmire of indecent behavior. We adhere to the beautiful invocation of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) “Sabrun Jameel”, meaning “patience is beautiful”. __
