Mashari Althaydi

By : Mashari Althaydi

:: ISIS Qutbist – ie in reference to Sayyid Qutb – criminals targeted churches in Alexandria and Tanta on Palm Sunday. The blasts were carried out by suicide bombers, using explosive devices, killing at least 40 people and wounding dozens more. Among those killed were a police brigadier-general who clashed with the suicide bomber in Alexandria and an Egyptian policewoman. The latter is thus the first Egyptian female “hero” to fall victim in this war against terrorism.

The attacks’ outcomes could have been far worse and more disastrous as the Coptic Pope was inside the Alexandria church; fortunately, he was not harmed.

The terrorists of Sinai, ISIS and Al-Qaeda and vengeful Brotherhood groups are keen to harm Egypt’s security, in particular its soldiers, policemen, judicial figures and Copts.

Egypt is in a state of open war with Islamized terrorist groups. Anyone with eyes can clearly see this. Solidarity with Egypt is a duty which no one must be hesitant about

Mashari Althaydi

The malicious attack comes before the Catholic Church’s Pope Francis’ visit to Egypt which is scheduled for the end of April.

Egypt is in a state of open war with Islamized terrorist groups. Anyone with eyes can clearly see this. Solidarity with Egypt is a duty which no one must be hesitant about. This is why Saudi Arabia beginning with its highest command King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the kingdom stands with Egypt against these malicious people.

Like Saudi Arabia, the other Gulf countries have also voiced their support. What was also important was American President Donald Trump’s stance as he spoke about his trust in Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi’s capability to resolve this “difficult” situation.

Rival groups

What is interesting is the extent of rivalry some have towards the Egyptian government. Some groups tried to exploit the recent attacks to serve their political aims. Cleric Doctor Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Brotherhood’s symbol, said on Twitter: “Throughout its entire history, Egypt has only witnessed explosions that target a group of people during eras of tyranny.”

He later tried to delete this tweet but it was too late. Qaradawi’s statement is a historical fallacy which is the result of passionate political beliefs.

Developments related to sectarian strife in Egypt are not the result of today’s policies or due to “tyranny” as Qaradawi put it. I won’t talk about the events of Al-Khankah in 1972, or Az-Zawiya Al-Hamra in 1981 or the Kosheh incident in 1999 or the 2011 bombing of the Saints’ Church in Alexandria. The latter explosion happened before the January 2011 revolution and back then, “revolutionaries,” and of course the Brotherhood mouthpieces, accused the Egyptian interior ministry of orchestrating the attack. Can you imagine this. And why would the ministry do that? “To distract” the Egyptian people.

After the so-called January revolution, the Maspero and Atfih events happened and all of them were due to sectarian tensions. However, what’s more important is what happened in July 2013 when Brotherhood President Mohammed Mursi was ousted and when Brotherhood armed gatherings were dispersed. At the time, Human Rights Watch said around 42 churches and Christian property were looted and held extremist Islamists responsible.

There are strenuous efforts to create “security” and civil strife in Egypt during this phase.

The question is: Who benefits from that?

Saudi journalist Mashari Althaydi presents Al Arabiya News Channel’s “views on the news” daily show “Maraya.” He has previously held the position of a managing senior editor for Saudi Arabia & Gulf region at pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. Althaydi has published several papers on political Islam and social history of Saudi Arabia. He appears as a guest on several radio and television programs to discuss the ideologies of extremist groups and terrorists. He tweets under @MAlthaydy

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in the Column section are their own and do not reflect RiyadhVision’s point-of-view.

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