A Tale of Two Squares and Two Movements
Posted on 27. Dec, 2011 by Franklin Lamb in Mid East
By Franklin Lamb
Cairo
This observer spent a good part of Christmas Eve divided between two main Cairo Squares, Tahrir and Abassiya, while waiting for a Visa from the Libyan Embassy.
A tale of two Squares and two Movements
|
Alexandria, 415 or 416 |
|
|
In the year 415 or 416, on the streets of Alexandria, Egypt, a band of Christian monks seized Hypatia, one of the last great thinkers of ancient Alexandria, beat her, and dragged her body to a church where they mutilated her flesh with sharp tiles and burned her remains. Read more. |
|
Cairo in year 2011 |
|
|
It is evident here that the "blue bra girl" or "Tahrir Woman” whose assault by the Egyptian army has brought intense wrath upon the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) and similar attacks are much on the minds of protestors in both Squares. But in Abassiya Sq. the participants focus more on the provocative demonstrators in Tahrir Sq. many of whom they claim are baltagiy (hoods or thugs). Tahrir Square demonstrators feel about the same way regarding the pro- SCAF (Supreme Council of Armed Forces) demonstrators over in Tahrir Square.
In Abbasiya Square close to Noor Mosque, the attitudes and trappings are in opposition to what has been happening in Tahrir Square. Same souvenirs, candy, caps with the Egyptian flag on them, T-shirts, face painting, but with a different political message.
At Tahrir Square, visitors are lectured about the current protests focusing on “Reclaiming Honor” and condemning the military for violence against protestors while chanting slogans such as “Egypt’s women are a red line.” Referring to women who have been beaten by the military including the “blue bra lady” demonstrators encourage each other with chants like, “Raise you head high, you’re more honorable than the one who stomped you.” Last week’s violence at Tahrir Sq. left 17 dead and more than 900 injured and justice is demanded.
The ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) has since apologized to Egypt's women for the infamous incident, but it has also stepped up a campaign to portray the demonstrators as vandals).
At Abassiya Sq. slogans about the dignity of women and the value of martyrs tend include the not very subtle message that those Egyptians demonstrating in Tahrir Sq. are paid to be there and most are unpatriotic and influenced by foreign elements. Is there are country in this region that has experienced an uprising where we have not heard essentially these same messages?
What I found interesting as I arrived at the Cairo Airport was the huge bill board (s) proclaiming: “American young people need to grow up more like Egyptian youngsters.” At the end of the quote is the signature Barack Obama. I have no idea if it’s an accurate quote from Obama’s June 2009 speech at Cairo University but some here seem to think it is and they ask about it.
But even more intriguing , and quite surprising, are the number of young and older demonstrating Egyptians who are very knowledgeable about current American politics and even quite arcane details of US Middle East policy. And their keen interest to discuss this subject even with the maelstrom swirling around this city of 25 million increasingly stressed citizens.
Maybe in the spirit of the holidays the current crop of Republican candidates could be forgiven for trying out various stump speeches on their audiences. But not according to Egyptians I spoke with at both Cairo main Squares now that the campaign for US president is up and running.
The near unanimous opinions I heard included the insistence that the messages of US candidates for President as they tour Iowa and New Hampshire need to be rejected by American voters for the good of the USA.
One student told me, “They are reaching new lows—and that is truly low–in American political discourse.” Before I could explain that I found Egyptian politics these days much more interesting than American politics, one young lady blurted out, “But Michele Bachman, who rival Ron Paul tells us simply hates Muslims told one Iowa audience that that she is qualified to be President because of her grasp of foreign affairs and that being on the House Intelligence Committee, “I get the same intelligence briefings that President Obama does.”
Is that true?” She asked. Before I could utter a syllable, the same female student continued, “Not only is that not accurate what she claimed about getting the same intelligence briefings as the US President but Michele then announced that as President she would close the American Embassy in Tehran, apparently unaware that President Carter did that 32 years ago. How can these candidate be so ignorant and still run for our Presidency?”
Then someone asked why Mitt Romney is assuring audiences in America and presumably Tel Aviv that his first trip as President will be to go to Israel.
Next I received a quick mini-lecture on the subject of, “and not to be outdone in groveling to Israel and ignoring American interests, former history teacher Newt Gingrich informs the world the Palestinians are an invented people while Rick Perry sees no difference between what Israel wants and what’s best for America. How is it possible they can say such things and run for President?”
Stunned, I am dazzled by how well informed these students are. In fact, reports just in from Iowa and New Hampshire (12.24.11) suggest that this wannabe Republican nominee quartet, among other candidates this year, believe the issue they have been pushing may be pure electoral gold: the fear which they believe American voters have of Islamic Terrorism.
Nervous about losing Israel-lobby cash, given their inclination to take the Bush and Obama administrations assault on civil liberties even further than attorney generals Ashcroft, Gonzales, and now Holder have done, the right wing Republicans are touring the early primary states vilifying, by innuendo, Arabs, Muslims and Islam itself—not to mention Hezbollah, Iran, Syria and Hamas.
Claiming that "the Democrats do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorist war against us," the quartet tells their two audiences (the one in front of them and much more importantly, the one at the AIPAC HQ in Washington, the latter supplying virtually all the Presidential candidates with reams of position papers on Hezbollah, Iran, Hamas, terrorism etc. and busy raising what they claim will be the most money every distributed in the history of the United States by the Israel lobby for a presidential election) that, as candidate Bachman likes to assure her audiences, "This war of terror ends when they stop coming here to kill us! Never, ever again must we be caught with our guard down.”
All the current Presidential candidates insist that American support for Israel with endless special arms programs and evermore cash and green lighting crimes against Palestine has nothing to do with the fact that the US is being driven out of the Middle East and that the American government has never been held in lower repute.
Mitt Romney claimed to speak for all the current White House aspirants when he said Arabs and Muslims have no hard feelings from the nearly one million deaths the Bush-Obama administrations have needlessly caused with their wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and support for Israel's fifth aggression against Lebanon, while urging a sixth. At the same time the Obama administrations violates international law weekly by impliedly threatening Iran with a nuclear attack in violation of Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter with its “all options are on the table! hysteria.
Egyptian students ask: “Do these same candidates expect American voters not to be concerned about the projected two trillion dollars of US taxpayer money wasted — money that every one of your countries 435 congressional districts needs for education, medical care, repairs to your deteriorating infrastructure, and myriad other urgent needs?
Egyptians in Tahriri and Abasssiya Squares have a better grasp of American politics and many of us have.
The precise authenticity of Barack Obama’s quote on the huge billboards at Cairo International airport is not sure. But the insights and wisdom of the Egyptians protecting at both Tahrir and Abbassiya Squares this season are most impressive and worth heeding as American go to the polls to vote in the coming months.
a WordPress rating system
3 Responses to “A Tale of Two Squares and Two Movements”
Leave a Reply
Join Us
 |
| Subscribe to Opinion Maker |
| Email: |
Author Profile
Dr Franklin Lamb
Rehmat
27. Dec, 2011
America has already controlled the 'Arab Spring' to protect Israel with the help of Army and the Saudi funded Salafists.
All presidential hopefuls with the exception of Rep. Ron Paul have pledged to take gun and sit in trenches to defend Israel if ever attacked by Iran or Hizbullah.
Mark Dankof, former US Senate candidate, in a recent interview with Press TV had claimed that the Zionist Lobby will not allow Ron Paul to win even if he succeed in getting Republican nomination. Watch video below.
“Paul has been a consistent critic of Israel, he wants to end foreign aid to Israel and he has recently been talking about how it is that Israel is trying to get the US to become involved in a proxy military war against Iran. He is the only Republican warning the public about this is why the Republican Jewish coalition has banned him”.
http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/ron-paul-loves-jews-but-hates-israel/
Moshe Ben Ze'Ev
28. Dec, 2011
You have only very briefly mentioned the role of the RAW-MOSSAD-CIA / HINDU-JEW-CHRISTIAN / axis (which I proudly represent) in destabilising Pakistan. From the acne on Pakistani teenagers faces, to the lack of drinking water in the Cholistan desert, the Hindu-Jew-Christian lobby is responsible for everything bad in Pakistan. We paid Jinnah's descendants soon after he died very handsomely to leave Pakistan and settle in India as big businessmen (Bombay Dyeing). So there is no Jinnah bloodline in Pakistan any more, all have left the Pure Country to settle in Infidel India. All your talk about gas pipelines are useless because I control the freedom struggle in Balochistan through which the pipe must pass. I concur with all of Pakistani politician's statements that Israel (and Hindus and Christians) are responsible for all of Pakistan's woes. We personally paid each of the tens of thousands of visitors to Imran's rally at Karachi Rs100 each to shout for TIF party. Pakistan has come crawling back to the US after Salala because I flicked a button in Tel Aviv. RAW-MOSSAD-CIA was responsible for the birth of Bangladesh, and very shortly, soon to come, the emergence of Balochistan as a separate country. At the flick of a button, I can switch off all power supply to Karachi, make the Taliban bomb you in Quetta, ground all PIA flights across Iran, and jam all drains and sewers in Lahore. I can make your president visit his chateaux in France while Sindh slips under flood waters. I can also cause dengue fever in Sindh. I also control the drones attacking you in FATA. There is nothing you can do about it. All your Ghauris and Abdalis are dummies … I control the gangs in Karachi. We have beed responsible for all of Pakistan's defeats in all the wars against India; but we will allow you to shoot& kill your own countrymen. Tell me, what can you Pakistanis do about it? You are under total control of the RAW-CIA-MOSSAD axis.
Ashraf Moussa
29. Dec, 2011
Moshe Ben Ze'Ev,,,,, is right about everthing he said, except he has forgot one thing:-
Me