US President Bush's visit to Egypt and the rest of the Middle East, domestic socio-economic concerns and sectarianism hit the headlines, write Gamal Nkrumah and Mohamed El-Sayed The visit of United States President George W Bush hit the headlines with pundits overwhelmingly scathing in their criticism. Typically, Salaheddin Hafez criticised Bush's visit to Egypt in the official Al-Ahram daily. In a sardonic tongue-in-cheek analytical piece anticipating the repercussions of Bush's visit to Egypt, Hafez recounted the worst aspects of the Bush administration, especially its insensitivity to the sensibilities of the people of the Arab and Muslim world. He was especially critical of the apparent ignorance and lack of interest in the rich cultural heritage of the region. "Welcome to countries that you don't know well or know their history, or read their culture, or the depth of their civilisation," Hafez lamented. "Your policies over the [past] seven years in the White House have proven that you don't know anything about our countries except their names and a precious few names of their politicians." He continued to paint a rather bleak picture. "We will never forget your destructive 'constructive chaos' propagated by your secretaries and apparatuses among us. Today [the state of affairs] has become more chaotic, and we have become more angry, rebellious, poor and oppressed." Hafez drew the attention of the reader to the sins and miscalculations of the Bush administration, addressing the US president in no uncertain terms. "You waged war on Afghanistan in 2001, and on Iraq in 2003 under the name of a global war against Islamist terrorism. Look what you have done today: terrorism intensified and violence spread from the East to the West until it hit the heart of Europe and America." Al-Akhbar 's sarcastic writer Ahmed Ragab criticised the Arabs for pinning much hope on Bush's visit. "Bush came in a pointless visit whose results are well known beforehand." He continued, "However, the Arabs are still pinning hopes on others, while the others are continuing to fool the Arabs because they see that they have become a people with special needs." These same sentiments were also expressed by other commentators, some in even harsher tones. The weekly opposition Al-Arabi ran a front-page headline about Bush's visit: "The serial killer [Bush] is in Sharm El-Sheikh". Even more candid were cartoons and photo essays. Indeed, the weekly independent Sawt Al-Umma ran a front-page photo of Bush labelled with "wanted". Some columnists were also inclined to self- criticism. Yes, Bush was the aggressor, but the Arabs were to blame for playing the victim. Meanwhile, Sawt Al-Umma ran a front-page headline: "After 31 years [18 and 19 January hunger riots in 1977], the bread Intifada is drawing near". Indeed, on an entirely different note, domestic concerns were uppermost in the minds of many commentators. Bread and butter issues attracted much attention by the pundits. The daily opposition Al-Ahrar ran a front-page headline about the crisis of university professors. "University professors and the government reach a deadlock". Another headline stated, "professors unions are sticking to their [salary raise] demands and threaten to go on strike, while [Prime Minister Ahmed] Nazif refuses to raise their salaries." On a similar note, Hisham Gad wrote in a front page lead article in Al-Ahrar about how businessmen trade in subsidised bread. "A 50 per cent increase in the price of subsidised bread", ran the headline. Gad explained that consumers complain that the bread baked at night is of poor quality because inspectors are presumably asleep. Several ministries, including the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Social Solidarity, collaborated to make sure that merchants who trade in wheat in the black market should be brought to book. The Minister of Social Solidarity Ali Moselhi urged Minister of Interior Habib El-Adli to punish the black market traders because of their "illegal activities". The daily Al-Masry Al-Yom ran a series of unpublished articles by the Arab world's most celebrated political analyst Mohamed Hassanein Heikal which were supposed to be published 25 years ago. "The bloody [assassination of Anwar El-Sadat in 1981] was evidence that betting on America and Israel was unsuccessful, and its losses are enormous." Egypt paid a heavy price for making up with Israel and cementing ties with the US, Heikal wrote. Writing in the daily leftist Al-Badeel, Emad Gad focussed on the rise of sectarian violence in Egypt. He pointed an accusing finger at Sadat, insinuating that sectarianism was a deliberate policy cultivated by the late president. "Sectarian violence started following the October War when Sadat wanted to use religion in solidifying his rule," Gad explained. But it was not clear whether it was a deliberate policy or an accident of historical timing. "Then, he [Sadat] sent Egyptian youth to work in oil-rich countries to get rid of their economic and political burdens. This immigration to oil-rich countries was one of the main factors that fomented sectarian strife as [Egyptian] youth went off to the Gulf with tolerant attributes, and came back espousing the hardline [religious] characteristics of the desert life." This was a thinly veiled reference to the Wahabi strand of Islam practised in Saudi Arabia. In much the same vein, prominent psychologist Ahmed Okasha was quoted in Al-Masry Al-Yom as saying that Egyptians have become obsessed with religion and no longer exhibited their characteristic open-mindedness and easy-going nature. "The Egyptian personality has lost its tolerance, moderateness, and loyalty," he lamented. "And it's overwhelmed with a misunderstanding of religion." Al-Masry Al-Yom reported that 8,000 Egyptians are living in barns in Israel. They work in the construction of settlements and the annexation wall. The independent daily Nahdet Masr warned of a conspiracy on the Internet whereby 970 Jewish families demanded compensation for their confiscated property in Egypt. The families, through the Jewish lobby in the US, urged Washington to set aside $100 million of US aid to Egypt for the purpose of compensating the Jewish families.
