Doaa El-Bey and Rasha Saad tackle the confessional tumult on which the press has focussed this week: while the controversy over niqab reaches a new pinnacle, citizens continue to debate the significance of the disappearance of a priest's wife This week's story concerning the disappearance of a priest's wife ended happily in her return. However, writers in the Cairo press nevertheless believed that the reaction of the country's Copts to the incident could have serious ramifications. According to Ali El-Sayed, writing in the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Yom, some Copts think that they belong to a different part of society and act in the spirit of a minority that suspects every action taken by society or state. Many Copts in Egypt seem to think that threats are always lurking, El-Sayed wrote, such that should a woman go missing they jump to the conclusion that she has been abducted. It is not altogether unusual for Christian girls to run away with Muslim men, or Muslim girls to run away with Christian men, if they know each other and live in the same street or go to the same university. However, what is unacceptable is for these stories to be turned into sensational events that are blamed on one religious group or another. While it cannot be denied that the country's Copts do experience certain challenges, El-Sayed wrote, they only compound them when they jump to conclusions and begin public demonstrations. In fact, he wrote, "the Christians' problems are those of the whole society. When the state is absent, there is no law, and law is replaced by sectarian feeling. When the state differentiates between people, for example in employment, then the unity of society is damaged, and the idea of the 'Crescent and the Cross' disappears even from the history books." For his part, Alaa Oraibi, writing in the daily opposition paper Al-Wafd, argued that "those responsible from the Mawas Monastery in Minya should be sanctioned on the grounds that they have damaged national unity and threatened the security of the country. Some of the young people who had demonstrated, and some of the Coptic priests, should be prosecuted for spreading false reports and inciting Coptic young people to clash with Muslims." Oraibi wrote that after the disappearance of his wife the priest concerned had started to raise questions about her disappearance in church, even suggesting to the congregation that his wife had been abducted by a Muslim. Such irresponsible accusations would tend to incite Christian young people against their Muslim compatriots in their village and surrounding villages. And as a result they did indeed begin sit-ins and demonstrations, sending material to foreign news sites and encouraging young Christians to gather, as they thought, in defence of the priest and his wife. Some young men from the Mawas Monastery even went to Saint Mark's Cathedral in Cairo to demonstrate. Eventually, Oraibi said, members of the security forces found the priest's wife hiding at a relative's house, and it turned out that she had left home after a quarrel with her husband. For this reason, Oraibi concluded, the priest should be prosecuted, since he had abused his position in order to inflame sectarian feelings. Many writers in the Egyptian press wrote about cooperation between African countries this week as a result of the African Union summit held in the Ugandan capital Kampala. The issue of water-sharing among the Nile basin states was of particular concern to the country's commentators. According to an editorial that appeared in the official daily Al-Akhbar, the summit meeting was a step on the path towards African unity and the establishment of an African bloc that could be modelled on similar lines to the European Union. In the speech that President Hosni Mubarak addressed to the summit, Egypt outlined its strategy towards Africa. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, who read the speech, described the challenges that face the continent, especially in the fields of security, social and economic development, and the health of families and children. Nazif also held a meeting with the leaders of the Nile basin states, in order to discuss the water-sharing issue. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit underlined that Egypt did not want any differences with the Nile basin states and was looking forward to bridging any differences that did exist and enhancing existing dialogue. In the official daily Al-Ahram, Abdel-Fattah Ibrahim discussed the issue of the Nile's water, asking why Egypt had waited for a crisis to occur before seeking solutions. "The water crisis in Egypt has not appeared suddenly. However, as usual no plan has been drawn up in advance to deal with it," he wrote. Diplomatic efforts had now started to resolve the crisis. But why had these not started earlier? Was it because Egypt had not been prepared for changes in the policies of the other Nile basin states, despite the many changes currently underway in Africa? The solution to the crisis did not only lie in negotiation between the parties, Ibrahim wrote. Instead, friendly states could be asked to mediate in a bid to resolve it. More importantly, Egypt should also prepare itself for the worst. What would happen, he asked, if despite our best efforts we were not able to conclude a new water-sharing agreement? This week also saw the 58th anniversary of the 23 July 1952 Revolution, which was commemorated in a low-key way. While Emadeddin Hussein hailed the revolution in the independent daily Al-Shorouk, he also said that no one could defend its mistakes, including one- party rule and the denial of democracy and human rights. However, president Gamal Abdel-Nasser had supported patriotism and Arab nationalism, and he was the first to apply the principles of social justice, Hussein wrote. As a result, it was "cheers for the July Revolution on its anniversary and cheers for its leader, Nasser, and cheers for all those who defend people's right to a free and dignified life." This week's news that the government intends to rationalise the country's electricity and water utilities was regarded as a good decision, though the way in which this rationalisation could be applied was not always supported by writers in the Egyptian press. According to Heba Omar, writing in the official weekly Akhbar Al-Yom, rationalisation was a wise course, especially when water and electricity resources are scarce. However, such rationalisation needed to be accompanied by public-awareness campaigns if it was to achieve its aim, she wrote. When the government decided to make street lighting more efficient, for example, people had been taken by surprise since no public-awareness campaign had been carried out, and they had sometimes found themselves walking home in the dark. Shops and tents erected during the holy month of Ramadan should be banned from using powerful lighting, Omar said, which would have the effect of reducing electricity consumption.
