More than a quarter-century ago, I was commuting to Cairo returning from my village in Upper Egypt. Beside me was a simple villager in rural garments of whom two wealthy-looking teens were attempting to make mockery. "In our day, men had men," the villager firmly replied, bringing the whole scene into deadly silence. I do not know why this incident chased me while reading an article by dear colleague Magi Al Jallad, editor-in- chief of Al Watan newspaper, entitled "I am cockroach, so are you". In our villages, it is known men only have men not cockroaches. Cockroaches are down-trodden while men walk with their backs held straight, defending their honor, dignity and values, averting mankind possible evils. On behalf of humanity, the Egyptian soldiers, inspired by their country's civilization and prestigious status, are fighting a holy war against the Tatars of this day the Islamic State (IS), Ansar Beit Al Maqdis (Supporters of Jerusalem) and other takfiri groups as well as their allies in Turkey, Qatar and the Gaza Strip. It is not surprising then to hear about epics shown by the Egyptian privates the Christian ‘Abanob' and the Muslim ‘Abdel Rahman'. These soldiers were lions in face of the cockroaches of terror who sought to exploit deteriorating situations created and sponsored by regional and international schemes to force our people to kneel, to divide our territories and spread creative chaos. Our deep-rooted faith is that we are neither cockroaches nor mice, but we are strong lions defending the den of this nation in various forms. Citizens patiently support their armed forces, praying Allah to bestow victory on their sons; thinkers commit to their clear visions, ideas and smart analyses and national stances backing the army and police; and judges honestly fighting a battle of justice, ignoring arrows of treachery that harvest their lives as punishment for their honesty. Yea, it is a battle of our destiny and existence where cockroaches have no room; only lions that have devoted themselves to defend their country and their nation exist. Those lions well grasp the sacred battle between good and evil, a battle for a homeland that aborted all plots to make it kneel or abandon its dreams and aspirations. Those cockroaches that surrendered to the Muslim Brotherhood group and sought to sell Egypt have no place in such a battle. It is a battle of disarmed protesters who took to streets in June 30, calling for the overthrow of the rule of Murshid (an Arabic reference for the MB supreme guide post), insisting the terrorist group posed perils to the Egyptian society. It is the battle of all Egyptians who would have been slaughtered as sheep at the hands of the terrorist groups in case the glorified revolution of June 30 that averted Egypt a doomed destiny had failed.
