Political experts said that the Egyptian diplomacy and the Egyptian media are politically absurd, as they try to minimize the atrocity of the disaster that happened to the Egyptian family in Germany, one of the oldest European democracies. They said that since the incident happened, killing the wife, severely wounding her husband and causing their child cruel psychological memories in the future, the Egyptian diplomacy and the Egyptian media used terminology that undermines what happened, as the perpetrator and the case should have been called ‘terrorist,' since all provisions of the international conventions are applicable to this situation. Dr. Abdel Moneim el-Moshat, the head of the Cairo University Center for Political Research, said those responsible for the Egyptian diplomacy at home and abroad, including Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, Ramzy Ezz Eddin, the Egyptian Ambassador to Germany, and the Egyptian media, should use a terminology that is commensurate with the incident, rather than aim to reduce the atrocity of what has happened by calling the assailant an extremist and not a terrorist, especially that all the elements of a terrorist crime apply to the case, according to international conventions, because he scared safe people who have resorted to the law to uphold their rights. He added that using the right terminology would not jeopardize the everlasting relations with the German people. Moshat also said that the German media and the German government are also trying to reduce the size of the offense that hit this religious family, which went to Germany for study and not for anything else. He said: “Had this family been Jewish-German or Israeli, Germany would have turned upside down, and all government officials would have announced their regret for the incident, and would have paid appropriate compensation. But what is happening on the part of the Egyptian diplomacy is mere political absurdity, although it is not a political case, but rather a criminal case of the first degree. Also, had this happened to a German woman in Egypt, the situation would have been different. A search for the Egyptian terrorist would have taken place right away, and statements about the authorities investigating with a terrorist cell belonging to some organization would have been given.” For his part, Dr. Ikram Badr Eddin, a professor of political science at Cairo University, said the incident must be condemned in order to ensure it would not recur with Egyptian families studying and working in Germany or elsewhere. A clear response to the incident must be obtained, as to whether it was an individual incident or a deliberate and methodological policy that will be adopted by German terrorist groups against Egyptian or Arab families in general. Also, Germany must apologize to the Egyptian side at the highest level, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, when something of this kind happens in Egypt. Dr. Saeed el-Lawendi, an expert in international relations, said that the Egyptian government, represented in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by ignoring the crisis of the Egyptian citizenship Marwa el-Sherbini, confirms the continuation of political absence in Egypt. Negad el-Borie, the former head of the Democracy Development Group, said it was a normal incident that was exaggerated by the media. Lawendi said that the government evades defending its citizens in such incidents, pointing to an absence of appropriate response, just like in all other similar crises, including the crisis of the two Egyptian doctors in Saudi Arabia and the sexual abuse of an Egyptian child in the Gulf, compared to the position of the governments of European countries towards their nationals abroad. He said this increases a sense of alienation among the Egyptian citizens, and weakens their sense of belonging, as the government fails to protect them at home and abroad.
