CAIRO: In the late hours of Tuesday evening, foreign media began calling off the hook, asking whether Egypt's former dictator Hosni Mubarak was dead. What was the situation? How will his death affect the country? A whole gamut of questions were being launched. The international media, especially the American press, has taken the Mubarak story and run with it, with even one headline attempting to push the idea that Mubarak's health issues were part of the political tension in the country. How wrong they are, but we should be used to this by now. Last week, NBC news senior international correspondent Richard Engel argued irresponsibly that the Muslim Brotherhood was attempting to make Egypt into another Afghanistan. This type of analysis is more than dangerous, it is unprofessional. Certainly, there are fears over the Brotherhood – and at least the news media are covering a relevant story to the Egyptian population – but this non-stop bombardment of Mubarak's health situation does nothing but reflect the foreign media's perspective on Egypt. It is not the reality on the ground. Yes, Mubarak is an important figure, and his living is of interest to many Egyptians, but for the most part, discussions in cafes, on the street and across Egypt are not representative of the English language press coming from the country at the present moment. Yesterday, for example, as the international media began publishing stories that bordered on pandemonium and almost sycophantic sadness for the ousted dictator, Egyptians were in Tahrir protesting against the military rulers of the country. Mubarak's death is not going to change the political turmoil on the ground. It will not increase it, nor will it diminish it. He is no longer leading the country. Maybe his cronies in the military are, but he is not. He has checked out, maybe even physically, of what is happening in Egypt. In Tahrir last night, it was a joyous affair, one that showed Egyptians do not need to resort to violence to keep the revolutionary struggle alive. There were chants for Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate and likely winner of the run-off completed on Sunday; there were anti-military junta slogans spouted and chanted loudly across the square where tens of thousands of people came together. Why then, after a week that has most likely seen parliament dissolved, the military take over the legislation and the drafting of a new constitution, worries over a military coup and political uncertainty not seen since February 11, 2011, is the world so focused on Mubarak's life or death? It is a sad reality that American editors appear unreasonably fixated on what they know. Mubarak was in the spotlight for three decades, albeit destroying the country he ruled, but now as he lies on his death bed, there appears to be some nostalgia from American media, many of whom had met the dictator personally. At the end of the day, Egypt and its people, have more important things to deal with. Fuel shortages, democracy being killed and the future of their country is under threat. Mubarak's health is not an issue people care much about. If you don't agree, think about this: when state TV reported last night that Mubarak's heart stopped, the cafe I was sitting at did not switch to the news, instead they allowed the England versus Ukraine match to finish. Football trumped Mubarak in Egypt, but not the US.
