CAIRO: Thirty-five Egyptians allegedly belonging to Al-Qaeda group were arrested last April according to Al-Masry Al-Youm, raising questions on whether it's feasible for Al-Qaeda members to reside and operate in Egypt. The group was allegedly planning to topple the Egyptian government and was financed by the Islamic Army of Iraq. They were also reportedly in contact with the Islamic Front for Fighting Jews and Christians. "It's very possible that there are cells belonging to Al-Qaeda operating in Egypt, said Nabil Abdel Fattah, political analyst at the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS). "A large number of their senior members are Egyptian, such as Ayman Al Zawahiri. Abdel Fattah believes that current cells found in Egypt as well as other countries represent the new global approach of Al-Qaeda. "They are restructuring themselves towards a more worldwide approach. Abdel Fattah dismissed the idea that other groups like the Islamic Jihad might have part of the arrested group. He said the Islamic Jihad has entered a negotiation phase with the government under the "Stopping the Violence initiative and is trying to integrate itself in society. He added however that former members of the Islamic Jihad who were dissatisfied with their group's recent reconciliation with the government might have turned to Al-Qaeda. He said that they have their own political and societal demands that, according to them, the Islamic Jihad is no longer fulfilling. "The issue is not only the security measures taken [against these groups], Abdel Fattah said, "such groups prosper because of the lack of correct political, and specifically educational fundamentals in society. On the other hand, Diaa Rashwan, expert on Islamist movements at the ACPSS, denied the arrests altogether and said that the article published in Al-Masry Al-Youm "doesn't make sense. "First, there was no verification from the government that the arrests took place, said Rashwan, "second it was published in an independent paper and not in any of the national [pro-government] papers. Rashwan believes that such important news would have become a major topic of discussion in national news if it really happened. He also criticized several of the published facts, "to say that Al-Qaeda was funded by the Islamic Army of Iraq is not possible because both parties have been and still are involved in bloody fights, he explained, "and to state that the cell has been in contact with the Islamic Front for Fighting Jews and Christians is incorrect as this front was formed by Al-Qaeda in 1998 and later the same year, it was dissolved so it no longer exists; it was a phase in the evolution of Al-Qaeda that ended. Rashwan believes that the news was published two months later than it allegedly took place in order to establish that Egypt is also susceptible to terrorism and so it gives it validation for becoming part of the international plan for fighting terrorism, he said. Abdel Fattah agreed with Rashwan that leaking the news at this time is critical as it helps validate the current laws in Egypt that allow the violation of many human rights as terrorism affirms the need for such laws. Abdel Fattah also added that this news may help the government deflect current internal crises such as unemployment, inflation and the lack of clean drinking water in several governorates. Until time of press, the Ministry of Interior had not issued any formal statement acknowledging the arrests.
