Maspero and sectarianism in Egypt
Issandr El AmraniThe clashes that broke out a few hours ago at Maspero, the large Downtown Cairo building near Tahrir Square that houses the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (basically, state TV and radio), are a deeply worrisome turn in Egypt’s fledging transition.
Worrisome because they started off at a protest of Christians (joined by some Muslims) over restrictions on church-building and have taken on a more sectarian overtone than anything we’ve seen so far.
Worrisome because, while the initial spark to the confrontation between the protestors and the army is still unknown, the army crackdown was quite brutal, as these videos show. This marks the first time that the army has taken such an aggressive posture against a predominantly Christian protest, which will easily lead the framing of today’s events as the first time that the military chooses to kill protesting Christians.
Worrisome because state television has behaved thus far tonight much as it did during the 18 days of the Egyptian uprising this winter. In other words, it has deployed propaganda, unverifiable allegations, talk of “foreign agendas” and “outside hands”, and extremely partial reporting. It has repeatedly used sectarian language, with presenters referring to protestors as “the Copts” and using sentences such as “The Copts have killed two soldiers.” On top of this, the military cut off the live TV feeds of several satellite TV stations, including 25TV, al-Hurra, and at a later point al-Jazeera, reducing the independent reporting of an unfolding event. And most of all because TV presenters were urging Egyptians to “protect the army from the Copts.”
Worrisome because many appear to have responded to that call, and tonight on one of Cairo’s main thoroughfares you could see young men marching to that chant of “There is no God but God”, or a woman being attacked simply because she was wearing a cross, or simply because sectarianism has reared its ugly head again after last May’s Imbaba church arson.
Worrisome because this is all happening at a time when the political class is in crisis, its confidence in the SCAF at an all-time low, and the general population is so fed up of all the uncertainty and chaos that it is having buyer’s remorse about the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.
Most worrisome of all because, taken altogether, this paints a picture of the Egyptian military as resorting to sectarian impulses almost reflexively. It is the flipside of its continued unwillingness, after the sectarian clashes (between civilians as well as between police, military and civilians once fighting had already broken out) of earlier this year, to end once and for all the official discrimination that Copts face when building, expanding or renovating places of worship. SCAF, which rules by decree, could have acted, but did not — and acted weakly in the face of the arson of a church in Aswan last week, which was the cause of today’s protests. And because from so many sides we are getting the old passing of the buck to “foreign agendas” and “foreign hands” in what was
We’ll get a clearer picture of what happened tonight in the next few days, when heads will have cooled and the Twitter-fed hysteria and emotion will have died down (I mean really: you had people on Twitter talking of civil war or another January 28 — it's not). Video evidence already suggests that while the protestors may have been aggressive, the army response — notably running over people at high speed with an armored vehicle — is utterly unnaceptable. And far too reminiscent of similar images in late January of this year.
Here are a few early accounts:
- Protests Over Church Attack Kills Several in Cairo - NYT
- Cairo Religious Clashes Leave at Least 19 Dead - WSJ
- Nineteen killed as Egyptian Christians, police clash - Reuters
- 19 dead in worst Cairo riots since Mubarak ouster - AP
- Death toll, injuries on the rise after Maspero march met with violence - Daily News Egypt
- At least 23 dead in Egyptian church protests - FT
Reader Comments (7)
"...and far too reminiscent of similar images in late January" - is nothing else than "another January 28". That is not hysteria or you would not make that comparison yourself. The pictures of army vehicles running down unarmed protesters are absolutely identical to what we saw on Jan28: deliberate attempt (with success) to kill Egyptians by running them over. You realise that yourself or your last sentence would spell differently. Then let's not defame the comparison by calling it hysteria.
But for this unusual contradiction at the end a perfect sum up of what happened today in Cairo and why it was allowed to happen.
@jonamorem: evidence of army vehicles running down protestors on the 28th jan, please...
I've been reading the twitter feed of Sherine Tadros, Al Jaazera's North Africa correspondent.
She makes some similar points about the shambolic performance of Egyptian State TV. She also stresses the important aspect that this is not a clash between Muslims and Christians but between Protesters and the Army. It would do people good to remember that.
I would also add that both SCAF and the State TV are both counter-revolutionary so it is not surprising that they would seek to divide the revolutionaries along ethnic lines or engineer confrontations. The Egyptian protesters have long been united whether Christian or Muslim or Secular in there basic demands to the SCAF the only differeances have been in policy.
I'm fully confident that all Egyptians will stand up with the Christians and with the people who died over the next few days. The important thing to remember is that the people should not be divided.
@therabbitlion - here are a few (though I don't know if any or all happened exactly on the 28th - but all during the revolution)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cWOK0Lfh7w&skipcontrinter=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnEGx8AtSeo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j49n0bmPZQ
I looked at several news sources about this. Some said it was the Muslims while other said it was the Coptics who started it. Then I found what appears to be an answer: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/world/middleeast/deadly-protests-over-church-attack-in-cairo.html
It would seem that some in the Army doesn't want to give up control. They are therefore causing riots. It's an old tactic - divide and conquer. Get the two sides blaming each other then it will be up to the military to maintain order and remain in power.
By your video it is apparent that the military wishes to remain in power. That was the best video I have seen yet that documents the situation. My prayers are with you.
Please remove the misplaced football posts from here!
Issandr, thank you for directly calling out this violence for what it is.
In response to Colm O'Toole's post: we shouldn't water down the sectarian elements in this violence. Yes, the military was responding to a protest, and it has been showing less and less patience with demonstrations in general. But it clearly showed an exceptionally nasty streak last night, directed toward these Copts who be so uppity as to loudly call for equal rights in a country that belongs just as much to them as any other citizens.
The sheer brutality of the crackdown and reports of thugs (hired baltagiya? who?) joining in with them are the nail in the coffin here. Reports from the protestors during their march from Shubra to Maspero are also consistent in noting that they were bombarded with stones en route; this has not happened with other such marches.
Until Egyptian leadership, and frankly the whole country, start facing up to the reality that they are genuine problems in regard to the non-Muslims of Egypt, this will only continue to fester, or worse. The MB and other Islamist organizations who demand Egypt's main identity be Islamic - rather than merely "Egyptian" - will not make this situation any better, no matter how much they've learned to publicly adopt conciliatory language toward Christians.
First they attacked reporters who looked like Jews, but I said nothing because I don't look like a Jew.
Then they attacked Copts, because they were not Muslims, but I said nothing since I WAS a Muslim.
Then they attacked the liberals and all those who supported democracy, and no one said nothing because there was no on left to say anything.