6 May 2007 Watani International 3
Turkey’s Militant Muslims Should Worry the West Environment
a return to the kind of military dictatorship that In military and strategic terms, Turkey has long
Con Coughlin plagued Turkey’s political development through- been regarded as a key asset, particularly after the
out the 20th century cannot be ruled out. September 11 attacks put it on the front line of
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey’s military establishment is Kemalist to Washington’s various campaigns to root out Is-
Turkey, was no friend of the nation’s Islamic past the core, and the mere suggestion that the country lamic terrorists and confront rogue states.
which he described as “a necklace of corpses” might appoint a president whose wife insists on Yet Turkey’s enthusiastic attempt to join the
that defiled the new state he was trying to create covering herself with a veil for public functions European Union has received a decidedly luke-
from the ruins of the Ottoman empire. would be enough to have them taking to their warm response, with many member states ex-
The 15 years he governed the country is most tanks. pressing strong reservations about welcoming 70
remembered for the almost obsessive purge he Despite Erdogan’s insistence that he has no million Muslims into an alliance whose popula-
undertook of the country’s Muslim identity as desire to dilute the country’s distinctive secular tion is more familiar with the tenets and traditions
he sought to create a society more attuned to the character, the hawkish generals have viewed him of Christianity.
ways of modern Europe. as an Islamist in disguise in the three years since The various delaying tactics Brussels has em-
The Caliphate, the body that had governed the he came to power. They, together with the mil- ployed to postpone Turkey’s entry, from doubts
Muslim world for four centuries under the Ot- lions of Turks who are at ease with the country’s over its economic viability to Ankara’s obstinacy
tomans, was unceremoniously abolished within secular outlook, are concerned at the growing in- about opening its ports to Greek Cypriot vessels,
months of the creation of the modern Turkish fluence Islam is having on Turkish society. has not only succeeded in dampening the Turks’
state. Ten years ago it was normal to see groups of excitement about the whole venture, but has en-
The minarets of the country’s mosques were young girls in school uniforms on the streets of couraged an upsurge in nationalistic fervor that
silenced by a ban on the muezzin broadcasting Istanbul. Today they have virtually disappeared, underlies the country’s current travails.
their daily prayers, and the more radical madras- to be replaced by women wearing headscarves. Accusations that the West’s Islamophobia is
sas were closed. During the holy Islamic month of Ramadan it is responsible for blocking Turkey’s entry to the EU
Anyone who turned up at Ankara’s city walls not uncommon for street fights to break out be- have, perversely, increased support for Islamic
in dress deemed to be too Islamic in nature was tween religious Muslims objecting to their secu- groups that seek to accentuate the country’s his-
unceremoniously sent back to the provinces. lar compatriots lighting a cigarette during the toric Muslim character.
Sharia law was replaced by a penal code mod- daytime fast. Brussels’ procrastination has also seen a reviv-
eled on that of Switzerland and the emancipation Turn on any television or radio debate in Tur- al of the ultra-nationalist groups that regard Cy-
of women was encouraged by laws that banned key these days and the main subject of discussion prus as their cause célèbre, and are not afraid to
the wearing of veils. Arabic script was replaced most likely concerns the threat Islam poses to the use violence against anyone accused of “insulting
by the Latin alphabet, and the centuries-old ban
on alcohol was lifted.
country’s future. “Do you want us to become an-
other Iran or another Afghanistan?” one frustrat-
Turkishness”.
January’s murder of Hrant Dink, the Turkish- Religion The Torture of the Grave:
It is hardly surprising, then, that the crowds
of demonstrators who have been protesting at
ed secularist demanded of an Islamic supporter
during a Turkish radio station phone-in earlier
Armenian journalist who accused the Turks of
committing genocide against the Armenians dur-
Islam and the Afterlife
the country’s creeping Islamization should carry this week. ing the First World War, is symptomatic of the
banners bearing Ataturk’s intimidating features. Leor Halevi epitaphs and in early Islamic traditions, which el-
Given Turkey’s geographical location, it is paranoia and isolationism that is sweeping the
The crude attempt by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, evated this belief to the status of dogma.
hardly surprising that it is susceptible to the threat country, and now threatens the long-term stabil-
the country’s crypto-Islamic prime minister, to But pious Muslims today continue to adhere
of radical Islam being imported across its south- ity of a key NATO ally. Hardly a week goes by without front-page news
secure the presidency for a practicing Muslim, to this belief. In invocations, funeral prayers,
eastern borders. And even though Justice and The EU’s patronizing treatment of Turkey’s of Muslims dying somewhere in the world in a
Abdullah Gul, the current foreign minister, has sermons, and popular literature, Muslims are fre-
Development’s Islamic agenda is mild compared membership application has certainly not helped violent way. Despite all the media attention, there
provoked such outrage that the nation’s military quently reminded to heed this punishment.
with that on offer in neighboring Iran, Erdogan’s to placate this siege mentality, and explains why is little understanding among non-Muslims of Is-
elite, who regard themselves as standard-bearers Anecdotal evidence suggests that many of
failed attempt to criminalize adultery - it was so many Turks now seek to invoke the spirit of lamic views of death and the afterlife.
of Ataturk’s legacy, threatened to stage yet an- them take it seriously. The psychologist Ahmed
vetoed by the current president, Ahmet Necdet Turkish nationalism espoused by Ataturk. But Everyone knows, of course, that after death
other military coup. M. Abdel-Khalek, who has studied anxieties
Sezer - has done nothing to allay the suspicions these are dangerous currents. martyrs go straight to the Garden of Eden, where
That deeply disturbing prospect has - for the about death among Arab youth, has found that
of those determined to maintain the Kemalist The generals, not the politicians, are the true they recline on couches, savor meats and fruits
moment, at least - been averted by Erdogan’s preoccupation with the torture of the grave re-
settlement. keepers of the Ataturk flame and, like the coun- and enjoy the company of dark-eyed houris while
decision to call an early election this summer mains acute.
The mounting polarization between Turkey’s try’s founding father, they will not stand idly by listening to the sound of flowing rivers.
to decide the issue by democratic means. But The Egyptians and Kuwaitis he polled worried
devout Muslims and its secular, mainly urban, if the Turks attempt a return to their old Islamic But what happens to the vast majority of Mus-
with Erdogan’s Justice and Development party, about this torture more than they feared losing
elite should be a matter of grave concern for the ways. lims, those who do not die as martyrs?
which is deeply rooted in the country’s burgeon- a dear relative or succumbing to a serious, fatal
West, which has often sent Ankara conflicting _________________________ According to Islamic doctrine, between the
ing Islamic constituency, riding high in the polls, disease.
signals about its value as an ally. The Daily Telegraph (abridged) moment of death and the burial ceremony, the Recently, an Islamist Web site posted a picture
spirit of a deceased Muslim takes a quick jour-
The British Terror Lesson ney to Heaven and Hell, where it beholds visions
of an 18-year-old man exhumed by the order of
his father. Only three hours had passed since his
of the bliss and torture awaiting humanity at the burial, but already his corpse appeared aged and
The conviction Monday of five men in Britain keep track of 50 suspected terrorist networks at ing in tribal areas of Pakistan and British citizens end of days.
for planning a terrorist attack with a giant fertil- the time - a number that has since swelled to 200 plotting bombings in London under Al Qaeda’s bruised. Scientists, according to the story, af-
By the time corpse handlers are ready to wash firmed that this was caused by the torture of the
izer bomb in 2004 offers a rare glimpse into the - and had only so many resources to devote to guidance. the body, the spirit returns to earth to observe
world of counterterrorist operations, illuminat- full-time surveillance. It is not merely British policies - such as refus- grave; and the father explained that his son had
the preparations for burial and to accompany the been a sinner.
ing the difficulty of preventing atrocities such as The British security service has also noted that als to extradite radical preachers wanted on ter- procession toward the cemetery. But then, before
Sept. 11, or the July 7, 2005, subway bombings there was no sign in February 2004 that Khan and rorism charges in other countries - that have failed Many Muslims commenting on the picture
earth is piled upon the freshly dug grave, an un- took it as a sign from God to stop sinning and
in London. his July 7th accomplice Shehzad Tanweer were to reduce the Al Qaeda threat. President George usual reunion takes place: The spirit returns to
The British case is instructive not only for what already planning the subway bombings, or any W. Bush has played into the hands of Osama bin as a reminder to pray assiduously for relief from
dwell within the body. the punishment of the tomb. Several doubted the
it suggests about problems and policies unique other terrorist crime. So they were categorized Laden and his strategist Ayman al-Zawahiri. In In the grave, the deceased Muslim - this com-
to Britain, but also because it highlights the un- as «desirable» rather than «essential» targets for Iraq, Bush gave them what they call the crusader reality of the picture, prompting the author of the
posite of spirit and corpse - encounters two ter- Web site to remove the posting and to apologize
dimmed threat from Al Qaeda and the need for a surveillance in 2004 - even though they had been occupation of an Arab country, which they want- rifying angels, Munkar and Nakir, recognized by
comprehensive strategy to cope with that threat. taped talking about traveling to Al Qaeda sites ed. And Bush’s ally, President Pervez Musharraf for it. But even a skeptic who challenged the
their bluish faces, their huge teeth and their wild «scientific» evidence professed in this public fo-
Surveillance tapes made public after the 2004 in Pakistan. of Pakistan, still leaves Al Qaeda with the safe hair.
bomb plot trial reveal that two of the July 7th sub- It should be evident not only that Britain need- haven it needs. rum his belief in the reality of the torture of the
These angels carry out a trial to probe the grave.
way bombers were recorded talking to a leader of ed more resources for counterterrorism than it Police and security services can only do so soundness of a Muslim’s faith. If the dead Mus-
the 2004 plot by Britain’s domestic intelligence had in 2004 and that MI5 should have notified much in the fight against terrorism. There is also Muslims can escape the torture of the grave by
lim answers their questions convincingly and if dying as martyrs. In Islam the category of mar-
service MI5. Opposition politicians are calling local police about the two suspects, who turned a need for leaders who do not play into Al Qa- he has no sin on record, then the grave is trans-
for an independent inquiry to determine why Mo- up in an ongoing investigation. eda’s hands and do not get distracted from the tyr does not belong exclusively to those who die
formed into a luxurious space that makes bear- fighting in God’s path. According to Islamic tra-
hammad Sidique Khan, a key figure in the 2005 The larger lesson is that Al Qaeda has become quest to crush the head of that snake. able the long wait until the final judgment.
subway bombings who was observed meeting more dangerous both as a terrorist command _______________________ dition, Muslims who die in a fire, by drowning,
But if a Muslim’s faith is imperfect or if he in the collapse of a building or in some other way
four times with one of the 2004 conspirators, was center and as the chief source for an ideological The Boston Globe, editorial has sinned during life by, for example, failing re-
not himself placed under surveillance. movement. The British trial tapes cast light on involving great physical suffering merit the rank
peatedly to undertake purity rituals before prayer, of martyrs in the afterlife.
The official answer is that MI5 was trying to the direct links between Al Qaeda leaders shelter- then the grave is transformed into an oppressive, This means that immediately after death, their
constricting space. spirits do not return to dwell within mutilated or
Roots of Malaise Deeper than Recent War The earth begins to weigh down heavily upon
the sentient corpse, until the rib cage collapses;
burned corpses. Instead they enter the Garden of
Eden, where they receive new bodies, perfectly
tion, and vigorous enough to turn Tel Aviv from a The disarray in Gaza and the West Bank could worms begin to nibble away at the flesh, causing
Roger Cohen scarcely be more complete. Delivering peace is hard reformed, so as to enjoy the rewards of martyr-
small town into a lively metropolis over the past horrible pain.
when you cannot deliver the mail or collect the gar- dom until the resurrection. Those who have lost
several decades. A messy 34-day war does not undo This torture does not continue indefinitely. It
a state. bage or get various competing security services to a relative in a violent and shocking death - in the
Israelis have had a lot to digest over the past year. occurs intermittently and ends at the very lat- bombings in Baghdad, for instance - may find
They’ve watched Dan Halutz, their departed army Palestinians, by contrast, do not have a state, put national interest before self-interest.
Several books could be written about whom to est with the resurrection - when God may well some consolation in this belief.
chief, offload his shares on the eve of the Lebanon although they might have had one in 1948 and at
blame for this mess. No doubt several will be. But forgive Muslims who have endured the punish- ___________________________________
war last summer. They’ve suffered Defense Minister various junctures since. I happened to travel to Tel
Aviv from Jericho in the West Bank. Nowhere else, in the end it does not matter in what degree Israelis ment. Leor Halevi, a professor of history at Texas A&M
Amir Peretz gazing at the front through binoculars Surely this violence sounds medieval. Belief
with the cover on. They’ve seen money top morality perhaps, are distances so small between places that and in what degree Palestinians have contributed to University, is the author of “Muhammad’s Grave:
are worlds apart as in the charged, diminutive geog- depositing the latter in a festering cul-de-sac that is in «the torture of the grave» indeed stretches Death Rites and the Making of Islamic Society.”
in their politics.
raphy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. not a state but is a breeding ground for radicalism. way back in history. It appears in eighth-century The New York Times.
So what else is new? A materialist society run-
ning blind in the hands of venal leaders is not ex- Things have gone down in Jericho since the Only the facts matter.
actly a first on the planet. But this is Israel, a land
bred on a narrative of the heroic, a country that was
«peace of the brave» that Rabin and Yasser Arafat
engineered from some elusive, and ephemeral, mix
Confronted by them, Erekat has reached this
brisk conclusion: «It’s not negotiating time, it’s Techno
supposed to be better and aches because it is not, a of heart and mind evaporated, leaving only dis- decision time. Israel is Israel on the 1967 borders,
Middle Eastern democracy that still fights for ac- turbing memories that sit on this area like a film of
dust.
Palestine is Palestine, minus and plus agreed-upon
swaps, minus and plus security arrangements, with
Saving the Good Old Records
ceptance in its region.
As a result, the cheapness hurts in a particular A solitary camel that has seen better days greets a third party role.» That role would be to stabilize David Pogue
way. How else to understand the outcry over what the visitor, as do assorted donkey-carts. A luxury any deal.
happened in Lebanon? The war was not a success hotel stands nearly empty. In 2000, there were thou- If that sounds easy, if that sounds obvious, the fact
but nor was it a failure. Thousands of international sands of foreign tourists in Jericho every day. Today is it is not. The history of the last 59 years proves Formats sometimes seem to have the approxi- soundtracks, if any. Worst of all, most film reels
troops now protect Israel’s northern border. The there are virtually none. Palestine-in-embryo is a that. The fact, speaking of facts, is that Israel has mate shelf life of milk, and as audiocassettes, have not been kept cool for the past few decades,
death toll, even for a little modern war, was mod- hard sell for tour operators these days, not a place in now ruled over occupied territory for four decades. VHS tapes, old home movies and vinyl records so the color has begun to shift. Red is the last pig-
est. But it was embarked on, and conducted with, which to kick back. Its nature has been conditioned more by these 40 show signs of following eight-track tapes and ment to disappear, which is why many old home
an almost sleazy irresponsibility, and that seems Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, a years than by the 19 years that preceded them. Po- stone tablets into oblivion, it is time to copy their movies look as if shot on Mars.
symbolic. pro on the interminable peace-is-not-impossible licing the subjugated is corrosive. contents onto shiny new recordable CDs and Old film can be color-corrected, but only by
So there they were, perhaps 100,000 Israelis, per- circuit, resides here. He has a thousand lines to de- On the surface, the Tel Aviv rally was not about DVDs. professionals. Such companies use much high-
haps more, in Rabin Square on an airless, hot night scribe the lineaments of the world’s most intractable peace talks or the Palestinian conflict, but in reality I OLD VIDEOTAPES If most of your old tapes er-quality transfer machines - refrigerator-size,
last week, demanding that Prime Minister Ehud Ol- conflict, and he has no doubt pronounced most of think it was. It was about the wall-slash-fence rising are on VHS, a dual-deck, combination VCR/ reel-to-reel machines called Telecine decks - to
mert quit, venting their general anger, their frustra- them a thousand times. Still, he perseveres. to disappear the Palestinians from view, the soul-
DVD burner may be just the ticket. Besides convert film into video, and then employ color-
tion, their disquiet, singing wistful songs in a place «I am the most disadvantaged negotiator in the devouring business of lording it over, the dashed
hooking to your TV and serving as both a VCR ists to adjust each scene before committing the
where the hopes of the 1990s died with the assas- history of man,» he told me. «I have no army, no hopes, the looking away to the materialist West, and
the cost, moral and otherwise, of all that on a weary and a DVD player, it can copy a VHS tape onto result to a DVD.
sination of Yitzhak Rabin. navy, no economy, my society is fragmented. I don’t
Israel. a blank DVD with the press of one button. Pana- In short, sending your reels away to profes-
There were some national flags, but not a lot of stand a chance with any U.S. senator. Who said life
is about fairness and justice? I am the least-advan- «It is not the country we dreamed of,» said Aaron sonic and others make these decks for $135 and sionals is convenient and offers the best possible
them. The national anthem was sung, but in a way up. These decks do not duplicate copy-protected quality, but it is expensive. MyMovieTransfer.
that was scarcely rousing. Israelis have grown wary taged negotiator since Adam negotiated Eve and Liraz, one of the protesters. «But it is our country.»
Eve Adam.» _____________________________________ disks or tapes. com, for example, charges $20 per reel (each
of nationalism. They are more interested in normal-
The self-pity does not mean that Erekat is wrong. The International Herald Tribune (abridged) As a bonus, the same deck can transfer other reel is about four minutes long), plus 10 percent
ity right now. They see no hope of a warm peace,
old tapes, like 8mm and Hi-8. You just plug your if there is sound, plus $10 per DVD or MiniDV
the one Rabin promised. It would be enough to be
normal and a relief to be dull.
Still, Israel has a state all right, one open enough
Nuggets ers hope it could also eventually be used to treat
sufferers of around 2,000 other types of hereditary
old-format camcorder into the deck’s inputs, and
then burn home movies to DVD in real time.
tape, plus shipping.
AUDIO TAPES You do not even need a com-
and structured enough to produce a withering report disease. The Sony DVDirect deck for $220 does not puter to rescue material from audiocassettes or
on the war that was the prelude to this demonstra- Laila Farid § Puppy Prozac require a TV hookup at all but has its own little even eight-track cartridges. Instead, you can buy
If your doberman is a little down in the mouth or your built-in screen. You plug your camcorder or VCR a stand-alone audio CD recorder, from compa-
§ Universities ‘Targeted’ by Islamic Ex- poodle a bit peaky, help is at hand. into its inputs, insert a blank DVD, and hit Re- nies like Sony and Philips, for about $250. You
tremists The makers of Prozac have developed the drug for cord. Once again, the transfer takes place in real connect your tape deck directly into the CD re-
British universities are warned that they are being dogs, with the canine version coming in chewable
form and tasty beef flavour. time, but you avoid tying up your home-enter- corder, hit Play, and record directly onto blank
targeted by Islamic extremist groups looking for re-
cruits. § Rolls-Royce Withdraws from Sudan tainment setup for hours on end. CDs. If you want the CD to recognize each song
A conference of chief security officers heard that re- Rolls Royce has bowed to pressure from humanitar- OLD FILM REELS If you still have the pro- as a separate track, you must baby-sit the pro-
ligious radicals remain active on campuses and have ian groups and will stop doing business in strife-torn jector you need to view your old home movies cess and hit a New Track button at the end of
infiltrated at least 20 institutions. Sudan. - Super 8, say, or 16mm - it is possible to do the each song. You can also connect your tape deck
It is believed that al-Muhajiroun, the disbanded Rolls Royce, which supplies engines and equip- transfer to DVD yourself. In theory. directly to a computer for recording.
extremist group, has infiltrated universities, and fol- ment used to pump oil and gas, is the most high-pro- You project the movie onto a screen or white VINYL RECORDS You can use a turntable
lowers of Omar Bakri Mohammed, its founder, are file British company operating in Sudan. wall, as small and sharply focused as possible. to connect to a computer and record in much the
still operational in several campuses. Another radi- Then you use a modern digital camcorder, on a same way as audiocassettes. Or you can use the
cal group, Hizb ut Tahrir, is also active in universi- § Nuns Get into Internet Habit
Cloistered nuns at a convent in Sicily have decided tripod directly in front of the screen, to shoot the unique Ion iTTUSB turntable for $171, which
ties and colleges.
The Government has issued guidance to universi- that their vow of silence may rule out gossiping with image. Afterward, you can transfer the camcord- is designed to connect directly to the USB jack
ties over how to deal with the threat. locals or telephoning old friends, but it does not ex- er footage to a computer, edit it and then burn it of a Mac or PC. The music plays straight into
§ Drug Could Treat 2,000 Hereditary Disor- clude going online to swap emails. to a DVD. an included audio-editing program. If you have
ders The 12 Cistercian nuns of the 13th-century con- This trick is cheap, but not ideal. First, it is neither computer nor turntable, you can turn to a
Scientists have discovered a drug that offers hope vent have set up a website and are happy to take ques- incredibly time-consuming, since you must sit last resort: the Teac GF350, a cheaply built $350
to around 10 per cent of patients with the genetic tions about what it is like to pray for hours in silence through the footage at least twice. Second, if turntable with a built-in CD recorder.
disorders Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cystic every day. your camcorder does not have audio inputs, ___________________
fibrosis. _____________________________________ you will have a tough time capturing the films’ The New York Times
The drug is being tested on humans and research- Source: The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian
9.
6 May 2007 Watani International 3
Turkey’s Militant Muslims Should Worry the West Environment
a return to the kind of military dictatorship that In military and strategic terms, Turkey has long
Con Coughlin plagued Turkey’s political development through- been regarded as a key asset, particularly after the
out the 20th century cannot be ruled out. September 11 attacks put it on the front line of
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey’s military establishment is Kemalist to Washington’s various campaigns to root out Is-
Turkey, was no friend of the nation’s Islamic past the core, and the mere suggestion that the country lamic terrorists and confront rogue states.
which he described as “a necklace of corpses” might appoint a president whose wife insists on Yet Turkey’s enthusiastic attempt to join the
that defiled the new state he was trying to create covering herself with a veil for public functions European Union has received a decidedly luke-
from the ruins of the Ottoman empire. would be enough to have them taking to their warm response, with many member states ex-
The 15 years he governed the country is most tanks. pressing strong reservations about welcoming 70
remembered for the almost obsessive purge he Despite Erdogan’s insistence that he has no million Muslims into an alliance whose popula-
undertook of the country’s Muslim identity as desire to dilute the country’s distinctive secular tion is more familiar with the tenets and traditions
he sought to create a society more attuned to the character, the hawkish generals have viewed him of Christianity.
ways of modern Europe. as an Islamist in disguise in the three years since The various delaying tactics Brussels has em-
The Caliphate, the body that had governed the he came to power. They, together with the mil- ployed to postpone Turkey’s entry, from doubts
Muslim world for four centuries under the Ot- lions of Turks who are at ease with the country’s over its economic viability to Ankara’s obstinacy
tomans, was unceremoniously abolished within secular outlook, are concerned at the growing in- about opening its ports to Greek Cypriot vessels,
months of the creation of the modern Turkish fluence Islam is having on Turkish society. has not only succeeded in dampening the Turks’
state. Ten years ago it was normal to see groups of excitement about the whole venture, but has en-
The minarets of the country’s mosques were young girls in school uniforms on the streets of couraged an upsurge in nationalistic fervor that
silenced by a ban on the muezzin broadcasting Istanbul. Today they have virtually disappeared, underlies the country’s current travails.
their daily prayers, and the more radical madras- to be replaced by women wearing headscarves. Accusations that the West’s Islamophobia is
sas were closed. During the holy Islamic month of Ramadan it is responsible for blocking Turkey’s entry to the EU
Anyone who turned up at Ankara’s city walls not uncommon for street fights to break out be- have, perversely, increased support for Islamic
in dress deemed to be too Islamic in nature was tween religious Muslims objecting to their secu- groups that seek to accentuate the country’s his-
unceremoniously sent back to the provinces. lar compatriots lighting a cigarette during the toric Muslim character.
Sharia law was replaced by a penal code mod- daytime fast. Brussels’ procrastination has also seen a reviv-
eled on that of Switzerland and the emancipation Turn on any television or radio debate in Tur- al of the ultra-nationalist groups that regard Cy-
of women was encouraged by laws that banned key these days and the main subject of discussion prus as their cause célèbre, and are not afraid to
the wearing of veils. Arabic script was replaced most likely concerns the threat Islam poses to the use violence against anyone accused of “insulting
by the Latin alphabet, and the centuries-old ban
on alcohol was lifted.
country’s future. “Do you want us to become an-
other Iran or another Afghanistan?” one frustrat-
Turkishness”.
January’s murder of Hrant Dink, the Turkish- Religion The Torture of the Grave:
It is hardly surprising, then, that the crowds
of demonstrators who have been protesting at
ed secularist demanded of an Islamic supporter
during a Turkish radio station phone-in earlier
Armenian journalist who accused the Turks of
committing genocide against the Armenians dur-
Islam and the Afterlife
the country’s creeping Islamization should carry this week. ing the First World War, is symptomatic of the
banners bearing Ataturk’s intimidating features. Leor Halevi epitaphs and in early Islamic traditions, which el-
Given Turkey’s geographical location, it is paranoia and isolationism that is sweeping the
The crude attempt by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, evated this belief to the status of dogma.
hardly surprising that it is susceptible to the threat country, and now threatens the long-term stabil-
the country’s crypto-Islamic prime minister, to But pious Muslims today continue to adhere
of radical Islam being imported across its south- ity of a key NATO ally. Hardly a week goes by without front-page news
secure the presidency for a practicing Muslim, to this belief. In invocations, funeral prayers,
eastern borders. And even though Justice and The EU’s patronizing treatment of Turkey’s of Muslims dying somewhere in the world in a
Abdullah Gul, the current foreign minister, has sermons, and popular literature, Muslims are fre-
Development’s Islamic agenda is mild compared membership application has certainly not helped violent way. Despite all the media attention, there
provoked such outrage that the nation’s military quently reminded to heed this punishment.
with that on offer in neighboring Iran, Erdogan’s to placate this siege mentality, and explains why is little understanding among non-Muslims of Is-
elite, who regard themselves as standard-bearers Anecdotal evidence suggests that many of
failed attempt to criminalize adultery - it was so many Turks now seek to invoke the spirit of lamic views of death and the afterlife.
of Ataturk’s legacy, threatened to stage yet an- them take it seriously. The psychologist Ahmed
vetoed by the current president, Ahmet Necdet Turkish nationalism espoused by Ataturk. But Everyone knows, of course, that after death
other military coup. M. Abdel-Khalek, who has studied anxieties
Sezer - has done nothing to allay the suspicions these are dangerous currents. martyrs go straight to the Garden of Eden, where
That deeply disturbing prospect has - for the about death among Arab youth, has found that
of those determined to maintain the Kemalist The generals, not the politicians, are the true they recline on couches, savor meats and fruits
moment, at least - been averted by Erdogan’s preoccupation with the torture of the grave re-
settlement. keepers of the Ataturk flame and, like the coun- and enjoy the company of dark-eyed houris while
decision to call an early election this summer mains acute.
The mounting polarization between Turkey’s try’s founding father, they will not stand idly by listening to the sound of flowing rivers.
to decide the issue by democratic means. But The Egyptians and Kuwaitis he polled worried
devout Muslims and its secular, mainly urban, if the Turks attempt a return to their old Islamic But what happens to the vast majority of Mus-
with Erdogan’s Justice and Development party, about this torture more than they feared losing
elite should be a matter of grave concern for the ways. lims, those who do not die as martyrs?
which is deeply rooted in the country’s burgeon- a dear relative or succumbing to a serious, fatal
West, which has often sent Ankara conflicting _________________________ According to Islamic doctrine, between the
ing Islamic constituency, riding high in the polls, disease.
signals about its value as an ally. The Daily Telegraph (abridged) moment of death and the burial ceremony, the Recently, an Islamist Web site posted a picture
spirit of a deceased Muslim takes a quick jour-
The British Terror Lesson ney to Heaven and Hell, where it beholds visions
of an 18-year-old man exhumed by the order of
his father. Only three hours had passed since his
of the bliss and torture awaiting humanity at the burial, but already his corpse appeared aged and
The conviction Monday of five men in Britain keep track of 50 suspected terrorist networks at ing in tribal areas of Pakistan and British citizens end of days.
for planning a terrorist attack with a giant fertil- the time - a number that has since swelled to 200 plotting bombings in London under Al Qaeda’s bruised. Scientists, according to the story, af-
By the time corpse handlers are ready to wash firmed that this was caused by the torture of the
izer bomb in 2004 offers a rare glimpse into the - and had only so many resources to devote to guidance. the body, the spirit returns to earth to observe
world of counterterrorist operations, illuminat- full-time surveillance. It is not merely British policies - such as refus- grave; and the father explained that his son had
the preparations for burial and to accompany the been a sinner.
ing the difficulty of preventing atrocities such as The British security service has also noted that als to extradite radical preachers wanted on ter- procession toward the cemetery. But then, before
Sept. 11, or the July 7, 2005, subway bombings there was no sign in February 2004 that Khan and rorism charges in other countries - that have failed Many Muslims commenting on the picture
earth is piled upon the freshly dug grave, an un- took it as a sign from God to stop sinning and
in London. his July 7th accomplice Shehzad Tanweer were to reduce the Al Qaeda threat. President George usual reunion takes place: The spirit returns to
The British case is instructive not only for what already planning the subway bombings, or any W. Bush has played into the hands of Osama bin as a reminder to pray assiduously for relief from
dwell within the body. the punishment of the tomb. Several doubted the
it suggests about problems and policies unique other terrorist crime. So they were categorized Laden and his strategist Ayman al-Zawahiri. In In the grave, the deceased Muslim - this com-
to Britain, but also because it highlights the un- as «desirable» rather than «essential» targets for Iraq, Bush gave them what they call the crusader reality of the picture, prompting the author of the
posite of spirit and corpse - encounters two ter- Web site to remove the posting and to apologize
dimmed threat from Al Qaeda and the need for a surveillance in 2004 - even though they had been occupation of an Arab country, which they want- rifying angels, Munkar and Nakir, recognized by
comprehensive strategy to cope with that threat. taped talking about traveling to Al Qaeda sites ed. And Bush’s ally, President Pervez Musharraf for it. But even a skeptic who challenged the
their bluish faces, their huge teeth and their wild «scientific» evidence professed in this public fo-
Surveillance tapes made public after the 2004 in Pakistan. of Pakistan, still leaves Al Qaeda with the safe hair.
bomb plot trial reveal that two of the July 7th sub- It should be evident not only that Britain need- haven it needs. rum his belief in the reality of the torture of the
These angels carry out a trial to probe the grave.
way bombers were recorded talking to a leader of ed more resources for counterterrorism than it Police and security services can only do so soundness of a Muslim’s faith. If the dead Mus-
the 2004 plot by Britain’s domestic intelligence had in 2004 and that MI5 should have notified much in the fight against terrorism. There is also Muslims can escape the torture of the grave by
lim answers their questions convincingly and if dying as martyrs. In Islam the category of mar-
service MI5. Opposition politicians are calling local police about the two suspects, who turned a need for leaders who do not play into Al Qa- he has no sin on record, then the grave is trans-
for an independent inquiry to determine why Mo- up in an ongoing investigation. eda’s hands and do not get distracted from the tyr does not belong exclusively to those who die
formed into a luxurious space that makes bear- fighting in God’s path. According to Islamic tra-
hammad Sidique Khan, a key figure in the 2005 The larger lesson is that Al Qaeda has become quest to crush the head of that snake. able the long wait until the final judgment.
subway bombings who was observed meeting more dangerous both as a terrorist command _______________________ dition, Muslims who die in a fire, by drowning,
But if a Muslim’s faith is imperfect or if he in the collapse of a building or in some other way
four times with one of the 2004 conspirators, was center and as the chief source for an ideological The Boston Globe, editorial has sinned during life by, for example, failing re-
not himself placed under surveillance. movement. The British trial tapes cast light on involving great physical suffering merit the rank
peatedly to undertake purity rituals before prayer, of martyrs in the afterlife.
The official answer is that MI5 was trying to the direct links between Al Qaeda leaders shelter- then the grave is transformed into an oppressive, This means that immediately after death, their
constricting space. spirits do not return to dwell within mutilated or
Roots of Malaise Deeper than Recent War The earth begins to weigh down heavily upon
the sentient corpse, until the rib cage collapses;
burned corpses. Instead they enter the Garden of
Eden, where they receive new bodies, perfectly
tion, and vigorous enough to turn Tel Aviv from a The disarray in Gaza and the West Bank could worms begin to nibble away at the flesh, causing
Roger Cohen scarcely be more complete. Delivering peace is hard reformed, so as to enjoy the rewards of martyr-
small town into a lively metropolis over the past horrible pain.
when you cannot deliver the mail or collect the gar- dom until the resurrection. Those who have lost
several decades. A messy 34-day war does not undo This torture does not continue indefinitely. It
a state. bage or get various competing security services to a relative in a violent and shocking death - in the
Israelis have had a lot to digest over the past year. occurs intermittently and ends at the very lat- bombings in Baghdad, for instance - may find
They’ve watched Dan Halutz, their departed army Palestinians, by contrast, do not have a state, put national interest before self-interest.
Several books could be written about whom to est with the resurrection - when God may well some consolation in this belief.
chief, offload his shares on the eve of the Lebanon although they might have had one in 1948 and at
blame for this mess. No doubt several will be. But forgive Muslims who have endured the punish- ___________________________________
war last summer. They’ve suffered Defense Minister various junctures since. I happened to travel to Tel
Aviv from Jericho in the West Bank. Nowhere else, in the end it does not matter in what degree Israelis ment. Leor Halevi, a professor of history at Texas A&M
Amir Peretz gazing at the front through binoculars Surely this violence sounds medieval. Belief
with the cover on. They’ve seen money top morality perhaps, are distances so small between places that and in what degree Palestinians have contributed to University, is the author of “Muhammad’s Grave:
are worlds apart as in the charged, diminutive geog- depositing the latter in a festering cul-de-sac that is in «the torture of the grave» indeed stretches Death Rites and the Making of Islamic Society.”
in their politics.
raphy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. not a state but is a breeding ground for radicalism. way back in history. It appears in eighth-century The New York Times.
So what else is new? A materialist society run-
ning blind in the hands of venal leaders is not ex- Things have gone down in Jericho since the Only the facts matter.
actly a first on the planet. But this is Israel, a land
bred on a narrative of the heroic, a country that was
«peace of the brave» that Rabin and Yasser Arafat
engineered from some elusive, and ephemeral, mix
Confronted by them, Erekat has reached this
brisk conclusion: «It’s not negotiating time, it’s Techno
supposed to be better and aches because it is not, a of heart and mind evaporated, leaving only dis- decision time. Israel is Israel on the 1967 borders,
Middle Eastern democracy that still fights for ac- turbing memories that sit on this area like a film of
dust.
Palestine is Palestine, minus and plus agreed-upon
swaps, minus and plus security arrangements, with
Saving the Good Old Records
ceptance in its region.
As a result, the cheapness hurts in a particular A solitary camel that has seen better days greets a third party role.» That role would be to stabilize David Pogue
way. How else to understand the outcry over what the visitor, as do assorted donkey-carts. A luxury any deal.
happened in Lebanon? The war was not a success hotel stands nearly empty. In 2000, there were thou- If that sounds easy, if that sounds obvious, the fact
but nor was it a failure. Thousands of international sands of foreign tourists in Jericho every day. Today is it is not. The history of the last 59 years proves Formats sometimes seem to have the approxi- soundtracks, if any. Worst of all, most film reels
troops now protect Israel’s northern border. The there are virtually none. Palestine-in-embryo is a that. The fact, speaking of facts, is that Israel has mate shelf life of milk, and as audiocassettes, have not been kept cool for the past few decades,
death toll, even for a little modern war, was mod- hard sell for tour operators these days, not a place in now ruled over occupied territory for four decades. VHS tapes, old home movies and vinyl records so the color has begun to shift. Red is the last pig-
est. But it was embarked on, and conducted with, which to kick back. Its nature has been conditioned more by these 40 show signs of following eight-track tapes and ment to disappear, which is why many old home
an almost sleazy irresponsibility, and that seems Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, a years than by the 19 years that preceded them. Po- stone tablets into oblivion, it is time to copy their movies look as if shot on Mars.
symbolic. pro on the interminable peace-is-not-impossible licing the subjugated is corrosive. contents onto shiny new recordable CDs and Old film can be color-corrected, but only by
So there they were, perhaps 100,000 Israelis, per- circuit, resides here. He has a thousand lines to de- On the surface, the Tel Aviv rally was not about DVDs. professionals. Such companies use much high-
haps more, in Rabin Square on an airless, hot night scribe the lineaments of the world’s most intractable peace talks or the Palestinian conflict, but in reality I OLD VIDEOTAPES If most of your old tapes er-quality transfer machines - refrigerator-size,
last week, demanding that Prime Minister Ehud Ol- conflict, and he has no doubt pronounced most of think it was. It was about the wall-slash-fence rising are on VHS, a dual-deck, combination VCR/ reel-to-reel machines called Telecine decks - to
mert quit, venting their general anger, their frustra- them a thousand times. Still, he perseveres. to disappear the Palestinians from view, the soul-
DVD burner may be just the ticket. Besides convert film into video, and then employ color-
tion, their disquiet, singing wistful songs in a place «I am the most disadvantaged negotiator in the devouring business of lording it over, the dashed
hooking to your TV and serving as both a VCR ists to adjust each scene before committing the
where the hopes of the 1990s died with the assas- history of man,» he told me. «I have no army, no hopes, the looking away to the materialist West, and
the cost, moral and otherwise, of all that on a weary and a DVD player, it can copy a VHS tape onto result to a DVD.
sination of Yitzhak Rabin. navy, no economy, my society is fragmented. I don’t
Israel. a blank DVD with the press of one button. Pana- In short, sending your reels away to profes-
There were some national flags, but not a lot of stand a chance with any U.S. senator. Who said life
is about fairness and justice? I am the least-advan- «It is not the country we dreamed of,» said Aaron sonic and others make these decks for $135 and sionals is convenient and offers the best possible
them. The national anthem was sung, but in a way up. These decks do not duplicate copy-protected quality, but it is expensive. MyMovieTransfer.
that was scarcely rousing. Israelis have grown wary taged negotiator since Adam negotiated Eve and Liraz, one of the protesters. «But it is our country.»
Eve Adam.» _____________________________________ disks or tapes. com, for example, charges $20 per reel (each
of nationalism. They are more interested in normal-
The self-pity does not mean that Erekat is wrong. The International Herald Tribune (abridged) As a bonus, the same deck can transfer other reel is about four minutes long), plus 10 percent
ity right now. They see no hope of a warm peace,
old tapes, like 8mm and Hi-8. You just plug your if there is sound, plus $10 per DVD or MiniDV
the one Rabin promised. It would be enough to be
normal and a relief to be dull.
Still, Israel has a state all right, one open enough
Nuggets ers hope it could also eventually be used to treat
sufferers of around 2,000 other types of hereditary
old-format camcorder into the deck’s inputs, and
then burn home movies to DVD in real time.
tape, plus shipping.
AUDIO TAPES You do not even need a com-
and structured enough to produce a withering report disease. The Sony DVDirect deck for $220 does not puter to rescue material from audiocassettes or
on the war that was the prelude to this demonstra- Laila Farid § Puppy Prozac require a TV hookup at all but has its own little even eight-track cartridges. Instead, you can buy
If your doberman is a little down in the mouth or your built-in screen. You plug your camcorder or VCR a stand-alone audio CD recorder, from compa-
§ Universities ‘Targeted’ by Islamic Ex- poodle a bit peaky, help is at hand. into its inputs, insert a blank DVD, and hit Re- nies like Sony and Philips, for about $250. You
tremists The makers of Prozac have developed the drug for cord. Once again, the transfer takes place in real connect your tape deck directly into the CD re-
British universities are warned that they are being dogs, with the canine version coming in chewable
form and tasty beef flavour. time, but you avoid tying up your home-enter- corder, hit Play, and record directly onto blank
targeted by Islamic extremist groups looking for re-
cruits. § Rolls-Royce Withdraws from Sudan tainment setup for hours on end. CDs. If you want the CD to recognize each song
A conference of chief security officers heard that re- Rolls Royce has bowed to pressure from humanitar- OLD FILM REELS If you still have the pro- as a separate track, you must baby-sit the pro-
ligious radicals remain active on campuses and have ian groups and will stop doing business in strife-torn jector you need to view your old home movies cess and hit a New Track button at the end of
infiltrated at least 20 institutions. Sudan. - Super 8, say, or 16mm - it is possible to do the each song. You can also connect your tape deck
It is believed that al-Muhajiroun, the disbanded Rolls Royce, which supplies engines and equip- transfer to DVD yourself. In theory. directly to a computer for recording.
extremist group, has infiltrated universities, and fol- ment used to pump oil and gas, is the most high-pro- You project the movie onto a screen or white VINYL RECORDS You can use a turntable
lowers of Omar Bakri Mohammed, its founder, are file British company operating in Sudan. wall, as small and sharply focused as possible. to connect to a computer and record in much the
still operational in several campuses. Another radi- Then you use a modern digital camcorder, on a same way as audiocassettes. Or you can use the
cal group, Hizb ut Tahrir, is also active in universi- § Nuns Get into Internet Habit
Cloistered nuns at a convent in Sicily have decided tripod directly in front of the screen, to shoot the unique Ion iTTUSB turntable for $171, which
ties and colleges.
The Government has issued guidance to universi- that their vow of silence may rule out gossiping with image. Afterward, you can transfer the camcord- is designed to connect directly to the USB jack
ties over how to deal with the threat. locals or telephoning old friends, but it does not ex- er footage to a computer, edit it and then burn it of a Mac or PC. The music plays straight into
§ Drug Could Treat 2,000 Hereditary Disor- clude going online to swap emails. to a DVD. an included audio-editing program. If you have
ders The 12 Cistercian nuns of the 13th-century con- This trick is cheap, but not ideal. First, it is neither computer nor turntable, you can turn to a
Scientists have discovered a drug that offers hope vent have set up a website and are happy to take ques- incredibly time-consuming, since you must sit last resort: the Teac GF350, a cheaply built $350
to around 10 per cent of patients with the genetic tions about what it is like to pray for hours in silence through the footage at least twice. Second, if turntable with a built-in CD recorder.
disorders Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cystic every day. your camcorder does not have audio inputs, ___________________
fibrosis. _____________________________________ you will have a tough time capturing the films’ The New York Times
The drug is being tested on humans and research- Source: The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian
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21.
2 Watani International 13 May 2007
The Coptophile Column
Two significant authors have contributed to the of monks were Coptic-speaking, native John H. Watson images ranging from the Nativity to the As- oration of their parish churches with the painting of
study of Coptic Orthodox Art in Egypt. Gawdat Gabra Egyptians, though it may be true that some sumption. Mary the Mother of God was por- icons, based upon their personal Coptic theological
was the Director of the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo were from the Greco-Roman élite who also served in trayed in an extensive range of depictions. Maria Lac- concepts. But it is certain that the monasteries ex-
and the author of many major Coptic publications. Be Egyptian monasteries. In the eighth century an emper- tens was not only the classical model of Christian emplify and expose the theology and spirituality of
Thou There: The Holy Family’s Journey in Egypt or had banned religious images and the iconoclastic imagery offering her life to her son, but many other Egypt’s Coptic desert imagery. The sense of a personal
(AUC Press 2001), Coptic Monasteries: Egypt’s Mo- controversy continued, with the prohibition of any rep- pharaonic images relate firmly to the goddess Isis presence within icons is truly approachable, and any
nastic Art and Architecture (AUC Press 2002) and resentation of Jesus Christ, apart from written symbols with her son Horus. Such imagery could be comfort- Christian who engages directly with icons may well
The Popes of Egypt (AUC Press 2004) are all es- like Alpha and Omega or Christos. It was in the ninth ably affirmed by pharaonic Egypt and by Coptic experience the authentic imagery of transcendence.
sential texts. The Coptic author has produced a whole century that the Triumph of Orthodoxy was trans- Egypt. Christian imagery is central, even universal.
range of accessible academic articles and books. Mar- formed into Christian iconography. The victory of the Christian iconographers from Syria and Armenia, per- The artistic range within Coptic Orthodoxy has been
ianne Eaton-Krauss is a specialist in Egyptian art and iconodules over the iconoclasts led to an astonishing haps even from Greece, were working in their atelier, clear for many centuries. Greco-Roman styles, Nilotic
architecture. She taught at universities in Berlin and production of icons from the ninth to the fifteenth cen- supported by Coptic patrons who confirmed the dec- landscapes, Syrian and Armenian images, pharaonic
Münster and lectured widely throughout Europe and turies, and from then on the elements in Christian art and architecture, including
the United States of America. These two authors have world of orthodox icons was figurative Hellenic essentials, are all present. The ab-
finally produced one of the most remarkable and in- transformed. The presence of sence of archaeological data hinders the precise dating
telligible texts: The Treasures of Coptic Art in the icons in Coptic Egypt certain- of Egyptian Christian images. The chronology of clas-
Coptic Museum and Churches of Old Cairo (The ly changed from time to time. sical Coptic Orthodox iconography is not always
American University in Cairo Press, 2006. Dar el Ku- But perhaps Coptic Egypt—in known in any native site. But it is likely that the im-
tub No. 2833/05 ISBN 977 424 933 X. pp. 284. 158 isolation from By- ages reach back not only into the sixth century of the
illustrations). zantium—survived with the Common Era but beyond into pharaonic art itself. Pa-
images of salvation and re- gan images and Christian icons unite, historically and
This lavishly illustrated text is dedicated to the demption. Coptic Orthodox artistically.
memory of Marcus Simaika Pasha (1864-1944) the monastics justifiably vener-
founder of the Coptic Museum. He experienced great ated these timeless images. The Nag Hammadi Library presents one complete
pleasure in his personal exploration of Coptic studies, chapter in this volume displaying one of the most fa-
and also established excellent relationships with most For many readers, there are mous collections ever known. Numerous volumes are
British and European scholars who had embraced the simply fifteen pages of The dated from the fourth century—perceived as Coptic
Coptic Orthodox Church with immense enthusiasm. Treasures of Coptic Art bear- monastic sources in Upper Egypt. Mohammed Ali al-
Marcus Simaika devoted his life to the art and culture ing the title ‘Burials’. The il- Samman was a camel driver who was digging for fer-
of Christian Egypt. The Treasures of Coptic Art clear- lustrations are compelling. tiliser near Jabal al-Tarif, by the village of Hamra
ly illustrates the fact that this hardback (25x35 cm) is Little may be known about Dom. Mohammed Ali, later viewed on television over
a powerful expression of the richest heritage of Cop- Christian funerary practices in three decades, has often affirmed that he was im-
tic Orthodoxy throughout the length and breadth of the early centuries of Egypt, prisoned for a time, and that too many of the manu-
Egypt. This volume appears in conjunction with the but some aspects of Coptic scripts were burnt in his wife’s kitchen! But Mo-
renovation of the Coptic Museum, which was re- Theology are documented. hammed Ali al-Samman recovered some of the library,
opened by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt on 25 Many of the Coptic tapestries and the Coptic-Gnostic manuscripts travelled through
June 2006. The closure of the Coptic site was delayed and carvings are amazing. The Egypt and across the Globe. Here was a major explora-
for nearly fourteen years because of the destructive belief that the preservation of tion of Gnosticism. It is true that many scholars would
1992 earthquake, and this natural catastrophe had af- the body was essential for life confidently affirm that modern spirituality is often de-
fected not only the church of al-Mu’allaqa and the after death certainly persisted fined in relation to Gnosticism, though in opposition to
Old Wing of the Coptic Museum but many other Cai- among many of Egypt’s classical ecclesiastical models. The rather surprising
rene architectural monuments. Finally, the Coptic Mu- Christians—Coptic Orthodox, down-to-earth truth about the materially arranged Nag
seum was reborn last year, preserving and presenting Greek, Syrian and others. Hammadi codices, which were created just about two
the most extensive and representative works in this Mummification certainly sur- millennia ago, is that they are authentic examples of
classical Coptic heritage. vived, whilst others were lost "book-binding".
in shallow graves. But the
The Treasures of Coptic Art in the Coptic Museum truthful appeal for the res- Archaeological investigations, architectural studies,
and Churches of Old Cairo is recognised as an artistic urrection of the body and the iconographic imagery and the exploration of literary
and literary manuscript—solid and secure. The il- life of the world to come was sources are all of central significance, simply because
lustrations are certainly amongst the finest expres- great. No doubt the grave- the churches of Egypt’s ancient capital have attracted
sions of the creative and architectural legacy of the stones from the fourth to the tourists and scholars for more than a thousand years.
Coptic Christians in their homeland. Coptic Mon- seventh centuries were anx- The Treasures of Coptic Art in the Coptic Museum and
asticism might justifiably be described as Egypt’s iously preserved. Churches of Old Cairo by Gawdat Gabra and Mar-
greatest and most enduring contribution to Christian- ianne Eaton-Krauss is a beautiful manuscript and lists
ity for practically two millennia. It was the Images of the Theotokos more than one hundred equally significant texts in its
monks—the desert fathers of the historical pe- have been preserved in Coptic own bibliography. Creation, salvation, sanctification
riods—who were the most literate, morally effective textiles for centuries. The nar- and eschatology remain significant icons on virtually
and artistically gifted. Enormous numbers of Copts ratives of the Blessed Virgin
converted to Islam in the seventh century, but it is Mary are not uncommon but
surely the holy man hidden in a monastery in the Cop- often very expressive. Egyp- The Revd. Dr. John H. Watson is an Anglican priest who
tic desert who remained cultured, rooted in Orthodox tian artists and crafts- has been writing the fortnightly Coptophile Column for
spirituality and theologically literate. The monastics men—creating textiles and Watani International since 2002. He is the author of sever-
read books but they also read icons as primary re- manuscripts with sculptures al books including Among the Copts (2000), Christians
ligious images. It is widely believed that the majority and wall paintings—produced Observed (2004), and Listening to Islam (2005).
Above:
Book cover;
From left:
The beautiful facade of the
Coptic Museum,
with the bust of its founder
Morqos Semeika
in the foreground;
Dr Gawdat Gabra
The Treasures of Coptic Art Egypt's Coptic Church is one of the oldest in the beauty, these artifacts, which range in date from the third
world, with a cultural tradition dating back two mil- to the nineteenth centuries, represent indispensable ma- About the Author
and Architecture in the Coptic lennia, during which time churches have been built and terial for the study of the origins and development of
a variety of distinctive art forms have flourished. Coptic art, as well as its relations with the ancient Egyp-
Museum and Churches of Old tian, Byzantine, and Islamic traditions. Gawdat Gabra, a former director of the Coptic Mu-
The world's largest and most exquisite collection of seum, is the author or editor of numerous books related
Cairo Coptic artifacts is now housed in the Coptic Museum, Textiles, ceramics, terracotta, ivory and bone carvings, to the literary and material culture of Egyptian Chris-
founded in Old Cairo in 1908. Here for the first time, in and documents (including the famous Nag Hammadi
By Gawdat Gabra this lavishly illustrated book, more than one hundred of Gnostic library from the fourth century, one of the most tianity, including Coptic Monasteries: Egypt's Monastic
the greatest treasures of the Coptic Museum have been valuable collections of papyri in the world) provide in- Art and Architecture, Christian Egypt: Coptic Art and
Publisher: American University beautifully photographed to present an overview of this valuable insights into the economic and social life of Monuments through Two Millennia (both AUC Press
rich artistic heritage. Egypt over the past two thousand years. 2002), and Christianity and Monasticism in the Fayoum
in Cairo Press, 2007
Objects from churches and monasteries across Egypt In addition to objects from the Coptic Museum, this Oasis (AUC Press, 2005). He is the co-editor of the
Hardcover: 240 pages include some of the finest examples of Coptic icons, ste- book also includes photographs of surrounding churches, three volumes of The Popes of Egypt (vol. I: AUC
lae, sculptures, wall paintings, wooden altar screens, some of Egypt's oldest, that illustrate the architectural Press, 2004). Currently, Dr. Gabra is a visiting pro-
Product Dimensions: metal crosses, censers, liturgical implements and vest- legacy of the Copts. The accompanying text and captions
ments, chandeliers, and bible caskets. provide a description of Coptic civilization in general fessor of Coptic Studies at Claremont Graduate Uni-
13.2 x 9.7 x 1.2 inches Besides being objects of great craftsmanship and and Coptic art in particular. versity, California.
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22.
"
Watani Francophone 13 May 2007
6
Les présidents de la 5ème République
française
N icolas Sarkozy succède aux cinq chefs d'Etat qui ont marqué la Vème
Abdel Massih Felli
voie à une alternance politique qui porte la gauche à la tête de l'Etat après
vingt-trois ans de pouvoir exclusif de la droite.
République, depuis 1958. Son fondateur, Charles de Gaulle, est élu président le Réélu le 8 mai 1988 (54%), face à Jacques Chirac, il devient le premier prés-
21 décembre 1958 par un collège de grands électeurs. Il effectue un premier du Sénat. ident élu deux fois au suffrage universel. Malgré un cancer de la prostate, Mit-
mandat de sept ans marqué par la guerre d'Algérie, la décolonisation en Afrique Georges Pompidou lui succède (58,2%) le 15 juin 1969, battant Alain Poher, terrand mène à terme son second septennat et détient à ce jour le record de
et l'affirmation de la souveraineté française sur la scène internationale. le président du Sénat qui assurait l'intérim depuis avril. Atteint d'une sorte de longévité à l'Elysée (14 ans).
En 1962, le général fait adopter par référendum le principe de l'élection du cancer du sang, il décède le 2 avril 1974, quatre ans et neuf mois après sa prise Le 7 mai 1995, Jacques Chirac, 62 ans, bat Lionel Jospin (52,6 %), qui de-
président de la République au suffrage universel. La première, le 19 décembre de fonction. vient son Premier ministre deux ans plus tard après l'échec de la dissolution de
1965, voit sa réélection avec 55,2% des voix. Au cours de ce second mandat, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 48 ans, prend la relève en mai 1974, l'emportant de l'Assemblée nationale. Chirac est largement réélu le 5 mai 2002, cette fois pour
Charles de Gaulle surmonte la crise de mai 1968, et démissionne le 28 avril justesse (50,8%) face à François Mitterrand. Les deux hommes se retrouvent cinq ans, face à Jean-Marie Le Pen qui avait devancé Lionel Jospin au 1er tour,
1969 après la victoire du non au référendum sur la régionalisation et la réforme en 1981: Mitterrand, 64 ans, l'emporte le 10 mai (51,8%). Son élection ouvre la le 21 avril. Son quinquennat s'achève officiellement le 16 mai 2007 à minuit.
Charles Georges Pompidou:
Une présidence gaullienne
L'échec du référendum sur les réformes
du Sénat et des régions entraîne la dé-
De Gaulle: mission du général de Gaulle en 1969
et l'organisation de nouvelles élections
une présidence écourtée présidentielles. Elu avec 58% des suf-
l'homme Fils d'enseignants, Georges Pompidou naît le 5 juillet 1911 dans un petit village frages face à Alain Poher, Georges
du Cantal. Après des études primaires et secondaires à Albi et l'obtention de son Pompidou s'installe à l'Elysée le 15 juin
providentiel baccalauréat, il prépare l'entrée à l'Ecole normale supérieure à Toulouse puis au 1969. Sa présidence débute sous le
Né à Lille en 1890, dans une signe du gaullisme. Il choisit comme
lycée Louis-le-Grand à Paris. Il intègre l'École en 1931, y noue une profonde am-
famille catholique con-
itié avec Léopold Sédar Senghor et découvre la politique auprès de la Ligue d'ac- Premier ministre Jacques Chaban-
servatrice, Charles De Gaulle
fait ses études chez les Jé- tion universitaire républicaine et socialiste. Agrégé en 1934 et diplômé de l'Ecole Delmas, personnalité éminente du gaul-
suites et opte très tôt pour une libre des Sciences politiques, il fait son service militaire à Clermont-Ferrand, lisme et ancien président de l'Assemblée
carrière dans l'armée. Il est reçu avant d'enseigner trois ans au lycée Saint-Charles de Marseille puis d'être nom- nationale. Après la démission de ce dern-
en 1908 à Saint-Cyr : pendant sa mé au lycée Henri IV à Paris. En septembre 1944, ses liens d'amitié avec René ier, en 1972, il nomme à ses côtés Pierre
formation, il est élève officier au Brouillet, ancien condisciple de khâgne et de l'Ecole normale, et directeur adjoint Messmer, ministre des Armées du Général.
33e régiment d'infanterie d'Arras, al- du cabinet du Général de Gaulle, lui permettent d'entrer au cabinet du président En politique extérieure, il s'efforce d'assurer
ors commandé par le colonel Pétain. du Gouvernement provisoire. Il y est chargé de suivre les questions de politique l'indépendance de la France sur la scène inter-
En 1914, le lieutenant De Gaulle rejoint les intérieure et d'éducation. Au moment du départ du général, en janvier 1946, il est nationale tout en tenant compte de l'évolution de la
armées du Nord-Est. Blessé trois fois au combat, il est laissé pour nommé adjoint d'Henri Ingrand, commissaire général au Tourisme. Il devient situation (arrivée de Nixon au pouvoir, Ostpolitik allemande, puissance crois-
mort lors de la bataille de Douaumont (près de Verdun) en 1916. En cette même année maître des requêtes au Conseil d'État. Sans adhérer au parti sante de l'U.R.S.S….). Sur le plan national, la présidence de Georges Pom-
réalité emprisonné par les Allemands, il tente plusieurs fois de s'év-
du général de Gaulle, le Rassemblement du Peuple Français (RPF), il reste pidou est un temps fort pour l'industrialisation du pays. Enfin, la présidence de
ader en vain, et n'est libéré qu'à l'armistice, le 11 novembre 1918.
proche des milieux gaullistes et se voit confier le poste de secrétaire général de Pompidou est marquée par son goût pour l'art et à la culture, avec la création
la Fondation Anne de Gaulle (fondation pour jeunes filles handicapées). Appart- d'un centre d'art contemporain, qui porte aujourd'hui son nom.
Héros de la Seconde enant au cercle restreint des proches de De Gaulle, il est nommé chef de son Le mandat de Pompidou, écourté par son décès le 2 avril 1974, s'achève sur la
Guerre Mondiale cabinet de 1948 à 1953. La même année, il entre également à la Banque Rots- crise pétrolière de 1973, qui met fin la période des Trente Glorieuses et annonce
Au moment où l'Allemagne nazie envahit la France, De Gaulle s'il- child, dont il devient rapidement directeur général. d'importantes difficultés économiques et sociales.
lustre à plusieurs reprises à la tête de ses chars, arrêtant notamment
les Allemands à Abbeville (27-30 mai 1940). Nommé général le 1er
juin 1940, il devient quelques jours plus tard sous-secrétaire d'État à la
Défense nationale et à la Guerre, dans le gouvernement de Paul Re-
ynaud. Mais le 16 juin, le président du Conseil démissionne : il est
François Mitterrand:
remplacé par le maréchal Pétain qui demande l'armistice. bauches dans la fonction publique, na-
Aussitôt, De Gaulle part à Londres pour poursuivre la guerre et tionalisations, contrôle des changes…) tan-
lance un appel à la résistance sur les ondes de la BBC : c'est le fa- le retour de la gauche
Né le 26 octobre 1916 à Jarnac (Charente), dans la famille d'un industriel vi- dis que le ministre de la Justice, Robert Ba-
meux "Appel du 18 juin". Considéré comme rebelle, il est condamné à dinter, abolit la peine de mort. A l'étranger,
mort par contumace en août. Reconnu "chef des Français libres" par naigrier catholique, il est éduqué par un précepteur privé puis envoyé en pen-
sion à Paris. Étudiant turbulent, il participe à l'agitation des années 1930. Au François Mitterrand s'engage résolument
Churchill, De Gaulle organise des forces armées qui deviendront les aux côtés des occidentaux contre l'URSS
Forces françaises libres. Il dote également la France libre d'un gou- début de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, il est fait prisonnier et parvient à s'év-
ader en 1942. Il rejoint le gouvernement de Vichy et s'occupe de la réinser- et prend parti pour Saddam Hussein, dans
vernement en exil, le Comité national français, futur Gouvernement le conflit qui l'oppose à l'Iran. Très vite,
Provisoire de la République française (GPRF). A partir de 1942, les re- tion des prisonniers. Le 16 août 1943, il reçoit la Francisque, médaille mar-
quant l'estime du maréchal Pétain, des mains du maréchal. l'économie montre des signes de fai-
lations s'organisent entre la France libre et la résistance intérieure. Le blesse. Le président confie alors le gou-
général charge Jean Moulin de créer en France le Conseil national de Début 1943, François Mitterrand entre dans la Résistance sous le surnom de
"Morland". Après la guerre, il se lie à René Bousquet, secrétaire général de la vernement à Laurent Fabius qui change ra-
la Résistance (CNR). Cette instance regroupe toutes les tendances dicalement de politique économique et se
des partis politiques, syndicats et mouvements de résistance et co- Police sous l'Occupation et principal organisateur de la rafle du Vél d'Hiv. Re-
converti dans les milieux d'affaires, il sera l'un des soutiens financiers principaux lance notamment dans la privatisation des
ordonne la lutte contre l'occupant nazi, contre Vichy et pour la libéra- grandes entreprises publiques. Mais bientôt,
tion du territoire national. Reconnu à l'intérieur de l'Hexagone, De de François Mitterrand dans ses campagnes électorales.
la progression du chômage et des inégalités
Gaulle a plus de difficultés avec les Etats-Unis, l'Union soviétique et la sociales entraîne un retournement de l'opinion.
Grande-Bretagne, qui refusent de le reconnaître comme le rep- Ses débuts en politique Lors des élections législatives de 1986, la droite
résentant légitime de la France. Ce n'est qu'à la suite de la libération Nommé secrétaire général aux prisonniers de guerre en 1944, il est élu député revient au gouvernement : Jacques Chirac, chef
de Paris que le GPRF sera reconnu par les alliés. Après le débarque- de la Nièvre de 1946 à 1958, période au cours de laquelle il participe à de nom- de l'opposition, devient le Premier ministre de
ment du 6 juin 1944, De Gaulle insiste auprès d'Eisenhower pour que breux gouvernements de la IVe République. Il sera notamment ministre de l'In- François Mitterrand. C'est la première cohabitation de la
Paris soit libéré rapidement, alors que la stratégie prévoyait d'éviter la térieur de Pierre Mendès France et Garde des Sceaux. Le ministre ne cache pas Ve République entre un Président et un Premier ministre de bords opposés. Mais la
capitale. La 2e DB du général Leclerc libère la ville le 25 août. Réin- son espoir d'accéder à la Présidence du Conseil. Mais le retour du général de situation tourne à l'avantage du Président qui est réélu deux ans plus tard.
stallé au ministère de la Guerre, De Gaulle descend triomphalement Gaulle aux affaires, en 1958, freine son ascension politique.
les Champs-Élysées le 26 août. Mais il entre rapidement en désaccord En 1958, François Mitterrand dénonça le "coup d'Etat" du général de Gaulle
avec l'Assemblée constituante sur la conception de l'État et le rôle des et prend position contre les institutions de la Vème République. Il y perd son
Un second septennat difficile
partis, et démissionne le 20 janvier 1946. Le 16 juin de la même an- siège de député, mais le retrouve lors des élections de 1962 après un passage Sous la pression de l'opinion, Mitterrand appelle Michel Rocard comme Premier min-
née, il propose un véritable projet constitutionnel avec un exécutif fort au Sénat. Candidat unique de la gauche aux élections présidentielles de 1965, istre. Ce dernier mène en trois ans une politique appréciée (pacification de la Nou-
et une séparation claire des pouvoirs. Le "discours de Bayeux", resté il se présente comme le champion de l'alternance au gaullisme et parvient à velle-Calédonie, instauration de la CSG, création du RMI), Rocard est remercié par le
dans les mémoires, n'est pourtant pas écouté à l'époque : en octobre, mettre en ballottage le général, obtenant au second tour un résultat honorable président avec qui il entretient des relations conflictuelles. Suivent les gouvernements
les électeurs approuvent le texte qui devient la Constitution de la IVe de 45% des voix. En 1969, il renonce à se présenter à l'élection présidentielle. d'Édith Cresson puis celui de Pierre Bérégovoy. En 1993, première année de réces-
République et qui donne un poids important au pouvoir législatif. Entré Néanmoins, sa réussite dans la réunion des partis de gauche le conduit à fond- sion depuis la fin de la guerre, la droite revient au pouvoir avec Edouard Balladur qui
dans l'opposition, De Gaulle lance un nouveau mouvement politique, er, le 12 juin 1971, un nouveau parti socialiste, qui prend la place de la SFIO. devient Premier ministre.
le Rassemblement du peuple français (RPF). Son but est de lutter con- Après son échec (de justesse) aux élections de 1974 face à Valéry Giscard Ce second mandat est marqué, à l'extérieur, par l'orientation du projet européen vers
tre le poids des partis et de favoriser une réforme constitutionnelle. d'Estaing, il s'impose comme le candidat de la gauche unie et gagne les prés- des objectifs économiques et par de grands bouleversements géopolitiques (chute du
Mais le mouvement, qui connaît tout d'abord plusieurs succès élec- identielles le 10 mai 1981. mur de Berlin, guerres de Yougoslavie, génocide rwandais). Durant son mandat, il
toraux, s'essouffle : en 1953, De Gaulle s'éloigne de la vie politique. choisit de garder le cancer dont il souffre secret et fait maquiller ses certificats méd-
Commence alors une "traversée du désert", durant laquelle il se retire Entre euphorie et désillusion icaux semestriels. La fin de son mandat est marquée par plusieurs scandales, parmi
à Colombey-les-Deux-Églises En 1981, François Mitterrand commence un "règne" qui va durer 14 ans. Le pre- lesquels la révélation de l'existence d'une fille naturelle, Mazarine Pingeot, et celle
mier gouvernement, dirigé par Pierre Mauroy, rompt avec la politique de rigueur de d'une jeunesse agitée. Le 17 mai 1995, Jacques Chirac est investi président de la
l'ancien Premier ministre Raymond Barre. Il pratique une politique volontariste (em- République. François Mitterrand meurt six mois plus tard, le 8 janvier 1996.
Valéry Giscard d'Estain: Jacques Chirac:
Né le 29 novembre 1932, fils d'un administrateur de sociétés, Jacques Chirac fait ses études à Paris: après le lycée Louis-le-Grand, il entre à l'Institut
le plus jeune Une présidence moderne d'études politiques de Paris. A cette époque, il milite au Parti communiste et vend l'Humanité. En 1956, il se marie à Bernadette Chodron de Courcel. En
Fils d'Edmond Giscard, qui avait obtenu, par Valéry Giscard d'Estaing remporte les élec- 1956-1957, il effectue son service militaire en Algérie. A son retour, il intègre l'ENA. Il est ensuite auditeur à la Cour des comptes puis chargé de mission en
une procédure devant le Conseil d'Etat, de porter tions présidentielles avec 50,8 % des voix con- 1962 au cabinet de Georges Pompidou, alors Premier ministre. Il a alors tout juste 30 ans.
le nom "d'Estaing", Valéry Giscard d'Estaing est tre 49,2 % pour François Mitterrand. C'est pour
né le 2 février 1926 à Coblence. Son père y est al- la première fois de la Ve République la droite Des débuts politiques aux élections présidentielles de 1981
ors en poste, la Rhénanie étant à cette époque libérale, et non gaulliste, qui arrive au pouvoir. Jacques Chirac commence sa carrière politique en 1965, en devenant conseiller municipal à Sainte-Féréole (Corrèze). Deux ans plus tard, il est élu
occupée par les Forces françaises. Issu d'un mi- Le président souhaite une modernisation de la député de Corrèze, puis devient secrétaire d'Etat à l'Emploi dans le gouvernement Pompidou. On lui doit la création de l'Agence nationale pour l'Emploi
lieu aisé, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing fait ses études vie politique et de la société française. Ses pre- (ANPE). Il enchaîne, de 1968 à 1974, divers mandats tantôt en Corrèze (Député UDR, membre puis président du Conseil général), tantôt au gouverne-
à l'école Gerson, puis aux lycées Janson-de-Sailly mières mesures consistent à abaisser l'âge de ment (Secrétaire d'Etat aux Affaires Sociales, Secrétaire d'Etat à l'Economie et aux Finances, ministre de l'Agriculture et du
et Louis-le-Grand à Paris, enfin au lycée Blaise la majorité de 21 à 18 ans, à réduire Développement rural, ministre de l'Intérieur). A la mort du président Pompidou, il soutient Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Pascal de Clermont-Ferrand. À 18 ans, pendant la le contrôle de l'Etat sur l'in- contre Jacques Chaban-Delmas. A la victoire de VGE, il se voit nommé Premier ministre, mais leurs relations pol-
Deuxième Guerre mondiale, il s'engage dans la formation, à autoriser le di- itiques sont tendues : fervent gaulliste, Chirac n'apprécie guère les réformes de Giscard. En 1976, il démissionne
Première Armée où il est décoré de la croix vorce par consentement puis crée le RPR (Rassemblement pour la République) et se présente à la Mairie de Paris. Il gagne ces élec-
de guerre. Reçu au concours de l'École pol- mutuel, la contraception tions mais essuie un échec cuisant lors des élections européennes de 1979. Lors des élections prés-
identielles de 1981, il se présente comme l'alternative de droite au président Giscard et prône la réduction
ytechnique, puis admis à l'École nationale et l'interruption vo-
des impôts. Evincé du second tour, il aurait tenté, selon Valéry Giscard d'Estaing lui-même, d'influencer les
d'administration grâce à la procédure pré- lontaire de grossesse votes en faveur de François Mitterrand, afin d'empêcher sa réélection.
vue par le décret du 19 juillet 1948 (elle (loi Veil) et à encourag-
dispense les polytechniciens de passer er la mixité à l'école.
le concours pour entrer à l'ENA), il En 1978, il fonde De Matignon à la présidence
intègre le corps de l'Inspection générale l'UDF, parti centriste Jacques Chirac voit sa popularité s'accroître, en raison de son action dans l'opposition, depuis
des Finances en 1952, où il poursuit (dont il sera le prés- la Mairie de Paris. En 1986, les élections législatives tournent en faveur de la droite. Mitterrand
une carrière administrative jusqu'en ident de 1988 à 1996). nomme Jacques Chirac à la tête du gouvernement. L'expérience de la cohabitation s'avère difficile pour le
Premier ministre qui manque d'appuis. En 1988, il se présente à nouveau aux élections présidentielles. Sa
1956. Mais il doit bientôt af-
défaite est sans appel : Mitterrand est réélu avec 56 % des voix. Mais en 1993, nouveau retournement de
Elu député du Puy-de-Dôme en 1956 fronter une double op- situation : les élections législatives apportent une large victoire à la droite. Edouard Balladur devient Pre-
et nommé secrétaire d'Etat aux Fi- position. Celle de la mier ministre : une nouvelle cohabitation commence. Aux élections présidentielles de 1995, la droite est di-
nances, il s'affirme comme un spé- gauche, bien sûr, mais visée entre la candidature du très populaire Premier ministre (qui obtient les soutiens de Charles Pasqua et
cialiste des affaires financières, doté d'un aussi celles des gaullistes Nicolas Sarkozy) et celle de Jacques Chirac (soutenu par Philippe Seguin, Alain Juppé...). Emporté par l'en-
grand pouvoir de persuasion. Il est bientôt mécontents de ces évolu- thousiasme suscité par sa campagne sur le thème de la "fracture sociale", Chirac finit par devancer Balladur au
nommé ministre des Finances et des Af- tions. Son premier ministre, premier tour et remporte l'Elysée face au candidat socialiste Jospin.
faires économiques entre 1961 et 1974, sous Jacques Chirac, démissionne Le 7 mai 1995, Jacques Chirac devient le cinquième président de la Ve République. Il nomme Alain Juppé Premier
les présidences du général de Gaulle et de en août 1976 et fonde un nou- ministre. Le début du mandat est difficile : reprise contestée des essais nucléaires, grèves de décembre 1995, im-
Georges Pompidou. Il est l'instigateur du plan de veau parti gaulliste, le Rassemble- popularité d'Alain Juppé... En 1997, Jacques Chirac dissout l'Assemblée nationale, espérant obtenir une législature de droite. Mais c'est la gauche menée
stabilisation de 1963 (restriction des crédits, blo- ment pour la République (RPR). Par ailleurs, la par Lionel Jospin qui sort victorieuse des élections. Une nouvelle période de cohabitation commence. Il doit nommer Lionel Jospin Premier ministre. A la fin
cage des prix, contrôle des changes) pour enray- France est confrontée à une crise économique. Le des années 1990, des affaires politico-financières concernant le financement du RPR apparaissent au grand jour. Le président, mêlé à ces affaires, est pro-
tégé par son immunité. La droite apparaît considérablement affaiblie part le scandale. En 2002, Chirac fait campagne sur le thème de la sécurité. Le sec-
er l'inflation. S'étant séparé du CNI (Centre na- septennat de Valéry Giscard d'Estaing est marqué
ond tour des élection présidentielle l'oppose à Jean-Marie Le Pen. Il est réélu avec un score historique de 82,21 % des voix.
tional des indépendants et paysans), il fonde en par les conséquences des deux chocs pétroliers Jacques Chirac nomme Premier ministre Jean-Pierre Raffarin, inconnu de la majorité du corps électoral et président du conseil régional de Poitou-
1966 le groupe des Républicains indépendants, qui brisent la dynamique des Trente glorieuses. Charentes. L'UMP, l'"Union pour une Majorité Présidentielle", formée le 23 avril 2002, devient l'"Union pour un Mouvement Populaire", nouveau parti
allié à la majorité, et en dirige la Fédération na- Devant la nécessité d'économiser l'énergie, le de droite regroupant gaullistes, libéraux et une partie des centristes. Le deuxième mandat de Jacques Chirac est marqué, en politique étrangère, par
tionale. Mais en 1974, la mort prématurée de président instaure en 1975 le changement d'heure l'opposition de la France à la guerre en Irak. En 2005, le président décide d'organiser un référendum pour ratifier le projet de Constitution eu-
Pompidou interrompt son mandat et donne lieu à pendant les mois d'été. Cette période est aussi ropéenne. Le 29 mai, le "non" l'emporte: le lendemain, le Premier ministre démissionne. Il est remplacé par Dominique de Villepin, qui a été Sec-
de nouvelles élections présidentielles. marquée par l'apparition du chômage de masse. rétaire Général de l'Elysée de 1995 à 2002.
"
23.
"
Cartouche Dimanche
Equipe de rédaction:
Abdel Massih Felli 13 May 2007
Dalia Victor 5 Bachans 1723
Michael Victor Rédacteur en chef Directrice de rédaction 26 Rabie El-Akhar 1428
Névine Lameï Youssef Sidhom Laura Hakim 2 ème ANNEE
Caroline Onsy, Nermine Onsy NUMERO 54
Révision:
Rafik Baracat
Des milliers de partisans de Sarkozy fêtent la victoire, premiers heurts
Moubarak félicite Sarkozy et promet
une excellente relation France-Egypte
L e président Hosni Moubarak a félicité dimanche soir Nicolas Sarkozy, vainqueur de la
présidentielle française, et l'a assuré de "la poursuite de l'excellence de la relation franco-
égyptienne", a indiqué à l'AFP l'ambassadeur d'Egypte en France, Nasser Kamel.
"Moubarak lui a téléphoné dès les résultats et l'a félicité de sa victoire. Il l'a assuré de sa
Des confiance et de la poursuite de l'excellence de la relation franco-égyptienne", a déclaré M.
partisans Nasser.
de Nicolas Sarkozy et Moubarak "se sont mis d'accord pour intensifier la concertation entre les deux
pays sur le dossier du Moyen-Orient et à l'international", a ajouté l'ambassadeur.
Sarkozy Le candidat de la droite Nicolas Sarkozy a été élu dimanche avec entre 53 et 53,2% des
fêtent voix face à la socialiste Ségolène Royal, qui a recueilli entre 46,8 et 47% des suffrages, sel-
la victoire on des estimations des instituts de sondage.
de leur
Les grands
candidat à
la présidentielle,
le 6 mai 2007
place de
la Concorde
chantiers du
nouveau président
Plus de 10.000 partisans de Nicolas Sarkozy fêtaient di- Michael Victor En province, à Lille, peu avant 22H00, environ 200 per-
sonnes, essentiellement des anarchistes brandissant des T out au long de sa campagne et au soir de son élection, Nicolas Sarkozy a dressé le tab-
manche soir place de la Concorde la victoire à la présidentielle du candidat drapeaux noirs, se sont rassemblées sur la Grand Place. Aux cris de leau de ses grands chantiers, au premier rang desquels le "plein emploi" avec la volonté de
UMP, qui s'est rendu dans le restaurant de luxe le Fouquet's sur les Champs- "Sarko facho, le peuple aura ta peau", les manifestants faisaient face "réhabiliter le travail, l'autorité, la morale, le respect".
Elysées, tandis que des heurts étaient signalés à la Bastille et en province. à des policiers et leur jetaient quelques canettes et des poubelles. Avec un programme d'inspiration libérale et marqué par les thématiques traditionnelles de
Le candidat UMP Nicolas Sarkozy a été élu président de la République, L'un des manifestants a été évacué après avoir été blessé à un bras la droite comme l'immigration, il a affirmé vouloir construire un pays où "chacun aura sa
battant la socialiste Ségolène Royal avec 52,7% à 53,3% des voix(y com- lors d'une intervention des policiers, a constaté un journaliste de chance, mais cette chance il faudra qu'il la mérite par son travail".
pris54%–183613 français– établis hors de France) contre 46,7% à l'AFP. Voici les principaux dossiers auquel le président élu prévoit de s'atteler rapidement:
47,3%(y compris 46%–156480 français– établis hors de France), selon les Dans le quartier populaire de Lille-Sud, les pompiers ont effectué
estimations de quatre instituts de sondage. une vingtaine d'interventions essentiellement pour des feux de voitures PLEIN EMPLOI, FISCALITE
et de mobilier urbain. "Je vous ai promis le plein emploi, je vais me battre pour le plein emploi", a martelé M.
A l'annonce de ces résultats annoncés sur un écran géant, des mil- Sarkozy.
itants UMP, en majorité des jeunes, ont hurlé de joie, sauté en l'air, ap- A Strasbourg, une centaine de manifestants anti-Sarkozy se sont ras- Il vise le "plein emploi" en cinq ans et prévoit de réduire les prélèvements obligatoires de
plaudi, puis se sont embrassés, à la Concorde. Un spectacle incluant semblés spontanément et brièvement sur la place Kléber peu après 15 milliards d'euros dès le début de la législature. Autres objectifs: plafonner les impôts di-
des soutiens de M. Sarkozy dans le monde du spectacle, dont Enrico 21H00, scandant "Sarkozy fasciste". rects à 50% au lieu de 60% des revenus, réduire la dette de 64 à 60% du produit intérieur brut
Macias, était en cours sur une scène dressée près des Tuileries. en 2012 et le nombre de fonctionnaires.
Sur la place de la Bastille, en revanche, quelque 5.000 manifestants A Lyon, de légers incidents, dont des échanges de coups, ont opposé
"anti-Sarko", dont certains étaient masqués et portaient des drapeaux des militants de gauche et des partisans UMP à proximité de la péniche 35 HEURES, CONTRAT UNIQUE
noirs, affrontaient les forces de l'ordre, vers 22H00, avec des pro- amarrée sur le Rhône où étaient réunis les partisans de Nicolas Sar- Il suggère de garder les 35 heures "comme un minimum et de laisser les gens travailler plus
jectiles divers - pavé, bouteilles - tandis que les gendarmes mobiles ré- kozy pour fêter la victoire. pour gagner plus" en exonérant de charges sociales et d'impôts les heures supplémentaires
La police a interpellé trois partisans de la candidate socialiste, a-t-on "payées au moins 25% de plus".
pliquaient par des tirs de lacrymogènes. Il prône aussi la création d'"un contrat de travail unique plus souple pour les entreprises".
Depuis 21H00, après un bain de foule, le président élu se trouvait au indiqué de source policière.
Fouquet's, sur les Champs-Elysées, où il a essuyé quelques slogans
hostiles en arrivant. A Toulouse, quelque 500 militants UMP se sont réunis dans un res- SERVICE MINIMUM
"C'est une soirée magique, une page de l'histoire de France qui se taurant alors qu'environ 400 personne favorables à Mme Royal ont M. Sarkozy prévoit un projet de loi "dès l'été" sur le service minimum sauf en cas d'accord
entre Etat et syndicats.
tourne et je serai là pour l'écrire avec lui", affirmait à la Concorde scandé "résistance" sur la place du Capitole vers 21H00.
Alexandre Antona, un étudiant en économie âgé de 18 ans, qui a sa Dans le quartier pauvre de la Reynerie, deux voitures ont été in-
carte UMP depuis six mois. cendiées et des policiers ont essuyé des jets de pierre. RETRAITES
Il prévoit de réformer les régimes spéciaux et grâce à l'argent dégagé d'augmenter de 25%
les petites retraites et les pensions de réversion.
Chirac et Sarkozy arrivent EUROPE
Nicolas Sarkozy veut proposer à ses partenaires européens un "traité simplifié", limité aux
questions institutionnelles, entériné par le Parlement, avec une présidence stable et un mini-
stre des Affaires étrangères.
Il veut aussi revenir sur la règle de l'unanimité, qui empêche une politique de l'immigration
ensemble au Luxembourg
commune et est opposé à l'entrée de la Turquie dans l'Europe.
IMMIGRATION
M. Sarkozy, qui a promis de faire adopter dès le mois de juillet une nouvelle loi pour durcir
les conditions d'immigration notamment sur le regroupement familial, a invité dimanche les
Africains à "décider ensemble d'une politique d'immigration maîtrisée et d'une politique de
développement ambitieuse" avec "une union méditerranéenne".
L e président Jacques Chirac et son successeur Nicolas Sarkozy
l'homme d'affaires Vincent Bolloré et a affirmé que son voyage à
Malte n'avait "pas coûté un centime aux contribuables" français,
IDENTITE NATIONALE
sont apparus pour la première fois côte à côte en public, jeudi au dans des déclarations à plusieurs médias.
Jardin du Luxembourg, à l'occasion de la journée nationale de l'ab- Cette première apparition avec Jacques Chirac a été scrutée avec Celui qui souhaite créer un ministère de l'immigration et de l'identité nationale, veut "re-
mettre à l'honneur la nation et l'identité nationale". "Je vais rendre aux Français la fierté de la
olition de l'esclavage. attention par les journalistes, alors que les deux hommes en- France".
Jacques Chirac et Nicolas Sarkozy sont arrivés au Jardin du Lux- tretiennent des relations difficiles, ambivalentes et souvent con-
embourg. Ils avaient quitté l'Elysée ensemble à bord de la même flictuelles. Le président de la République s'est contenté d'apporter
voiture, quelques minutes plus tôt. Les deux hommes devaient par- "tout naturellement" son soutien au candidat de l'UMP pendant la DELINQUANCE
ticiper à la cérémonie commémorant l'abolition de l'esclavage. campagne électorale, après avoir longtemps tenté de lui barrer la Il compte proposer dès juillet "l'instauration de peines planchers sévères pour les multi-
Si cette cérémonie est une des dernières sorties de l'actuel chef route de l'Elysée. De son côté, M. Sarkozy n'a pas cité une seule récidivistes", que "les mineurs multirécidivistes entre 16 et 18 ans (soient) punis comme les
de l'Etat -il devait encore assister samedi à la finale de la Coupe fois le nom de M. Chirac au soir de sa victoire. majeurs" et "l'interdiction de la sortie de prison à tout délinquant sexuel qui ne se soumettrait
de France de football au Stade de France-, elle constitue aussi la Toutefois, pour son dernier Conseil des ministres, le chef de pas à un traitement médical et à un système de pointage tous les 15 jours".
première apparition officielle de Nicolas Sarkozy depuis sa vic- l'Etat a déclaré faire "toute confiance" à Nicolas Sarkozy "pour
toire dimanche sur sa permettre à la France de ENVIRONNEMENT
rivale socialiste Ség- remporter de nouveaux M. Sarkozy veut "faire du combat pour la défense de notre planète une des priorités de
olène Royal et son succès". Des "voeux" qu'il a la France".
escapade con- assortis d'une sorte de mise Il devrait s'atteler rapidement à la convocation du "Grenelle de l'environnement" promis aux
troversée à Malte. en garde, en souhaitant que ONG.
En outre, Jacques cela se fasse "dans la co-
Chirac et le président hésion, l'unité et le respect DEFENSE DES "OPPRIMES"
élu Nicolas Sarkozy de ce qu'elle est". C'est Le nouveau président a promis que la France serait "du côté des opprimés du
ont reçu ensemble justement pour renforcer la monde", citant notamment "les femmes condamnées à la burqa".
jeudi à l'Elysée Saad cohésion nationale après les
Hariri, le chef de la émeutes dans les banlieues
majorité par- et la polémique sur le "rôle
lementaire anti- positif" de la colonisation
syrienne au Liban. que Chirac a institué en
Nicolas Sarkozy est 2006 une commémoration
rentré à Paris mer- de l'abolition de l'esclavage.
credi dernier après Après de longs débats, il a
trois jours de lux- choisi la date du 10 mai, en
ueuses vacances à référence au vote de la loi
Malte qui ont dé- Taubira reconnaissant l'es-
clenché les foudres clavage comme un crime
de ses adversaires contre l'Humanité, contre
tandis que ses amis l'avis de nombreuses as-
ont défendu le droit sociations qui continuent à
du président élu à lui préférer la date du 23
prendre "48 heures mai qui a marqué en 1848 le
de repos avant de se premier jour de liberté des
consacrer" à son esclaves martiniquais.
mandat. Nicolas Sar- M. Sarkozy, qui rejette
kozy a refusé de fermement toute idée de "re-
"s'excuser" pour ce pentance", avait à l'époque
séjour à bord d'un salué cette initiative du
yacht appartenant à président Chirac.
tarif d’abonnement: Egypte:65 L.E - Pays arabes: 150 L.E - L’europe: 90 dollars - L’amérique: 100 dollars - L’australie: 120 dollars américain
"
24.
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Watani Francophone Sunday
13 May 2007
5 Bashans 1723
Editor-in-chief Managing Editor
26 Rabie al-Akhar 1428
Youssef Sidhom Samia Sidhom YEAR 7
ISSUE 326
Page 5 - 6
Editorial
Problems on hold
More Victims
Garagos
Youssef Sidhom
This year all Egyptians should be sure to acquire new,
computer-issued ID documents since the old, manually-
issued ones are being phased out and will soon be entire-
ly invalidated. Yet many Copts find the process, which
should go smoothly since it depends primarily on data al-
ready registered and authenticated by the Civil Register
art As in May every year, the embroidery
offices in the old documents, which are normally sub-
mitted upon application for the new documents, riddled and ceramics handwork painstakingly crafted by
with almost insurmountable difficulties. Data entry errors
by Civil Register clerks occur and, instead of directly cor- the townspeople of Garagos in Upper Egypt were
recting them by referring to the original documents, the displayed at St Marc’s college in Alexandria.
clerks send the victims of these errors on arduous tasks to A similar show is held in Cairo every December.
verify their claims.
Magdi Rizqallah Sefein Qidees and his wife Afaf Rush- The works are a collection of marvellous pieces of
dy hold computerised IDs stating they are Christian. spontaneous art by the Garagossians who have be-
Their daughter Monica, born in Alexandria in 1999, has a
manually-issued birth certificate indicating that she is the come famous for them. The show,
Christian daughter of Christian parents. When they ap- in which some 300 pieces of ceramics
plied for a computerised birth certificate for Monica, they and embroidery
found the mother listed as Muslim. Magdi thought the
mistake would be easily corrected, especially given that were displayed, ended yesterday.
Islamic sharia or legal code bans Muslim women from
marrying non-Muslim men, meaning that Afaf could
have never legally married him had she been Muslim.
Yet the Civil Register office clerk asked him to prove
Afaf—whose computerised ID cites as Christian—was
Christian and had never at any time in her life converted
Converts in court Egyptians Against
to Islam. To date, the family is desperately trying to ob-
tain a correct birth certificate for their daughter.
Sami Kamel Khalil was born in Cairo in 1946, a Chris-
tian born to Christian parents. On applying for a computer-
ised ID, he found his father listed as Muslim, meaning he
Discrimination
too should be Muslim. This despite the fact that the father
is listed as Christian in the computerised IDs of Sami’s The Administrative Court recently Magdy Malak identity cards, this rule will be binding
brothers and sisters. The Civil Register office is still ad- issued two rulings that created heated for all civil courts and authorities.
amantly refusing to correct the mistake, disregarding all controversy. The first ruled against en- Mohamed al-Sayed, an expert at
the ID papers it already issued, and requiring Sami forcing the Interior Ministry to officially de- Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic
to—somehow—prove his father is Christian. clare the reconversion to Christianity in the Studies, said the ruling contradicted the free-
George Awad Malak was born in Shubra, Cairo, in case of a Christian who had previously con- dom of conscience stipulated by international
1962. Although he is in possession of a birth certif- verted to Islam. The second ruling denied the treaties of which Egypt was signatory. He Nader Shukry The Egyptians Against Discrimination rights group
court the right to force any person publicly to said such rulings were very likely to give rise issued a plea to all Egyptians to promote principles of
icate issued manually in 1962 and an official copy of it
declare his or her religion. Both rulings came to sectarian strife, especially that article 40 of citizenship and human rights through signing a protest against court rulings
issued manually in 1982 stating he and both his par-
as a result of the court’s upholding the Civil the Constitution stipulates all citizens equal that ban some Egyptians from documenting their actual religion in official pa-
ents are Christian, his third birth certificate—only this
Register’s decision not to allow 45 Christians before the law. pers. Such rulings place people in positions where they have no option but to
time it was a computer-issued one—listed his mother a
who had converted to Islam and then re- Hafez Abu-Seada, secretary-general of the act illegally and forge papers to cite their actual religion. The court rulings,
Muslim. Strangely enough, George’s sister has a birth
converted to Christianity to document their National Council for Human Rights pointed the group declared in its plea, contradict the Constitution articles 40 and 46
certificate indicating the mother is Christian.
current religion on their ID cards. The court out that the ruling contradicted the Supreme which guarantee freedom of belief, and stipulate that all citizens are equal be-
Attiyat Shafiq Gadallah was born in 1946 and has a
stated in its legal reasoning that freedom of be- Administrative Court’s ruling which granted a fore law regardless of origin, gender, language or religion.
manual ID stating that she is a Christian born to
lief was guaranteed by the Constitution, but the citizen the right to reconvert to his or her orig- "With all due respect for the judgement; the ruling in question contradicts
Christian parents. She married a Christian man and
law did not entitle citizens to exploit religion inal religion. Dr Abu-Seada confirmed the im- the texts of the Constitution and the international treaties signed by Egypt,
had five children all of whom have manually-issued
for their own interest. portance of contesting the ruling since it was and oppose the well known religious principles that prohibit force or com-
birth certificates and IDs stating they are Christian.
Lawyer Ramses al-Naggar remarked that ar- public knowledge that in many cases conver- pulsion in religion.
When her father passed away, his death certificate
ticle 46 of the Constitution gave any Christian sion to Islam was due to social or financial "It goes without saying that no person can manage without an ID; it is in-
proved he died a Christian. When she applied for a
the right to reconvert to Christianity, it being pressures, and that reconverting to Christianity dispensable for all activities in life, such as buying and selling, dealing with
computerised ID, she found her father cited as Mus-
his birthright. He commented that the recent was not an exploitation of religions but a right. banks, applying for jobs, performing military service, or acquiring a passport.
lim, meaning that she too was Muslim. So far she has
ruling accordingly opposed the civil law no. Nabil Abdel-Fattah of Al-Ahram Centre for The court rulings thus represent unbearable pressure on Christians who had
not been able to come up with all the documents re-
143 regarding the issue of identity cards. He Political and Strategic Studies harshly crit- converted to Islam then reconverted to Christianity. The same also applies to
quired by the Civil Register to prove that her father,
asked what was an identity card for if it did not icised the ruling on the grounds that it contra- Bahaai’s, [who cannot have their religion cited in official documents since the
who died a Christian, had never in his lifetime con-
declare the true facts about a person? dicted a previous ruling issued on 2 April 2007 Constitution only recognises Islam, Christianity, and Judaism as religions]."
verted to Islam.
by the Supreme Administrative Court that Those who signed the plea called upon Parliament, the government, the Na-
Is there not a case of an Egyptian Muslim who was list-
placed the foundation for freedom of belief. tional Council for Human Rights and rights groups to form a committee in
ed as Christian in ID documents issued by the Civil Reg- Religious right charge of vetting Egyptian laws from whatever restricts freedom of belief and
ister? I hope to be acquainted of such a case—if any—to The ruling was contested before the Supreme The 2 April ruling grants Egyptians the full
right to choose their faith and the right to re- practising religious rituals. In addition, they reconfirmed their demand to de-
report on it, at least so as not to be accused of exclusively Administrative Court earlier this month. In the
convert to Christianity, in addition to the right lete the religion box from official documents—or at least to make it optional.
addressing Christians’ grievances. case that the Supreme Court grants Christians
the right to state their religious beliefs on their to declare this on all official documents.
Copts in the
Egyptian press The figure that brings on a headache
This month’s reading of Coptic-related issues in Cairo’s papers begins with Robeir al-Faris also separated from his wife. As the second school term began last February,
the highly controversial issue—which should not be at all controversial—of the the mother of the twins, who are pupils in an Alexandria school, discovered
number of the Coptic population in Egypt. The daily al-Dostour (The Constitu- volumes that cite details of the trials monks and nuns had undergone because that her children were being taught Islamic religion instead of the Christian re-
tion) printed an interview with General Abu-Bakr al-Guindy, head of the Cen- of illicit relations between them. It appears to have been lost upon the author ligion they were studying during the first term—and for that matter all their
tral Apparatus for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, in which he talked about that monasticism is not exclusive to the Christian faith, that it is a voluntary de- lives. The school insisted this was the father’s religion and consequently the
the recent census. The paper asked General Guindy on why the number of cision and that candidates have to undergo long trial periods before they can children’s. The case is currently in court.
Copts went missing from the official census report, to which he replied: "Ask join a monastic order. To say nothing of the fact that monasteries and convents
about anything but this matter which is bound to bring us a headache." Three are so far apart; monks do not normally mingle with nuns. Crisis in the making
guesses anyone why the headache? In a chapter entitled "Crisis of authentication", the author attacks the veracity The weekly al-Anbaa’ al-Dawliya (International News) warned of an ex-
of the Bible, and in another he derides the sacraments and claims Confession is pected sectarian crisis in the village of Tilwana, Menoufiya, in the Delta, af-
Anti-Christian textbook only about granting absolution to the rich; the poor can only serve the Church ter the Coptic villagers demolished a guesthouse they owned. Rumours went
In the Cairo weekly Sawt al-Umma (Voice of the Nation), Sherine Rabei or rot in eternal hell. out that the Copts planned to build a church instead of the guesthouse, and
wrote of a textbook used by Philosophy students in the South Valley University When students complained to university president Abbas Mansour, Rabei memos were circulated by Islamists in the village warning the local govern-
in Sohag, Upper Egypt, which contains texts that strongly deride Christianity wrote, he was unable to discontinue using the textbook. Lawyer and rights ac- ment officials against issuing a building permit for the Copts. The paper
and are replete with gross errors on the faith and the Church. The book, Rabei tivist Naguib Gabrail has submitted an official complaint to the prosecutor- commented that the incident was intended to charge sentiments against Copts
wrote, carries the title Lectures in Philosophy and was authored by Nasrallah general against Dr Baraada. But the fact remains that so many Christian stu- as the Shura (Consultative) Council—the upper chamber of Egypt’s Parlia-
Mohamed al-Baraada who is a professor at the same university. On page 12 of dents are required to take exams based upon such information. ment—elections approach.
the book, the text reads: "The Church ridicules women, since it considers that it
was because of woman—not Satan—that Adam was exiled from paradise … Convert, reconvert Coptic candidates
The Church today has adopted an overly strict system towards a certain portion The Administrative Court’s recent ruling against allowing Christians who had Which brings us to the elections, upon which the same paper reported that five
of its congregation [monks and nuns] when it absolutely banned marriage. The converted to Islam then reconverted to Christianity to have their current re- Coptic candidates are vying for nomination on the National Democratic Party’s
mischief wrought by such a system is as ugly as ever, since it goes against hu- ligion documented on their ID cards was widely discussed in the papers. The list. In Samalout, Minya, Upper Egypt, one Copt is running against a Muslim
man nature and deprives human beings of a God-given right which they should weekly al-Mougaz (The Brief) printed a story, which was later reported in sev- Brotherhood candidate. The paper also suggested the names of several Copts as
instinctively enjoy. History informs us that those who responded to this order eral other papers, of the father of the 13-year-old twins Mario and Andrew, possible candidates for appointment to the Shura Council—ten candidates are
resorted to sinful means to satisfy the sexual urges the Church had locked all le- who converted to Islam in 2000 then reconverted to Christianity in 2002. In the appointed to the council by the President following the elections. Among these
gitimate doors against." The book claims that monastery registers include 20 meantime he carried two ID cards, one as a Christian and one as a Muslim. He were tycoons Naguib Sawiris, Tharwat Bassili, and Mounir Ghabbour.
N Bridging Egypt and Saudi
Work on the construction of a bridge be-
the canals and barrages in Egypt. The mu-
seum will also show maps and pictures de-
Cairo, Giza Rotary Club has supplied Qal-
yubiya with a drinking water network. The
bronze medal in the international Horowitz
piano competition in Kiev, one of the most
three months ago, possibly because of a less
than cordial reception of Bernard Weber, the
E tween Egypt and Saudi Arabia will start picting and explaining the different irriga- club will also be supplying Abul-Rish chil- prestigious international piano contests. The Swiss head of the foundation, in Cairo. Hos-
next week. The 50km bridge will cost three tion systems from ancient times. dren’s hospital in Cairo with the complete world renowned Egyptian pianist Ramzi ni had officially contacted UNESCO calling
billion dollars and will link Ras Hamid in equipment of an operating room for newly Yassa was among the jury members. Emara for the formation of a 300-member com-
W Tabuk in the northern region of Saudi Ara-
bia and Egypt’s Sharm al-Sheikh, through
Conferences
Last Monday witnessed the opening of the
born babies. won five international piano prizes before. mittee of world scholars and intellectuals to
select the seven wonders of the world.
S Tiran Island. Construction is expected to be
completed in three years’ time.
third international conference for the tech-
nology of desalting and reuse of water. The con-
Prehistoric stones
An archaeological team from Belgium
Pyramids top wonder
Following some not inconsiderable tension Renovations
ference was held at Sharm al-Sheikh, and was between Egypt and the New Seven Wonders The second stage of renovation of Abu-Sirga
L Water museum
The Dutch government has agreed to fund
organised by Alexandria University’s centre for
technology and desalting water. And in Cairo,
working in the Upper Egyptian town of
Kom Ombo near Aswan has unearthed three Foundation which is conducting an Internet
poll to vote on a new list of the seven won-
church in Old Cairo will soon begin. The ren-
ovation is a joint project between the Supreme
stones engraved with inscriptions which go
I a children’s water museum modelled after
the one in Arnhem, the Netherlands. The
the international fair for smart cards "Cardex
2007" in Africa and the Middle East opened last back to 15,000 years ago. The engravings
depict cows, hippopotami, giraffes and fish,
ders of the world, Egypt was informed last
week that the Giza pyramids—in honorary
Council of Antiquities and the American Re-
search Center. The work will include cleaning
museum will display models of the different Sunday and continued for three days. status—topped the list of world wonders. and restoring the icons and frescos, and cat-
N irrigation networks in Egypt, the High Dam
and Lake Nasser. There will also be a model Donations
as well as other symbolic and abstract forms. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, however, re-
sponded by saying this made no difference
aloguing them. The church was erected at the
end of the fourth century and consecrated to
E of the River Nile from its source until it
flows into the Mediterranean, depicting all
As per a cooperation protocol with Qal-
yubiya governorate, which lies north east of
Piano Piano
Egyptian pianist Magda Emara won the
to Egypt. The pyramids had been taken off
the short list of 21 nominated sites some
Saints Sergious and Bacchus. The murals date
back to the 13th century.
Published by Watani Printing and Publishing Corporation 27, Abdel Khaleq Tharwat st. Cairo – Egypt Tel. 202-3927201, 202-3936051 Fax 202-3935946 Website: www.watani.com.eg E-Mail: watanie@watani.com.eg
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