• 01:31
  • Tuesday ,13 November 2012
العربية

Back from Kandahar

Emad Thomas

Article Of The Day

00:11

Tuesday ,13 November 2012

Back from Kandahar

Kandahar is a city in southern Afghanistan, but we had another one in Tahrir Square last Friday where Islamists have called for applying the Islamic law in Egypt. I decided to visit Tahrir Square at that day in order to watch them closely. 

 
The main cry at that day was a distortion of the best demands of the revolution: "Bread, Freedom, Social Justice" which was changed to"Bread, Freedom, Islamic Sharia". Salafis and Islamic Group who have never showed up during the revolution are now changing the demands of the revolution trading on the revolution!
 
In Tahrir Square, the faces were so sad and were more like the people of Afghanistan  with their hostile chants, and the clothes,  costumes and flags were more like those of al-Qaeda and Saudi Arabia.
 
Upon talking to them, you could feel most of them are so ignorant and illiterate like a herd of sheep that are being driven by other people. I found a man who came form upper Egypt demanding the application of the Islamic law knowing nothing about the new  constitution. Another old man was accusing America of Erasing the names of the martyrs in Mohammed Mahmoud Street! Many veiled women were holding the black and white flags of al-Qaeda! 
 
I saw Sheik Hazem Abu Ismail, whose mother was proven to be American though he denied, giving a speech and ignoring the Islamic prayers several times! I saw former MP Ali Wanis who was caught in “indecent act” with teenage girl demanding the application of the Islamic Sharia! 
 
Sheik Mohammed al-Saghier, head of the parliamentary bloc of Construction and Development Party, has insulted many officials and said that Egypt has 90 million Muslims who wants the application of the Islamic law (ignoring all Christians and Muslims included in this number who doesn't want that).
 
Al-Saghier called for equality between Christians and Muslims in Egypt, but I don't think he meant that Muslims should suffer like Christians when trying to build new mosques, or there should be equality between Muslims and Christians concerning the superior official jobs that Christians never take though many of them are  efficient enough, just because of their religion. Moreover, I don't think he meant that Christians should have the right to mary minor Muslim girls and convert them to Christianity against the will of their parents and under the complicity of the state like what happened recently with a Christina minor girl! 
 
I don't think he meant that many mosques should be demolished or burnt, and Fridays Islamic prayers may be prevented by some Christian fanatics. Furthermore, I don't think he meant that Egyptian official newspapers and many satellite channels should accuse Islam of being distorted and accuse Muslims of being infidels. Of course, He didn't mean  that poor Muslims should suffer from forced displacement because of the Christians, just like the Christians do because of the Muslims.
 
Unfortunately, his is the only kind of equality we may seek right now in new Egypt, I mean new Kandahar.