November 24 - Terrorist Attack on Egyptian Mosque

This Day in History: 24 November 2020

 

24 November 2017

 

3 years ago, today, a bomb destroyed a mosque in Egypt's northern Sinai region as terrorists opened fire on those finishing Friday prayer at the al-Rawdah mosque. This attack killed 305 people, including 27 children, and wounded 120, making it the deadliest terrorist strike in the country's recent years. It also served as a cruel turning point for the country. The attacks had been common since 2013, when the current president overthrew President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. However, attacks on mosques had been rare, as the terrorists had previously been attacking Coptic Christian churches and security forces, but generally avoided Muslim houses of prayer.

 

The attack occurred just days before the prophet Muhammad's birthday, when the mosque was full of worshippers. 25-30 militants pulled up in vehicles and fired on worshipped from the mosque's main door and 12 large windows. Several bombs and rocket-propelled grenades went off as worshippers tried to flee. The gunmen set fire to cars parked outside and shot at arriving ambulances to hinder escape. While no group took responsibility, evidence pointed to ISIS. Hours after the attack, Egypt's military launched air strikes on targets in mountainous areas around the city, and three days of national mourning was declared.

 

Want to find out more about the 2017 Sinai terrorist attack? Click here for more information.

 

October 29 - The Suez Crisis Begins

This Day in History: 29 October 2020

 

29 October 1956

 

64 years ago, today, the Suez Crisis began when Israel invaded Egypt. They would soon be joined by French and British forces, initiating a serious event during the Cold War in the Middle East. The joint attack had been motivated by Egypt's nationalisation of the Suez Canal in July. Prior to this, also, the Egyptian military had been pressuring the British to end their military presence in the canal zone. The Egyptian leader, General Nasser, had also been engaged in sporadic battles with Israeli soldiers along both nations' border. Nasser did nothing to hide his hostility towards the Zionist nation.

 

After the Israelis attacked, they were shocked to find that British and French forces did not immediately follow behind them. Instead of a lightning strike by overwhelming force, the attack simmered down, and the United Nations quickly passed a resolution calling for a cease-fire. The Soviet Union began to issue ominous threats about coming to Egypt's aid, and a dangerous situation developed. The United States sternly warned the Soviet Union to stay out of the situation, but also pressured the British, French and Israeli governments to withdraw. In late 1956 and early 1957, they did so, ending the Suez Crisis.

 

Want to find out more about the Suez Crisis? Click here for more information, or here for more about General Nasser and Israel.

October 6 - The Assassination of Anwar Sadat

This Day in History: 6 October 2020

 

6 October 1981

 

39 years ago, today, Islamic extremists assassinated Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, during the annual victory parade held in Cairo that celebrated Egypt's crossing of the Suez Canal. The terrorists were led by Khalid el Islambouli, a lieutenant in the Egyptian army with connections to the terrorist group Takfir Wal-Hajira. They were all wearing their army uniforms and stopped in front of the reviewing stand to fire shots and throw grenades into a crowd of Egyptian government officials. Sadat was short four times and died two hours later. Eleven other people also died in the attack, including the Cuban ambassador.

 

Sadat had an incredible public service record for Egypt, as he was instrumental in winning the nation's independence and democratising it. However, his controversial peace deal with Israel, for which he and Menachem Begin won the Nobel Peace Prize, made him a target for Islamic extremists across the Middle East. Additionally, Sadat angered many by allowing the unwell Shah of Iran to die in Egypt rather than be returned to Iran, in order to stand trial for his crimes against the country. Despite the well-known threats on Sadat's life, he did not withdraw from the public eye, as he believed it was important for the country's well-being that he was open and available.

 

Want to find out more about the life of Anwar Sadat? Click here for more information, or here for more about the historic peace deal made between Egypt and Israel.

Egyptian Revolution

Four years ago today, violent demonstrations started in Cairo sparking the ‘Arab Spring’ which was to hit the rest of the region. The protest was the first coordinated demonstration in Egypt and was against poverty, unemployment, government corruption and most significantly the thirty year rule of President Mubarak. Egyptians were inspired by the success of the protests in Tunisia, as the president - Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali – was forced to flee the country.

The demonstrations in Tahrir Square, Cairo (and other cities in Egypt) were at first just peaceful protests until the police and demonstrators clashed and led to violence. Over the many days of protest, there were thousands of casualties and many arrests. The government blocked internet access and mobile phone communication in an attempt to stop the demonstrations, which were organised on social media. But they continued nonetheless. On the 29^th January, Mubarak appointed a new cabinet hoping to appease the demonstrators, but did not step down. It was not until 11^th February after 18 days of demonstrations that he resigned as president, causing widespread celebrations across Egypt. The military were now in charge.

An election was held between 28^th November 2011 and 11^th January 2012, but fraud was suspected and the results were discarded. Egyptians finally got the democratic presidential election which they had been fighting for in a two round election process in May and June 2012. Mohammed Morsi was the winner of these elections and stayed as president until July 2013 when he was overthrown by another uprising. The military were put in charge once again and remain in this position today.

As part of the ‘Arab Spring’ there was also unrest in Algeria, Libya, Yemen, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Bahrain, Iran, Morocco, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Syria.

Today, Egyptians commemorating the 2011 uprising are protesting in Tahrir Square and 11 people have been killed so far. 

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This timeline from The Guardian gives an interesting overview of the Arab Spring.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline

A History of Protest Songs

Radio 4's Front Row had a discussion tonight about the importance of protest songs, including a discussion about how songs had been written and performed by protesters in Cairo's Tahir Square and downloaded onto YouTube - you can see some examples here and here. It included a contribution from Dorian Lynskey, who has written "33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs", which discusses 33 of the most influential songs, from Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" through to Green Day's "American Idiot". You can see the whole list here and also see his blog where he discusses other influential songs, usually supported by YouTube clips. If you have Spotify, you can download a playlist of 50 of them here.Which songs or musicians do you think have had an important part to play in encouraging protest and political change? Do let us know.

Egypt and Lessons from History

Here is an interesting article from the BBC's John Simpson putting the events in Egpyt into historical context. He examines other popular uprisings, such as the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the revolutions in Eastern Europe in 1989, and the events in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the same year. Massive crowds of people gathered to make their feelings known in each case, but they weren't always successful. In Iran the Shah resisted for some time but then gave up and escaped. In Eastern Europe the communist governments lost the backing of the Soviet Union and swiftly folded, but in China Deng Xiaoping found army generals prepared to use force against the people, leading the deaths of thousands but the survival of his regime. If a leader can guarantee the support of his military and police forces there is a reasonable chance that they can hang on, but this may not be the case for Mubarak. We will have to wait and see what the outcome will be.

PS: Now that President Mubarak has been successfully removed, this article by Professor Mark Almond compares the events in Egypt with previous revolutions, including Indonesia and Ukraine, looking for particular patterns. He writes:

"What collapses a regime is when insiders turn against it. So long as police, army and senior officials think they have more to lose by revolution than by defending a regime, then even mass protests can be defied and crushed. Remember Tiananmen Square in 1989. But if insiders and the men with guns begin to question the wisdom of backing a regime - or can be bought off - then it implodes quickly."

Mubarak and Egypt

Here is a brief and interesting comment comparing events in Egypt this week with the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981 that led to Hosni Mubarak becoming President of Egypt. Mubarak has always been a staunch ally of the United States, giving President Obama very little room to manoeuvre when reacting to the very considerable demands for greater political freedom. We will see how things develop.