Due to the success of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his rising popularity in the Middle East for defying the international community on top of which is the United States for his murky nuclear energy agenda, the son of our President Gamal Mubarak wants to follow in his footsteps. The fact that Iran is isolated and that the Iranian people are trapped for their rulers' doings is not regarded as a bad thing but it is regarded heroism by Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party.
Gamal Mubarak believes that this way he can win some popularity among Egyptians, by becoming the hero who will be fighting for nuclear energy and may be dragging IAEA inspectors to Egypt (International Atomic Energy Agency) to show the world how Egypt is important.
And since anyone in the Middle East becomes so popular among the peoples of the region when he starts an anti-American propaganda, Gamal Mubarak offered a new Arab vision to the Egyptian people, urging the rejection of "foreign ambitions" trying to shape the region.
He said, during the annual ruling party convention, “We reject these foreign ambitions to erase Arab identity in the framework of what they call the Greater Middle East initiative." In fact, he echoes his dad’s continuous statements about erasing the Arab identity. In fact, I would like to try erasing this fake Arab identity for the sake of trying. May be things will go better.
Until this day, I am wondering about this Arab identity. The continuous generalization of big slogans that leads to nothing but massacres in Southern Sudan, genocide by chemical weapons as in Iraq, denying the Berber their language as in the Maghreb countries or persecution of minorities like the case in Egypt with the Copts and kicking all Jews from all their native countries at the beginning of the second half of the last century by all military coup d’etats. The list is long under the umbrella of this sickening Arab identity.
However, the idea of the Arab identity sells well among many Egyptians and Middle Easterns. In fact it is considered an achievement. In a country where unemployment rates reaches 70% and illiteracy hits more than 40% it must be good to have an achievement that is for free does not need any effort. Everyone at the end of the day will feel like heroes. The problem is that it is an identity with no values and does not give much at the individual level. It emerged and survives under all totalitarian despotic regimes. It is not the European Union where countries enter for their political democratic achievements and high economic performances.
I have no idea why the son of the President has to recycle such a decaying idea. This does not herald good.
I do not really care much about the Arab identity as much as I care about lifting emergency laws and giving freedoms to the press and having an independent judiciary system and fair elections and ensuring the right to fair trials and having safe public services and transportation.
I am not really impressed by including the word “nuclear” in any context unless it is clear and well-explained. Who are the nuclear experts that the National Democratic Party is taking advice from? Pakistan? Who delegated the NDP to decide for Egypt to go nuclear? I believe handling the illiteracy bomb that is being manipulated by Islamists is the best way to ensure a safe future for Egypt. Splashing ideas here and there does not sound like a platform but rather propaganda.
Apparently, the address was not meant only to connect with the Egyptian people but also stressing the continuation of undermining the international role that Egypt can play by insisting on recycling decaying ideas that proved it s failure.
AlGhad Party leader Ayman Nour who is currently in prison for running for the first presidential elections has asked U.S. Secretary Condoleezza Rice seven months ago to look into whether Egypt can benefit from a U.S. offer to help developing countries develop nuclear energy.
