The difference between the reaction of normal Egyptians to 9/11 and their reaction to the Boston bombings is palpable. There is a definite change of hearts here, but it is not due to a shift in moral principles (which have always been dubiously detached from reality in Egypt), but due to self-serving interests. And perhaps this is a blessing because in Egypt, as anywhere else, it is interests that stick rather than ethics and values. For this we have the very unlikely personage of George W. Bush to thank, not for his horribly botched wars, but for some of the more subtle and unintentional fallout of 9/11.
When 9/11 happened, the majority of Egyptians were gleeful. A lot of Americanized Egyptians will bitterly contest this in English, but in Arabic they know it's a solid fact. But the way Fox News portrayed the glee was not true either. There were no parades in the streets, people did not scream "death to Americans" as they quoted verses from the Quran that dictated they had to "kill the infidels". In fact, the glee was mostly non-religious, and mostly confined to an ethics-free sense of synthetic pan-Arabism and perhaps pan-Islamism in an ethnic sense. As far as I can recall, very few outlying opinions tried to justify 9/11 based on religious grounds, but these were marginal, almost akin to the Westboro church in the US. The majority opinion maintained that killing civilians was wrong. And in typical Egyptian fashion, the majority opinion then marched on to completely ignore this moral principle and try to justify 9/11 based on America's deeds in the region. People thought of unconditional US support for Israel in its indiscriminate killings, and also of first hand low grade but indiscriminate US bombing campaigns in the Sudan and Afghanistan. The major sentiment of the day was "At least now Americans would understand the way we feel".
This logic is essentially broken. Comparison of targeting civilians to collateral damage is faulty. Both are horrific, but there is a fine moral distinction there. But above all, one wrong should never justify another horrible wrong. Ironically, it is in some of the more religious communities in Egypt that this moral principle was tightly observed and in which 9/11 was condemned unconditionally. But for the majority of Egyptians (and perhaps Arabs) values are theoretical constructs, to be admired and cherished from afar, but to be hermetically isolated from daily life.
When the Boston bombings happened, the reaction in Egypt was unanimous: "Please don't let it be a Muslim!" Perhaps the proper first reaction should have been concern for the victims, and encouragingly, there was a lot of that. But the bulk of the reaction was concern over the identity of the bomber. And I don't see much wrong with that. In fact, I think any other group of people in the same situation would've reacted the same way. And that's good news, because finally, at least in a small way Egyptians are becoming conscious of their image and interests and are starting to deal with the them in a "normal" way.
The reason for this shift in reaction from 9/11 to the Boston bombings is not the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In fact both wars (but Iraq a lot more so) validated some of the broken logic of the glee on 9/11. The main cause for the shift is more subtle yet more far-reaching. It is in the impossibly elongated US visa application process that the average citizen was touched. It is in being singled out in airports that most people felt their collective responsibility for 9/11. It is in the technology bans and business restrictions that professionals felt values and morals coalescing into something tangible. Accountability is not something Egyptians are used to, living in a decrepit nanny state, and it is in accountability for 9/11 that they had to own up for something for the first time.
Perhaps if all these restrictions had been imposed only by the US, the collective Arab mentality would have filed it under conspiracy theory. But as the official measures, and the distrustful looks of ordinary citizens spread all over the globe, the reality became undeniable. With the London and Madrid bombings, most Egyptians became aware (even if they would never state it openly) that our region is the main producer and exporter of terrorism in the world, and that we all have to pay for it in moral as well as in physical form. This then flowed into a real and heart-felt concern by a lot of Muslims for what some from their midst had done to the reputation of their religion.
So when it turned out that it was a Chechen
When 9/11 happened, the majority of Egyptians were gleeful. A lot of Americanized Egyptians will bitterly contest this in English, but in Arabic they know it's a solid fact. But the way Fox News portrayed the glee was not true either. There were no parades in the streets, people did not scream "death to Americans" as they quoted verses from the Quran that dictated they had to "kill the infidels". In fact, the glee was mostly non-religious, and mostly confined to an ethics-free sense of synthetic pan-Arabism and perhaps pan-Islamism in an ethnic sense. As far as I can recall, very few outlying opinions tried to justify 9/11 based on religious grounds, but these were marginal, almost akin to the Westboro church in the US. The majority opinion maintained that killing civilians was wrong. And in typical Egyptian fashion, the majority opinion then marched on to completely ignore this moral principle and try to justify 9/11 based on America's deeds in the region. People thought of unconditional US support for Israel in its indiscriminate killings, and also of first hand low grade but indiscriminate US bombing campaigns in the Sudan and Afghanistan. The major sentiment of the day was "At least now Americans would understand the way we feel".
This logic is essentially broken. Comparison of targeting civilians to collateral damage is faulty. Both are horrific, but there is a fine moral distinction there. But above all, one wrong should never justify another horrible wrong. Ironically, it is in some of the more religious communities in Egypt that this moral principle was tightly observed and in which 9/11 was condemned unconditionally. But for the majority of Egyptians (and perhaps Arabs) values are theoretical constructs, to be admired and cherished from afar, but to be hermetically isolated from daily life.
When the Boston bombings happened, the reaction in Egypt was unanimous: "Please don't let it be a Muslim!" Perhaps the proper first reaction should have been concern for the victims, and encouragingly, there was a lot of that. But the bulk of the reaction was concern over the identity of the bomber. And I don't see much wrong with that. In fact, I think any other group of people in the same situation would've reacted the same way. And that's good news, because finally, at least in a small way Egyptians are becoming conscious of their image and interests and are starting to deal with the them in a "normal" way.
The reason for this shift in reaction from 9/11 to the Boston bombings is not the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In fact both wars (but Iraq a lot more so) validated some of the broken logic of the glee on 9/11. The main cause for the shift is more subtle yet more far-reaching. It is in the impossibly elongated US visa application process that the average citizen was touched. It is in being singled out in airports that most people felt their collective responsibility for 9/11. It is in the technology bans and business restrictions that professionals felt values and morals coalescing into something tangible. Accountability is not something Egyptians are used to, living in a decrepit nanny state, and it is in accountability for 9/11 that they had to own up for something for the first time.
Perhaps if all these restrictions had been imposed only by the US, the collective Arab mentality would have filed it under conspiracy theory. But as the official measures, and the distrustful looks of ordinary citizens spread all over the globe, the reality became undeniable. With the London and Madrid bombings, most Egyptians became aware (even if they would never state it openly) that our region is the main producer and exporter of terrorism in the world, and that we all have to pay for it in moral as well as in physical form. This then flowed into a real and heart-felt concern by a lot of Muslims for what some from their midst had done to the reputation of their religion.
So when it turned out that it was a Chechen
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