There is a big difference between random crime and a religious jihad with specific religious targets. (Christians)
Yes there is - so then I have to ask the question: Between the Frenchman who was killed in Sharm and the two Americans kidnapped on the drive to St. Catherine's, which was a religiously motivated attack? Neither. The Frenchman was killed in a crossfire between the police and Bedouin who were trying to rob a Bureau de Change, and the Americans were kidnapped by Bedouin who were demanding the release of prisoners captured after the 2004 bombing in Taba. Umm - none of these people was targeted because of their religion.
There has been recent violence between Egyptian Christians and Egyptian Muslims - far, far away from any tourist resort. The inter-religious battle has raged for hundreds of years, not just because the government was overthrown last year - and there are some excellent pictures from Tahrier square last year which show a coptic christian holding a cross, arms linked with a muslim carrying the Q'ran.
in 1997, 60 tourists were shot dead in Luxor, in 2004 Sharm was bombed and 88 people killed... Total number of foreigners killed by Egyptians since the Jan 25th Revolution: 1. By accident.
It is pretty easy to say that Egypt today is not as stable and safe as Egypt as it was. Based on news accounts it appears to be getting worse. Perception is reality to many.
Unstable, yes... unsafe? Read above. Which news reports are saying it's becoming less safe for tourists? The fighting is between the various political factions, there is no religious jihad against westerners, but because a crime has been committed and it was reported on the news, the whole country has become unsafe for tourists to visit? Really? It would be pretty easy for me to say that all cars are blue, if I have only ever seen one car, which was blue in colour. Doesn't make it true.
Is perception reality? Apparently so - since so many people think Egyptian resorts are havens for jihadists waiting to pounce on unsuspecting western tourists well then of course it MUST be true, despite the fact that I live there, in a neighbourhood populated mostly by Egyptians, where a christian church and an Islamic Mosque lie withing approximately 100 metres of each other, and both about 100metres from my apartment. My perception therefore, since I have not been shot, kidnapped or burgled, is that actually it's quite safe in Egypt.
The US department of homeland security just refused a British couple entry to America because of a fun Twitter post about "digging up Marylin and destroying America", a reference, I believe, to the US TV show "Family Guy". Is it my perception, after having read this article, that Americans have no sense of humour and all jokes are forbidden? Is that reality? If they can do something so ridiculously daft, should I believe the state department when it says that it's dangerous to travel to Egypt?
During the various conflicts in the middle east, thousands of civilians have been killed by western military action... rightly or wrongly therefore, do a lot of people in the middle east think Americans or Europeans are all bad people? You bet your backside they do - just like lots of westerners hear the word "Muslim" and think "terrorist". What's the reality? Are Americans all Evil? Are all Muslims terrorists? No, of course not - but some people will think that way regardless of the facts that are presented to them.
The major difference is that the majority of people in the Middle Eastern countries are poor, uneducated, have little access to the Internet, and are fed propaganda by the state TV. Most "westerners" on the other hand, do indeed have that access, but instead of asking for themselves, they simply believe everything that is reported on the Rupert Murdoch News Channels - oooh it's on Fox - it must be true!
It's soooo frustrating to be told by people who have no access to Egypt other than what's reported in the media that the country is now unsafe, yet I live and work amongst these folks and whilst I am by no means a world authority on Egypt, it would be nice if people looked a little deeper than the headlines before drawing conclusions....
Cheers,
C.
