Eyad Abu Shakra: One week after a Bloody Friday in Ramadan//Sisi visits troops in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula// ISIS militants have fled Libya to Egypt: official

 One week after a Bloody Friday in Ramadan
Eyad Abu Shakra/Al Arabiya/ Saturday, 4 July 2015

 Last Friday (June 26) was indeed a painful and sad day in the month of Ramadan, yet it is no more sufficient to merely express sorrow and abhorrence and call for national unity. As targeting mosques and murdering innocent people continue, all talk may be both useless and meaningless.  Some may link the Al-Sadiq Mosque bombing in Kuwait to the escalating sectarian tensions in the Gulf region—a direct result of the Khomeinist revolution sowing the seeds of extremism only to make us all reap Al-Qaeda’s discourse and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) atrocities.
What happened in Tunisia may, in turn, be attributed to the accumulating bitterness within the country’s hardline religious communities against the era of Habib Bourguiba’s secularism. Such a phenomenon is given credence by the exceptionally high percentage of Tunisian nationals in the ranks of extremist groups fighting against the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. In this instance it is worth mentioning, too, the effects of Libya’s chaos and tentacles of extremist current in the Sahara and Sahel.

As for the heinous atrocity committed in France, those still trying to defend it, and interpret crimes like it, may claim that it was a natural negative outcome of cultural alienation, a reaction against religious and racial prejudice, and a case of escapism from an ethnically rejectionist society.  There is little doubt that each of the three crimes committed in the same day across three continents has its own specific traits; however, the common denominator is much more significant and dangerous. Furthermore, it is the main issue while the rest are details. It is up to Muslims – particularly, Arabs – either to ignore the bitter truth and so leave the disease to get worse until it turns fatal, or to admit its existence as a first step to radically treating it.

The three crimes are nothing but parts of a whole. They are examples of criminal actions committed in the name of the “true Islam” for years all over the world, without being firmly encountered, although they are pushing all Muslims in a real war against the whole world.  What is even worse is that the criminals are either intent on provoking such a global war against those they label as the people of the “territory of war” (Dar Al-Harb); or they do not care about how the world would react. With the latter point in mind, it has to be said that the international community is quite capable of exterminating its enemies, but will stop short of that because it follows democratic processes and institutions and respects human rights.

Murdering innocent men and women in Kuwait, Tunisia, and the Isère department in France must not be treated separately from crimes committed by several groups like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, its Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front, Boko Haram, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization, Hezbollah, Abu Al-Fadhl Al-Abbas Brigade, Al-Shabaab in Somalia, Taliban, and all other “Islamist,” Sunni and Shi’ite, militant groups operating under the “true Islam” slogan.  What sort of logic makes us believe that our extremism is attractive to others and our insistence on exclusion and elimination may neutralize them? This reminds me of an article written by my friend and colleague Nadim Koteish in which he commented on the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris last January, and the Muslim voices condemning it as being “not representative of the true Islam”!

Koteish asked in his brilliant comment: “What is this ‘true Islam’ those condemning crimes committed in the name of Islam are talking about, and where is the post-condemnation confrontation fought by the pro-‘true Islam’ since the demise of the Mu’tazilites that marked the defeat of rationalism in Islam, more than 1100 years ago?”  After giving several examples of crimes committed by extremist Sunnis and Shi’ites, Koteish said: “All perpetrators belonged to this ‘true Islam’ in its details, texts and margins. They belong to discourse and broad jurisprudence. Here is the battleground. The Islamic text itself, whether it is a Quranic text, Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), or Hadeeth (of the Prophet)”  “Murderers are not murdering wantonly, but rather quoting books, religious fatwas (legal opinions) and a long heritage that is an inseparable part of ‘true Islam,’” Koteish said. He added: “They [the murderers] are Muslims in as much as they declare the two attestations, and that no religious authority is courageous enough to update and categorize the requirements that define what being a Muslim is all about. Those murderers are us. They are [representatives of our] religion in its extremist form. They are ‘our true Islam’ taken to its furthest limits. Those [in short] are not out of context.”
I think here is the gist of the matter.  Causality, reaction and counter-reaction
There is a real problem lying at the core of our thinking, and it is engendering our bad actions, and pushing us from a setback to a defeat, and from a defeat to a disaster.
In one way or another, this problem has also contributed to the negative international attitude towards our great causes. Why should the international community agree with our concepts and principles when we disagree with its concepts and principles? Subsequently, how could we ask it to side with us – from a standpoint of human rights and protection of civilians – when from our midst emerge individuals and gangs that monopolize belief, religion, virtue, legitimacy and patriotism?  What right do we have to call upon the countries of the world to help us and alleviate our suffering when we harm not only our own interests, but also our own people, killing each other and declaring segments of our people apostates or traitors?

What sort of logic makes us believe that our extremism is attractive to others and our insistence on exclusion and elimination may neutralize them?  We simply refuse to understand causality, reaction and counter-reaction! In Iraq, where ISIS frontline is only 50 km from Baghdad, there are 7,000 Sunni Muslims facing execution if Parliament abolishes the requirement of presidential signature; and yet the Iran-backed leadership acts as if there is nothing wrong, with scant regard to potential sectarian consequences!  In Syria, too, where the regime has become nothing but a tiny cog in Iran’s regional wheel, opposition groups are in a race against time to control their hardline elements who until this moment refuse to comprehend that their excesses have extended the life of a regime that has already lost its legitimacy and loyalty of the majority of the country’s population.

And finally, in Lebanon and Yemen, Iran’s well-armed henchmen are driving the two countries to the brink of a sectarian abyss, as Hezbollah and the Houthis are presenting themselves to Washington as the avant-garde of its war against Sunni “takfirists” in their ISIS and Al-Qaeda versions. By doing so they seem oblivious to the inevitable bloody reactions which we have seen and continue to see everywhere, including the Gulf states that have long been the last bastion of moderation and stability in the Middle East.  The time for excuses and apologies has long gone; and what we need now is radical solutions.

Kuwait: Sunnis, Shi’ites hold unity prayers
Kuwait City, on July 3, 2015. (Reuters/Jassim Mohammed)/A special forces soldier stands as Sunni and Shi’ite worshippers, together with Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jabir Al-Sabah, pray at the grand mosque of Kuwait, in Kuwait City, on July 3, 2015. (Reuters/Jassim Mohammed) Kuwait City and Manama, Asharq Al-Awsat—Sunnis and Shi’ites held a joint prayer in Kuwait on Friday in a gesture of solidarity one week after an attack on a mosque left dozens killed and injured. Hundreds of members of both sects have gathered at Kuwait City’s grand mosque to show national unity in the wake of last week’s attack that killed 27 people and injured 227 at Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque. Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jabir Al-Sabah was among those attending the prayer along with other senior officials. Authorities have identified the attacker as a 23-year-old Saudi national who flew to Kuwait hours before he carried out the bombing. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has claimed the attack. Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims also prayed together at a Shi’ite mosque in Bahrain on Friday. “The joint prayer represents the unifying Islamic spirit of Bahrain,” Sheikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Khalifa, the Bahraini Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs, said. “Wherever they go in Bahrain, extremists will always find themselves in isolation,” he said. A similar prayer will be held at a Sunni mosque in Bahrain next week. Meanwhile, Gulf interior ministers on Friday agreed during an emergency meeting in Kuwait to coordinate efforts to counter attacks on mosques in the region. The ministers expressed their countries’ solidarity against terrorism and the risks it poses to security and stability, calling for mores steps to confront “this serious epidemic.”Additional reporting contributed by Obaid Al-Suhaimi from Manama.

ISIS militants have fled Libya to Egypt: official
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—04/07/15/Dozens of militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group have entered Egypt from Libya in recent months, security and military officials warn. Salaheddin Abdul Kareem, a Libyan military adviser, told Asharq Al-Awsat that a recent Libyan army crackdown on the coastal city of Derna, an Islamist stronghold, has forced dozens of ISIS members to flee to neighboring countries, including Egypt. Derna lies nearly 185 miles (300 kilometers) from Egypt.
The official did not rule out that Libya’s militants may have been involved in the attacks that shook Egypt last week. At least 50 people were killed on Wednesday after the Sinai Province, Egypt’s ISIS affiliate, launched a series of coordinated attacks in North Sinai. The Egyptian military responded by launching a series of airstrikes on Islamist militants’ positions in the restive peninsula, killing at least 100 insurgents. Earlier this week, Egypt’s top judicial official Hisham Barakat was killed by a bomb targeting his motorcade in central Cairo.
Although claimed by an unknown group, the attack, analysts argue, bears the fingerprints of ISIS. When asked whether the explosives used in the recent attacks in Egypt have been smuggled from Libya, the official said: “Everything is possible. We are facing terrorists who support each other, from Syria to Libya to Egypt.” “We are facing an integrated system of terrorism [whose member groups] exchange expertise, weapons and even suicide bombers,” he added. Islamist groups have established strong presence in Libya since the NATO-backed removal of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The Egyptian government has increased security presence in the areas along the border with Libya, Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdel-Atty told Asharq Al-Awsat. The governor of Matruh, which borders Libya, said in an earlier interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt maintains strict control on its side of the border from land, sea and air. Egypt’s air force has orders to strike any 4X4 vehicles it spots trying to enter Egypt in an illegal manner, Alaa Abu Zeid said.
But security sources on both sides of the border have reported recently an increase in breaches and smuggling activities.

Sisi visits troops in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News/Saturday, 4 July 2015
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi visited his troops in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, scene of deadly fighting earlier this week, Al Arabiya News Channel reported Saturday. “President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is inspecting troops and police in the North Sinai,” his office said without specifying where in the restive province. “I have come to salute the heroes of the armed forces and to express to them my recognition,” he was quoted by the army’s spokesman as saying. State television broadcast footage of Sisi, dressed in military fatigues, touring an army base and inspecting captured weapons. Egypt also launched air strikes in North Sinai on Saturday, killing 12 militants, security sources told Reuters. The air strikes hit militant targets near Sheikh Zuweid in North Sinai province and destroyed weapons and explosives caches.
The sources also said that border security forces had found about half a tonne of explosives in a tunnel on the border between Egypt and Gaza. Militants of the Sinai Province group — a branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria group (ISIS) — launched their biggest assault in years against Egyptian security forces on Wednesday. Dozens of people have been killed in the past few days of clashes. Also on Saturday, a woman and two children were killed after a shell slammed into a house in North Sinai, medical and security sources told Agence France-Presse. It was not immediately clear which side fired the shell in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid. A woman and a teenage girl were also seriously wounded, the sources said. The government called in air strikes on Wednesday after a spectacular ISIS attack in Sheikh Zuweid. The army said 17 soldiers and 100 militants had been killed. But medical and security officials said the death toll was at least 70 people — mostly soldiers — as well as dozens of militants. The violence poses a major test for Sisi, the former army chief who has pledged to eliminate the militants.(with AFP)