Al-Araby al-Jadeed, London, December 22
Over 300 worshippers were killed in an attack on Egypt’s Al-Rawdah Mosque last month. A few weeks later, negotiations between Cairo and Addis Ababa over the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam hit an impasse. Shortly thereafter, U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. If this list of events isn’t a testament to the colossal ineptitude of the Egyptian government, then I don’t know what is. President Abd al-Fatah al-Sisi has failed time and again to protect his country’s interests, while blaming the Egyptian people for his own shortcomings. The mosque massacre was the fault of the tribes living in Sinai; the plan to build the controversial dam was supposedly devised by the Muslim Brotherhood; and Trump’s announcement was a result of the diplomatic failings of Turkey and Qatar, not Egypt. In al-Sisi’s world there is always someone to blame, always a scapegoat to deflect responsibility onto; in particular, the Muslim Brotherhood, whose members, although sitting in maximum-security prisons, have repeatedly been accused of plotting against the regime. Even newspaper editors have adopted al-Sisi’s narrative and continue to propose outrageous explanations for the country’s ills. A society cannot begin to heal itself until it comes to terms with its problems. The voices of the people will never be heard so long as their representatives refuse to take responsibility. The Egyptian people have fought against tyranny but their country, under the current leadership, is increasingly becoming a dreadful autocracy. – Osama al-Rashidi