Egypt: Same Old Mubarak

A few years ago, Egypt's President Mubarak, recalled his ambassador to Israel. The reason was a satire scatch by Israeli comedian and talk show host Eli Ytzpan. In that scatch, one could see Mubarak (played by Yatzpan) seating for an interview throwing 'off-the-cuff' remarks like 'destroy Israel' or something like that, and then when the reporter tries to see if he got things right, Mubarak gets upset saying the reporter puts words in his mouth even though he just said those words a minute ago. Mubarak's declarations in the recent weeks have shown how close to reality this satire came.

A few weeks ago, President Mubarak said that the problem with Shia Muslims throughout the Arab world is that they are more loyal to Iran than to their own countries. This declaration sent waves of panic throughout the Muslim Shia communities of the Arab world; because while Shia are a majority in Iraq and Iran, they are the minority in the Arab league as a whole. Therefore they feared reprisels; and those were not late to arrive. Just last week a group of people was captured in Lebanon before trying to assasinate Sheikh Hassan Nassralla of Hizbollah, the Shia organization, in a 'revenge' to what is being done to Sunnis in Iraq. Such an event, if successful would have ignited the whole area.

Mubarak himself understood this. Shortly after that declaration he released an apology. Ironically this is just like the second part of our opening scatch where Mubarak realizes what he has done and is quick to correct it. The lessons to take from this are simple.

First is that satyrical shows are many times on the mark. If you get to read or listen to satires from the Middle East (both Arab and Israeli) you will gain an important insight into feelings on the street.

Second is that no matter whether you are right or not, you should always consider what your statement might cause, especially if you are the leader of one of the prominent members of the Arab world. I understand what made Mubarak say this. he feels threatened by Iran's calls against Egypt as a 'sell-out' through the peace with Israel; but nevertheless he should think on whether this is the right or apropriate thing to say at this time. It only encourages insurgents in Iraq to step up their operations and eventually it might spill over to Egypt.

Finally this sends a message to the new Iraqi government on the need to further distance themselves from the image of being Iranian puppets in the eyes of the Sunni community both in Iraq and outside. Something they could do through the US-Iran talks if they ever came to fruition.