Middle East, Europe, and their mob mentalities

On July 1st, Marwa El Sherbini was murdered in Dresden by a racist. The Egyptian, Middle Eastern, and Muslim responses have shown how easily mobs can be incited to march in step to the drums of hate. This in turn will bring equally negative responses from the far right denizens of Europe who are increasingly turning towards nationalism and protectionism. We have all taken a giant leap in the wrong direction.

The seeds of this rift have become more evident earlier this summer when the Dutch, British, and other denizens of the EU opted to elect some members of the far right nationalist parties to represent their states in the European parliament. All this amidst increasing tensions surrounding Sarkozy's statements surrounding the Muslim veil.

Mob mentality does not merely signify the narrowing of one's own identity, but the narrowing of others' identities regardless of the others' desires to prioritize one identity above another. Simply put, it's a form of oppression.

11 days after the tragic death of Mrs. El Sherbini, Shia Muslim Pakistani student activists marched in a protest rally in Karachi, burning German, Israeli and American flags. There could be no better example of an incensed mob attempting to make "Western" nations indistinguishable. (The spectacle of a flag burning deserves more anthropological and philosophical analysis - much like Foucault's analysis of the scaffold)

According to Al-Ahram newspaper Mrs. El Sherbini's brother declared that "The assailant should be sent to Egypt and stand trial in an Egyptian court; otherwise [Marwa El Sherbini]'s blood will have been shed in vain... Diplomatic relations with Germany should be broken off, and the trial should be held in an international court at the very least... The government is not doing anything more than it has to... their reaction is merely proportionate to the size of the incident."

Alright, one may say that this is the voice of a distraught brother in a house full of bereaved, but his outrageous demands are supported by the empathetic Egyptian masses. This is the mob's demand for justice most familiar to them (and why should they expect less in a society where tortures and deaths are so whimsically bestowed by the most generous leader - a comment for later)

This far fetched anti-western rhetoric is aimed at not just the one crazed German man who went berserk, but also at all the Germans who testified on behalf of Mrs. El Sherbini, Bosnian Muslims, and German Muslims of Turkish descent... Who and what is this "West" that the Middle East points to?

El Sherbini family is not the only one using the vague identity to materialize a monster which does not really exist. In the opinions of Khaled Abu Bakr, the lawyer representing the family of Marwa El Sherbini: "Apparently the Western media's (apparently he reads all of them) depiction of Muslims as aggressors and terrorists has so blinded German people that they could not see that this Muslim woman was being attacked,"

Well said, then what about the murder of a 50-year-old German man in Istanbul on the 20th? The Germans accept the fact that a crazed Turk committed a vile act and we do not see German students burning Turkish, Iranian, and Egyptian flags on the streets of Munich calling for the German government to take things out of proportion. The German people have all the rights to be incensed, but they react based on precedents set by the political system within the country. A rational people with a rational political system. Something that will hopefully prevent further victories for the ultra nationalists in the future elections for the EU.

Interestingly enough, I hardly believe every Egyptian fuming over the death of Mrs. El Sherbini cares about her. I think the public is having fun with hate, with the sudden sense of purpose and the opportunity to be publically enraged. This taste for unity and anger may bring much more anti-western rhetoric, but there also will be a time when all the anger and rage of the Egyptian people spill inwords at their own dysfunctional political system.

This whole "murder of an Arab woman by the West" drama shows the public's capacity to overract in a normally complacent nation of Egypt. But when the dust settles, expect nothing less than sheer brutality and pain. Democracy would be something too stable for the unleashed beasts of anarchy.

Ah, what is your cruel, crude, and arbitrary judicial system doing to you now Mr. Mubarak?

Of Garbage and Coppers

It's been quite a while since I wrote a post, my apologies. Usually when people first start a blog they tend to write voraciously then begin to tardy. Egypt is full of social woes to write about, so I will do my utmost to expunge my excess thoughts and rants at a timely manner.

Anyways.

Cairo is less than descent in terms of sanitation. Rarely does one see trash bins on the street and in places where one can marvel at the evanescent sights, the garbage itself collects dust from seasons of discontinued usage. Just the other day I was near Tahrir Square when I saw a car pull up at a curb just to throw out a bag of trash. Sure the street cleaners may sweep away some of the shit, but much remains to form the distinct pavements of underdeveloped nations. Such sturdy roads, Romans be proud.

Another unwelcome and perhaps just as unsightly scene is the excess policemen lounging about the streets of Cairo. A few stand in attention at embassies and a lesser number actually direct traffic. Yet those inadequately attempting to control the irreversible flood of irresponsible and less-than-respectable drivers of Cairo dwindle in number compared to those that sit in the shade and sip tea day-after-day.

Not to be entirely too unfair, the police that I have encountered when needing directions have been more than friendly despite the solid language barrier. At the same time, they contribute to social woes of this country by contributing to sexual harassment and having a hand in prostitution and drug trade. Yet one cannot blame the police for attempting to utilize their position to financially better themselves at the expense of social order; they too have hungry mouths to feed.

So we have two distinct problems: 1. excess trash and 2. lots of under payed police, some behaving criminally.

We have an easy solution. Supplement the wages of the police through fines on littering. And who better to levy the fines than the primary beneficiaries themselves. No, not the denizens of Cairo who will enjoy the clean streets, clearly they do not care about trashing their own country. The police of course will be delighted. They are sure to be highly motivated.

Adam Smith noted that: "Public services are never better performed than when their reward comes only in consequence of their being performed, and is proportioned to the diligence employed in performing them." (The Wealth of Nations, Book V, Chapter 1, Part Two)

Clean streets are essential for a healthier society and drawing out tourists from the five-star hotels into the streets of Cairo. The spread of their lucrative capital among Egyptian enterprises will enrich the masses and hopefully lower the ghastly high prices of luxury restaurants and hotels.

Of course this needs to be complemented by a public incentive to efficiently utilize their resources. This may seem like a jump, but a reduction and eventual suspension of food and oil subsidies must be enacted (I promise you more on this later) to best accommodate for the public good.

Perhaps with a little more police motivation, the traffic can be controlled as well. If trash and traffic is under control in Egypt, recycling is not far in the horizon. Then a more powerful private sector driven by green economy followed by democracy and roads paved with gold... ah I rant