Robert Fisk, a renowned editorialist in the British newspaper The Independent, said Ahmad Shafīq, the Mubārak loyalist, has the support of the Christian Copts, and Assad has the support of the Syrian Christians. The Christians support the dictators. Not much of a line, is it?
On Saturday, the dictator of Egypt was sentenced to life. On Sunday, the dictator of Syria fought for his life. And he said – he warned, he threatened – that his war could extend to other countries. And we all know what that means, said Fisk in his article titled “Husnī Mubārak has fallen, Assad clings on”.
In Egypt, there are Americans who want to support Shafīq. Those in Washington who want Shafīq to restore Egypt's old relationship with Israel, those who want, in effect, to restore Mubārak's dictatorship, to recreate the old paradigm (Mubārak "stability" versus the old fear of Muslim Brotherhood), will want to pump up Christian fears and frighten the West with the awfulness of "Muslim fundamentalism", will pop up their heads again as surely as Assad. And as the Republicans close in on Obama, will they not show their love for Mubārak's last Prime Minister? [Author Not Mentioned, al-Misryūn, June 5, p. 4] Read text in Arabic
