Reeling from the bombs apparently aimed at its precious tourism infrastructure, Egypt has to come to terms with what Britain faced earlier this month: that its terrorists are probably homegrown. Not only do they come from within, they also have a more sophisticated and fanatical network than was previously thought.
This week, officials in Cairo admitted that the five Pakistanis wanted for questioning in connection with the Sharm el-Sheik explosions last Saturday had nothing to do with it.
Accepting that the killers are compatriots forces Egyptian authorities to examine more closely their society and its fault lines.
The Sharm el-Sheik attacks are reminiscent of the Taba and Nuweiba bombings. These Red Sea resorts are anathema to the fundamentalists. They represent Egypt’s attempt to woo modern, Western visitors with standards and behaviour beyond the pale for religious hardliners.
“If we accept the evidence from the Taba bomb, the perpetrator was a disgruntled Palestinian who mobilised Egyptians and Bedouin from Sinai to his cause,” says Iqbal Jhazbhay, a senior lecturer in Islamic studies at the University of South Africa.
“The Palestinian issue is very much to the fore as Egypt moves to elections. There’s not a family in Egypt that has not been touched in some way — losing a relative or a neighbour — by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The strength of these feelings goes way beyond Egypt, even to Mombasa and Cape Town.”
But there are other elements the Egyptian authorities have to consider. For the first time, in September, there will be a multi-candidate presidential election, but difficult conditions have been set, forcing some to withdraw.
Since 1981, Egypt has been living under emergency laws that constrain freedom of expression or association.
“Egyptians, having seen free and fair elections in Palestine and Lebanon, are demanding the same for themselves. The Egyptian authorities are struggling to keep up with these demands,” said Jhazbhay.
In recent months there has been a spate of protests about the 24-year emergency, electoral rules and, just two weeks ago, pro-reform activists tackled the issue of unemployment.