UPTURN IN FUNDAMENTALIST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ALEXANDRIA 000190 E.O. 12356: DECL:OADR TAGS: PGOV KISL EG SUBJECT: UPTURN IN FUNDAMENTALIST ACTIVITY IN THE DELTA REF: (A) CAIRO 4357, (B) ALEXANDRIA 150 ¶1. CONFIDENTIAL - ENTIRE TEXT. ¶2. SUMMARY/COMMENT: COMMENT: ALEXANDRIA AND THE DELTA HAVE, SO FAR, TRAILED UPPER EGYPT AND CAIRO IN TERMS OF VIOLENT FUNDAMENTALIST ACTIVITY. WE DO NOT BELIEVE NORTHERN EGYPT IS IMMUNE TO THIS KIND OF ACTIVITY AND ARE SEEING AN INCREASE IN RELIGIOSITY AND SIGNS THAT VIOLENCE MAY NOT BE FAR OFF. END COMMENT. FORTY EIGHT PERSONS WERE ARRESTED MARCH 8; EIGHT JIHAD MEMBERS WERE ARRESTED MARCH 15 FOR BREAKING INTO A MOSQUE IN THE GHARBIA GOVERNORATE TOWN OF ZEFTRA AND TRYING TO TAKE IT OVER, AND WE ARE HEARING OUR FIRST REPORTS OF EGYPTIANS OBJECTING TO AMERICANS GOING ABOUT WITHOUT THEIR HEADS COVERED. END SUMMARY. -------------- THE ALEXANDRIA ARRESTS -------------- ¶3. FORTY EIGHT PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED IN ALEXANDRIA ON MARCH 8. ALTHOUGH SOME WEAPONS WERE FOUND THERE WERE NONE OF THE CLASHES THAT WERE ASSOCIATED WITH SIMILAR MEASURES ELSEWHERE IN EGYPT. BY CONTRAST, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF ISLAMIST ANTI-GOVERNMENT PRINTED MATERIAL WAS SEIZED. THERE ARE CONFLICTING STORIES ABOUT WHO AND WHAT THOSE ARRESTED ARE. ONE POLICE OFFICER TOLD US ALL THOSE ARRESTED WERE FROM UPPER EGYPT AND THAT SOME WERE INVOLVED IN THE KILLING OF THE BRITISH TOURIST LAST OCTOBER AND OTHER ATTACKS ON TOURISTS. OTHER POLICE SOURCES INDICATED THAT THOSE ARRESTED WERE ACTIVISTS (PLANNERS, ORGANIZERS) AS OPPOSED TO TERRORISTS. THE PRESS REPORTS THAT 11 OF THE 48 ARRESTED HAVE ALREADY BEEN RELEASED. ¶4. THE PRESS CLAIMS THAT AT LEAST SOME OF THOSE ARRESTED BELONG TO "HEZBOLLAH", BUT THERE IS CONFUSION ON THAT SCORE AS WELL. ONE POLICE SOURCE DENIED THAT HEZBOLLAH WAS PRESENT IN ALEXANDRIA AT ALL. ANOTHER SOURCE SAID THE NAME HEZBOLLAH WAS ADOPTED BY A SMALL GROUP OF EXTREMISTS WHO HAD BROKEN AWAY FROM THEIR MAIN GROUP BECAUSE OF A DISPUTE OVER CONTROL AND HAD CHOSEN WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS A CATCHY NAME. -------------- MOSQUE TAKE OVER -------------- ¶5. EIGHT MEMBERS OF JIHAD WERE ARRESTED FOR BREAKING INTO A MOSQUE, USING CHAINS TO ATTACK THOSE SAYING PRAYERS AND ATTEMPTING TO TAKE OVER THE MOSQUE FOR THEIR OWN PURPOSES. THE INCIDENT OCCURRED IN THE VILLAGE OF SHOUBRA MALAS IN ZEFTA IN THE DELTA GOVERNORATE OF GHARBIA. THERE WAS A CLASH BETWEEN THE INTRUDERS AND THE "CONGREGATION", BEFORE INTRUDERS WERE ARRESTED. THIS INCIDENT CLOSELY RESEMBLES ANOTHER ATTEMPTED TAKE OVER OF A MOSQUE IN KAFR EL ZAYAT, ALSO IN GHARBIA, IN AUGUST 1992. THE AUGUST INCIDENT WAS REPORTEDLY PERPETRATED BY ACTIVISTS FROM UPPER EGYPT ATTEMPTING TO FORM JIHAD CELLS IN THE DELTA. - ¶6. THE PRESS ALSO REPORTS A MARCH 17 INCIDENT IN TANTA, THE CAPITAL OF GHARBIA GOVERNORATE. TWENTY EIGHT FUNDAMENTALISTS ARE ACCUSED OF ATTACKING A SHRINE AND ATTEMPTING TO DIG UP THE COFFIN OF THE SAINT TO WHICH IT IS DEDICATED. ACCORDING TO THE FUNDAMENTALISTS, REVERENCE OF SAINTS IS AN ABERRATION. -------------- HEJAB FOR AMERICANS? -------------- ¶7. TWO AMERICAN WOMEN RESIDENT IN ALEXANDRIA WERE WAVED OUT OF AN ANTIQUE SHOP IN TOWN THIS WEEK BECAUSE THEY DID NOT HAVE THEIR HEADS COVERED. AT LEAST ONE OF THE WOMEN IS A GRANDMOTHER AND BOTH WERE CONSERVATIVELY DRESSED. BOTH HAVE SHOPPED IN THE AREA BEFORE AND NEVER ENCOUNTERED A PROBLEM. - -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. TO DATE ALEXANDRIA HAS BEEN SPARED THE VIOLENCE ASSOCIATED WITH INCIDENTS IN UPPER EGYPT AND EVEN CAIRO. THERE IS, HOWEVER, A DEFINITE INCREASE IN FUNDAMENTALIST ACTIVITY AND, FOR SOME LONGTIME RESIDENTS, AN ALMOST PALPABLE CHANGE IN THE ATMOSPHERE. AS NOTED, THERE IS SOME CONFUSION AS TO WHO IS DOING WHAT IN THE ALEXANDRIA AREA. GOE OFFICIALS JUMP AT ANY CHANCE TO ATTRIBUTE PROBLEMS TO FOREIGN INFLUENCES, WHILE ALEXANDRIA OFFICIALS JUMP AT ANY CHANCE TO CLAIM THE TROUBLEMAKERS COME FROM UPPER EGYPT. THERE PROBABLY IS SOME EXTERNAL INFLUENCE AND THERE MAY BE UPPER EGYPTIANS WHO HAVE COME TO ALEXANDRIA TO ESCAPE POLICE ATTENTION AND/OR TO ORGANIZE; THEY HAVE BEEN FOUND HERE BEFORE. BUT, EVEN WITHOUT THEM, ECONOMIC DISSATISFACTION AND A TREND TOWARD FUNDAMENTALISM HAVE EXISTED FOR SOME TIME PRIMARILY AMONG THE POORER ELEMENTS OF ALEXANDRIAS POPULATION, EVEN IF THIS HAS NOT YET SPURRED THE LEVEL OF VIOLENCE SEEN IN UPPER EGYPT AND, MOST RECENTLY, IN CAIRO. SCHELL