48 CultureShock! Egypt
around tourist areas. Obvious precautions certainly reduce
or eliminate the risk of petty robbery. One thing that again
happens infrequently, but which you must be aware of, is
unapproved charges to credit cards. Again, this occurs only
rarely and certainly not in the better shops in Egypt.Terrorism
Terrorism is a difficult topic to explain not only because
it is seemingly random in nature, but also because when
acts occur, the number of casualties is typically higher
than individual acts of violence. Besides, the very word
‘terrorist’ is enough to scare anyone! One never knows
when or where a terrorist will strike or who will be affected.
The Egyptian Penal Code defines terrorism to include
the acts of “spreading panic” and “obstructing the work
of authorities”.
The Egyptian government’s anti-terrorist campaign is
taking very strong measures to reduce risks of random
terrorist violence. Under provisions of the Emergency Law (in
effect since 1981), the police may obtain an arrest warrant
from the Ministry of the Interior upon showing that an
individual poses a danger to security and public order. This
act thus nullifies the constitutional requirement of showing
that an individual has likely committed a specific crime. The
following section is a very general timeline of major terrorist
events and groups in Egypt. During 1996, security forces
and police arrested at least 120 members of the Muslim
Brotherhood as well as 200 members of a new group, called the
Qutbiyoun, which is an offshoot of the Brotherhood. Charges
ranged from distributing illegal leaflets, to membership
in an illegal organisation and inciting the masses against
the government.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a political and religious
organisation founded in Egypt in 1928. Generally anti-
Western, it advocates a society based on Islamic principles
of social justice as opposed to secular nationalism. Since the
1950s, the Brotherhood and many of its radical offshoots
received funding from Saudi Arabia. Initially, this was due
to their anti-Communist stance; later it was due to a need