The tip of an iceberg

Editorial

Samira Ibrahim is a young Egyptian woman who was forced to take a humiliating “virginity test” after being detained for participating in a protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square two years ago. She raised global awareness of the despicably invasive “tests” and her actions eventually forced Egypt’s military to ban such actions last year.

For her courageous and powerful act, Ibrahim was invited to Washington to receive the U.S. State Department’s award for International Women of Courage, which was to be presented by Secretary of State John Kerry and First Lady Michelle Obama. The award was postponed – probably rescinded – when the United States government became aware of some of the other things Ibrahim has done and said. Apparently an inveterate Twitterer, Ibrahim has expressed some untoward ideas through social media. She called Saudi Arabia’s royal family “dirtier than Jews,” blamed Jews for all crime, and expressed support for the attacks on U.S. embassies and consulates on the anniversary last year of the Sept. 11 terror attacks of 2001. Most notable of all, in our opinion, was Ibrahim’s response to the murder of five Israeli civilian tourists and a Bulgarian bus driver in Burgas, Bulgaria, last July.

“An explosion on a bus carrying Israelis in Burgas airport in Bulgaria on the Black Sea,” Ibrahim tweeted. “Today is a very sweet day with a lot of very sweet news.”

At first, Ibrahim, who was already in the United States to receive her award, claimed that her Twitter account had been “stolen” and refused to take responsibility for her comments. Ultimately, she tweeted: “I refuse to apologize to the Zionist lobby in America regarding my previous anti-Zionist statements under pressure from American government, therefore, they withdrew the award.”

While Ibrahim no doubt has posted anti-Zionist tweets in the past, these were not the reason for the withdrawal of the award.

A good person can occasionally do bad things and a bad person can very often do good things. In bringing world attention to the Egyptian military’s horrid treatment of its own female citizens, Ibrahim did a great service to her country and to women everywhere. We might argue that the award should not have been withdrawn if all Ibrahim had done was condemn Israel or besmirch Saudi royals. Even her overt antisemitism – referring to people as “dirtier than Jews” – is little more than everyday coffee chatter in Egypt and much of the Middle East, as we are well aware.

But her apparent joy at the murder of civilians goes beyond any line of decency. It is worth asking how, even in a country where hatred of Jews is palpable, such cold-blooded admiration for murder could emerge from any human being, let alone one who is recognized as a civic leader. Another question is why it took the United States government so long to discover this aspect of Ibrahim’s character. Then again, while her case became a global sensation, similar statements are uttered daily throughout the Middle East by leading figures in almost every society without question. There is a bigger issue here – Ibrahim is just the tip of an iceberg.

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