I just got done reading a piece by Shaden Shehab in Al-Ahram that does some news analysis on the November Algeria-Egypt soccer match that has resulted in weeks of violence, protests and political grandstanding.
Shehab's article would be a funny bit of Arab-world satire if it wasn't real: He quotes prominent satellite television talk-show host Emadeddin Adib as saying that the alleged attacks by Sudanese on Egyptians who visited Khartoum for the match were part of a "conspiracy" organized by a "Gulf state."
Shehab follows that up by writing that "it is no secret that the Algerian newspaper Ech- Chorouk, which has taken an insulting editorial line towards Egypt, is financed by Qatar."
Adib says he has credible information suggesting the 'conspiracy was planned by Algerian political groups and was financed by a Gulf state with the aim of replacing Egypt, which has $6 billion worth of investments in Algeria.'
The rest of the article is worth reading, if just to chuckle at the overblown rhetoric being employed by Egyptian politicians, much of which Gregg has already covered in previous posts here at the Majlis.
My favorite comes from parliamentarian Mohamed Sherdi, of the Wafd Party, who said: "If our role is to be above such things because we are the mother of all nations, then we no longer want this role, thank you."
I'm just waiting for Zahi Hawass to chime in.
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Categories: Algeria, Diplomacy, Egypt, Life and Culture, Politics, Regional News, Sports
Tags: Al-Ahram, Algeria, Egypt, Emadeddin Adib, Khartoum, Mohamed Sherdi, Qatar, World Cup
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