Ill Omens for the Holidays?

Turning and turning in the widening gyre   

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere   

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst   

Are full of passionate intensity.

 Yeats, The Second Coming

On the very eve of the Winter Solstice and the seasonal feasts of multiple faiths, and in the bitter aftermath of the fall of Aleppo, in a single day we have seen the public assassination of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, an apparent terrorist attack in which a truck plowed into a crowded Christmas Market in Berlin, killing 12 so far, and then (perhaps a retaliation?) a gunman in Zurich opening fire in an Islamic Center, wounding three people at prayer.

Just yesterday,  four gunmen in the Jordanian city of Karak killed nine, retreating into the city's famous Crusader castle, where they were killed.

Let us hope this is not an augury of worse to come.

Dedication of the Butrusiyya Church

Following up on my earlier post on the history of the Butrussiya Church that was bombed Sunday, and courtesy of Prof. Paul Sedra, here's a souvenir of the 1912 dedication:

Note that the dedication was on the second anniversary of Boutros Ghali's assassination.

The Political History of the Butrusiyya, Site of Sunday's Coptic Church Attack

The bomb attack on Sunday near the Coptic Patriarchal Cathedral of Saint Mark in Cairo's Abbasiyya district, which killed at least 24, is clearly intended to strike at the heart of Coptic Christianity, occurring adjacent to the Patriarchal See of Pope Tawadros II.

It matched or surpassed the death toll from the bombing of the Church of Two Saints in Alexandria in January 2011, the previous worst church bombing. The attack came during Sunday Mass; the explosion occurred on the women's side of the church, so many of the dead were women and children, and the bombing came on the eve of Mawlid al-Nabi, the Prophet's birthday. Most of these details were widely reported.

But a particularly political connection of the site of the bombing has largely been missed. In fact, many of the reports have spoken of the location as taking place in a "chapel" of the Cathedral, or in a Church "attached" to the Cathedral.

The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, known as the Butrusiyya, sits in the shadow of the Patriarchal Cathedral of Saint Mark, but it is a separate building that predates the Cathedral by several decades. The Butrusiyya was built in 1911, while the Cathedral was completed in 1968. The area around the cathedral is the site of numerous churches, some, like Anba Ruis nearby, dating from the 1400s. The land was given to the Church in Fatimid times.

Boutros Ghali

The Butrusyya was built by the family of Prime Minister Boutros Ghali, who was assassinated in 1910, We dealt with the assassination and its background in my 2013 post about the Denshawai incident of 1906. Ghali, 1846-1910,  was a rarity as a Copt who became Egypt's Prime Minister, 1908-1910. His role in the Denshawai trials led to his being viewed as a tool of the British; his Christianity also worked against him. (He was also the grandfather of the late UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.)

The Butrusyya Church contains the grave of the original Prime Minister Boutros Ghali. So there are whole layers of potential political and sectarian symbolism.

In the photo below, the church of St. Peter and St. Paul is the Romanesque-style church in the center; the large Coptic-style vaulted church on the right is the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mark.

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Israeli Sociologist Prof. Michael Feige Died in Sarona Market Attack

Michael Feige

One of the four Israelis killed in yesterday's attack on the Sarona  Market in Tel Aviv was a noted scholar of Israeli society, the sociologist and anthropologist Professor Michael Feige of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. I only knew him by reputation, but it is a reminder that attacks on civilians (by either side) leave everyone vulnerable.

BGU has posted a tribute to Prof. Feige here.

In the Shadow of Brussels

The Brussels attacks have been met with several disturbing responses from US Presidential candidates, particularly Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, raising questions about Muslim communities in the West. It is perhaps a good time to repeat that the whole purpose of terrorism is to spread terror, that Muslim countries are struggling with terrorist bombings as well (consider Turkey), and that if we descend into fear and suspicion we are doing exactly what the Islamic State wants. ISIS has lost much territory on the battlefields in Syria and Iraq, and these overseas terror attacks are a means of minimizing the effect of that. Let's stay level-headed, vigilant but not panicked.

Remember Paris, But Also Beirut, Ankara, Baghdad, Sinai...

Amid the mourning over the Paris attacks, I think it is particularly important to remember that the overwhelming majority of victims of the Islamic State have been in the Middle East. The 40+ dead in Beirut the day before the Paris attacks were innocent civilians as well. Sunnis and Shi‘a, Kurds and Assyrians and Yazidis, have died in the thousands, without everyone changing their Facebook profile pictures to the colors of the Lebanese or Syrian or Iraqi flag. Mourn for Paris to be sure,  but also for all victims.

The Burj al-Barajineh Bombings

Today's bombings in Beirut's Burj al-Burajineh neighborhood,which killed at least 41 and wounded 200 or more, is the worst bombing attack in terms of its human toll since the Lebanese Civil War.And the Islamic State is reportedly claiming credit. This appears to be the worst blowback yet in Beirut from Syria's civil war and an ill omen for Lebanon.

Several headlines I've seen in Western media refer to the attacks as being in a "Hizbullah stronghold." I think that's an unfortunate choice of words, as it suggests Hizbullah was the target. One bomb went off near a a Shi‘ite mosque and the other at a bakery: civilians were the target, in one of the most densely populated areas of the city. The civilians may have been targeted because they are Shi‘ites, but referring to it as a "Hizbullah stronghold" distracts from the reality that the victims are civilians, not Hizbullah fighters.

Denial Is Still a River in Egypt: Media Sees Western Conspiracy on Metrojet

It's a nervous time for Egypt in the wake of the crash of the Metrojet flight in Sinai: an already much-reduced level of tourism is in danger just as the winter months arrive (when Sharm al-Sheikh and Hurghada cater to sun-starved northern Europeans; but Britain and Russia have canceled flights. President Sisi's big tip to London was overshadowed by the attempts to evacuate British tourists from Egypt. The stock market dropped on Monday, and there was sharp international criticism over the arrest of journalist/activist Hossam Bahgat by the military prosecution. (He has since been released, but may still face charges.)

I'm sorry to say that when things are going badly, the Egyptian media, especially the more sensational newspapers (state-run and private) and the often irresponsible TV talk-show hosts, start looking for conspiracies. Israel, the US, the Muslim Brotherhood, Iran, and he Freemasons are the usual suspects, often in improbable combinations (Iran and the US together; Israel and the Muslim Brotherhood).

While most of the rest of the world is convinced the plane was brought down by a bomb, and even the Egyptian investigators do not rule that out, the media is seeing an international conspiracy to subvert Egypt. Al-Watan on Sunday had a banner headline, "Egypt Defies Terrorism of the West." (Link is to the story in Arabic.) I would note that the most draconian step so far was Russia's decision to cancel all flights to Egypt, and Russia is usually not considered "the West," but never mind.

Associated Press

The Associated Press has done a story on this, showing the headlines (right) of the aforementioned Al-Watan as well as Sunday's Al-Gomhuriya, a state-owned paper but the most sensational of the state-owned papers: "The People Defy the Conspiracy."

There remains a possibility it was not a bomb. But the media, including the state media (perhaps with government sanction) is reacting in a prickly, defensive way that could make things worse if indeed it was a bomb. (Conversely, the US and Britain could look very bad if it wasn't.)

The News Keeps Getting Worse for Egyptian Tourism

I haven't commented so far about the speculation around the downed Russian airliner because there seemed to be too little evidence and it seemed wise to wait until more was known, despite the various talking heads on all-news channels speculating wildly. But today was stunning. As recently as yesterday Russia, the most interested party, was urging caution and warning that speculation was premature. Egypt was clearly annoyed at Britain's suspension of flights from Sharm al-Sheikh, which coincided with President Sisi's visit to 10 Downing Street. But today Russia not only reversed field completely but raised the stakes: suspending all Russian flights not just to Sharm but to all of Egypt, once it evacuates some 50,000 Russian visitors. And it was the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russian Intelligence, chief who urged Putin to do so. Clearly the US, Britain, and now Russian intelligence agencies are privy to information that, at least today, Egypt claimed had not been shared with them.

The sheer numbers mentioned (20,000+ Britons, 50,000+ Russians) give some sense of what's at stake. Though tourism in Egypt has never fully recovered from the 2011 Revolution, the resorts on Sinai and the Red Sea Coast have remained popular, especially for northern Europeans in the winter months. If it is confirmed that a bomb was used, it could be a body blow to tourism, at least for this season.

It's far from clear why Russia is cutting off all of Egypt and not just Sinai, but their dramatic reversal of position in just 24 hours clearly suggests they do not see this as an isolated incident. Egypt has promised a press conference for tomorrow: will it still be in denial?

Bloody Day in Sinai

Today's bloody clashes between jihadists and Egyptian security forces around the town of Sheikh Zuweid in northern Sinai is some of the worst violence yet in the peninsula, and marked the third straight day of bloodshed in Egypt after the assassination of the Prosecutor General on Monday and two bombings yesterday in the Cairo satellite suburb 6 October City.

Claims by the Army, the "Sinai Province of the Islamic State" (formerly Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, now Wilayat Sina') conflict, with the Army admitting to about 17 dead on its side after multiple attacks; other estimates of government losses are higher The Army struck back with air and helicopter attacks and claims to have killed 100 of the attackers.Sinai is a closed military zone with no media access, but all reports agree there were multiple attacks against Army checkpoints and police stations and that the attackers controlled the town of Sheikh Zuweid for a while.

And we are only halfway through Ramadan.

Egypt Says it Killed "Founder" of Ajnad Misr on Same Day Group Claimed Credit for Killing a Policeman

 On Sunday, a bomb on the may 15 Bridge in the Cairo neighborhood of Zamalek, killing a policeman. The jihadist group Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt) claimed credit. Later the same day, Security forces claimed that they had killed the "founder" of Ajnad Misr, identified as Hanan Muhammad.

Ajnad Misr  has claimed credit for numerous attacks on police and Security Forces in the capital region, mainly in Giza and Cairo Governorates. It's clearly an urban-based movement, unlike Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which operates in Sinai. It claims to target only police and Security Forces and has issued warnings to warn civilians away from targeted areas. It claims to seek retribution for the killings at Raba‘a in 2013 which has led the government to link it with the Muslim Brotherhood, though an Interior ministry official claimed Hanan Muhammad had been a member of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis before he founded Ajnad Misr. See also here.

The Attack on the Bardo

Since the Jasmine Revolution in 2011, Tunisia has been the one success story of the Arab Spring. There has been some violence, attacks on police, and political polarization; trouble along the Libyan and Algerian borders, but nothing like today's attack at the Bardo National Museum. Even previous attacks on tourist sites, such as the 2002 attack on the Ghriba Synagogue in Djerba, were outside the capital;  today's attack struck at its very heart, its symbolic center of culture.

For readers unfamiliar with Tunis, the Bardo is Tunisia's national museum, and one of the world's great museums. It contains, among much else, one of the world's largest collections of Roman mosaics, which survived in the dry North African climate better than in Italy. So it is a powerful symbol of national heritage.

It is also a keystone of Tunisia's tourist industry, which took a hit after the Revolution. Tunisia's beaches are popular and affordable for European tourists, and he high profile Bardo attack is a direct attack on the industry.

But there is another powerful symbol: it stands next to the Tunisian National Assembly, recently elected, housed in an old beylical palace which shares a courtyard with the museum. So it also strikes a blow at Tunisia's nascent democracy.

In the Google image below, the complex at left (west) is the museum, the structure at the bottom (south) is the Parliament building.

Just When You think ISIS Can't Get Any Worse...

My Suez Canal attack post is taking some time but will be up soon.

The Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Da3ish) keeps finding new ways to give savage barbarism a bad name. The apparent burning alive of a Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot, apparently weeks before they offered to trade him, is a new low, though these have shown themselves to be people who kill without hesitation, behead innocent people, kidnap minority religious women (Yazidis) and systematically rape and enslave them (and publish their religious justification for rape and enslavement), in the name of a religion whose holy book always refers to God as "the compassionate, the merciful."

They are enemies not just of Western civilization, but of Islamic civilization as well. And while they must be defeated, it's not American boots on the ground. The Middle East needs to find its own  way out of this one. These people threaten the Islamic world first of all. Now they have pissed off the Royal Jordanian Air Force. A small force, but one of the best trained and most cohesive in the Middle East. That may be a mistake.

And of course beyond the executions, rapes, enslavements, and burnings alive, last week they also blew up the ancient wall of Nineveh. (Why? It's not Shi‘ite, Christian, or Jewish.)

This image is making the rounds, and deserves both applause and a bit of comment (warning: both image and language are not safe for work/NSFW):

Amen to the sentiment. There is, however, an obvious difference. The nun or the ra painted on your house in ISIS territory will get you killed or ethnically cleansed. The middle finger, if painted in ISIS territory, no doubt will too, if it could appear, but it's not really "the international sign for 'fuck you'," (there are far too many available gestures), though it may be getting there. A post for another day.

But nobody dies when we give ISIS the finger, good as it may feel. Saying "Fuck you!" ("international symbol" or not) may make us feel good, but it doesn't stop the beheadings, rapes, enslavement of female minorities, etc. ISIS is not deterred by the power of the US and its coalition partners, so I'm pretty sure the raised middle finger won't send them running for cover.

I keep profanity at a minimum here and I think it's been a year or more since it's appeared, but one of the utilities of four-letter words is that they allow us to proclaim our frustrations when we can do nothing. It relieves our anger. In a grotesque atrocity like this one, "fuck you" is not just required, it's inadequate. The obscenity of the act cannot be matched by any verbal obscenity of which I am aware. When you are dealing with genocidal fucking motherfucking fucks, there is no polite way of saying it.

A usually demure Facebook friend a while back, after an ISIS atrocity, posted the comment "waste these fuckers." But despite the multinational bombing campaign, (Since they engage in rape and forced marriage of Yazidis and other enslaved women, "fuckers" literally appropriate), ISIS is still prospering. The Royal Jordanian Air Force, however, is probably thinking along the same lines right now, and has some chance to waste these fuckers. But language alone is just a release.

It's tempting to say "this time they've gone too far," but that's where they started. Sorry to those offended by the profanity, but what was your first reaction to this obscenity? If I say "Fuck ISIS" are they going to run for cover when allied aircraft are already hitting them daily? Does saying "Fuck you!"  or even "كس أمك" make them run for cover? No, though it lets off steam. I'll gladly say both  to these evil people, but it won't deter them. It just makes us feel good.

So fuck ISIS, but the more appropriate response is not "Fuck ISIS" but "Fuck our inability to do anything about ISIS." But "Fuck ISIS" makes us feel good.

I have not seen and will not watch the video. But Arab readers seem to agree, and #fuckisis seems big on Twitter:

The Scale of Yesterday's Coordinated Attacks in Sinai

Yesterday's wave of terror attacks across northern Sinai  increasingly appear unprecedented in their scope and coordination. As many as 30 separate attacks took place against police and military positions, while there were also civilian casualties. The death toll is officially past 30, with unofficial estimates of over 40, and many wounded.

The attackers were presumably from Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, the insurgent group that late last year proclaimed its loyalty to the Islamic State (ISIS). The coordinated attacks took place during a match between Egypt's arch-rival soccer teams Ahly and Zamalek, presumably because security forces might be distracted by the game.

"Nous sommes tous Français": La Marseillaise from Casablanca

Immediately after September 11, 2001, Le Monde, one of the world's great newspapers but rarely one with a pro-American tilt, ran the front page sidebar "Nous sommes tous Américains."  I know the fashion now is to write Je suis Charlie, and of course the attack on Charlie-Hebdo was barbarous and appalling, but rather than endorse their often openly racist humor it seems to me the better response is to echo Le Monde and say, "Nous sommes tous Français." And of course, as an editor, I defend complete freedom of the press, no matter how offensive.

Or as an earlier generation of Americans once put it, "Lafayette, we are here."

Or as Casablanca put it back in 1942:

Juan Cole on France and "Sharpening Contradictions"

Of all the vast corpus of commentary generated in response to yesterday's jihadist killings in Paris, I think one of the more enlightening perspectives has been Juan Cole's "Sharpening Contradictions: Why al-Qaeda attacked Satirists in Paris," which I think captures an element frequently overlooked in assessing jihadist groups' tactics and motivations. Citing the Marxist approach of provocations aimed at "sharpening the contradictions" between labor and capital in order to radicalize uncommitted workers, he argues that:

The operatives who carried out this attack exhibit signs of professional training. They spoke unaccented French, and so certainly know that they are playing into the hands of Marine LePen and the Islamophobic French Right wing. They may have been French, but they appear to have been battle hardened. This horrific murder was not a pious protest against the defamation of a religious icon. It was an attempt to provoke European society into pogroms against French Muslims, at which point al-Qaeda recruitment would suddenly exhibit some successes instead of faltering in the face of lively Beur youth culture (French Arabs playfully call themselves by this anagram term deriving from wordplay involving scrambling of letters). Ironically, there are reports that one of the two policemen they killed was a Muslim.

 He also notes how the former Al-Qa‘ida in Iraq, predecessor of ISIS, purposefully provoked Shi‘ite retaliation against Sunnis there, in order to solidify and radicalize tthe Sunni community.

While it is still unclear if the perpetrators' main allegiance is to Al-Qa‘ida (one is said to have trained in Yemen) or the Islamic State, the tactics are similar in either case: to provoke a polarization in French society by creating a backlash  against the Muslim community generally, "sharpening contradictions" in a large Muslim community whose youth are overwhelmingly secular at the moment.

I think this insight is valuable. This is not about cartoons, but about creating a polarization in French society that may work to radicalize the Arab community in France.

Egyptian Navy Attack: The Plot Thickens and the Mysteries Deepen

The attack last week on an Egyptian Navy vessel off the coast of Damietta has been wrapped in mystery from the start, beginning with how far offshore it was (reports range from 10 nautical miles to 70 kilometers) and who attacked it. I noted in passing late last week that some Jihadist websites were claiming that it was really an attempted mutiny, but I dismissed that, considering the source. I may have been premature, and there are a number of other reports further muddying the waters.

The Beirut-based electronic newspaper Al-Modon has published an account which it claims is the true story, (link in Arabic), to the effect that an officer of the patrol launch 6 October, Ahmad ‘Amer, with five sympathizers he had smuggled board, took command of the ship and killed the crew; when the base radioed the ship, responded that it was a vessel of the Islamic Caliphate. Another boat, 25 April, was sent to intercept, its weaponry malfunctioned, and in the end the Air Force had to intervene.

The story seems far-fetched, but an account in the respected independent newspaper Al-Masry al-Youm reports that a Russian-flagged merchant vessel had been forced into Port Said and its crew were being interrogated to determine if they were involved, and then appears to corroborate at least the involvement of  Ahmad ‘Amer. Quoting Al-Masry al-Youm's English version, Egypt Independent:

Authorities are also investigating captain Ahmed Mostafa Amer, who was driving the navy vessel on the day of the attack in lieu of his supervisor Major Mohamed al-Fujairy, who was injured a week ago in a car accident.

Security services are also attempting to identify whether the car accident was intentional or not, Amer’s relationships at the Port Said navy base, Syrians and Turks in Damietta or others who have had relations with people from the two countries of Syria and Turkey. Another 32 suspects including Egyptians and foreigners are being questioned.

Meanwhile, Damietta port authority canceled a ceremony that was scheduled to honor Major General Mostafa Amer, former chief of the port authority, and father of captain Amer. The ceremony was to be held on occasion of his retirement.

This version does not explicitly say there was a mutiny but clearly seems to imply it.

Besides the aforementioned Russian vessel, which may have merely been in the wrong place st the wrong time, of the much reported 32 persons arrested, at least 16 have now been released, apparently having merely been innocent fishermen in the area..

As Daily News Egypt columnist Amr Khalifa notes,

Close inspection of every story, scenario and possibility indicates contradictions and a healthy dose of question marks in each. Cemented in fact is, 48 hours after Sinai Province declared itself an IS follower, a particularly brazen, well organised, terrorist attack targeted the Egyptian navy. No small feat, this is nothing short of a minor disaster for a regime struggling to earn its security stripes against multiple groups who have chosen the militant route against the army. A central part of the dynamic at play involves the dearth of information, generally, doled out by the security apparatus and more specifically in this terror at sea.

Credibility in all relationships emanates from truth. In this regard, the Egyptian army is failing Egyptians. This has, in turn, left many Egyptians and Egypt watchers wondering what precisely transpired off the north eastern coast of Egypt this week. Based on the wild stories of the past three days, no one will know, with certainty, who bears responsibility for this attack until a video emerges showing excerpts and claiming responsibility. Egyptian memories are laden with horrific imagery from a Sinai Province video , released on Friday, but with little trust because of nearly zero info, it is likely the public will believe nothing less.

Meanwhile, absent official details, confusion reigns and rumors run rampant.

Did Attackers Lure Egyptian Navy with a False SOS?

Some Egyptian media are reporting that the attack Wednesday on an Egyptian Navy vessel involved the vessel being lured into a trap through a false SOS. (Additional details in the Arabic version of the same story here, which describes the vessel as a "launch" patrolling offshore to protect Egypt's oil and gas reserves in its exclusive economic zone, and that it belonged to the Coast Guard, which in Egypt is part of the Navy. The story did not identify the vessel.

Some radical Islamist websites have identified the vessel as the 6 October, which is the name of an Egyptian patrol craft, but these same dubious sites have tried to portray the incident as a mutiny with the mutineers wanting to join "the Caliphate," but none of these versions come from reliable media, and I prefer not to link and send traffic to Jihadi sites.

Who Attacked the Egyptian Navy?

There are still a lot of open questions about yesterday's attack on an Egyptian Navy vessel yesterday, leaving five sailors injured and eight missing. The military claims that with the help of the Air Force four boats were sunk, four attackers killed and 32 arrested. Unconfirmed reports suggested that the Egyptian vessel, whose name and class have apparently not been disclosed, had caught fire.

The Egyptian state media is clearly blaming Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which has been waging an insurgency in the Sinai; after 31 were killed three weeks ago, Egypt declared a three-month State of Emergency and began evacuating a strip of land to prevent infiltration from Gaza. Attcks on soldiers and police have continued in Sinai, and this week Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis announced its adherence to the Islamic State. But if the attack on the Navy ship was carried out by them, it marks a daring new tactic.

The Navy has clashed in the past with smugglers; both goods smuggling and human trafficking is increasingly a problem in unstable parts of North Africa, including Sinai. (Though this attack occurred in the Mediterranean off Damietta.)  But it seems unlikely smugglers would attack a Navy vessel if it carried armament. (Again, if the vessel has been identified I haven't seen it.) It could also be an attempt to smuggle radical Jihadis into Egypt.

Less serious, less lethal attacks continue in Cairo, including one this week in which a "sonic bomb" was detonated in the Cairo Metro. The blast did little damage but 16 people were injured in a stampede trying to escape the Metro station.

Collateral Damage: Islamic Art Museum and Old Dar al-Kutub Damaged in Police Bombing

Museum Facade Damage (Ahram)

Today's massive car bombing at Cairo's Central Police Headquarters in Bab al-Khalq also apparently did significant damage to two key repositories of Egypt's heritage across the street: the Museum of Islamic Art and the old building of the National Library and Archives (Dar al-Kutub), shich houses many of the Library's rare manuscripts and papyri. (The Library has another building along the Nile.)

[Update: This photo gallery at Egyptian Streets suggests the damage to the recently renovated museum is really devastating. More as it becomes available.]

Ahram Online:

TV footage showed wrecked floors of the multi-storey building and a damaged facade of the nearby Museum of Islamic Art. The minister of state for antiquities told journalists in a statement after touring the site that some artefacts and items inside the museum had also been damaged. He said the 19th-century museum building, which was recently rennovated in a multimillion-dollar project, will need to be "rebuilt." Photos show that the building's roof has caved in, floors are covered with shattered glass and wood debris, and the display cases housing the museum artefacts have been smashed.

Library Damage (Ahram)

Another Ahram Online piece on the Dar al-Kutub:

The car bomb which gutted Cairo's central police headquarters early on Friday morning has also caused severe structural damage to Egypt's National Library and Archives (NLA), located across the street from the security directorate targeted in the blast.

Minister of Culture Saber Arab told Ahram Online that all the NLA's lighting and ventilation systems were completely destroyed, while the decorative facade, representative of Islamic architectural styles, had collapsed. He added that all showcases and furniture inside the building had also been badly damaged.

NLA head Abdul Nasser Hassan told Ahram Online that seven unique manuscripts and three rare scientific papyri had also been damaged. Hassan estimated that the losses will cost the government at least LE50 million in repairs.

Let me also share a memory from back in the late 1970s of the Police Headquarters building at Bab al-Khalq. I spent a lot of time among Cairo's medieval monuments on foot, and whenever I was headed to the Bab Zuwaila or Darb al-Ahmar areas, I would walk via Bab al-Khalq, passing right by the fortress-like police station. I remember that the rear of the building contained high, barred windows and apparently contained holding cells; there would always be wives out back, shouting up at their jailed spouses. Later visits to Cairo never took me back to Bab al-Khalq, I don't think.