The Nour Party, which is the largest entity representing the Salafis, fell dramatically in the elections. The fall was so hard that the sound of collision with the ground could be heard all over Alexandria, its very stronghold.
But does this mean we can sleep reassured and have nice dreams?
Absolutely not. For although the Salafi party is breaking up, the Salafi mood is breaking out strong, even in our smallest day-to-day behavior.
For example, if you say “Hello” or “Good Morning” to someone, he will scold you for not using the proper Islamic salutation of “Peace Be Upon You”.
And if a patient notices a gold ring on the doctor’s finger, he rushes out of the clinic under the belief the doctor is a Christian, for gold jewelry is prohibited by Islam, according to the Salafis.
And the so-called Islamic banks use terms taken from books written a thousand years ago, such as Murabaha (noninterest-bearing loan) and Sokuk (title deed), so as to attract the money of the Salafis.
And there are the so-called Islamic weddings, where women and men sit in separate halls so that the bride does not get harrassed by the groom’s relatives.
And there are Islamic hairdressers, Islamic fashion shows, Islamic beaches and Islamic what have you.
And when you board an EgyptAir plane, you hear the Islamic travel supplication in the loudspeakers, completely ignoring the fact that some of the passengers could be Christians or Buddhists. Why impose on them rituals that are not in their culture?
And how about the stewardess who refuses to serve an alcoholic drink to a foreigner? Did he not pay money to EgyptAir in return for the service he expects?
And when Morgan Freeman came to shoot a film in Egypt he was told the script should not address religion or God in any way. Do we not know that just one scene of this superstar appearing in Egypt promotes tourism a thousand times more than half a century’s work by the Egyptian State Information Service?
It is indeed a black comedy of people dressed in suits with Afghan robes underneath.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
