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Reach of Turmoil in Egypt Extends Into Countryside Reach of Turmoil in Egypt Extends Into Countryside
(35 minutes later)
AGA, Egypt — Rami Abdel Aal’s body was gently washed and then wrapped tight in a white death shroud, all in accordance with Islamic mandates for preparing the dead for burial. But for Mr. Abdel Aal and his family, that is where ritual and tradition ended.AGA, Egypt — Rami Abdel Aal’s body was gently washed and then wrapped tight in a white death shroud, all in accordance with Islamic mandates for preparing the dead for burial. But for Mr. Abdel Aal and his family, that is where ritual and tradition ended.
In this small, close-knit and rural Nile Delta town, it is customary for the community to gather behind the family for the procession to the graveyard. Mr. Abdel Aal, however, was greeted with epithets — someone called him a dog, someone else an infidel. One family even held a wedding at the same time, something unheard-of.In this small, close-knit and rural Nile Delta town, it is customary for the community to gather behind the family for the procession to the graveyard. Mr. Abdel Aal, however, was greeted with epithets — someone called him a dog, someone else an infidel. One family even held a wedding at the same time, something unheard-of.
The turmoil shaking Egypt has extended far beyond the big cities, Cairo and Alexandria. Even in the countryside, where tradition has long been inviolable, the political crisis is tearing communities apart. Mr. Abdel Aal was a leader in the country’s biggest Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood. He was one of hundreds gunned down when the military cleared a sit-in at the Cairo square of Rabaa by opponents of the military takeover that ousted Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi.The turmoil shaking Egypt has extended far beyond the big cities, Cairo and Alexandria. Even in the countryside, where tradition has long been inviolable, the political crisis is tearing communities apart. Mr. Abdel Aal was a leader in the country’s biggest Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood. He was one of hundreds gunned down when the military cleared a sit-in at the Cairo square of Rabaa by opponents of the military takeover that ousted Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi.
Since then, the military-installed government and the machinery of the state, including the news media, have vilified Islamist supporters of the ousted president as something other than Egyptian, calling them traitors and terrorists. Mr. Abdel Aal was a 28-year-old doctor and a father of two who lived in Aga all his life, but that did not matter for his neighbors when his body was brought back for burial.Since then, the military-installed government and the machinery of the state, including the news media, have vilified Islamist supporters of the ousted president as something other than Egyptian, calling them traitors and terrorists. Mr. Abdel Aal was a 28-year-old doctor and a father of two who lived in Aga all his life, but that did not matter for his neighbors when his body was brought back for burial.
After preparing his body, the mosque’s staff turned off the lights and the microphone for fear of residents’ retaliation if they learned it was a funeral for an Islamist.After preparing his body, the mosque’s staff turned off the lights and the microphone for fear of residents’ retaliation if they learned it was a funeral for an Islamist.
“We are aliens in our own country,” said Hossam Farahat, a Brotherhood supporter from Aga. “I don’t know how life in Egypt can go on like this.”“We are aliens in our own country,” said Hossam Farahat, a Brotherhood supporter from Aga. “I don’t know how life in Egypt can go on like this.”
Two months after Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi declared he was removing Mr. Morsi from office, scenes of village life suggest the divisions have only deepened. Neighbors have turned against one another and families have been torn apart. General Sisi’s supporters call their Islamist neighbors “sheep” for their supposed obedience to their leaders, while Islamists shout back that the military’s backers are “slaves,” “army-boot-lickers” and “Christians, enemies of Islam”Two months after Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi declared he was removing Mr. Morsi from office, scenes of village life suggest the divisions have only deepened. Neighbors have turned against one another and families have been torn apart. General Sisi’s supporters call their Islamist neighbors “sheep” for their supposed obedience to their leaders, while Islamists shout back that the military’s backers are “slaves,” “army-boot-lickers” and “Christians, enemies of Islam”
“Something in the community here fractured,” said Ahmed Yassein, a local leader in the liberal but pro-military Al Dostor party in the provincial capital, Mansoura, near Aga. “And it will never fully heal.”“Something in the community here fractured,” said Ahmed Yassein, a local leader in the liberal but pro-military Al Dostor party in the provincial capital, Mansoura, near Aga. “And it will never fully heal.”
In Mansoura and other Nile Delta towns, protests against the military takeover have set off deadly confrontations between civilian political factions. When thousands of Mansoura Islamists marched through the streets in mid-July, other residents attacked them with machetes, clubs and shotguns, killing four women, one of them 17 years old.In Mansoura and other Nile Delta towns, protests against the military takeover have set off deadly confrontations between civilian political factions. When thousands of Mansoura Islamists marched through the streets in mid-July, other residents attacked them with machetes, clubs and shotguns, killing four women, one of them 17 years old.
Salma Ayyash, 19, a college student among the marchers, ran to neighbors’ doorways in terror looking for refuge. “They wouldn’t take us in during the shooting,” Ms. Ayyash said. “A friend of my mother’s was thrown out by a neighbor who told her to ‘go burn.’ ”Salma Ayyash, 19, a college student among the marchers, ran to neighbors’ doorways in terror looking for refuge. “They wouldn’t take us in during the shooting,” Ms. Ayyash said. “A friend of my mother’s was thrown out by a neighbor who told her to ‘go burn.’ ”
Since then, Ms. Ayyash said, she is afraid to go out. She fears that cabdrivers will turn her in for being a member of the Brotherhood, and she is convinced that her neighbors were staring at her waist-length head scarf. Standing on the street with a friend near her house a week after the shooting, she said, a group of men in a small pickup truck stopped when they saw her and pointed a gun at her head.Since then, Ms. Ayyash said, she is afraid to go out. She fears that cabdrivers will turn her in for being a member of the Brotherhood, and she is convinced that her neighbors were staring at her waist-length head scarf. Standing on the street with a friend near her house a week after the shooting, she said, a group of men in a small pickup truck stopped when they saw her and pointed a gun at her head.
“I pretended I didn’t see them,” Ms. Ayyash said in a shivering voice. “Everybody walked by and looked on as if it was the most normal scene in the world.”“I pretended I didn’t see them,” Ms. Ayyash said in a shivering voice. “Everybody walked by and looked on as if it was the most normal scene in the world.”
Signs in the streets near her house thank security forces for fighting terrorism.Signs in the streets near her house thank security forces for fighting terrorism.
“What terrorism?” Ms. Ayyash asked. “We are your neighbors.”“What terrorism?” Ms. Ayyash asked. “We are your neighbors.”
At the entrance to Aga, a spray-painted sign declares, “Sheep are not allowed to live in the country of the brave.”At the entrance to Aga, a spray-painted sign declares, “Sheep are not allowed to live in the country of the brave.”
Many of the businesses in Aga that are known to be owned by Brotherhood members were ransacked, including several Islamist-owned pharmacies. Residents spared one pharmacy because it was owned in part by someone who is not an Islamist, said Reda al-Helaly, 37, who was among attackers. Many of the businesses in Aga that are known to be owned by Brotherhood members were ransacked, including several Islamist-owned pharmacies. Residents spared one pharmacy because it was owned in part by someone who is not an Islamist, said Reda al-Helaly, 37, who was among the attackers.
Hostility cuts so deep that those who support the military offer little sympathy for their longtime neighbors who face random arrest and the violent suppression of their demonstrations. They say Mr. Morsi’s failures overshadow any empathy for his supporters.Hostility cuts so deep that those who support the military offer little sympathy for their longtime neighbors who face random arrest and the violent suppression of their demonstrations. They say Mr. Morsi’s failures overshadow any empathy for his supporters.
Some in Aga complained that Mr. Morsi had applauded the police for cracking down on protests opposing his rule. Over 100 demonstrators were killed by the police on his watch, according to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, an independent group.Some in Aga complained that Mr. Morsi had applauded the police for cracking down on protests opposing his rule. Over 100 demonstrators were killed by the police on his watch, according to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, an independent group.
The support for the military’s crackdown on Islamists, several residents said, stems also from fear. A bomb went off in front of Mansoura’s police headquarters shortly after the takeover, killing one officer and reminding military supporters of a decade of terror in the 1990s, when some Islamist groups took up arms against the state and killed scores of citizens and police officers.The support for the military’s crackdown on Islamists, several residents said, stems also from fear. A bomb went off in front of Mansoura’s police headquarters shortly after the takeover, killing one officer and reminding military supporters of a decade of terror in the 1990s, when some Islamist groups took up arms against the state and killed scores of citizens and police officers.
“I know what’s being done to the Islamists is wrong,” said Hassan Habeeb, a local official at the leftist pro-military movement of Al Tayar Al Shaaby. “But I’m still all for it because it’s necessary and because they wouldn’t have showed us mercy had the roles been reversed.”“I know what’s being done to the Islamists is wrong,” said Hassan Habeeb, a local official at the leftist pro-military movement of Al Tayar Al Shaaby. “But I’m still all for it because it’s necessary and because they wouldn’t have showed us mercy had the roles been reversed.”
In a street cafe here one recent afternoon, three residents applauded the crackdown on the Islamists, and they boasted about the assaults on Brotherhood-owned businesses.In a street cafe here one recent afternoon, three residents applauded the crackdown on the Islamists, and they boasted about the assaults on Brotherhood-owned businesses.
“If my finger hurts and I can’t stand the pain, I would cut it off,” Mr. Helaly said. “The military is realizing this is the solution for our problems with the Islamists.”“If my finger hurts and I can’t stand the pain, I would cut it off,” Mr. Helaly said. “The military is realizing this is the solution for our problems with the Islamists.”
That message has been made crystal clear to Mr. Farahat, 35, and Ahmed Abbas, 31, both friends of Mr. Abdel Aal. They say they have each had serious discussions with their wives after burying Mr. Abdel Aal over what to do if they are arrested or killed.That message has been made crystal clear to Mr. Farahat, 35, and Ahmed Abbas, 31, both friends of Mr. Abdel Aal. They say they have each had serious discussions with their wives after burying Mr. Abdel Aal over what to do if they are arrested or killed.
“We wrote wills and put them in our wallets just in case,” Mr. Abbas said.“We wrote wills and put them in our wallets just in case,” Mr. Abbas said.
Mr. Abdel Aal’s father was arrested at the Rabaa sit-in, and Mr. Farahat and Mr. Abbas said they had searched for days for him with the family. They finally found him in Abo Zaabal prison, where at least 37 Islamist detainees were killed by the police while in custody over claims they were trying to escape.Mr. Abdel Aal’s father was arrested at the Rabaa sit-in, and Mr. Farahat and Mr. Abbas said they had searched for days for him with the family. They finally found him in Abo Zaabal prison, where at least 37 Islamist detainees were killed by the police while in custody over claims they were trying to escape.
“Dying would be better than this,” Mr. Farahat said. “The streets aren’t safe, our businesses aren’t safe; even prisons aren’t safe for us. The only safe place in Egypt now is the grave.”“Dying would be better than this,” Mr. Farahat said. “The streets aren’t safe, our businesses aren’t safe; even prisons aren’t safe for us. The only safe place in Egypt now is the grave.”