Deutsche Presse Agentur carries a fascinating story today datelined Cairo, "Egypt to deport German family for Islamic extremism," worth quoting at length:
Egypt imprisoned and aims to deport a German family that tore up its German identification papers upon arrival, fearing the documents would connect them to an "infidel state," Egyptian Independent Al-Badeel newspaper reported. Egypt accused the family of Islamic extremism and imprisoned the family, a man, his wife, his two sisters and his mother. According to media reports, the family does not want to return to Germany.
Currently, the German embassy in Cairo is cooperating with Egyptian officials to deport the family. However, it has declined to give them new identification documents for fear that it would also be destroyed. The country responsible for the family's flight costs is under consideration. .
Eyewitnesses said the female members of the family wore clothing that only allowed their eyes to be seen. None of the family members are fluent in Arabic, which made communication with police authorities difficult. After their arrest, the process of being photographed for a passport was met with a lack of cooperation by the family who considered it an act against Muslim principles.
Comments: (1) If any reader knows the name of this family, please send it in so I can follow their case. (2) While on the surface, it appears that these five are paying homage to Islam and Egypt, closer inspection reveals their arrogance and aggressiveness:
- They destroyed their German passports so as to force the Egyptian authorities to accept them.
- They practice an Islam at odds to what is commonly found in Egypt.
- They do not bother to learn Arabic vernacular.
In brief, they amount to a new-style form of European imperialism, one based not on a sense of cultural-racial-religious-economic superiority but on a purer form of Islamic practice. One wonders how unique this quintet is, how many other Westerners will follow in their footsteps. (October 31, 2008)
