Tuesday, 23 December 2008
By Mohammad Salah
The incident took place about a decade ago. It was a normal day for press officials, which began with reading newspapers, learning about the most recent events and preparing the daily news program, when the telephone rang. On the line was an "important" official who offered his greetings, then asked about a journalist who worked at the newspaper. The newspaper's office manager asked, "Why, has something happened to him?" The official reassured the manager that the journalist was just fine, then asked the manager to come to his office, to talk about something concerning the journalist, which could not be discussed on the telephone. Despite the insistence that he just wanted to offer reassurances about the journalist, the official also insisted that the discussion take place in his office. Of course, our friend did not hesitate; he drove to the office of the official, who greeted him warmly with a smile whose meaning became clear later. Our friend sat down, consumed by worry and confusion, and asked about the matter at hand. The official replied by asking, "Was your colleague tasked with conducting an interview with the sheikh of al-Azhar, Dr. Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi?" The manager said yes, and that the appointment was scheduled for that morning. Our friend then asked the official, "Has something happened? Did the journalist go too far with the sheikh?" The answer: "No, on the contrary, all of your people are polite, well-behaved and professionally qualified. Your colleague actually had an interview with the sheikh but it seems that the debate became heated, and a small problem happened at the end." Of course, our friend then became suspicious, expecting that something had befallen the journalist and that he was "in a safe place," which the expression usually used to describe the condition of some detainees. So, our friend asked quickly, "Where is he now?" The official answered that he was in the Darb al-Ahmar police station, in the middle of Cairo. Our friend thought the journalist had been accused by the sheikh of al-Azhar, or another state official, of a specific crime, so he asked, "Why was he detained and under what charge?" The official reassured him, smiling, and said, "Your colleague has not been accused of anything, but is pressing charges, this is all." He then told him what happened, from his point of view:
"The dialogue was taking place, calmly and normally, and before the end the journalist asked the sheikh about why he had received Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau in his office. Sheikh Tantawi became upset and saw the reason behind the question as hinting that the sheikh had made a mistake, especially since a big campaign had been waged against him in the opposition press over this meeting. He got a bit sharp with your colleague, who left al-Azhar for the police station, since he wanted to write up a complaint against the sheikh." The official added that the circumstances and the position of the sheikh did not allow for a complaint to be written up in a police station, and that the journalist now had to be convinced to drop the idea.
After a long discussion, our friend and the official went to the police station and the journalist told the same story. However, some of the details differed, such as with regard to the "sharpness" of the sheikh; Tantawi ordered his office guards to get back at the journalist for merely asking the question that made him so angry. After being on the receiving end of some "sharpness," the marks of which were visible on his body, the journalist was miraculously able to escape. The story ended and our friend convinced his colleague that what happened was part of the price a journalist must pay to carry out his work. A little "sharpness" let him score a good "scoop."
I recalled this incident after the recent debate that has dominated Egyptian circles ever since the publication of photos with Sheikh Tantawi and Israeli President Shimon Peres, when they were at the recent interfaith conference in New York. The sheikh responded to criticisms of him by using sharp language that stoked the campaign against him. He announced that "I do not know whether there is a siege of Gaza," adding that shaking the Israeli president's hand was not a reason for maintaining or lifting the siege. Two days ago, the sheikh returned to the topic of the siege, asking the world's leaders to intervene to help the Palestinians and pressure Israel to lift the blockade. Dr. Tantawi's comments are drawing attention and praise from some of the media, which find them to be material for heavyweight journalistic sensationalism. However, the sheikh's verbal sharpness has always increased the anger and controversy around him, which causes him to respond with even sharper remarks. This is the relationship between some media and the sheikh of al-Azhar: one of sharpness and taking things too far.
Al-Hayat
December 14,2008
