On a barren hill in Sharm el-Sheikh, not far from the famous beach resorts with their bikini-clad patrons, Islamist activist Ahmed Saber ponders the fate of revealing swimwear if his party comes to power.
The swimsuit has been at the center of a growing debate over the Islamists’ plans for tourism, one of Egypt’s key currency earners.
Speaking to reporters at a voting station, Saber seeks to present a liberal outline of his party’s position on the bikini.
Photo: Reuters
“You’re free to do as you please as long as you don’t harm me,” he said.
The Sharm el-Sheikh tour guide then goes on to explain that: “Some sights might harm me. For example, women wearing bikinis on the street. There are special places for bikinis.”
After decades of repression by a secular police state, the Muslim Brotherhood grouping finds itself fending off questions about its plans for beach resort mainstays like bikinis and alcohol — considered to go against Islam by some.
With ultra-conservatives poised to play a big role in parliament during an economic crisis, the Islamists’ thoughts on what tourists may wear or drink are being scrutinized amid fears they will harm the country’s vital tourism industry.
The Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), poised to win the most votes in the country’s first election since former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in February, has promised it would not hurt tourism.
However, some of its candidates have exacerbated the fears with pledges to ban alcohol or bikinis on beaches, forcing their leaders to backtrack.
Essam al-Erian, the party’s vice president, said the FJP would no longer comment on bikinis.
“It’s a ridiculous question. -Tourism can’t be considered in terms of bikinis or such matters,” he said.
The party’s candidate in Sharm el-Sheikh, Ahmed Qassim, also appeared wearied by the topic. He said he has repeatedly assured voters the Islamists would encourage tourism.
“We are with tourism, and we are not against personal freedoms,” he said.
However, along the beaches, hotel workers said they were worried, particularly about ultra-conservative Salafis who won more than 20 percent of the votes in the election’s first two rounds.
“People are very worried,” said Ahmed, while approaching sun bathing guests to offer them massages at the hotel. “Especially by Al-Nour [the main Salafi party]. With the Brotherhood, at least we can have a discussion.”
“But the Salafis are different. They are used to sitting in mosques saying: ‘God commanded this, and the Prophet commanded that.’ And now suddenly they are involved in politics. It won’t work,” Ahmed said.
The country has seen a near 30 percent drop in tourist revenues last year, the government says, as sporadic and sometimes deadly -political unrest dominated the news. Roughly 10 million tourists visited the country last year, according to government statistics. The decline has been felt more in Cairo and Luxor, which house ancient Egyptian artifacts.
Much of Sharm el-Sheikh’s hotel workers vote back home, in provinces like Cairo or Beheira, and some said they voted for the Brotherhood.
“I voted for the Muslim Brotherhood. I don’t think they will ruin tourism,” said Yassir, standing at a beach kiosk handing towels to guests. “They are flexible. They have been in politics for a long time.”
Egyptian Minister of Tourism Munir Fakhry Abdel Nur, who has been drawing up plans to revitalize the industry, brushed aside an Islamist threat to tourism.
“Those people are backtracking. They are changing their discourse. And even if they are not, it’s easy to speak when you are out of power. But when in power, there is responsibility and accountability,” he said. “I don’t think you can do without tourism in Egypt, that can easily reach 25 million tourists in five years.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of