VZCZCXRO1417
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHEG #6043 2700713
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 270713Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1650
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS CAIRO 006043 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM EG
SUBJECT:  GOE PULLS FOREIGN PAPERS FOR CRITICIZING ISLAM 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶1. (U) Liberal independent daily al-Masry al-Yom reported September 
25 on its front page that Minister of Information Anas El Fiqqi 
prevented the local distribution of issue no. 19324 of the French 
newspaper Le Figaro; issue no. 216 of the German newspaper 
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; and issue no. 14 of the weekly 
edition of the British newspaper, The Guardian.  Post has no record 
or recollection of a similar instance of the Ministry of Information 
pulling copies of western newspapers since the late 1990s.   At that 
time, then-Minister of Information Safawt El Sherif occasionally 
ordered the confiscation of copies of foreign publications which 
criticized the Egyptian President or contained articles deemed 
objectionable by the government. 
 
¶2. (U) The ostensible reason given for the seizure of the three 
papers was that they had "published articles denigrating Islam and 
claiming that it was spread with the sword."  El Fiqqi reportedly 
said that he would not allow any publication disparaging of Islam or 
instigating hate and contempt against any religion to be distributed 
in Egypt. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Le Figaro's article, at least the internet version, was 
highly inflammatory and would almost certainly be considered 
offensive by the majority of the Egyptian public, as well as in the 
rest of the Islamic world.  The case of the Guardian article was 
much less clear cut.  The only article we were able to identify in 
the Guardian that might have prompted the seizure was one by an Arab 
researcher at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London 
which criticizes the Pope's statements about Islam.  We do not know 
the basis for the seizure of the issue of Frankfurter Allgemeine 
Zeitung. 
 
¶4. (SBU) COMMENT:  The Pope's remarks provoked a firestorm in the 
Egyptian press, and all Cairo papers published the specifics of what 
he said, along with stinging commentaries.  Since the Pope's words 
are already in circulation, we find it strange that foreign 
newspapers, read almost exclusively by expatriates, should have 
attracted the ire of the Ministry of Information for publishing the 
virtually same information and commentary as the Egyptian papers 
did.  In the case of the Guardian, part of the problem might have 
been that in making points that most Egyptian commentators would 
agree with, the author also said "Islam is still perceived as...the 
embodiment of evil," words too strong to be printed, even in a 
foreign language publication.  The case of the Figaro article is 
more clear cut, however, as that article was significantly more 
inflammatory.  The action may also be a belated effort to "get 
ahead" of public outrage at the Pope's remarks and to stake out a 
position of solidarity with the masses, timed to coincide with the 
beginning of Ramadan. 
 
RICCIARDONE