Rabaa is a national issue

It has been three years since the worst massacres witnessed by Egypt in its modern history; massacres that cause the human conscience and the free world to ache. The Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda Square massacres resulted in the unlawful killing of thousands of Egyptians. Words cannot describe what happened to make people commit such awful atrocities; they are people with no conscience, religion or honour. The massacres will remain as a disgrace that tarnishes Egypt and all Egyptians, with no exception, regardless of whether they supported the killings — and thus have no integrity or sense of humanity — or whether they wept over the killing of their fellow citizens whose lives were taken away for no other reason than that they demanded their rights. Indeed, the latter are still paying the price.

If we reflect on the following Qur’anic verse — “And beware of that temptation to evil which does not befall only those among you who are bent on denying the truth, to the exclusion of others; and know that God is severe in retribution” — we will discover that the warning about the blood that was shed wrongly during the Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda massacres is meant for everyone.

On that day, the masks of humanity and nationalism worn by many who we believed to be good were cast aside; we saw them encourage and cheer the killers and rejoice in the deaths and burning of bodies. We also saw them berate and insult the dead.

They said that the Rabaa Al-Adawiya massacre was just an event in history, but it has now become a global symbol that elevates some people and reduces others. It has also become a curse that has plagued all of those who killed, blessed, supported and authorised the killings; even those who remained silent in the face of such gross injustice.

Egyptians are now asking and wondering why such devastation has hit Egypt over the past three years; what are they being weighed down by? Where have all their smiles gone, to be replaced by frowns? Why don’t God’s blessings reach them any more? The answers lie in the Quranic verse I quoted; God’s retribution can be in this life as well as the next.

Rabaa is a heroic and epic event, not merely an injustice. It is the epic struggle of a people who took to the streets to demand their rights that were seized forcibly from them. It is the story of a nation of people who wanted freedom and rejected slavery; a nation who wanted to live with dignity and pride, not humiliation and defeat. All they had in the face of oppression was Allah’s Book, but they were met with violence at the hands of their own national army, whose duty is to defend the people of Egypt, not shoot them down.

Although we do not know what the future holds for any of us, we can say with conviction that after those massacres, things are never likely to be what they were before 14 August 2013.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.