Lies My Teacher Told Me

In yet another “Egyptian style” blog post, I was appalled at the level of lies that a lot of students of the Middle East have been told regarding the history not only of their region, but also of the world in general. So here are a select few myths (read: lies) that I have heard while here in Cairo, either from locals or from students:

1) Myth: “During the October War of 1973 [The Yom Kippur War to Israelis and the West], didn’t the Egyptians surround the Israeli forces when they were en route to Cairo and the Egyptians would have won the war had the U.S. not intervened?”

Truth: First, the Israelis decimated the Egyptian forces at the Suez upon their retaliation where they actually marched onwards towards Cairo. It was only after pressure from the U.S. and other Western powers that the Israelis stopped 101 kilometers from Cairo and returned to Israel. Clearly if Israel had been near defeat, how would they end up retaining the Sinai Peninsula until peace was signed with Sadat in 1977? October 6 is seen as a national holiday around here because the Egyptians broke the Bar-Lev line, an impenetrable defense border, but everyone tends to forget that they lost the war… both groups claim success but logic would tell any educated individual that Israel won the war.

2) Myth: “The CIA of the United States is behind the assassination of Anwar Sadat.”

Truth: Well this is a rather sticky subject and as much as I don’t want to get my blog taken down and/or get taken to a secret Egyptian prison where I will most likely be tortured (I kinda hope Egypt signed the Geneva Convention Accords), I think it is safe to say that paramilitary forces within the Egyptian military took the initiative by themselves. There is a video of the assassination itself. I mean clearly Jimmy Carter enjoyed chilling with Sadat at Camp David, but why would anyone, the United States included, jeopardize peace in the region by calling for the assassination of a President of a friendly republic? Let alone the President of a nation that just signed a peace agreement with your best friend.

3. Myth: “I hear, in America, that in order to vote, you have to pass a test about Christianity. Why can’t we do that here [about Islam]?”

Truth: Separation of church and state. Separation of church and state. Separation of church and state. I have no friggin’ idea where you got this from, but I cannot even begin to answer it. The right to vote is guaranteed by the Constitution; the right to vote cannot be “denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty one years of age, and citizens of the United States” under the 14th amendment, with further provisions, including giving women the right to vote (Amendment 19) and those of eighteen years of age (Amendment 26), so I have a moderate feeling that a test about Christianity is a crock-load and whichever bright educator relayed that wonderful fact was only trying to further their own agenda of preaching his or her own religion as a basis for an opinion regarding Islam’s role in government.

4. Myth (my favorite): “The American government is a monarchy. It has gone Bush, Clinton, Bush and now it is time for Clinton again. I think it says something like that in the Constitution.”

Truth: I am not even going to explain. Figure it out, folks.