FCN EDITORIAL
November 30, 1999

Accept no scapegoats in EgyptAir crash

The Western media is at it again. This time it�s a story of suicide. It�s a story of a 59-year-old Muslim and father of five who�after 38 years of meritorious service in which he trained many other pilots and nearing retirement�allegedly decides to end his life and that of 227 others. Reason: extreme financial difficulties and a daughter�s failing health.

In a country like the United States, where suicide is customary for failed material acquisition, such story is believable. But for a country like Egypt, with the lowest suicide rate in the world, such story calls for very close scrutiny.

Suicide in Egypt, in line with Islamic doctrine, is widely regarded as a sin. In 105 countries whose suicide rate was examined by the Geneva-based World Heath Organization�s Mental and Behavior Disorders department, Egypt scored the lowest. Out of a 64 million population, the number of suicide cases rose from 41 in 1992 to 75 in 1995. The belief that only non-believers commit suicide is very strong in this Islamic-influenced society.

But an apparent prayer uttered just before EgyptAir flight 990 fatally plunged from 33,000 feet is being translated by the U.S. media as an indication of suicide.

While officials searched for answers to why the Boeing 767 jet suddenly crashed into the ocean with no apparent mechanical problem and no distress call made, they are believed to have concluded that co-pilot Gameel El-Batouty deliberately crashed the Cairo-bound plane Oct. 31 in a suicidal act.

Mr. El-Batouty was earlier widely quoted in the Western media as saying, just before the fatal dive, "I made my decision now. I put my faith in God�s hands." The first sentence was later discovered not to exist on the flight tape recorder. The question then is, Whose concoction was that statement?

While the answer to this question may never be found, it is another display of the Western media�s zeal to seize upon every opportunity to launch its vitriolic attack on Islam and Muslims. It is another example that when and where Muslims are concerned, media responsibility and ethics are thrown out of the window.

The second sentence, "Tawakaltu ala Allah," a common statement of conscious Muslims in times of crisis, uttered as testament of faith in Allah�s (God) ability to control the emergency, was translated to be a signal of a sadistic mind. While on one hand Muslims who read such preposterous claim in the media laugh at their blatant ignorance, on the other they realize the media�s attempt to exploit a tragedy and to besmear the more than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide and the Egyptian people in particular.

In the final analysis, one must wonder if the rush to take a criminal approach to this tragic incident has to do with protection of corporate greed; an attempt by an American institution to protect the bottom ine of a giant American company�Boeing�from any responsibility. After all, shortly before it was announced that the F.B.I. might be called in to take over the criminal investigation of the crash, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board met with Boeing officials.

While the focus now is on Mr. El-Batouty, investigators must not neglect or refuse to acknowledge all other possibilities.


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