A blast in Khan Khalili

First of all, my condolences to the family of the French teenager who died from the bombing in Cairo and all those injured. But here I sit, stalling in tomorrow's lesson plan to get something off my chest: May there be a special level in hell for the mindless terrorists. What does this accomplish? Making tourists think twice before they hit "book" on the flight to Cairo? Reducing Cairo itineraries to three days instead of four out of fear from going to one being blown to bits in one of the most fun markets to haggle for cheap goods? Leaking dollars away that are depended on for the biggest source of foreign money in Egypt, which directly keep a class of people from plummeting into poverty? Political analysts will be quick to assert that terrorism in Egypt is not uncommon,  and tourists are the frequent target from those who are upset with the government, yet these bombings are part of small groups who are unorganized in their demands. And for what? The government will crack down harder in this "emergency state," the tourist money will decrease, and the life for many in some form or another will get worse. No one cheers at this unbridled and inexplicable hate wrongfully taken out on the innocent. And worse off, nothing will be done to address the root of the grievances. Higher walls will be built, greater mistrust will ensue; from the outsiders towards Egyptians, from the Egyptians to their government which cannot provide safety, and from the people here, who will pay the price of someone else's Finally to all those who can look at an event like this and say how it fits in with the dogma "not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims," whoever did this, in fact betrayed their religion, and the ignorance and poverty in which they live is a horrible thing.



Inside al-Azhar mosque, the Mosque across the street from the bombing. A true place of peace...