Pakistan, Egypt, Frankenstein Matters

Pakistan Egypt

Frankenstein Matters

To Benazhir Bhutto, an Islamic moderate and Lewis Awad, a moderate Arab Coptic Christian, the name Frankenstein mattered. If the dates associated with the novel ‘Frankenstein’ and attacks by Al Qaeda are compared there is a pattern targeting major Capitols, the UN and India.

When In 1993 Benazir Bhutto President of Pakistan was attacked by the key perpetrators of the World trade Center attacks it was a hate crime against moderate Islam. In 1996 When the Taliban and Al Qaeda under the guise of rage blew up Buddhist statues it was a hate crime against India and its religion and helped train future attackers. The attack on 9/11 marked the beginning of a campaign that is a hate crime against Coptic Egyptians and modern societies that subscribe to the principles of an enlightened population and constitutional governments based on the informed consent of the people.

Frankenstein the name, is associated with the Promethean gift of knowledge and creation of life both its German origins and Mary Shelley’s use of the name in her title. A young Mary Shelley published ‘Frankenstein’ sub titled ‘A Modern Prometheus’ the same year her husband Percy considered an influential writer and intellect published ‘Prometheus Unbound’ . Percy also published a book titled ‘The Revolt of Islam’ in 1818. His wife’ novel ‘Frankenstein‘, contains a story within a story about Safie. A tragic story of a bride to be and Islam

On Oct. 11, 2001 a tribute was paid to Lewis Awad a Princeton scholar and a native Egyptian Coptic Arab on the tenth anniversary of his death. His work ‘Prometheus Unbound’ was posthumously published for the occasion and presented to scholars from around the Arab world that attended the event held in Egypt. Awad wrote about Frankenstein in a Saud I Cairo University Bulletin in 1951 and is cited in the Oxford edition of Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ in the Selected Bibliography. Awad is interested in the thematic history of Prometheus and Frankenstein and is a spokesperson for the Arab Christian intellect as an editor and poet and scholar in Egypt and sometimes Damascus. The Sept. 11, 2001 attack led by the Cairo University Egyptian hijacker Mohamed Atta also targeted the moderate Arab scholars, gathered to celebrate Arab intellectual achievements. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, Atta dictated the dates for the attack on NY and the US capitol. Much of the Extremist Ideology and those connected with al Qaeda are associated with Egypt and attended University in Egypt.

Sayyid Qutb an Egyptian writer is cited by 9/11 C.R. research as the Ideological inspiration for Bin Laden and his Egyptian brothers that founded Al Qaeda. Qutb was imprisoned by the Egyptian Government in the early 60’s by Nasser, and executed by the Egyptian Government in 1966 becoming a martyr for extremist Islamic fundamentalist’s like Bin Laden.

Lewis Awad was imprisoned by the Egyptian government under Nasser accused of being a Communist. Sadat also imprisoned Awad but released him and gave him an award and he went on to have an influential career. Sadat was assassinated by Islamic fundamentalists an act cited in studies on the extremism underlying Al Qaeda. To Egyptian extremists, the Frankenstein and Promethean scholar Lewis Awad ,was an Arab Christian that championed education and scholarship. During his lifetime he received condemnation by religious extremists for being a non Muslim and writing about Islam.

Bhutto took Frankenstein from the academic world to the political arena when she became the first woman leader of an Islamic country Pakistan in 1989 and began labeling Bin Laden and others religious extremist as Frankenstein’s. In 1993 Ramsi Yousef attacked the World trade center the same year he and his Uncle KSM (involved with the 2001 attack) tried to assassinate Bhutto. In 1998 Bhutto wrote a letter on official stationary to the President of the US with the title containing the label Frankenstein and the text expresses the irony that the US was bombing empty barracks constructed by the US and used by Bin Laden hence she labels Bin Laden as a Frankenstein that needs to be dealt with. Bhutto used the label Frankenstein in her writings, speeches and in her memoirs published posthumously after her assassination in 2007.

In 1996 a web site was established which claimed to want to encourage the Taliban to make contact with the Afghanistan government other sites contained logistics and still others encouraged tourism they all contained the name Frankenstein and Afghanistan for the addresses. In 1996 “Afghanistan Today” was registered as Afghanistan/Frankenstein World Web. By 1998 we were sending bombs to empty barracks and the Frankenstein addressed web pages went on to promote tourism featuring sites from antiquity. Bhutto’s 1998 use of the label Frankenstein is more profound in light of the use of the label in Afghanistan Today web site and ironic.

Lewis Awad the scholar teaching in Egypt and writing about Frankenstein and Prometheus and Bhutto are like bookends. From 1998 and the letter with Frankenstein in the title to Oct. 11 2001 the ceremony honoring the tenth anniversary of Awad’s death, bookend a metaphor telling of the motives of Al Qaeda. The fuel Behind Al Qaeda and its start are militarized fundamentalists in Pakistan, Egypt and Israel. They assassinate their leaders that desire peace and in the case of Israel have a history going back to 1949 of acts of violence against the UN.

Evidence of Israel policy fueling radicals is hard to over look and Israel’s desire to control more territory is the same as other religious fundamentalists like Al Qaeda with desires to create or expand religious empires. All the countries with dates of attacks chronicled in Frankenstein have to deal with their militant religious fundamentalists including the US within their borders. When hate crimes are exported or they become international like Al Qaeda, then countries must work collectively. Israel is in a position to starve the monster of religious extremism let loose by the US, Egypt, Pakistan, and Israel in the 1980’s. They set the table for the rise of Al Qaeda and Bin Laden. Discouraging the use of religious extremism as a tool used by governments or political parties, as a weapon to promote political agendas is far more effective than bombs or walls. The key to a civil society is not in silencing extremism or dissent but in not intentionally militarizing them. The lesson of Frankenstein matters and should enlighten those that desire a way to combat the ideology of Al Qaeda.