Last Friday, Egyptians were surprised by news from Sinai about an attack on a mosque. At first, no one realised the extent of the disaster, but the picture soon became clear. More than 300 people were killed in an attack on a mosque in the village of Rawda, the worst terrorist atrocity in the history of Egypt. Although no one has claimed responsibility for the incident, fingers are pointing to the emergence of an ISIL-affiliate in Sinai.
The mosque is located in the village of Rawda, known for its affiliation with the Sufi sect of Islam, and as the birthplace of Sheikh Eid Al Jariri, the founder of the Sufi line of Jarirism. Sufism is an Islamic approach based on asceticism and love of the divine and love of beauty. Sufis have many practices considered by Islamic hardliners as a kind of polytheism.
Clashes between Salafism and Sufism go back a long way, but reached a peak during the brief reign of former president Mohammed Morsi when many mausoleums and shrines visited by the Sufis were destroyed.
With the emergence of ISIL in Sinai, the clash took a more violent course. In 2015, leaflets were distributed in Rafah calling on the people to leave the Sufi groups and stop what was described as violations of Islamic legislation. Afterwards 12 people were kidnapped from a shrine associated with the Alawi Sufi group, south of Rafah. The kidnappers demanded the dozen’s repentance before their release. Eventually, Sufi sheikh Suleiman Abuhraz was kidnapped and slaughtered as a punishment for what the hardliners described as atheistic practices.
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But the main reason to believe that the ISIL-affiliated group Sinai Province is behind last Friday’s attack is the direct and explicit threat, which was voiced by the emir of the Centre of Hesba in Sinai in an interview published last year in a publication affiliated with ISIL. In the interview, he explicitly threatened the "Jarir line" in the village of Rawda if they did not end what they do and return to true Islam. According to the people of the village, they have received more than one threat in the last two weeks for the same reasons cited in the interview. Above all, the Sinai Province group believes the Sufis are loyal to the army.
So far, the ISIL affiliate in the Sinai has not commented on the attack, whether to claim responsibility or deny it. Previously, the organisation has denied operations attributed to it and since it has so far not been denied, this confirms the suspicion that they are either the culprits or at least one of the toughest wings within it. The Sinai Province group are unlikely to declare if an internal hardline sub-group is responsible, fearing further schisms within.
Apart from the province of Sinai, a statement was issued by Jund Al Islam, which is affiliated with Al Qaeda. The statement was issued immediately after the incident and included a condemnation of the attack on the mosque, announcing it was not their act. They also stressed they hold the blood of civilians sacred.
The statement of Jund Al Islam casts light on another conflict taking place in Sinai between armed organisations. Recently, as ISIL in Syria and Iraq weakened, their affiliate in Sinai also weakened because of successive Egyptian army strikes. This weakness lured Jund Al Islam to attempt to take their place and pull the rug from under their feet.
Jund Al Islam has been active in Sinai since 2012. It declared responsibility for blowing up the gas line between Egypt and Israel more than once and carried out an attack on the headquarters of military intelligence in Rafah in 2013, killing six soldiers and wounding 17 others. At a certain point, the success of ISIL forced other organisations to join forces with it. But after the current weakness of the organisation, the map of the jihadist forces is changing within Sinai and the forces are becoming increasingly fragmented and complicated.
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Jund Al Islam's audio statement indicated the beginning of fighting between armed organisations inside Sinai, as the ideological dispute between them deepened. Unlike other groups, the Sinai Province group targets anyone who cooperates with the army, soldiers or civilians. In addition, ISIL does not adopt an emotional or nationalistic rhetoric to attract the public while Jund Al Islam focus on this, whether by declaring love and fear for the people or talk about national issues such as supporting the Palestinian cause and providing for the people of Gaza.
Tribes of Sinai find themselves on the line of fire as rifts emerge between Al Qaeda and the Sinai Province group and even appear within the Sinai group itself. The confederation of Sinai tribes issued a statement calling on "all men and youth of Sinai tribes to join their brethren in the area of Al-Barth to coordinate a major operation with the army to completely end the Province of Sinai". The tribes declared that they will carry arms in coordination with the army to burn terrorists in this world before the afterlife.
The Egyptian army did not comment on the announcement of the tribes. This means that the situation in Sinai will become more complicated and bloody as tribes decide to take up arms to punish an armed organisation. Concurrently another armed organisation declares war on the first. In short, we are talking about civil strife about to break between ISIL and Al Qaeda, and in the background we have the statement by the Egyptian president that the state will respond "with brutal force". All indicators show the scene has become extremely complicated.
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”
Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The biog
Age: 19
Profession: medical student at UAE university
Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe
More Expo 2020 Dubai pavilions:
Dubai World Cup prize money
Group 1 (Purebred Arabian) 2000m Dubai Kahayla Classic - $750,000
Group 2 1,600m(Dirt) Godolphin Mile - $750,000
Group 2 3,200m (Turf) Dubai Gold Cup – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Turf) Al Quoz Sprint – $1,000,000
Group 2 1,900m(Dirt) UAE Derby – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Dirt) Dubai Golden Shaheen – $1,500,000
Group 1 1,800m (Turf) Dubai Turf – $4,000,000
Group 1 2,410m (Turf) Dubai Sheema Classic – $5,000,000
Group 1 2,000m (Dirt) Dubai World Cup– $12,000,000
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Eriksen 80')
Inter Milan 0
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Get inspired
Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day food products that may or may not go the distance (but have got the internet talking anyway).
Sourdough sentiments: Marks & Spencer in the United Kingdom has introduced a slow-baked sourdough loaf dusted with flour to spell out I (heart) you, at £2 (Dh9.5). While it’s not available in the UAE, there’s nothing to stop you taking the idea and creating your own message of love, stencilled on breakfast-inbed toast.
Crisps playing cupid: Crisp company Tyrells has added a spicy addition to its range for Valentine’s Day. The brand describes the new honey and chilli flavour on Twitter as: “A tenderly bracing duo of the tantalising tingle of chilli with sweet and sticky honey. A helping hand to get your heart racing.” Again, not on sale here, but if you’re tempted you could certainly fashion your own flavour mix (spicy Cheetos and caramel popcorn, anyone?).
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
2024%20Dubai%20Marathon%20Results
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