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Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, which aired on Future TV on January 6, 2008
:Naguib Sawiris: In my opinion, the fundamental problem of our region is the surge of religious sentiment. I am not against religion, but I am against any exaggeration. I am not saying that religion is exaggerated, but anything intensified beyond its limits can be harmful, including religion. I do not like to be with religious extremists of any faith. I like to be with enlightened people. The issue of... People might claim that there is a clash of civilizations, but our problem is that extremists have begun to take the fate of the Arab and Islamic nation into their hands, and to lead it to destruction. These are the people who believe that hijacking an airplane and killing 3,000 people in America is an act of heroism – simply killing 3,000 innocent people... A man sitting in his office, and all he wants is to return to his family... This is a criminal act, just like the woman who walked into a wedding in Jordan, saw a woman about to get married and start her life, and children running around, and then she detonated her explosives belt. You tell me, how can any of this be justified? It cannot. Those people who blow themselves up, killing innocent people, believe that they are going to Paradise as martyrs – no, they will be severely punished by God, because even in Islam, suicide is forbidden and is considered heresy.
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I was sick and tired of watching on TV footage of suicide, blood, and cried of "you will end up in Hell," and so on. I have become really tired of all of this. I'd like to turn on the TV, and watch a beautiful woman singing, or watch light shows, young people talking about the Internet, about computers, about the latest cell-phones, and talking calmly about the situation in Egypt. I'd like to criticize the reality in Egypt. My TV station [OTV] mostly criticizes our conduct, rather than the government. I would like my country to become the best in the world, and Egypt has full potential to achieve this.
[...]
Interviewer: People say that you maintain close ties with the American administration, and as a result, you have immunity and you are not afraid of anyone. Is this true?
Naguib Sawiris: I am not afraid of anyone, because I believe that God is with me. As for my relations with the American administration – what is the structure of this story? I think I am one of the very few Arab businessmen who speak openly about their love for American culture, American society, American capitalism, American cinema, and the American legal system... In America, the president is held accountable, and if he lies, he can be impeached. This is a different kind of society, an open society. As far as I am concerned, this society... Where do I disagree with them? We disagree on one fundamental issue. They demonstrate great political stupidity, like in the case of Iraq. In certain conflicts, they are not neutral. In the Arab-Israeli conflict, they are totally biased. Their bias is irrational and not objective and therefore, they lose their credibility. We must draw a distinction between the American people and the American president, between the American system and the American president, and between American foreign policy and America as a whole. In the Arab world today, if you want to get applause and be a hero, all you need to do is to curse America and say it is the Great Satan, and talk about Israel, and so on... It has reached the point that whenever we have a problem, we immediately blame Israel and America. No problem can ever be our own fault. If you tell me that Israel and America are responsible for the problem in Lebanon, I will say that they are not. The problem of Lebanon is not Israel and America. They are part of the problem, but part of it is internal-Lebanese, and another part is non-Arab.
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