Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit, which aired on Channel 1, Egyptian TV, on March 11, 2010.
Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit: In my opinion, there is no problem between Egypt and Qatar.
Interviewer: You said that Egypt’s problem is with Al-Jazeera TV, which is a Qatari channel.
Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit: Egypt’s problem is with this channel that constantly looks for things that displease Egypt. If we have a garbage problem – [Al-Jazeera] is the only channel that discusses it. Personally, I believe that the problem lies with the people who run this channel, and I know the reason for this.
Interviewer: What is it?
Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit: Both of us know who runs this channel. It is run by a person who is very close to a specific Arab ideology, which opposes any position that Egypt takes.
Interviewer: What Arab ideology? That of the Muslim Brotherhood?
Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit: Maybe, and maybe even [the ideology that says] that armed struggle is the only path available for the nation, even if this entails the killing of every single person in the land of Egypt. Let this channel talk as much as it likes. They Egyptian people are very smart, and many people in Egypt have said that they have stopped watching this channel because it is not objective enough.