From Harrods to the pyramids

NEWS about Qataris wanting to buy the Egyptian pyramids was heavily circulated, and before that, it was said they had also made an offer to the businessman and deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Khairat Al-Shater, to purchase the Suez Canal. Although this news was denied and alleged to be rumors, it is certain that the Egyptian government is now facing a financial crisis to an extent that it is looking in its files to retrieve every dollar it can get, even if it includes reconciliation with persecuted and imprisoned businessmen on charges of corruption and others.
Hypothetically, the news of the new bids does not seem strange in light of this globalized world. Egyptian businessman Mohammed Al-Fayed had bought Harrods, the most important store in Europe and a historical British symbol. He had managed it for quarter of a century, before selling it three years ago to Qatar at about £ 1.5 billion. So what is the problem if the Egyptians sell the Suez Canal or the pyramids to Qataris who have enough dollars to solve the deficit problem of the Egyptian government’s treasury?!
In fact, it is easier to imagine New York City selling the Statue of Liberty, or even the French renting out the presidential Elysée Palace, yet it is impossible to imagine that the Egyptians want to sell the Sphinx or any other historical monument.
Egypt is now going through a political transition that is witnessing conflicts between civil forces, as well as Egyptian people being very sensitive when it comes to foreign ownership matters. We must not forget that the Egyptian opposition had made the government’s life during Mubarak’s reign a living hell because it decided to sell the country’s iconic Omar Effendi department store chain! Even the Muslim Brotherhood that was in the opposition back then blamed Mubarak, although it was just a shop and a losing trading company. The Brotherhood is now accused of being worse than Mubarak in offering historic Egyptian treasures at commercial auctions.
The Suez Canal represents the history of the conflict in Egypt and the control over its land and properties. It is natural for Egyptians to get suspicious and angered about the idea of its sale, though we are in a globalization era where there are less commercially sacred properties. Suez Canal was a French engineer’s project in the eighteenth century under the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, who wanted to shorten the distances and control over the maritime navigation that was the main European colonial activity in the world. The project was also a French political move against the British, and the digging process was not completed until the second half of the nineteenth century in a deal where France can operate the Suez Canal for 99 years. Digging the canal and its inauguration in 1869 was one of the greatest events that changed the balance of trade and contemporary history.
Due to their debts, the Egyptians were forced later on to sell their shares in the canal to the British, and then the military conflict on the waterway began, and the British colonizer brought its troops to control the entrances. The situation got more complex after the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, and after Egypt’s refusal to allow the Israelis to use the canal. Eight years later, Israel, Britain and France attacked Egypt under the pretext that Egypt increased the fees of passing through the canal, and that it is politically controlling the navigation, so the Egyptians responded by sinking 40 ships in the canal and then closed it.
The rest of the story is known and therefore it is difficult to imagine that Qatar can manage the Suez Canal; it is not Harrods, and Qatar does not have Dubai’s experience, which is successfully operating many worldwide ports.
Although selling the pyramids and renting the Suez Canal are just ideas or rumors, perhaps, they reflect, in fact, the greatest problem that is facing the government in Egypt: The great economic crisis. Feeding 80 million people a day is an overwhelming mission.
The Brotherhood got to power from prisons and opposition sentiments in the streets, this is why it does not know much about economy or the state administration, thus we do not know how they will manage a state like Egypt that is burdened with commitments, while the group is at odds with the revolution’s partners, and their longing for power is shining bright. The Brotherhood wants control over the presidency, the government, and the parliamentary and judicial councils.