“The security agencies in Egypt now face a mammoth task as they are dealing with an unprecedented phenomenon,” said Rashwan.

CAIRO, May 1, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Growing frustration, piecemeal reforms and the current political turmoil in the region are the main culprit behind the series of blasts that rocked Egypt recently, disturbing eight years of tranquility, Egyptian experts have said.

“The suicidal nature of the two Cairo blasts yesterday is unprecedented and reflect the multiplying sense of desperation and frustration among many Arab youths,” Diaa Rashwan, an expert in Islamist groups, told IslamOnline.net Sunday, May 1.

“It is almost the first time to hear about Egyptian suicide bombers, whether acting alone or along with umbrella organizations.”

A suicide bomber struck Saturday, April 30, at foreign tourists near Egypt's most famous museum while his sister and his fiancée opened fire at a tourist bus in attacks that left all three dead and injured seven people including four foreigners.

Rashwan said reports that the bomber was aged 47 should really sound the alarm.

“It indicates an age shift from youths to frustrated older generations,” he underlined.

Ammar Hassan, another expert, also blamed increasing dissatisfactions with the social, political and economic situation in the country.

“Millions of Egyptians are feeling socially alienated and complain of social and political injustice which eventually lead to frustration,” he added.

The expert cited, as a case in point, the widely seen pre-election interview by President Hosni Mubarak to the Egyptian television last week which did not live up to the expectations of the Egyptians.

“The Egyptian people pinned high hopes on the president’s surprises in his seven-hour interview, which proved later a mirage,” he told IOL.

Rashwan, meanwhile, expected more violence to follow.

“The Cairo blasts and the April 7 suicide bombing in Islamic Cairo usher in the return of terrorist operations,” he opined.

On April 7, a man killed himself and three tourists when the bomb he was carrying exploded among a group of tourists in the historical Al-Azhar district downtown Cairo.

Last October, at least 34 people, including several Israeli tourists, were killed in triple bomb attacks on the Hilton hotel Taba and two nearby resorts in the Sinai Peninsula. More than 10 were wounded.

Egypt has enjoyed tranquility for the past years after a series of a more deadly attacks, mainly targeting tourists, across the country in the 1990s.

The experts feared that the attacks would give authorities an excuse to crack down on reform rallies.

The two Egyptian experts agreed to a security handling of the issue would not bear fruit.

“They can’t predict or thwart such attacks,” Rashwan said, adding that the security mindset that obsess the Egyptian authorities will not do this time.

“The security agencies in Egypt now face a mammoth task as they are dealing with an unprecedented phenomenon.”

Hassan agreed that the crackdown raids by Egyptian police will be part of the problem not the solution.

“This (attacks) is the work of embryonic groups influenced by the Jihad group and a grim reminder of dozens of extremist groups that surfaced in 1980s.

“They all lack a specific agenda but are focused on one goal, which is to carry out such bombings,” he told IOL.

Rashwan, meanwhile, ruled out the possible involvement of the Islamic Jihad or Al-Jama Al-Islamiya, which both eschewed violence after a string of deadly attacks on tourists.

“Such incidents are very much connected with the current chaos in the region, and growing hatred for foreigners in particular and the Americans in general following the US-led invasion of Iraq,” he said.

Scaling Back Reforms

The two experts also feared that the attacks would give a pretext to Egyptian authorities to drag their feet on the reform process.

“Demands for the annulment of the emergency law, reforms and the right to demonstrate will now be put on the back burner,” Hassan said.

Street demonstrations are banned in Egypt under the emergency laws that have been in place since president Anwar al-Sadat's assassination in 1981.

However, protests against the extension of Mubarak’s rule hit several Egyptian cities and universities over the past few months.

The protests, spearheaded by the Kefaya (enough) Movement, have also broken down a fear of criticizing Mubarak, ruling Egypt uncontestedly since 1981.

Rashwan added that such attacks would throw a spanner in the reform wheel.

Hassan said the Egyptian government should enter into dialogue with moderate Islamists like the Muslim Brotherhood if it really wants to rein in extremists.

“I think the regime has no option but to carry on with the much-needed political reforms, which picked up steam recently,” he added.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which has been banned since 1954, has 16 deputies in Egypt’s 454-member parliament, making it the main opposition force in Egypt.