how 'bout that egypt thing ...

[Thorgnor]

Ghaddafi's latest accusation; that agents of Al-Qaida are putting hallucinogenic pills into the coffee of susceptible young people who are at the head of the "revolt".

Fascinating and evil genius at once.

It may at first sound absurd, but he's playing on some big politics. He simultaneously makes a reference to the feelings of threat felt in the West at the mention of radical Islamic ideologies and people, while playing on a very long train within (and in the West stemming from folktales from Islamic areas) Islamic cultures whereby poisoners, drug-addicts, and radicals become lumped together as "Hashishim" or assassins. This summons the image of Osama Bin-Laden as the personification of the old man in the mountain, or Hassan-i-Sabbah, the first leader of the group now referred to as the Ismaili', often scorned as heretical Muslims in the past. This group held vast political power in the Muslim world and beyond as they were implicated in the assassination of many "Caliphs", from Egypt to Indonesia. The mountain of the tale sits right between Iran and Afghanistan, the seat of shared fear on the part of Westerners, and "good" Muslims at home. Likewise, this plays on the prominent, and often capitalized on divide between Shiite (Iran/Afghan) and Sunni (Libya/Egypt/Bahrain/Yemen), orthodox and kaffir/kufr (heretic).

Impressive convolutions.