Which is more dangerous to Egypt, Israel or Iran?

An elderly playwright has the answer, and bravely says so live on Egyptian television:

‘Neither.  Poverty and the lack of freedom are the most dangerous to Egypt.’

[Watch the video, translated by MEMRI-TV]

Playwright Ali Salem is correct.  Almost half of Egyptians live on less than $2 a day, and bread rations have reportedly been cut to three small pita loaves.

What flicker of political freedom may have appeared with the toppling of Mubarak has vanished, as the Muslim Brotherhood and salafists seized the parliament and the presidency, with President Mohammed Morsi granting himself near-dictatorial powers late in 2012.  Now, with the populace chafing under Morsi’s new tyranny, the streets threaten to burst into mob violence once again.

Yet the Egyptian media prefer hurling demagogic invective towards Israel to solving their internal problems.  The Al-Kahera Wal-Nas TV host who questions Mr. Salem accuses him of betraying the ‘millions of martyrs’ who fell trying to wipe out the Jewish state.  The two men are seated on a stage reminiscent of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire,’ and the tone approximates an interrogation.  Cartoonishly menacing music plays in the background, while a buzzer sounds and a red ‘X’ appears each time Mr. Salem gives a ‘wrong’ answer that condemns Iran or refuses to endorse Egyptian jihadists.

Unfortunately Salem’s voice is lampooned by the media.  It is drowned out by those who are younger, who scream louder, and fight harder in the streets.  And they have no intention of fixing Egypt, only destroying Israel.

What is most dangerous to Egypt?  Political Islam, and the self-destructive politics and economics that inevitably follow in it’s wake.