MEMRI, 7 May 2010: The May 1, 2010 Times Square bombing attempt received little attention in the Arab world. There were no official condemnations of the incident, and the Arab press published only a handful of op-eds about it. Al-Masaa, the evening paper of the Egyptian government daily Al-Gumhouriyya, published an article that not only failed to condemn the bombing attempt, but criticized the U.S. for making a “huge fuss” over it and claimed that the U.S. perpetrates greater crimes “against the peoples of the world.”

On the other hand, an editorial in the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh called on the Muslim world to condemn the attack, because acts of this sort contravene the precepts of Islam, and also because their repercussions harm Muslims worldwide. The liberal website www.elaph.com posted a provocative article by Iraqi columnist Khudayr Taher, who called on the Western countries to treat all Muslims with suspicion, and to take firm precautions against anyone who seems dangerous – even at the cost of infringing on democratic freedoms and human rights – in order to protect their citizens from terror. . . .

. . . . “America is home to about seven million Muslims. Most of them, even if they are not terrorists, do harbor hostility towards the U.S. and feel no loyalty to it. As an Arab and Muslim, [I tell you] that it is difficult to find a Muslim who loves America; those [who do] constitute a tiny minority among all those millions. . . . .