Quote Originally Posted by Fragony View Post
It has nothing to do with Egypt being a dictatorship, you probably know that but just can't help yourself.
To be fair, the phenomenon to which Hortore alludes is a valid point regarding dictatorships. Whether explicitly cultivated as in the Nazis or semi-happenstance as were the periodic Tsarist pogroms against Russian Jews, or the Japanese treatment of Koreans between 1925 and 1945, a dictatorship DOES benefit from having an out-group to pick on. This lets the lower echelon vent frustrations without endangering the elite. The concept is an old one, and is simply a variant on the circum side of the panem et circum recipe.

Doesn't make these episodes in Egypt any less "muslim v. non-muslim" but is worthy of factoring in when analyzing.