Cairo (AA) - “Rabaa sign” done by raising four fingers has become the symbol of the massacre in Egypt and Rabaa al-Adawiya Square where the anti-coup protests take place.
“Rabaa” meaning four or the fourth in Arabic has become the sign of anti-coup protests in Egypt. Just a few hours before the massacre on August 14, anti-coup protesters in Egypt tried to voice their demands to the world by raising their four fingers.
Rabaa al-Adawiya Square, being as famous as Tahrir Square in Cairo due to resistance of hundreds of thousands of anti-coup protesters going on for more than two months, has witnessed one of the gravest massacres of recent years. Besides being a grave for hundreds of people of whose has not been clarified yet one of the less known peculiarities of the square also came out.
The Square was named after a religious woman called Rabaa al-Adawiya. Since Adawiya was the fourth child of the family the Arabic adjective “rabia” is told to be affixed to her name. The fame of the name is said to come from her challenge for freedom all her life. Together with the anti-coup protests the meaning of this name gave birth to a new symbol. The anti-coup protesters in Rabaa al-Adawiya raise their four fingers making “rabaa sign” both in order to refer to the name of the square and in order to distinguish themselves from the pro-coup protesters in Tahrir Square making victory sign by raising their two fingers. The rabaa sign has gradually become common in Egypt during the protest and has come to be used as common as victory sign.
AA correspondent went to Rabaa al-Adawiya Square on August 13, and covered the news on the issue.
The anti-coup protesters stated that the rabaa sign, besides being the symbol of anti-coup, carries some other implications as well.
One of the protesters stated that rabaa sign refers to the name of the square, distinguishes them from the supporters of the military coup in Tahrir Square and it also refers to the fact that Mohammed Morsi is the fourth president of Egypt after Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters were shouting slogans, and making rabaa sign to the Anadolu Agency objectives. However, unfortunately just a few hours after these pictures taken by Anadolu Agency the harsh intervention of army took place and hundreds of people were killed.
-Will it be the new victory sign of Islamic world?-
Silence and indifference of western countries concerning the massacre in Egypt brought up discussions on many western values and symbols, particularly democracy. Many western concepts such as “popular will, democracy, human rights, and media ethics” began to be questioned. Even the symbol known as victory sign made by two fingers is now questioned. The proponents of military coup and Gen. al-Sisi gathered in Tahrir Square make victory sign thus as an alternative to Tahrir people in Rabaa al-Adawiya protesting the military coup do the rabaa sign by four fingers. It is said to be the new symbol for the Islamic world.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
