Blood in places of worship: A year on massacre of al-Rawda mosque

Ayat Ezz

Today, the first anniversary of the terrorist attack known as the Rawda massacre in Sinai has occurred. A large number of people from North Sinai were killed in the massacre last year when elements of the so-called “Sinai State” (a terrorist organization loyal to Daesh) killed worshippers at the Al-Rawdah Mosque of the Jaririya Method, on Friday, November 23, 2017, and rained a barrage of firecrackers, resulting in the killing of 305 people and the injury of 125.

Following the terrorist attack, the organization published a statement on November 24, 2017 – through a social media network site – threatened the Sufis and described them as infidels and that their blood is wasted and there is no place for their corners in the Sinai, as they put it.

The village of Rawda is one of the villages of the center of Bir al-Abd in Arish, north of Sinai, and one of the small Sinai villages, which mostly work in the handicrafts and various crops, especially the cultivation of dates.

The reason for the name of Al-Rawda is due to the abundance of fruit trees and the abundance of palm trees, in addition to the vast green areas used by the people to graze.

The village of Rawda is known as a Sufi stronghold in the Sinai Governorate, particularly the “Al-Gaririya Al-Ahmadiyya” method of the Al-Rawda mosque, which was targeted by the terrorists a year ago.

Reason for targeting

About 2,500 Sinai people live in the Al Sawarka tribe in Rawda, most of whom frequented the al-Rawdah mosque of the Jarirya method, and is likely to be the main reason behind the targeting of Daesh.

Among the causes of the accident, reported by the French radio Europe 1 are the facts that the incident may be a retaliatory response to the diplomatic and political victories achieved by Egypt during the periods leading up to the attack, including in the foremost the reunification of the Palestinian factions.

Another cause of the attack is the fact that most of the victims are from the Swarka tribe, which has declared its support for the army, police and the government in their war against Daesh during the previous period.

Earlier, the leaders of the tribe said in a statement that they would fight terrorism and its organizations. “In the light of the developments in the Sinai in the face of the terrorist gangs, we have to determine our position on the direct armed confrontation with these tribes and terrorist groups.”

In addition, the Sawarka tribe was described as an expansionist organization in the Sinai, as a cancerous extension of the main organization in the region. It is also one of a series of the vast Takfiri project which aims to destroy the homelands and divide the region into states in which the peoples fight in a sectarian manner.

The tribe confirmed that it would continue to confront terrorism until the final elimination of it. It also announced the formation of a joint central command for tribes working in coordination with the armed forces to change the rules of military engagement with terrorist gangs in cooperation with the army formations in Sinai.