AP: Interview with the Egyptian mother of an alleged terrorist

Interview details...

By PAKINAM AMER,
Associated Press Writer
CAIRO, Egypt (AP)_ In a five-floor building in the popular Sayyeda Zeinab neighborhood ofCairo, Kawthar el-Sayyed was visited by relatives who rushed to her door after hearing that her son Omar Ahmed Abdullah Ali was accused of bombing a Qatari theater, killing one British man and wounding several people.
According to el-Sayyed, who was dressed in black, she was onlyinformed of the attack through the newspapers. Her relatives said theydid not want her to know.
"We heard of the attack yesterday, we came to see her but we did nottell her what happened since she has high-blood pressure. We did not know what it would do to her," said her veiled sister, who would notgive her name and who, like almost everyone in the apartment, was dressed all in black.
After word of the attack, el-Sayyed and other relatives said theytried to reach Ali or his Qatari wife, but failed. "All the cellularphones are switched off," one of his female relatives said.
Abdullah, who left Egypt 12 years ago, first moved to Saudi Arabia where his sister and her husband lived. After spending a year in Saudi, where he tried to set up a small business but his computer store failed, he went to Qatar to stay with an older brother who works in the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera television station. He did not visit Egypt after leaving in 1992.
After his father's death five years ago, his mother lived alone, occassionaly visiting her sons in Qatar. "I used to go to Omar during Ramadan and I would stay with him and his family ... for about two months. He would take me to Omra (minor pilgrimage) during that time," el-Sayyed said, her eyes welling with tears.
She said her son had three children, whom he loved and would not abandon by carrying out such an attack. She said he never spoke about holy war or suicide. "He prays and fasts just like any regular Muslim. He didn't even have a beard as the newspapers said," she added.
El-Sayyed held out hope her son's name had come up by mistake. She said four Egyptian police officers searched her apartment on Sunday,leaving without taking anything away.
"I do not believe he did it," she said. "Whoever did the attack mighthave stolen his car or stolen his name."
The sound of Quran filled El-Sayyed's apartment. Her neighbors occassionaly passed by or came for a short visit expressing their compassion, while wearing black dresses and scarves. The smallbuilding was quiet and nothing could be heard from the otherapartments.
As more reporters came to talk to El-Sayyed, she became moreemotional. She refused to speak any more words, her last were "God will get us back our right". She slammed the door shut, while her crying and screaming echoed in the building.

Associated Press writer Nadia Aboulmagd contributed to this report.