Egypt has been rattled by two sets of terrorist attacks in the past few days; one sequence of bombings in the resort area of Dahab three days ago, and today two suicide bombers blew themselves up near security forces. There is, for sure, no lack of purpose or symbolism that accompanies these attacks. It is an attack on the tourism industry, and by extension, any Muslim that is making disposable income and is enjoying life (as most of those injured were Muslims). It is also an attack on the Mubarak regime’s legitimacy.

Attacking the tourism industry is a favorite for terrorists in Egypt. The industry to date makes up about 10% of the country’s GDP, supplying many well-paying jobs and small businesses for Egyptians. It is the top source of drawing foreign currency as well. What’s most interesting is that more Muslims than ever are visiting the resorts of Sinai for vacation, and given the death toll, more Muslims were killed than foreigners.

The attacks, to a degree, were against Westerners. The Egyptian economy has liberalized significantly in the past several years, so a shock to tourism won’t affect it as much as it would have in the past. People are also used to the idea that terrorist attacks can occur, and every indication shows that if there is a drop in tourism at all, it will be incredibly slight.

But they weren’t the main target. The terrorists were targeting their own people. They don’t want Muslims to have money and spend that money. That’s why they target the Egyptian economy. They want people to stay poor and stupid as they advance their agenda, because as people are able to make more money, they tend to drift away from their traditional beliefs. Islamic radicals wouldn’t be able to flourish in an environment like that. So what do they do? Set off a few bombs to warn the rest of them that they shouldn’t attempt to make progress.

Symbolically the attack is also an attack on President Mubarak’s regime. The promise of having such an authoritarian government, in which the emergency laws have effectively for decades suspended civil liberties, is that it will be able to provide absolute security against such attacks. Yet the Sinai Peninsula is a haven for Islamic radicals and terrorist attacks. That the terrorists were able to so easily bypass the security regimen deals a huge blow to whatever legitimacy Mubarak has left, as people will see the increasingly moronic reason for continuing the emergency laws.Perhaps it is no coincidence that the attacks of the past four years — at Taba, Sharm el-Sheik, and Dahab — have all occurred on national holidays.

The sad squalor that everyday Egyptians live in, combined with their increasing frustration with the Mubarak regime, all add up to the rising prominence of Islamist groups in the country. Mubarak allowed the Muslim Brotherhood to take 1/4 of the seats in last year’s parliamentary elections, but as it became apparent that they would win many more, he cracked down on them. Solely as an alternative to Mubarak, they are much popular than imagined. The problem is that not only are the terrorists’ actions helping to promote them upward, but so are Mubarak’s.

Of course, Mubarak thinks he can dupe the West by pointing to their rise and presenting it as proof that we need to support him. What really needs to happen is Mubarak needs to liberalize the economy and bring in more investment as quickly as possible while relaxing the security regime. He also needs to stop mindlessly cracking down on liberal forces in the country. If he actually did this, then he’d be worth supporting.