A Unique Revolutionary Flag

This week's blog will be posted ahead of the usual every Friday schedule.  My next blog will be posted on June 10.

News from the Egyptian Street and Media Translated Without Comment from Arabic into English As a Public Service
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On that flag, the Crescent embraces the Cross.  No stars.  It is the flag hoisted by the Egyptian Revolution against British occupation in 1919, after World War I.  That revolution, led by Saad Zaghloul, was inspired by De Valaira, the leader of the Irish revolt against the British at that time.  So the Irish inspired the Egyptians, and Ghandi of India, who led the Indian Congress Party in its pacific struggle against the British, gave Egypt the name of his party, the Congress Party modified in 1919 to the "Delegation", or the "Congress" or the "Wafd" party.  An imponderable revolutionary borrowing between oppressed nations: Irish, Indians, Egyptians. They all succeeded against foreign occupation and exploitation.

The time space between 1919 and 2011 is more than 92 years.  Following the pattern of Tunisia, Egypt with its 90 million people convulsed on January 25, 2011.  The Arab Spring was in full swing, this time revolting against internal dictatorships and corruption.  A new Middle East was being born, and in Egypt, the old flag of the Egyptian revolution of 1919 was resurrected in Tahrir Square: the Crescent was again embracing the Cross. 

That symbolism had a message, not only for Egypt, but also for the whole world: Islam is diversity; and down with Al-Qaeda and terrorism which caused 9/11 and other world calamities!!  The New Renaissance embraces all faiths and the principle in the Quran is: "There is no compulsion in religion.  The right direction is henceforth distinct from error." (Sura II/verse 256).  Enough is enough!! 

With the overthrow of 60 years of military dictatorship, which produced an unintended product, militant Islam, cosmopolitan Egypt is being resurrected.  Not only does the Crescent embraces the Cross.  Old historic Jewish temples are being refurbished.  New churches are being built.  Al-Azhar, that citadel of Islam as a moderate system of beliefs of all Islamic sects for more than 1000 years (built by Shiites) in Cairo, is reassuming its historic independence and interfaith role.  The secular State is asserting itself.

Yet the remnants of the defunct Mubarak regime are still at work.  Attacks on Coptic churches in Cairo and Alexandria have taken place.  Muslims and Copts in Imbaba (an underdeveloped section of Cairo) have resulted in nine fatalities and 119 persons injured (May 12).

Responses of the New Egypt came very swiftly:

• The Women's Rights Coaltion, made up of 21 organizations condemned all attempts to tear at the Egyptian fabric made up of Muslim/Coptic unity;
• Egypt's Mufti, Dr. Aly Gomaa declared at a press conference that a sectarian struggle in Egypt could put the country back 500 years;
• Al-Azhar's Grand Imam, Dr. Al-Tayib, and Pope Shenouda III, the Pope of Alexandria, stressed the historic amity between the Church and the Mosque since the 8th century;
• The Supreme Council of Armed Forces declared that those who are trying to foment sectarian discord would be prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law.
• The Coordinating Committee of the Revolution devoted Friday, May 20 for a "million person" demonstration in Tahrir for "the protection of National Unity."
• The flight of the Holy Family to Egypt was recalled and celebrated.  And the initiative of Al-Azhar, called "The Family's Home" became a national program.

After all, Egypt is the Greek name for the "Land of the Copts."

Egyptian Folklore in Aid of the Revolution

News from the Egyptian Street and Media Translated Without Comment from Arabic into English As a Public Service
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Since time immemorial, folklore has been a powerful popular instrument.  It draws its force from the shared experiences of its public.  This has proven its strength in aiding the Egyptian Revolution of January 25.  Egyptian poetry, chants, jokes, songs, anthems and slogans were all on display at Tahrir Square, Cairo for all the world to see.  That folklore was and shall always be a powerful tool in moving people, especially in this case, the Egyptians from bandage to liberty, from silence to participation, from submission to sovereignty.

So this Friday's blog is dedicated to the beautiful noises which made for the grand symphony of "we are now free!!"  It is a global message which resonates across all cultures, religions, borders, affiliations, governmental systems and even international animosities.  It is the Esperanto [presumed international language] of the Arab Spring and beyond.

Samples:

• IRHAL - in Arabic "BEGONE" - Chanted in unison telling Mubarak and his motley crowd: after 32-years of dictatorship, the game is up.  Go!!
• "AL-SHAAB YUREED ISSQAT AL-NIZAM" - In Arabic: "The people want the fall of the regime."  As it did on February 11.
• "YA TAYYAR YA TAYYAR: MENEEN GIBT SABATASHER MILLIAR?"  Since Mubarak was a pilot, yet allegedly amassed $17 Billion, the chant is: "Pilot, Pilot: How did you get $17 Billion?"
• "Come Back, Mubarak: We were only kidding!"  Mocking Mubarak after his fall by asking him to return because the public was only kidding.
• "Come Back, Mubarak: How are we going to rename 670,000 establishments bearing your name?"  Too much to change all those signs!!
• "Please Return: The loaf of bread is now getting bigger, threatening my plan to lose weight!!"  During Mubarak's time, and as a result of corruption and cronyism, the loaf of bread, a main part of Egyptian diet was getting smaller and smaller.
• "Mubarak, Please, Come Back.  I am now talking freely and I am not accustomed to that."
• "Please Return!! I am afraid that Egypt will forge ahead to become a modern nation."

But one of the best pieces of poetry which emerged was that by Mohja Kahf entitled, "My People Are Rising."  Here is the first part:

My people are rising my people are rising,
with olive branches and song, they are waking;
the earth underneath their marching is shaking;
my people are rising! They are not crouched;
they are not stooping; they are not hungry for bread alone;
we don't want your bread they say, we are hungry for more.

Above everything else, the Revolution taught the Egyptians the love of country, of the flag, of their civilisation, of their diversity, and of their national anthem which begins by: "Biladi, Biladi, Fidak Dammi:" "My Country, My Country, for Thee I Sacrifice!! And their slogan has become: "Love Egypt!!"  There is an Arab proverb that says: "Love of Country is a part of faith."

Mubarak and Sons on Trial

News from the Egyptian Street and Media Translated Without Comment from Arabic into English As a Public Service
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Why is Mubarak and sons on trial in Egypt?  The immediate reason for the detention and criminal investigations of the three most visible symbols of the collapsed Mubarak regime is the theft of public resources.  In my co-authored book (with Kevin Ford and Mark Davies with a contribution by Vincent Green) Law Enforcement and Government Ethics (Praeger, 2000), corruption was simply defined as the conversion of public funds and other resources into private funds and resources.

In 1983, while I was on an assignment to write an article for Forbes magazine on the Egyptian economy, I interviewed Ambassador Frank Wisner, the then U.S. Ambassador to Egypt.  I posed the following question to the Ambassador, "What is the future of U.S. aid to Egypt (then under Mubarak)?"  His short but enlightened answer was, "Egypt has plenty of resources.  Egypt does not need aid.  It needs trade."

With the January 25 Revolution toppling the 32-year long Mubarak dictatorship, the first set of charges levelled by Egypt's Prosecutor General is: "How did you, Mr. Mubarak, on your salary as Egypt's President, amass billions of dollars deposited abroad?"  This is the central charge on which the former President and his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, are being subjected to detention pending investigation before trial.

No other issue has galvanized all of Egypt as seeing the law being applied for the massive corruption engaged in by the ousted regime, including several members of the various Mubarak cabinets.  And anti-corruption measures have also included the abuse of power, police brutality, and the peddling of influence through bribes.

The ecstasy generated by the sight of the formerly high and mighty, wearing prison garb and sitting at the Tora massive detention camp south of Cairo, for their misdeeds is palpable.  In an upper Egypt city of Souhag, nearly halfway between Cairo and Aswan, a popular political figure declared recently, "These investigations and prospective trials have filled our hearts with joy.  They like medals which are now worn by every Egyptian.  Jail is the logical abode for Mubarak."

During my recent visit to Egypt (April 2 to April 22), I delivered a lecture in Arabic before the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, an NGO which I represent before the U.N., New York City.  Most of the questions addressed to me following that lecture were focused on how to undo the great harm done to Egypt for 32 years by the Mubarak regime.  The audience were in a hurry to know, "How can we get our money back?"

That interest, which accurately reflects the spirit of the millions in Tahrir Square and beyond was reflected in headlines of seven daily newspapers of mass circulation in the Arab world.  One of them, Al-Akhbar (The News) headlined in its edition of April 15: "Yassin El-Ayouty of Fordham University School of Law Asserts that Recovery of the People's Stolen Funds Is Not Impossible."  So was the tenor of other news media.

In Al-Ahram newspaper of May 12, that 135-year old newspaper, declared on its front page: "Investigating the Former Minister of Interior Next Week for Illegal Profiteering."  It is therefore expected that the Egyptian media will give prominence to what the New York Times reported, also on May 12, on President Obama's "own impatience" with the fact that "many of these countries remained mired in corruption."  For there is a definite link between corruption and the upheavals now taking place in the Arab world.

Under Construction: Egypt

News from the Egyptian Street and Media Translated Without Comment from Arabic into English As a Public Service
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A secular state is presently under construction in Egypt.  It is a return to a historical status of the pre-Nasser Egypt.  In the new Egypt, following the January 25 Revolution, religion and the state do not mix.  In Tahir, the Egyptian flag of the 1919 revolution against British occupation - a crescent embracing the cross, symbolizing Muslim/Coptic unity - was again raised at Tahrir.  At a meeting between Dr. Abdullah Al-Husseini, Egypt's Minister for Religious Affairs, and the Russian Ambassador, Al-Husseini stated that Egypt is a secular state with religious traditions.  These traditions, the Egyptian Minster added, do not mix religion with the state.

At this transitional period from Mubarak's Egypt to a newly-reconstructed Egypt, the Supreme Council for Armed Forces issued its Internet message No.45.  In it, it warned against Facebook messages with no attribution spreading false rumors aiming at inflaming sectarian strife.  Among the false rumors which the Supreme Council's message is refuting is that some of the January 25 youth are being detained.  In this regard, the Council stressed that the Armed Forces of Egypt, a conscripted army, is the security shield of the Revolution.

Under the leadership of Dr. Abdel-Aziz Higazy, Minister for National Dialogue, and a former Prime Minister of Egypt, 51 national leaders, including some of the January 25 youth, began their work in Cairo.  In a statement to the press, Dr. Higazy defined 5 axes to that dialogue.  These are democracy; human rights; development of human and social resources; development of economical and financial resources; and culture, inter-faith dialogue, and public information.  The aim is to hold these national dialogue sessions to all governorates of Egypt and to translate these findings into national policies.

In his first public statement, Dr. Muhammed Morsi, leader of the new party called "Liberty and Justice," with 90% membership of the Muslim Brotherhood, declared that this new party, which is presently under construction, would be ready to join a future coalition government in Egypt.

An unprecedented meeting took place between the Rector of Al-Azhar, the main religious institution for Islamic learning (established more than 1000 years ago), Imam Dr. Ahmed-El-Tayieb, and the General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood on May 3.  Following that meeting, Dr. El-Tayieb stressed that Al-Azhar aims at unifying the message of Islam to its people and to the world.  He went on to say that Al-Azhar aims at propagating moderation and tolerance, and the elimination of extremist fatwas (religious pronouncements).

The news of the slaying of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan at the hands of the U.S. Special Forces on May 1, were greeted as the most important event in anti-terror activities throughout the world since 9/11.  The main comments on that event was that Bin Laden's rise to notoriety was the direct consequence of dictatorship in the Arab/Muslim region.  But after a decade has passed since 9/11, a new type of youth arose in that region leading to the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and elsewhere.  The new generation, using social information technology had as a global objective, not terror a la Al-Qaeda, but the Rule of Law and states based on democratic principles.  The popularity of Bin Laden had drastically waned even before his demise.