Islamic law equates in many respects between men and women. Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, encouraged women to offer counsel at his councils. Article 4 of the Egyptian Constitution of December 2012 provides for: "Equality before the law and equal opportunities for all citizens, men and women, without discrimination or nepotism, especially in the areas of education, employment, political rights..." The majority of the drafters of that historic document were Islamists.
Women have spearheaded the revolution of January 25, 2011. They were in Tahrir Square and in field hospitals. They were the cheerleaders for the rebellion against Mubarak; the attackers of the security forces. Some of them were martyred, while other women became graffiti artists. In their long robes, and in western attire, women stood for hours to cast their votes enthusiastically.
In the early days of the revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis stayed on the sidelines for 3 crucial days. It was only on January 28, 2011, that advance elements of the Islamists, seeing these millions in every public square in Egypt clamoring for the Dictator's downfall, joined in. The occasion was the infamous "Battle of the Camels" when Mubarak's thugs thought that fear was a winning tactic. It backfired, and a few days later, Mubarak was history.
While in Cairo last December observing the process by which the Egyptian Constitution was approved, I interviewed women revolutionaries. These included young women pilots who fly for Egyptair. What a jump in the status of women in the new Egypt. No longer are women "half the sky"; they seem to be destined to be "most of the sky."
There is even a "Voice of Egyptian Women," an informal advocacy group that, to quote from their petition to Egyptian President Morsi and to the Cabinet of Dr. Qandeel, "wishes to promote and safeguard the rights and interests of Egyptian women."
Then suddenly, the new Egypt seems, especially as of 2013, to speak about the status of women through two uncoordinated voices. At a panel organized in early February in connection with the 44th Cairo International Book Fair, veiled women, representing the Islamists, insisted that "the status of women in the new Egypt was better than before." But the non-veiled participants, representing the secularists, the liberals and the Copts, countered that "the new regime has taken Egyptian women back to the dark ages."
These contradictory statements were followed by pointed accusations by the liberals that women have become the targets of sexual harassment aiming at preventing them from participating in demonstrations and other activities of political involvement.
The door to an ugly deterioration in gender equality and to the enhancement of women's role in Egypt's political life was suddenly flung open -the rise of rape and sexual assaults. The clarion was sounded on Egyptian TV by Ms. Hania Moheeb. It was a first in the Arab world for a rape victim to appear for all to see describing in details her ordeal. That defiance of social taboos was made the more historic by the appearance of Ms. Moheeb's husband next to her to lend support. "She did nothing wrong!!," he declared in defense of his spouse.
Hania detailed to the entire Arab world how a group of men attacked her during a public protest. The Egyptian National Council of Women declared that by its count, there were 18 such cases which were tallied by other human rights groups. Ms. Moheeb, 42 years of age and a journalist, made of her ordeal a cause celebre in order to graphically describe the breakdown of social order in generally conservative Egypt.
Hurriedly, the Morsi government embarked upon drafting legislation to criminalize sexual harassment. Whether that measure shall cure the problem remains to be seen. But what Hania Moheeb has done by going public with the full backing of her husband is akin to an earthquake which collapsed the wall of silence. At a recent women demonstration, the marchers held long knives above their heads and chanted: "Don't worry about us. We are armed." Raping women in the new Egypt is tantamount to raping the Egyptian Revolution.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
Tunneling Under the Walls of Egyptian Sovereignity
The walls of sovereignty are mythical. But in international law they are real whether they are between the borders of the State of Arizona, and Mexico, or between Sinai of Egypt and Gaza of Hamas.
Due to the Israeli blockade around Gaza, the Gazans have dug up hundreds of tunnels through which all kinds of goods are smuggled. From cars to cement; from vegetables to armament; from person to equipment. However, it seems that Egypt's tolerance of these very lucrative tunnels, lucrative to Palestinian tunnel owners and diggers, has now come to an end.
From the succession of events and the official and non-official declarations of the Egyptian armed forces guarding Sinai, it appears that secular Egypt under Mubarak had turned a blind eye to the tunneling under Egypt's sovereign boundaries. By contrast, the leadership of Egypt's armed forces does not entertain such tolerance. Sinai has become a priority security concern.
President Morsi has deep Islamic (Muslim Brotherhood) roots. Thus he may have been expected by Hamas, an offshoot of the Brotherhood, to be in favor of the tunnels even more than before. Events are now proving the contrary, at least as far as the armed forces are concerned. Their primary duty is to ensure secure borders, and the tunnels are nothing but a form of invasion.
The attack on Egyptian armed forces in the Sinai region late last year resulted in the death of 16 armed forces personnel and a greater number were injured. "Intolerable and shameful" screamed the Egyptian media. And now the finger of accusation is pointed by the armed forces to suspects from Gaza.
The main headline in Al-Ahram newspaper which speaks for the Government headlined on Tuesday, March 19, "The Army Fortifies Sinai." Then, in a sub-heading, it added "Unprecedented Security measures. The arrest of 3 Palestinians accused of unlawful entry." The Governorate (Province) of North Sinai has recently been flooded by heavy equipment for the destruction of the tunnels leading from Gaza into Sinai. We have also been witnessing large concentrations of armed forces and police personnel in that region. The change of military uniforms of the Third Egyptian army which is based in Sinai, had been the result of impersonating these forces.
Egypt's armed forces have discovered large quantities of the cloth from which Egyptian army uniforms are made. Those goods were about to be smuggled through the tunnels from Rafah, Egypt, into Gaza. That discovery was followed by a stern warning by the armed forces against insinuating persons bent upon creating mischief into Sinai. The immediate background of that episode was a deadly clash against the police during the civilian uprising in Port Said. During that clash, shots were fired which were later falsely described as clashes between the army and the police. Nonsense!! --said both the army and the police. The engagement included persons dressed in Egyptian army uniforms.
General Osama Askar, commander of the Third Army declared that army uniforms have been changed to foil the plots of smugglers who use the tunnels to create conflict between the army and the Egyptian masses, or between the army and the police.
Questions about the Egypt vs. Gaza case arose also on the diplomatic front. It seems that General El-Sisi, Egypt's Minister of Defense, has refused to see Khalid Meshaal, Hamas political chief, when he was recently in Cairo. The media attributed this rebuff to the still to be proved involvement of Hamas operatives in the murder of those 16 Egyptian army personnel, last year. The Egyptian street is abuzz with the rumors that El-Sisi has vowed to bring those accused of that heinous aggression at the Egyptian-Gaza border to justice.
Thus when Ismail Haniyah, head of the so-called Gaza government, called for security coordination between Hamas and Egypt, his call fell on deaf ears in Cairo.
The Arab Spring has brought about an Egyptian regime with an Islamic orientation. But Islamism on one side of the border does not translate into a religious/ideological orientation on the two sides of that border. The sovereignty of Egypt is standing in the way of such a coalition based on religion. The hundreds of illegal tunnels between Rafah (Egypt) and Gaza seem now to be doomed. They have stood for underpasses which in effect undermined Egypt's control over its troubled border to the east.
Due to the Israeli blockade around Gaza, the Gazans have dug up hundreds of tunnels through which all kinds of goods are smuggled. From cars to cement; from vegetables to armament; from person to equipment. However, it seems that Egypt's tolerance of these very lucrative tunnels, lucrative to Palestinian tunnel owners and diggers, has now come to an end.
From the succession of events and the official and non-official declarations of the Egyptian armed forces guarding Sinai, it appears that secular Egypt under Mubarak had turned a blind eye to the tunneling under Egypt's sovereign boundaries. By contrast, the leadership of Egypt's armed forces does not entertain such tolerance. Sinai has become a priority security concern.
President Morsi has deep Islamic (Muslim Brotherhood) roots. Thus he may have been expected by Hamas, an offshoot of the Brotherhood, to be in favor of the tunnels even more than before. Events are now proving the contrary, at least as far as the armed forces are concerned. Their primary duty is to ensure secure borders, and the tunnels are nothing but a form of invasion.
The attack on Egyptian armed forces in the Sinai region late last year resulted in the death of 16 armed forces personnel and a greater number were injured. "Intolerable and shameful" screamed the Egyptian media. And now the finger of accusation is pointed by the armed forces to suspects from Gaza.
The main headline in Al-Ahram newspaper which speaks for the Government headlined on Tuesday, March 19, "The Army Fortifies Sinai." Then, in a sub-heading, it added "Unprecedented Security measures. The arrest of 3 Palestinians accused of unlawful entry." The Governorate (Province) of North Sinai has recently been flooded by heavy equipment for the destruction of the tunnels leading from Gaza into Sinai. We have also been witnessing large concentrations of armed forces and police personnel in that region. The change of military uniforms of the Third Egyptian army which is based in Sinai, had been the result of impersonating these forces.
Egypt's armed forces have discovered large quantities of the cloth from which Egyptian army uniforms are made. Those goods were about to be smuggled through the tunnels from Rafah, Egypt, into Gaza. That discovery was followed by a stern warning by the armed forces against insinuating persons bent upon creating mischief into Sinai. The immediate background of that episode was a deadly clash against the police during the civilian uprising in Port Said. During that clash, shots were fired which were later falsely described as clashes between the army and the police. Nonsense!! --said both the army and the police. The engagement included persons dressed in Egyptian army uniforms.
General Osama Askar, commander of the Third Army declared that army uniforms have been changed to foil the plots of smugglers who use the tunnels to create conflict between the army and the Egyptian masses, or between the army and the police.
Questions about the Egypt vs. Gaza case arose also on the diplomatic front. It seems that General El-Sisi, Egypt's Minister of Defense, has refused to see Khalid Meshaal, Hamas political chief, when he was recently in Cairo. The media attributed this rebuff to the still to be proved involvement of Hamas operatives in the murder of those 16 Egyptian army personnel, last year. The Egyptian street is abuzz with the rumors that El-Sisi has vowed to bring those accused of that heinous aggression at the Egyptian-Gaza border to justice.
Thus when Ismail Haniyah, head of the so-called Gaza government, called for security coordination between Hamas and Egypt, his call fell on deaf ears in Cairo.
The Arab Spring has brought about an Egyptian regime with an Islamic orientation. But Islamism on one side of the border does not translate into a religious/ideological orientation on the two sides of that border. The sovereignty of Egypt is standing in the way of such a coalition based on religion. The hundreds of illegal tunnels between Rafah (Egypt) and Gaza seem now to be doomed. They have stood for underpasses which in effect undermined Egypt's control over its troubled border to the east.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Whatever You Do In Tahrir or Elsewhere, Do Not Mess with the Armed Forces!!
On March 14, Egypt's Minister of Defense, General Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, issued another warning to the demonstrators and conflicted political forces in his country. As usual, the warning was indirect, but could not be misunderstood. "We are going to confront anyone who threatens Egypt's peace or Egypt's army!!"
Expanding on this verbal shot across the bow of the street forces which has disrupted life and normalcy in Egypt, El-Sisi, who was addressing Egyptian border forces, added: "The armed forces have been working at their highest levels of fighting preparedness for the restoration of the country's sovereignty, the guarding of its territorial and sea boundaries, and the rebuffing of everyone who might even think of threatening Egypt's peace or the security of its armed forces."
El-Sisi was not only addressing Egyptians. He was also baring the teeth of Egypt's army, a huge professional force whose traditions go back to Muhammad Aly, the founder of modern Egypt in 1805, to all other Arab nationalities involved in the smuggling into and out of Egypt of arms, drugs and humans. Against that geostrategic background, the General promised continued modernization of the border forces, stretched from the borders of the Sudan (south), to Libya's (west), to the Mediterranean (north), to Gaza's and the Red Sea (east).
The armed forces had contributed massively to the destruction of the Mubarak regime through telling the dictator that they belonged to Egypt, not to its President. Thus they could not open fire on the Tahrir demonstrators who were shielded by their national army from destruction. Egypt was neither Libya under Qaddafi, nor Syria under Assad.
By the same token, the armed forces, in their oath of service, do not pledge loyalty except to "Egypt and the Armed Forces." This is not the oath of a sectarian army, or of a militia, or of an Islamist force or of a secular force. It is a pledge to serve Egypt as a whole. That is especially so under the new Constitution of November 2012 which provided for a special status for the armed forces, under a system of civilian oversight.
The gist of all those declarations was "DO NOT MESS WITH THE ARMED FORCES!!!" The results were nearly immediate:
Expanding on this verbal shot across the bow of the street forces which has disrupted life and normalcy in Egypt, El-Sisi, who was addressing Egyptian border forces, added: "The armed forces have been working at their highest levels of fighting preparedness for the restoration of the country's sovereignty, the guarding of its territorial and sea boundaries, and the rebuffing of everyone who might even think of threatening Egypt's peace or the security of its armed forces."
El-Sisi was not only addressing Egyptians. He was also baring the teeth of Egypt's army, a huge professional force whose traditions go back to Muhammad Aly, the founder of modern Egypt in 1805, to all other Arab nationalities involved in the smuggling into and out of Egypt of arms, drugs and humans. Against that geostrategic background, the General promised continued modernization of the border forces, stretched from the borders of the Sudan (south), to Libya's (west), to the Mediterranean (north), to Gaza's and the Red Sea (east).
The armed forces had contributed massively to the destruction of the Mubarak regime through telling the dictator that they belonged to Egypt, not to its President. Thus they could not open fire on the Tahrir demonstrators who were shielded by their national army from destruction. Egypt was neither Libya under Qaddafi, nor Syria under Assad.
By the same token, the armed forces, in their oath of service, do not pledge loyalty except to "Egypt and the Armed Forces." This is not the oath of a sectarian army, or of a militia, or of an Islamist force or of a secular force. It is a pledge to serve Egypt as a whole. That is especially so under the new Constitution of November 2012 which provided for a special status for the armed forces, under a system of civilian oversight.
The gist of all those declarations was "DO NOT MESS WITH THE ARMED FORCES!!!" The results were nearly immediate:
- The mutiny within the ranks of police officers evaporated.
- All police precincts and related offices were back to work.
- The Minister of Interior pledged better armament and other equipment to the police forces.
- The chaos in Port Said which needed intervention by the armed forces came to an abrupt end.
- The calls on El-Sisi to assume power disappeared. That call by the secularists for an army coup was disregarded.
The public seems to have awakened to a central fact of Egypt's difficult transition to democracy: The armed forces were not going either to replace the police or to stage a coup. The armed forces were not going to be manipulated by the new political forces continually contending for power in the new Egypt.
Commenting on the return to near normalcy to the Egyptian Street, Muhammad Hassanain Heykal, the writer/statesman of the Nasser era, and the oracle of Egypt at that time said:
"The religious and the secular forces in Egypt, being on a collision course, have realized that the armed forces have refused to be dragged in the quagmire of the politics of the public square. But if public safety and the functioning of the State are in peril, then the armed forces will come to the rescue."
An Egyptian Republic of Port Said? You Must Be Crazy!!
The Port Said declaration of independence from Egypt is the latest dangerous turn in Egypt's transition to democracy. And the call by that presumed minister on the Minister of Defense, El-Sisi, to assume its presidency is nothing but a provocation of the military. It is a hoax which puts the entire Arab Spring to the test, not only in Egypt but also throughout the Arab world.
The anger shown by the fans of Port Said's soccer team, El-Masri, at a court decision in Cairo that 21 of those fans should face capital punishment may be understandable. The accused have been inculpated in the wanton death of 74 fans of the rival El-Ahli team of Cairo at the end of a game in Port Said. With the judiciary in Egypt being at loggerheads with the regime of President Morsi, attacking the court decision in this case, commonly called "the Port said massacre," seemed to fit in with the present pattern of chaos in Egypt.
At Port Said, as well at the other major cities on the Suez Canal, the protection of safe international passage through the Canal has always been the responsibility of Egypt's armed forces. But as the inhabitants of Port Said rose up in indignation against the judiciary, the dangerous by-product has been the prolonged attacks by the public on nearly all government installations. The police cannot cope with that massive surge of lawlessness. So the army is now filling the security gaps left by the yet-to-be reorganized police and security forces in the post-Mubarak era.
Unfortunately, things did not stop there. Both the army and the police came under fire emanating from the throngs besieging government and private installations and other properties. On its Facebook page, the Ministry of Interior which is in charge of the police issued a startling declaration on March 4. It claimed that unknown persons are trying to sow armed conflict between the police and the army. Some members of those forces were injured in that spasm of indiscriminate shootings.
In such a situation, Egypt's armed forces could not possibly stand idly by. This claimed provocation has come on the heels of arsoning of the Port Said Governerate Building by the mob using Molotov cocktails. Until now, the casualties have been 3 dead and more than 400 injured. Two army soldiers died as a result of these uncontrollable clashes. In the meantime, the spokesman for the armed forces, Ahmed Muhammad Aly, denied the rumors that police elements and armed forces elements were locked into battle against one another in Port Said.
Even without these clashes, Port Said has witnessed for the past 3 weeks a state of civil disobedience. As a result, most of the city's productivity has come to a standstill. The only activity which has proceeded unabated is the throngs of unemployed marauding in Port Said, shouting against the Morsi regime and against the country's miserable economic situations.
Manifestations of the persistent chaos of revolutionary Egypt abound:
The anger shown by the fans of Port Said's soccer team, El-Masri, at a court decision in Cairo that 21 of those fans should face capital punishment may be understandable. The accused have been inculpated in the wanton death of 74 fans of the rival El-Ahli team of Cairo at the end of a game in Port Said. With the judiciary in Egypt being at loggerheads with the regime of President Morsi, attacking the court decision in this case, commonly called "the Port said massacre," seemed to fit in with the present pattern of chaos in Egypt.
At Port Said, as well at the other major cities on the Suez Canal, the protection of safe international passage through the Canal has always been the responsibility of Egypt's armed forces. But as the inhabitants of Port Said rose up in indignation against the judiciary, the dangerous by-product has been the prolonged attacks by the public on nearly all government installations. The police cannot cope with that massive surge of lawlessness. So the army is now filling the security gaps left by the yet-to-be reorganized police and security forces in the post-Mubarak era.
Unfortunately, things did not stop there. Both the army and the police came under fire emanating from the throngs besieging government and private installations and other properties. On its Facebook page, the Ministry of Interior which is in charge of the police issued a startling declaration on March 4. It claimed that unknown persons are trying to sow armed conflict between the police and the army. Some members of those forces were injured in that spasm of indiscriminate shootings.
In such a situation, Egypt's armed forces could not possibly stand idly by. This claimed provocation has come on the heels of arsoning of the Port Said Governerate Building by the mob using Molotov cocktails. Until now, the casualties have been 3 dead and more than 400 injured. Two army soldiers died as a result of these uncontrollable clashes. In the meantime, the spokesman for the armed forces, Ahmed Muhammad Aly, denied the rumors that police elements and armed forces elements were locked into battle against one another in Port Said.
Even without these clashes, Port Said has witnessed for the past 3 weeks a state of civil disobedience. As a result, most of the city's productivity has come to a standstill. The only activity which has proceeded unabated is the throngs of unemployed marauding in Port Said, shouting against the Morsi regime and against the country's miserable economic situations.
Manifestations of the persistent chaos of revolutionary Egypt abound:
- The Egyptian International Council for Human Rights addressed a call to General El-Sisi to assume supreme power in Egypt until the country transitions from the present upheaval to stability. This is obviously a call for unseating President Morsi.
- Fifteen thousand forms calling on El-Sisi to lead the country have been distributed to the inhabitants of other cities, like Ismailia and Port Said.
- Calls for civil disobedience have gone out to the inhabitants of major cities like El-Mansoura and Alexandria.
- Clashes between the demonstrators and the security forces continued in Cairo and centered on the area of international hotel chains, such as the Semiramis in Cairo.
- The general parliamentary elections which were scheduled to take place this April throughout Egypt for the lower Chamber have been postponed by a judicial decision.
- Earlier in March, the secularists staged noisy demonstrations against what they described as the "Islamization" of the Egyptian armed forces, and for the removal of President Morsi, and the nullification of the new Constitution
- Throngs surrounded the statue of the unknown soldier in Cairo on a Friday called "Support the Armed Forces Friday." Women and Copts were in the lead of those vociferous demonstrations.
Friday, March 1, 2013
The Question That Needs to Be Answered in Egypt: What Does the Word "DIALOGUE" Mean?
Time for a simulation exercise in the art of dialogue between the Islamists and the secularists in the new Egypt. The January 25, 2011 Revolution is broken. Its only hope for repair, which is the only road to a successful transition to democracy, is through reaching an important understanding. That is an understanding of what the word "dialogue" means.
So here we go with an imaginary setting. We prepare a conference room with a long table and several comfortable chairs lined up on the two sides of that table. Please do not forget to place the same number of seats for each side. We think that 12 seats for the Islamists and the same number of seats for the secularists would suffice. Oh!! Don't forget to place bottled water and flowers and pads and pens for the participants. No recording please. Only one flag, the flag of Egypt, shall be placed behind the moderator of this imaginary dialogue.
The participants enter the conference room. Instinctively the Islamists, in long robes and overgrown beards, seat themselves on the right; the secularists, equally divided in number between men and women in various attires, are now seated to the left. Whispers amongst each group abound until the moderator gavels the conference to order, then begins:
Moderator: "In the Name of God, the Merciful and the Compassionate!! Brothers and sisters: we are here today to help the new Egypt move forward. I wish to thank the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis for calling for this dialogue with their opponents, whom I also thank for agreeing to attend. I now call on the Islamists to briefly state their case."
Islamist: "Our country, Egypt, is beloved by all of us. We won the parliamentary elections and also the presidential elections. The goal of the Egyptian Revolution is to attain democracy and development. We did not stage a coup. We now govern Egypt under a new Constitution approved by a majority. Our brothers and sisters across the table from us do not like the results of the ballot box. They are trying to prevent Egypt from going forward."
Secularist: "The Islamists are trying to steal our Revolution. They were not at the frontlines in Tahrir Square on January 25, 2011. They only came in from the cold when they found us, both Muslims and Copts, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, winning..."
Another Islamist (interrupting): "This is nonsense!! These are blatant lies. They..."
Moderator: "You are interrupting her. Let her make her case. Let her..."
A third Islamist: "They have no case, we are the majority which..."
Moderator: "Excuse me. You want a dialogue? Yet you are turning it into a monologue. You either stop or I shall adjourn this meeting." (Turning to the secularist speaker, a non-veiled young woman in a pant suit) "Please continue..."
Secularist: "What has taken place right now makes our case. The Islamists say they want a dialogue. But in essence, they lack the understanding of how to deal with those like us who oppose an Islamist regime. Egypt is too cosmopolitan and too diverse to be governed by the rule of numbers."
Moderator: "What do you mean? But democracy is primarily the rule by the majority!!"
Another Secularist: "We are not sure that the results of the elections, whether parliamentary or presidential, have reflected the popular will."
A fourth Islamist: "There they go again!! The secularists, who do not even speak with one voice, want Egypt to scrap the results of all elections and referenda, including those approving our New Constitution. They are demonizing us for having won. They are resorting to civil disobedience, strikes and work stoppages in order to prevent President Morsi and Prime Minister Qandeel from getting Egypt back on track."
A third Secularist: "As a Copt, I feel threatened by the Salafis who look upon the great Coptic Church as a strange object in Egyptian society. While Islam calls for tolerance and the acceptance of the other, the Islamists go on describing those who do not see things their way as being against Islam."
Moderator: (Seeing a Salafi focused on shaping pieces of paper into little paper boats) "Sir!! Aren't you interested in what the opposition is saying? Why did you join us today? Please show some respect for your opponents." [The Salafis protest: "This is democracy!"]
Moderator again to the Salafi: "This is a disgusting abuse of your newly-found freedom." [The Salafi ignores the Moderator] {This has actually happened and was on the air.}
A fifth Islamist: "We know that the street is with us. And we know that there is no way that the results of the ballot box are going to be nullified by the judiciary. That judiciary has come about through dictatorial manipulations by Mubarak and his National Democratic Party (DNC). The secularists are now joining hands with the DNC in their common cause of scuttling our newly-found democracy."
A fourth Secularist: "What he has just said proves our point. We demonstrate peacefully, and the Salafis besiege the Information Production City to prevent the new Egypt from free expression. They use the Police and the security forces to club us into submission. We are not against Islam, but we are against the Islamization of governance in Egypt. We..."
Moderator (pointing to his watch): I am sorry that the time for this conversation is up. Neither side has reconciled with the other. Frankly, I am startled by the chasm dividing Egypt into two currents: Islamism and secularism. For the sake of Egypt, let us try to meet again. Otherwise, all shall be lost. This meeting stands adjourned."
[Blogger's Note: Some of the material in this blog has been inspired by a brilliant article dated December 22, 2012 by Essam Abdel-Aziz, Editor-in-Chief of ROSAELYOUSSEF, an Egyptian political magazine established in 1935 by Mrs. Fatima El-Youssef. The interpretation of that material and the flow of this imaginary dialogue is the sole responsibility of this blogger].
So here we go with an imaginary setting. We prepare a conference room with a long table and several comfortable chairs lined up on the two sides of that table. Please do not forget to place the same number of seats for each side. We think that 12 seats for the Islamists and the same number of seats for the secularists would suffice. Oh!! Don't forget to place bottled water and flowers and pads and pens for the participants. No recording please. Only one flag, the flag of Egypt, shall be placed behind the moderator of this imaginary dialogue.
The participants enter the conference room. Instinctively the Islamists, in long robes and overgrown beards, seat themselves on the right; the secularists, equally divided in number between men and women in various attires, are now seated to the left. Whispers amongst each group abound until the moderator gavels the conference to order, then begins:
Moderator: "In the Name of God, the Merciful and the Compassionate!! Brothers and sisters: we are here today to help the new Egypt move forward. I wish to thank the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis for calling for this dialogue with their opponents, whom I also thank for agreeing to attend. I now call on the Islamists to briefly state their case."
Islamist: "Our country, Egypt, is beloved by all of us. We won the parliamentary elections and also the presidential elections. The goal of the Egyptian Revolution is to attain democracy and development. We did not stage a coup. We now govern Egypt under a new Constitution approved by a majority. Our brothers and sisters across the table from us do not like the results of the ballot box. They are trying to prevent Egypt from going forward."
Secularist: "The Islamists are trying to steal our Revolution. They were not at the frontlines in Tahrir Square on January 25, 2011. They only came in from the cold when they found us, both Muslims and Copts, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, winning..."
Another Islamist (interrupting): "This is nonsense!! These are blatant lies. They..."
Moderator: "You are interrupting her. Let her make her case. Let her..."
A third Islamist: "They have no case, we are the majority which..."
Moderator: "Excuse me. You want a dialogue? Yet you are turning it into a monologue. You either stop or I shall adjourn this meeting." (Turning to the secularist speaker, a non-veiled young woman in a pant suit) "Please continue..."
Secularist: "What has taken place right now makes our case. The Islamists say they want a dialogue. But in essence, they lack the understanding of how to deal with those like us who oppose an Islamist regime. Egypt is too cosmopolitan and too diverse to be governed by the rule of numbers."
Moderator: "What do you mean? But democracy is primarily the rule by the majority!!"
Another Secularist: "We are not sure that the results of the elections, whether parliamentary or presidential, have reflected the popular will."
A fourth Islamist: "There they go again!! The secularists, who do not even speak with one voice, want Egypt to scrap the results of all elections and referenda, including those approving our New Constitution. They are demonizing us for having won. They are resorting to civil disobedience, strikes and work stoppages in order to prevent President Morsi and Prime Minister Qandeel from getting Egypt back on track."
A third Secularist: "As a Copt, I feel threatened by the Salafis who look upon the great Coptic Church as a strange object in Egyptian society. While Islam calls for tolerance and the acceptance of the other, the Islamists go on describing those who do not see things their way as being against Islam."
Moderator: (Seeing a Salafi focused on shaping pieces of paper into little paper boats) "Sir!! Aren't you interested in what the opposition is saying? Why did you join us today? Please show some respect for your opponents." [The Salafis protest: "This is democracy!"]
Moderator again to the Salafi: "This is a disgusting abuse of your newly-found freedom." [The Salafi ignores the Moderator] {This has actually happened and was on the air.}
A fifth Islamist: "We know that the street is with us. And we know that there is no way that the results of the ballot box are going to be nullified by the judiciary. That judiciary has come about through dictatorial manipulations by Mubarak and his National Democratic Party (DNC). The secularists are now joining hands with the DNC in their common cause of scuttling our newly-found democracy."
A fourth Secularist: "What he has just said proves our point. We demonstrate peacefully, and the Salafis besiege the Information Production City to prevent the new Egypt from free expression. They use the Police and the security forces to club us into submission. We are not against Islam, but we are against the Islamization of governance in Egypt. We..."
Moderator (pointing to his watch): I am sorry that the time for this conversation is up. Neither side has reconciled with the other. Frankly, I am startled by the chasm dividing Egypt into two currents: Islamism and secularism. For the sake of Egypt, let us try to meet again. Otherwise, all shall be lost. This meeting stands adjourned."
[Blogger's Note: Some of the material in this blog has been inspired by a brilliant article dated December 22, 2012 by Essam Abdel-Aziz, Editor-in-Chief of ROSAELYOUSSEF, an Egyptian political magazine established in 1935 by Mrs. Fatima El-Youssef. The interpretation of that material and the flow of this imaginary dialogue is the sole responsibility of this blogger].
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