Mahmoud v. Morsi: "The Battle of the Camels"

Mahmoud (Egypt's Chief Prosecutor, Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud) and Morsi (Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi) are battling it out.  Morsi has ordered Mahmoud out of his job and to the Vatican, as Egypt's Ambassador.  Mahmoud is refusing on the grounds of judicial independence, and Morsi is sticking to his authority, as the democratically-elected President who has been on the job for a little more than 100 days.

Now Tahrir has again been engulfed in demonstrations, led by the two factions: pro-Morsi and anti-Morsi.  In essence, the Mahmoud v. Morsi is the straw which broke the camel's (Morsi's) back.  The Chief Prosecutor has just exonerated the symbols of the defunct Mubarak regime from any wrong-doing in early February 2011 in what has entered the annals of the Egyptian Revolution of January 25, 2011 as the "Battle of the Camels."

In that engagement, as the Mubarak regime was fighting for its life of 32 years of outright dictatorship, the Tahrir demonstrators were suddenly and brutally attacked by Mubarak thugs.  The attackers descended upon the pro-democracy demonstrators, riding camels, horses, and horse-driven carts.  The attackers brandished swords, knives, and long bamboo sticks in a hopeless last-minute gasp to enable Mubarak to hold on to his dictatorial power.

The Battle of the Camels of February 2011 was quickly and decisively settled in favor of the pro-democracy movement, though after suffering fatalities and injuries.  There was no assistance from the security forces which have fled Tahrir.  When I was in Cairo shortly afterwards, I was told by some eyewitnesses that the role of the Muslim Brothers in vanquishing the pro-Mubarak mounted attackers was crucial.  They were experts in street combat, tightly organized, highly motivated, and fearless as they brought horses and camels down with their mercenary riders.

Confessions documented that "the Battle of the Camels" was ordered by the former Presidents of the two Chambers of the then-Parliament: Fathi Sorour, of the People's Assembly, and Safwat El-Sherif, of the upper Chamber, the Shura Council.  Both men are now in the Tora jail, south of Cairo, having been inculpated on charges of corruption.  Their alleged roles in "the Battle of the Camels" were still pending investigations on the more serious charges of killing and maiming peaceful demonstrators.

Out of a sudden, the Chief Prosecutor, Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud, declared those prominent figures innocent of wrong-doing in "the Battle of the Camels," a development which caused popular uproar and precipitated the attempted dismissal by President Morsi of the Chief Prosecutor.

While the highly secular Egyptian judiciary sided with Mahmoud, the President's supporters, especially the Islamists, saw in that verdict the continuing influence of the "foloul" -the remnants of the Mubarak regime who  were already pre-maturely celebrating that verdict in the Tora prison.

In reality, Mahmoud v. Morsi, is a larger battle between the Islamists and most of the secularists.  The majority of the occupants of the senior ranks of the judiciary and the Prosecutor's Office are holdovers from the Mubarak regime.  Confronted by the Morsi presidential decision of terminating his high profile position, Mahmoud cited a law barring the President from firing him.  To many Egyptian observers, the struggle which is now taking place between Mahmoud and the President is highly politicized.  During the Mubarak era, the judiciary was Mubarak's cat's paw in subduing the Muslim Brotherhood from whose ranks Morsi has emerged to win the presidency of Egypt last June.

Dr. Essam Al-Erian, who heads the "Freedom and Justice" Party of the Muslim Brotherhood called Mahmoud's ruling "very dangerous."  He also called upon Morsi to convene the Presidential Council (advisors to Morsi) to examine the political implications of declaring the wrong-doers innocent.

The Salafis also called on the President to order "the retrial of the killers of the demonstrators."  They, together with the Muslim Brotherhood, are accusing the investigators of not examining the totality of the evidence.

In this campaign of attacking the Chief Prosecutor, they were joined by a large segment of the secularists, especially "The Popular Current." (P.C.)  The P.C. claimed that not all evidence inculpating those who ordered the mounted attackers in "the Battle of the Camels" into battle was presented.  They went as far as describing that episode as "a massacre."  The P.C., together with "the Youth of April 6," called for parliamentary intervention to overturn Mahmoud's ruling.

More importantly, a prominent member of the Constituent Assembly which is still drafting the new Egyptian Constitution, Mahmoud El-Said, declared, "The blood of the martyrs shall not be spelled in vain."  Contributing to this argument, the spokesman for "The General Union for the Revolution," Mustafa Younes El-Nagmi, called upon Morsi to prevent those accused of fomenting "the Battle of the Camels," from leaving Egypt pending a retrial.

In the meantime, Tahrir is witnessing clashes between the pre-Morsi and the anti-Morsi forces (the latter campaigning against the rise of Islamism in Egypt).  The sad result so far has been nearly a 100 demonstrators being injured.

The saga of "The Battle of the Camels" of February 2 and 3, 2011 is not over yet.  The mass exoneration of 24 suspects accused of committing those atrocities is indeed the straw which broke the camel's back.  Even the Director General of the Presidential Office, Ahmed Abdel-Atti, confessed that "the general situation in Egypt is perplexing and is difficult to separate its intertwined components one from another."