Asking me about the situation in Egypt, my friend told me that she didn't "understand what all this fight and war in Egypt is about", that it was all very saddening and that she wishes to know the truth.
I thought it would be best to reply to her through this note; partly so that typing out and reading my response is made easier for the both of us, and partly to make the explanation available to a wider readership.
I would like to thank my dear friend for her question - it's a very commendable quality to stop - and try to understand the root cause of any event in life. Too many of us fall into the 'convenience' of neglecting the need for such critical questioning.
I will summarise the situation in 3 key phases (and will therefore not dig too deep into history):
- Phase 1: Pre Jan 2011
- Phase 2: Feb 2011 - June 2013
- Phase 3: Post June 2013
Given that the media worldwide follows an ethos of "if it bleeds it leads" (i.e. a news story is only worth broadcasting if it involves violence) - it is natural for the mind to boggle at how could Egypt, once a holiday destination- how could it all of a sudden descend into the chaos we see on our screens.
But the truth of the matter is that Egypt is not what we see in the pamphlets at the travel agents, nor is it what tourists see when they go to holiday resorts such as Sharm Asheikh. The majority of Egypt's population have never dreamed of setting their eyes on such luxuries, let alone actually indulge in them.
An Egyptian official statistics agency says that in 2012, more than 69% of the country's population lived below the poverty line, that's less than $1.25 per day.
And this abject poverty has much to do with the decades old regime that 'governed' the country.
Led by Hosni Mubarak, this era was mired with economic, social and political corruption. Examples:
- Economic corruption: When toppled in 2011, his family fortune was estimated at $70bn.
- Political corruption: Hosni Mubarak 'won' the presidential elections of 2005 with an 88.6 % majority (unrealistically high). Many reports detail how these elections, as well as all parliamentary elections that followed were in fact rigged. Voters from wards which were expected to vote for Mubarak's opposition were harassed, violently handled and turned away from polling stations. Whilst this video shows how actual ballot papers were tampered with in favour of Mubarak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8p5QjfK0PQ
- Political corruption: Political opponents who stood a chance against Mubarak - at the time, only the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) safely fit this bill - were dehumanized. Mubarak was able to remain in power for 30 years by convincing domestic as well international powers that MB were an extremist, radical boogeyman that needed to be kept at bay, and whose ascension to power would only bring destruction to Egypt. The media was state run and so echoed everything that came through the office of Hosni Mubarak. As such, Islamophobia became as much a reality in Egypt as it is here in the West.
It is relevant to also note that, once an army general himself, Mubarak and the military were very cosy bedfellows.
And so, the bitter taste of indignation felt by the Egyptian people led to them rising against this tyrant of a ruler. In February 2011 the former Egyptian president who had ruled over the country since 1981, was toppled through popular uprising, and thus ending phase 1.
Phase 2: Feb 2011 - June 2013
- The overthrow of Mubarak was perceived as a victory which would now allow for Egypt's political and economic life to resume in a way which adheres to due process and puts the rule of law above all.
- Parliamentary elections took place, and the MB won the majority of seats.
- It wasn't before long that the military dissolved the People's Assembly. Of course, this was because the result which brought in a majority Islamist parliament was not to their liking. And by Islamist I mean: A Muslim who thinks Islam is more than rituals, but is an entire way of life which can (and should) inform political life. Islamists are individuals who are guided by Islamic ethics in however they choose to be a part of politics (and how scary can this be, eh?). Many Muslim groups get banded under this, uncluding the MB.
- In the presidential elections, the MB candidate, Mohammed Morsi, also came through as a victor of a 4-year long term in office.
- MB were able to make these gains as they have a very long standing in the community. They didn't just simply spring to the political scene in Egypt post the revolution. They are well known by the general public who have long benefited from their social and economic services, such as the charities, hospitals, schools MB have set up to improve people's quality of life. I mentioned before that MB were the only real competitors to Mubarak, and this has much to do with their grassroots work I just described.
- During his first year in office (June 2012 - June 2013), there was a real fierce campaign designed to undermine Mohammed Morsi. The idea was to show up Islamists as incompetent leaders. This New York Times article is really worth a read: Sudden Improvements in Egypt Suggest a Campaign to Undermine Morsi: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/world/middleeast/improvements-in-egypt-suggest-a-campaign-that-undermined-morsi.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
- Some Arab media outlets cited examples of petrol stations (colluding with those wanting to unseat Morsi) to either refuse to accept government subsidised fuel, or take their share of this fuel and throw it in the desert to create an illusionary fuel crisis. People did suffer as a result, and some were unfortunately fooled by the act which aimed to implicate Morsi and the brotherhood with resource mismanagement and being the cause of everyone's misery. Other acts of desperate 'opposition' also included setting fire to acres upon acres of wheat fields - which the Egyptian economy could thrive off if invested in properly, which Mubarak never bothered to do and Morsi had set out to.
Why collude you might ask?
Sometimes it's a matter of who pays more. And these guys are loaded. The article above speaks of how the richest people in Egypt are funding this rebellion.
Another question is why would they do this?
Answer: Same reason why Abu Lahab showed fierce opposition to the most noble of creation, Mohammed saws. He feared that the values of equality, justice and accountability which Islam brings would put him at a financial/materialistic loss. And likewise with Egypt's tycoons. - Nonethless, despite all the attempts at making Morsi and his government fail miserably, some minor economic advancements had been made in such short space of time.
- During this same period, the remnants of Mubarak's regime continued grinding their media machine against all things Islamic. Literally, the wanton attacks sometimes make you laugh rather than cry, out of their sheer desparation and stupidity. (e.g. the MB were the reason why Anadalusia was lost from the Muslims into Christian hands. Though Islamic spain was lost centuries and centuries ago, whilst MB have only been around since 1928. This was said on TV and I have an Arabic clip for it.)
- A new constitution was also written, a national referendum was conducted to ratify it. It passed. But the military revoked it taking the nation back to square zero.
Phase 3: Post June 2013
- On 3 July, the military overthrew Morsi. Some naive people will say this was as a result of a popular revolution as scores of Egyptians took to the streets on the 30th June demanding that Morsi goes. If the military had an inkling of concern for what the people want they wouldn't have dissolved parliament, scrapped the constitution, and overthrown the president, all of whom have been chosen by the people through the ballot boxes.
- There's a (sad) debate going on among Egyptians on whether it was a coup, or a revolution. 2 researchers looked 15 definitions of coups & come to conclusn that Egypt's July 3 was a textbook coup http://www.jonathanmpowell.com/2/post/2013/07/egypts-coup.html
- To protest against the coup, and to demand that the only legitimate president of Egypt (Mohammed Morsi) is reinstated, hundreds of thousands, and on some days millions, of Egyptians took to the streets. Rab'aa Al'adwiyah and An-Nahda became landmark squares for the struggle against the coup. Huge numbers of protestors set camp in these two places for 6 weeks. Even during Ramadan and under the scorching summer heat, they remained firm in demanding their rights.
- Since 'returning' to power, the military have continued with their malicious campaign against the Islamists, attaching to them crimes they have not committed, and accusing them of acts of violence they had never engaged with.
- So strong is the media machine in Egypt that (unfortunately) a sizable number of Egyptians think that the Muslim Brotherhood are actually terrorists. This is when knowing that the organisation exists in over 80 countries, including the UK, and has had no terrorism charges levied against it.
- As a result of the media fabrications, some Egyptians now believe the notion that their military is engaged with a war on terror, that all the massacres that have taken place (listed below), are justified because they are to purify Egypt of the bad guys. We're told by our beloved prophet Muhammad saws that a time will come in which the honest person will be disbelieved whilst the dishonest will be believed. And this sums up Egypt in a nutshell.
- Some are hell-bent on the idea that pro-Morsi protesters are heavily loaded with weapons and thus need this heavy handed crackdown, and the question remains: Had pro-Morsi indeed possessed any such weapons, why did they not defend themselves against the continuous onslaught that claimed the lives of thousands? This article highlights that despite the brutality of the military "The Muslim Brotherhood will not turn to violence to fight the coup in Egypt" http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/21/muslim-brotherhood-violence-egypt
- Since the 3rd of July 5 massacres which claimed the lives of over 3000 Egyptians have taken place.
1- Republican guards HQ 8/7/2013
2- Manasa 28/7/2013
3- Rabaa & Nahda 14/8/2013
4- Ramsis 16/8/2013
5- Abo Zabal Prison 18/8/2013
Ordinary citizens, killed by their own military. And whilst I always insist that MB are ordinary citizens too, I think it's worth mentioning that not all killed are MB. A large number are individuals who really saw this injustice for what it is and decided to do something about it, regardless of affiliation. - Since 3rd July, mosques have been raided and burnt by the military
- Since 3rd July, pro-Morsi activists have been rounded up and thrown into prison just like that...some even executed.
- President Mohammed Morsi was abducted on July 3 and has not been seen since. Ramadan had come and gone, Eid had come and gone...yet his family had no contact with him and no idea of his whereabouts.
- And yet, the coup can 'boast' that July 2013 had the highest recorded monthly borrowing rates in three years
- It can also boast that Hosni Mubarak who killed and pillaged the nation is about to be released from prison.
- In essence 3 July came to undo everything the Egyptians try to do in Jan 2011 by way of restoring their freedoms and some dignity to their lives.
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