As widely expected the Egyptian military has carried out a quiet coup against the democratically-elected President Dr. Muhammed Mursi. The coup followed widespread demonstrations against the President organized mainly by supporters of former President Husni Mubarak followers of the Coptic Church and disgruntled youths disillusioned by Mursi’s slow pace of reform.
Following the coup there was a state of euphoria within the anti-Islamist camp. However this euphoria is likely to be misguided and short lasting.
Egypt is reeling under a host of chronic problems in every conceivable sphere so much that some serious pundits are now speaking of the country as a failed state.
We hope and pray that Egypt will never be doomed to the status of a failed state. However the latest coup no matter how popular it may be in some quarters is bad news for democracy and bad news for Egypt. Egypt after the coup will be more dictatorial less democratic more unstable and much poorer than it already is.
Military governments whether in Egypt or elsewhere have always been a big failure. The Egyptian military effectively ruined the country during its brief administration of the country following Mubarak’s ouster. For example the foreign currency reserves plummeted from $36 b. to $12. In short military rules whether direct or behind the curtain will only bring more disasters to a country already beset by all sorts of problems.
Ever since the Free Officer’s revolt in 1952 Egypt has always been ruled by military governments or people hailing from the military. This is of course with the exception of the one-year hiatus of President Mursi.
This constant military dictatorship is the main reason for the striking political economic backwardness prevailing in the country. It is also the main reason for the rampant and chronic corruption permeating through Egypt.
Egypt and South Korea were at the same socio-economic level 60 years ago. Now South Korea is an economic superpower while Egypt is still having real problems feeding its 90 million mouths.
The vociferous protests against president Mursi would give us the impression that the Islamist president was responsible for all Egypt’s problems since the overthrow of King Farouk 61 years ago
But this is a false impression to say the least. Mursi was elected to lead a dilapidated country. His efforts to heal the many ills of Egypt didn’t always succeed. Even the best possible government wouldn’t have performed better.
Moreover Mursi was plagued with a determined intransigent and unethical opposition to his rule. Not a single day during his 365 days in “power” passed without protests and demonstrations. Most of these protests were motivated by ideological enmity to the president and his Islamist party not real grievances.
He was called Nazi and the headquarters and offices of his party were torched in full view of security forces who looked on passively if not approvingly. Thugs paid by pillars of the previous regime were unleashed to rape and murder people and then blame it on the Islamists.
Hitler destroyed Europe and killed or caused the death of 60 million people. Hence making such wild comparisons is no less than committing an act of lewdness with truth facts and history.
Mursi tried to sow the seed of democracy in a society and country that had never known democracy in its long history of 7000 years. His people simply didn’t know the difference between freedom and anarchy. For a variety of reasons many of them hated the President and his party more than they loved Egypt or even their country.
It is likely though that the new military regime will have its way for the time being. But it is only a matter of time before multitudinous protests and demonstrations swell the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian towns once again but this time not against the Ikhwan and Mursi but rather against the military.
I am not a prophet of doom and gloom but military regimes have consistently proven themselves a gigantic disaster. There is no reason whatsoever to expect Sissi and his cohorts to be any different.
Finally a word to the President Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood. You were elected to rule Egypt at the wrong moment when you just out of the old regime’s prisons and dungeons were not ready or more correctly unable to tackle the mountains of problems plaguing the country and in such a short time. And Egypt with all its corruption poverty and the “deep state” of the old regime along with a vehemently hostile and pornographically mendacious media was not ready for you.
You tried to the best of your ability and whether you succeeded or failed should be left to history.
Now the wisest thing to do is to bow before the storm. I know the Islamists or most of them are peaceable calculating and wise people who won’t be provoked into doing the wrong thing.
But bowing before the storm doesn’t mean passivity or indifference. So get organized and be ready for the second round. Whether we succeed or not all our efforts are after all for the sake of the Almighty.
