by Dr. Reuven Berko
The Muslim
Brotherhood's counterrevolution is picking up pace and energy in Egypt's
squares. The shock that the movement's leadership was thrown into after
the military coup fell on them out of the blue, has dissipated and
coalesced as anger and pride into the hearts of throngs of its
supporters. Mohammed Badie, the supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood,
has set the tone for the next chapter: Large numbers of supporters of
ousted President Mohammed Morsi will not leave the squares until he is
reinstalled in his seat. In his fiery speech from the podium at Rabaa
Al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo, Badie said that Morsi's ouster, the
dissolution of his government and other moves were null and void."
Badie remains free for
now, but many other senior leaders in the movement such as his deputy
Khairat el-Shater and hundreds more are under arrest. The movement's
broadcasting stations have been blocked. Intelligence services raided
the Cairo offices of Al-Jazeera -- which has been perceived as
pro-Muslim Brotherhood -- confiscating equipment and arresting, then
releasing, management and journalists. In his speech, Badie said the
Brotherhood would not accept any other regime except Morsi's, which was
democratically elected. He demanded Morsi's unconditional release from
prison and his reinstatement. "Our president is Mohammed Morsi and we
will not accept any alternative. We will carry him on our shoulders and
sacrifice our lives for him," Badie said.
In his speech, Badie
put the blame on three sources for the current crisis: Al-Azhar's Grand
Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb, Coptic Pope Tawadros, and the Egyptian Supreme
Council of the Armed Forces. Badie first pointed his finger at el-Tayeb,
who in his speech during the coup aside SCAF leader Col. Gen.
Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, gave his backing to Morsi's ouster by saying the
move was "the lesser evil."
Badie, who represents
an extreme interpretation of Islam, slammed el-Tayeb, who represents the
country's religious institutions (and moderate Islam in general),
saying that although he was a religious symbol, he did not have a
monopoly on the people's will. "You are no longer entitled to speak in
the name of Muslims," Badie said, referring to the grand imam. For his
part, el-Tayeb has issued an order for calm, and for the preservation of
life and property and against violence. Badie's statements represents a
direct challenge to el-Tayeb and the religious order in Egypt in
general.
The Coptic pope,
probably because he had no real choice, openly supported the coup during
his short speech at Sissi's side. Badie said Tawadros was a religious
symbol but does not represent the majority of Egypt's Copts. "Pope
Tawadros, you also are a symbol but you can no longer speak in the name
of Copts. They have right to speak for themselves through voting," Badie
said. Even at this early stage it is clear that no good will come to
the Copts from this second revolution. The Copts are in a trap: had they
stood aside the new secular regime would have hated them. But due to
their support for the overthrow of the Brotherhood's Morsi, the
Islamists hate them. In general, the Copts have played the part of
regular scapegoat for the Muslim Brotherhood's and other Islamists'
frustrations, and now they have been marked anew by Badie, with some
sophistication.
In his reference to the
military, Badie urged the SCAF not to intervene in politics. Badie
demanded that Sissi release all of the Brotherhood's prisoners and
reinstate Morsi to his position, which was "stolen" from him. If these
demands are not fulfilled, the masses will remain in the squares. Badie
added that once all the demands are carried out and the situation
returns to what it was before, there will be room for dialogue. But in
the meantime, the masses of Islamists are crying out "remove Sissi the
traitor," dozens of people have been killed and injured in violent
clashes with the army, whose commanders say they are not taking sides
and not using live ammunition.
Egypt's economy is
declining rapidly. There is no foreign investment and tourism has ground
to a halt. The Suez Canal management says shipping traffic continues as
usual, but in Sinai a state of emergency has been declared due to
ongoing Islamist violence, most recently against army positions near the
Rafah border [which has been closed]. Rockets have also been fired at
El Arish International Airport.
The events in Egypt are
reverberating in other Muslim countries. Iran condemned the coup, and
Turkey's leaders are preparing a pro-Morsi rally. In the U.S., they
don't like the means but they do like the result. It seems as if the
show in Egypt is just beginning.
Dr. Reuven Berko
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=4899
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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