by Dr. Reuven Berko
With the reports of Abdel Fattah
el-Sissi's presidential election victory in Egypt, the deputy head of the
Salafist movement declared it was prohibited to fight against him because he had
won the legitimate support of the people. This sentiment reflects the
fundamentalist interpretation of the Quran's guidelines, obligating complete
obedience to the chosen authority figure, as long as he does not abuse his power
and use it against Islam. In general, Islamic tradition prefers a thousand years
of exploitation at the hands of a ruler over one day of chaos without
governance. The essence of sensitive and authoritative governance was described
by Caliph Muawiyah thusly: "If there is even one thread binding me to my fellow
man, I do not let it break. If he pulls, I loosen. If he loosens, I
pull."
In contrast to Muawiyah's ruling
style, Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, the governor of Iraq during the Umayyad period, had
a different approach to governance. Due to his firm and cruel hand, Al-Hajjaj
became one of the more famous rulers in Muslim history. He defeated the rebels
based in Mecca who had risen against the rightful caliph, and was also appointed
governor of the Hijaz (the Mecca region in present-day western Saudi Arabia
along the Red Sea). Upon his arrival he told his enemies that he sees "ripened
heads" ready for "plucking." He destroyed the uprising and ruled Iraq with an
iron fist. Al-Hajjaj subsequently introduced agricultural reforms, built
bridges, granted loans to peasants and was instrumental to the development of
coinage in the Islamic world. Al-Hajjaj built the city of Wasit, made Arabic an
official language and established one legal version of the Quran. Islamic
tradition describes him as the person who ended the anarchy in which the people
were being exploited by those in power.
The situation in the Middle East in
general and in Egypt in particular is one of chaos, stemming from the Arab
Spring and requiring of a new governmental approach. Sissi's mission is
especially difficult because of the objective challenges, primarily those of an
economic and social nature, and also because of the violent, uncompromising
battle being waged against him by the Muslim Brotherhood. Even though EU
supervisors approved the legality of the elections, the Brotherhood claim that
Mohammed Morsi is the rightful president and that the election process, in which
44.5 percent of the population participated and granted Sissi 93.3 percent of
the votes, is illegal.
Alongside the propaganda seeking to
negate the legality of Sissi's election win, members of the Muslim Brotherhood
are keeping busy. They boycotted the elections, in which the runner-up, Hamdeen
Sabahi, received three percent (less than the 3.7 percent of the votes declared
void), and are rioting against the forming government. They have initiated a
violent intifada that has produced many casualties, along with hunger strikes in
prison against the authorities. The riots stem from the claim that over 22,000
Brotherhood activists are imprisoned without trial and are subjected to abuse.
The discontent boiled over after Sissi nullified pardons that Morsi had granted
to prisoners on death row.
In an interview to the Kuwaiti
newspaper Al Jarida recently, Sissi commended the security forces and said: "We
will not go backwards and there is no time for conflicts and arguments."
According to Sissi, his hand is outstretched to all parties and he is determined
to accommodate the younger population and its desire for jobs. Sissi, aware of
the potential threats to his life, has vowed to wipe out the Muslim Brotherhood
and the supporters of global jihad and Hamas in the Sinai Peninsula, and to
select "fighters" who will provide security and stability for the average
Egyptian demanding solutions "in action, not words." His campaign managers
verified the nature of the content, but denied that the Al Jardia interview had
taken place.
More than anything, as Egypt slips
into the abyss, Sissi's need for stability is vital to securing foreign
investments and immediate loans from the World Bank. He needs continuous aid
from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, which pump immediate oxygen into Egypt's
gasping lungs. He needs tourism, an important cornerstone of Egypt's stalling
economy, and he must provide security and protection along the Suez Canal and
for the gas pipelines in Sinai as other means of income.
Sissi needs aid from the West, mainly from
the United States, which is currently sitting in the "passenger seat" of
history. He would rather foster an image of fair governance, but not at any
price, because the Muslim Brotherhood still stands in his path. We must hope
that the sanctimonious Americans understand, even if it isn't their desire, that
they must help Sissi and save Egypt. In his distress he will be forced to employ
the Machiavellian methods of Al-Hajjaj over Muawiyah's "thread binding him to
his fellow man." He simply has no other choice.
Dr. Reuven Berko
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=8595
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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