Thought I live in Cairo, I am going to bet that some of you are more up on breaking Egyptian news than I am given that I don't have a TV and my internet connection is unreliable. However, the journalist in me can't help but post about the anti-government protests that have been happening here over the past two days. Before I begin, though, let me again assure you that I am safe and not in harms' way. Cairo is a huge city and most of the images you see on the news are just as new to you as they are to me (since we have been directed to stay away from any sort of protests and our neighborhood is completely peaceful).
The following thoughts come from both my experiences in Cairo, the "word on the street" that may not bet getting much press attention, and from a lecture by an Islamic history professor at the American University of Cairo who has lived in Cairo for the past 13 years. I will refer to her as Rachel.
Discovery #34: The Muslim Brotherhood is NOT behind these protests.
Here in Egypt there are two political parties, the National Democratic Party and the Muslim Brotherhood. As I mentioned in a previous post, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) have been "allowed" to run in elections, however, all candidates are usually arrested a week or so prior to elections. Basically, the MB is the only political opposition. And American isn't too fond of that.
In light of this, it commonly known that the U.S. spends a hefty amount each year to keep current President Mubarak in power: Egypt is the second largest receiver of U.S. aid next to Israel. In exchange for this, Mubarak stays in power and the MB does not get elected.
So, yesterday, when thousands of Egyptian citizens rallied on the streets of Cairo to protest the economic and human rights issues in Egypt as well as to demand that Mubarak step down, the government claimed it was the MB. Why? So that U.S. would be more likely to come out in favor of the government rather than the people calling for democracy. Also, this was a government effort to minimize perceptions of a revolution and to skew the reality that many Egyptians are not happy with the current government.
Egyptians are also now - and have been for a while - in a crisis of "the devil we know is better than the devil we don't know," this is to say, "While life isn't the greatest under Mubarak, we don't know what life would be like under the MB." And, to be honest, even analysts are not sure. The MB is know for sending out contradictory information and the organization is comprised of both liberals/progressives (who would establish a completely democratic state) and conservatives. Despite the unknowns, however, some Egyptians are willing to take the risk.
According to Rachel, "Egypt is stalled politically until the MB is allowed to rule."
She doesn't think this will happen anytime soon though. Given her research and observations, she says it is "Naieve to think that we could go from Mubarak into a democratic society. Democracy means you have a personal voice and people here wouldn't know what to do with this."
So what can we expect as a result of these protest? Probably not much of a change, she says. If Mubarak is ousted, he will probably be succeed by his son or another military ruler similar to himself. Rachel does hope, though, that these protest could discourage the coming to power of Mubarak's son.
While she doubts that there are enough people who will participate in the current protest - given that Egypt's illiteracy rate is 50% and it is mostly the educated who oppose Mubarak - to oust Mubarak, she IS hopeful that it could mean that his son would not run for "election." According to her, almost ALL Egyptians - even the uneducated - oppose this as they see it as a move backwards towards monarchy.
I know this has been a rather long rant but I hope it helps you understand a bit about what is going on here right now. If you have any questions or thoughts, I would love to hear what you think!!
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Side note: My program is headed to Luxor tonight to see some historical sights and spend a few days in the sun. I am very excited for a long weekend and some much needed time to STUDY Arabic and history :) We will be back Saturday night and I probably won't have access to internet while I'm here. There are no riots in Luxor, however, so you can rest assured that we'll have a peaceful and safe trip!
The following thoughts come from both my experiences in Cairo, the "word on the street" that may not bet getting much press attention, and from a lecture by an Islamic history professor at the American University of Cairo who has lived in Cairo for the past 13 years. I will refer to her as Rachel.
Discovery #34: The Muslim Brotherhood is NOT behind these protests.
Here in Egypt there are two political parties, the National Democratic Party and the Muslim Brotherhood. As I mentioned in a previous post, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) have been "allowed" to run in elections, however, all candidates are usually arrested a week or so prior to elections. Basically, the MB is the only political opposition. And American isn't too fond of that.
In light of this, it commonly known that the U.S. spends a hefty amount each year to keep current President Mubarak in power: Egypt is the second largest receiver of U.S. aid next to Israel. In exchange for this, Mubarak stays in power and the MB does not get elected.
So, yesterday, when thousands of Egyptian citizens rallied on the streets of Cairo to protest the economic and human rights issues in Egypt as well as to demand that Mubarak step down, the government claimed it was the MB. Why? So that U.S. would be more likely to come out in favor of the government rather than the people calling for democracy. Also, this was a government effort to minimize perceptions of a revolution and to skew the reality that many Egyptians are not happy with the current government.
Egyptians are also now - and have been for a while - in a crisis of "the devil we know is better than the devil we don't know," this is to say, "While life isn't the greatest under Mubarak, we don't know what life would be like under the MB." And, to be honest, even analysts are not sure. The MB is know for sending out contradictory information and the organization is comprised of both liberals/progressives (who would establish a completely democratic state) and conservatives. Despite the unknowns, however, some Egyptians are willing to take the risk.
According to Rachel, "Egypt is stalled politically until the MB is allowed to rule."
She doesn't think this will happen anytime soon though. Given her research and observations, she says it is "Naieve to think that we could go from Mubarak into a democratic society. Democracy means you have a personal voice and people here wouldn't know what to do with this."
So what can we expect as a result of these protest? Probably not much of a change, she says. If Mubarak is ousted, he will probably be succeed by his son or another military ruler similar to himself. Rachel does hope, though, that these protest could discourage the coming to power of Mubarak's son.
While she doubts that there are enough people who will participate in the current protest - given that Egypt's illiteracy rate is 50% and it is mostly the educated who oppose Mubarak - to oust Mubarak, she IS hopeful that it could mean that his son would not run for "election." According to her, almost ALL Egyptians - even the uneducated - oppose this as they see it as a move backwards towards monarchy.
I know this has been a rather long rant but I hope it helps you understand a bit about what is going on here right now. If you have any questions or thoughts, I would love to hear what you think!!
----
Side note: My program is headed to Luxor tonight to see some historical sights and spend a few days in the sun. I am very excited for a long weekend and some much needed time to STUDY Arabic and history :) We will be back Saturday night and I probably won't have access to internet while I'm here. There are no riots in Luxor, however, so you can rest assured that we'll have a peaceful and safe trip!
