The Coup in Egypt and the Fears of Another Iran

Rooz Online

From the doggedness of Egypt’s deposed president Mohammad Morsi one can see that political power, and everything it brings, taste sweet to Islamists too and also that when it is attained, Islamists in particular do not relinquish it, even when 14 million people pour into the streets calling for the resignation of their president, as reported by Guardian. Misreading the power of popular protests and public opinion as key players in Egypt’s political landscape have resulted in Morsi’s polite arrest, along with those of other Muslim Brotherhood leaders.

In the Middle East, no democracy more civil and transparent than that of Israel has emerged till now. The country is hundreds of years ahead of its neighbors and even enemies. During the last sixty years, whenever Israeli leaders faced a political crisis, they immediately dissolved the parliament, not letting the country and events slip into serious tensions even for a single day by instituting early elections. There has been no electoral fraud and no prime minister has defied or challenged public opinion when faced with wide-spread protests. But in contrast to what Israeli politicians have internalized well, the recent events in Egypt and those in Iran four years ago, speak of a lack of political foresight and maturity.

If the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt had the slightest political foresight, relying on its strong popular base it would have immediately announced early elections, and thus prevent the intervention of the military into the political realm. Even on the eve of Morsi’s dismissal by the army, it could have retained the initiative by announcing Morsi’s resignation, guaranteeing its political future in the next national elections.

What took place in Egypt is nothing other than the removal of a legitimate and democratically elected president who should have been dealt with through democratic means. The intervention of the army and the complication of the political situation by the military is nothing other than a coup, which could ultimately even lead to civil war.

The Brotherhood has strong roots in Egyptian society. Many people cast votes in elections out of religious and not political beliefs. So in the next national elections, the Brotherhood will undoubtedly jump in the game with the purpose of displaying its power and support. And what will the army do then? Will it again roll out its tanks and succeed crushing protestors and ending the crisis, or will it remain aloof? These events indicate that Egypt is rapidly becoming a dangerously polarized nation.

One must bear in mind that Egyptian society includes Burqa wearing women as well as a very Westernized population whose young women have demonstrated their defiance and protests by appearing topless on Facebook. Politics in this ancient land, where religious schools in Cairo exist side by side with casinos and night bars in Sharm alSheikh and Alexandria, is a very complex game.

Egyptians must come to realize that just as democracy cannot be attained overnight, no president can resolve economic issues and crises in a year, and that if they have successfully removed a president after a year of protests, there is no guarantee that the same fate will not await the next president.

The battle between Islamists and seculars in Egypt underlines the impact that Iran’s theocratic regime has had on the region. The people of Egypt and Turkey are worried about the repeat of Iran’s experience and misfortune in their country and are afraid that their mindless religious-minded politicians may destroy their country as well.

Turks and Egyptians are anxious that their political and social freedoms may be whisked away and worry that their situation may one day look like that of Iran today when all its educated class, its artists and investors have been forced to flee their country. The record of Iran’s theocratic regime has produced deep fear over Islamists. As a result, the Turks and Egyptians are using every tool in their possession to prevent Islamists doing what the clerics in Iran have imposed on their country.