Over two thousand years ago the great Greek historian Herodotus
described Egypt in his memoirs as follows: “Concerning Egypt itself, I
shall extend my remarks to a great length, because there is no country
that posses so many wonders nor any that has such a number of works
which defy description” then he added “They (Egyptians) are religious to
excess, far beyond any other race of men”
Herodotus description of ancient Egypt couldn’t be more accurate and
certainly still resembles the modern day Egypt especially when it
concerns religion. In the land that invented Beer and created belly
dancing, religion is and piety ironically plays a factor in almost every
Egyptian’s life. Be that he is a Muslim, Christian, Jew or any other
creed. The organized religion in Egypt dates back to the ancient
Egyptian Sun-God Ra. Other Gods Osiris, Seth, Ptah were worshipped in
Egypt till the dawn of Judaism, Christianity and finally Islam. It may
be correct to mention that the ancient deities’ worship lasted for a
period that exceeds the existence latter two religions combined. Hence
the sense of religiousness and piety is deeply rooted in the Egyptian
mentality and society.
At the same time, Religion has been exploited constantly by its
preachers constantly for power, authority and sometimes money for the
same period. This can be attributed to the first ancient secret society
the Amon Ra monks and all the way to the Salafist Groups of Egypt and
the Muslim Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau .
The modern Egyptians have been entangled in a web of Islamization
procedures by two main forces the Salafis groups (Fundamentalist) and
Muslim Brotherhood. The involvement of these two main groups in the
Egyptian political and social life have shifted the momentum of the
Egyptian age of modern enlightenment which started by Mohamed Ali Pasha
reign (1805-1849) and ended by the abdication of King Farouk I in 1952
through a coup’ d’état Led by Gamal Abdel Nasser and his associates
“Free officers” The 1952 Coup’ d’état marked the end of the Golden era
of Liberalism and free thinking in the Egyptian society which started
after the independence from British occupation in 1922 and ended in
1952.
The years that followed witnessed the sunset of the age of
rationalism and secularism in the Egyptian society. They were replaced
by the more tyrannical values led mainly by extreme leftists and
communism ideals followed by a more lethal Islamism of the society on
many degrees.
Gamal Abdel Nasser tried to instill some secular ideals in the
society in a manner to battle his archrivals in power the Muslim
Brotherhood. However, his oppressive methods of hunting down all liberal
thoughts of all factions that opposed him sealed the death certificate
of the enlightenment period and began a period of instability, wars and
endless economic pressures on the country and society. That period
witnessed the rise of the Islamists post the 1967 war as Nasserism
seemed to appear as a failed ideology in the eyes of the Egyptians.
ISLAMIST FACTIONS IN EGYPT
1- Muslim Brotherhood:
Pre- January 25th Revolution
Hassan El Banna
“Listen and obey” is the motto of the prominent Islamist group which
was established in 1928 by Islamic Scholar Hassan El Banna. El Banna one
of the most controversial figures in the modern Egyptian history. The
man behind the politicization of religion in the region and his impact
is still felt till this day. The Group since its inception has been in a
collision course with the governing authority in Egypt. The collision
initiated during King Fouad and King Farouk’s era, through the reign of
Presidents of Gamal Abdel Nasser and Sadat and all the way to President
Mubarak. The group founder El Banna was assassinated in 1949 in
retaliation of his involvement in the assassination of Former Egyptian
Prime Minister El Noqrashy as well as Judge El Khazendar among many
others who also died in their bombings of Jewish and British owned
stores and businesses in Cairo. These actions led to the banning of the
Islamist group for the first time in history then another time during
Nasser’s era when they attempted an assassination against the late
president in 1954 which resulted in the banning and crackdown on the
group activities and members in Egypt. During that period the
brotherhood despite it’s relatively moderate ideology about Islam
compared to Jihadists have managed to produce one of the most dangerous
extremists in Islamic theology which is Sayed Qutb, The man who was
sentenced to death by Gamal Abdel Nasser was the God father of modern
terrorism .His book “Malameh fi El Tareek” or “Signs on the road”
represented the Magnus Opus and bible of Jihadist and extremists for
decades till this day. He was the first to call for violent change in
society through force and eradicating the infidels and to pave the way
for an Islamic puritan society according to his teachings that the likes
of Ayman El Zawahiri and Osama Bin Laden followed later. The Quttbian
followers among the brotherhood are still there despite many deny their
existence and among them the General Guide of the Brotherhood Mohamed
Badie.
Mohamed Badie
Since that date, the brotherhood managed to stay as the shadow
players in the political scene and forged a deal in the 1970s to resume
with their activities with late President Sadat on the condition that
they would abide by the laws of the country. It wasn’t long before they
broke the deal and found themselves in the collision with Sadat’s
regime. After Sadat’s assassination by Jihadists, they try to forge
another deal with Mubarak’s and managed to form an alliance with El Wafd
party in 1984 which resulted in winning about 50 seats in parliament
shared with El Wafd representatives. In 2005, a final deal with forged
with Mubarak’s regime that resulted in winning 88 seats in the
parliament but that deal broke in 2010 when the regime managed to run of
Egypt’s most rigged elections ever. Despite all of the above the
Brotherhood continued their cooperation with Mubarak’s regime even
during the revolution and was among the first to declare that they are
not participating in the January 25th revolution only to join it later
after the initial success of the first wave led mainly by the Liberals
and socialists activists. The Brotherhood has franchises that follow the
same ideology in over 80 different countries and a very complicated web
of contacts all over the world. It’s considered as the equivalent of a
multinational corporation in the form of a religious group.
Post January 25th Revolution
You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people
all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all of the time. –
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
The resounding success of the revolution led to achieving the first
goal of the banned group which is restoring governmental and public
recognition. Despite this recognition the banned group never registered
the group as an NGO till the moment. However, Muslim Brotherhood forged a
good cooperation with the Supreme council of Armed forces SCAF. A
cooperation that led them to establish the Freedom and Justice Party
(FJP) which should have been unconstitutional under Egyptian law
forbidding any form of religious party but they managed to find a
loophole declaring that they are not a religious party but a party that
has Islamic background ideology. That party and the earlier cooperation
with SCAF led them to secure some of their long fought interests among
which obtaining 44% of the Parliament seats and almost double that
number in upper house.
The brotherhood became no longer the banned group but more of the
lucky group and among the only few winners post of the revolution.
However, the greed for power and lust for authority has dominated the
actions of the members, they and their ally the Salafi party “El Nour”
or “The Light” and hijacked 70 seats out of the 100 seats to form the
committee for writing the constitution. This action among many others
led to the alienation of the Egyptian populace and political spectrum
from them with almost all liberal and socialists’ parties and powers
boycotting the committee. Fortunately, the Supreme administrational
court decreed that the committee was formed in an unconstitutional and
revoked the formation proposed by the FJP party.
Mohamed Morsie
In the first days of the revolution Muslim Brotherhood spokesman
Essam El Arian vowed on march 14th 2011 that they will only campaign for
35% of the parliament followed by an increase to 40% a few days later
than 50%. Eventually they increased the percentage to cover 100% of the
seats from which they won 44%. They also vowed never to present a
Presidential candidate only to break that vow in April 2012 and announce
Khairat El Shater as their candidate and FJP president Mohamed Morsi as
a replacement candidate. El Shater who was accused and imprisoned
during Mubarak’s era is the master financier of the rich organization.
The organization is estimated to earn about 500,000 Million Egyptian
pounds annually from its estimated 400,000 members who donate 8% of
their earning to the brotherhood. Also the businessmen members of the
Brotherhood donate a huge sums of their earnings that can reach up to 20
million EGP each. Furthermore, the group has international investments
located mainly in Dubai, Turkey and Hong Kong amounting two Billion
dollars that generate a sum of 500,000 Million annually for the group.
Furthermore, international Islamic bank like the defunct Bahamas/Swiss
based El Taqwa Bank owned by Swiss/Egyptian Businessman Youssef Nada
was a continuous source of income till its bankruptcy. These numbers are
sourced from Brotherhood chief financial expert Dr. Hussein Shehata in
2008.
The Brotherhood has infiltrated large sectors of society in recent
years and now that is now manifested in the growing power of the 80 year
old group in the Egyptian society. Regardless of what happens in the
near future the brotherhood will remain a key player for at least the
near future in the Egyptian politics despite its shattered image in the
eyes of many Egyptians post the revolution. The party is now on a
collision course with SCAF and almost all other non-Islamist powers.
They have shown a real power-mongering and greedy attitude towards all
parties. That attitude was prevalent particularly in the issues
concerning the new constitution writing committee whom they took the
lion share with their allies Salafi party El Nour. That resulted in the
withdrawal of all other powers and boycotting the committee activities
even by Al Azhar Islamic institution and the Coptic Church. Yet, the
group relentless quest to establish hegemony over the political,
economic and social life in Egypt is an ongoing process. The group are
resilient into holding the position for presidency by nominating not one
but 3 different candidates among them the relatively moderate Abou El
Fottoh who can be the Trojan horse for Muslim Brotherhood to obtain the
presidency seat.
Unless the liberals and leftists powers stand their ground and unite
against this endless ambition, the third Reich scenario in Germany is no
longer an unlikely scenario in the upcoming years.
2- Salafis: (Islamist Fundamentalists)
Pre- January 25th revolution
Salafis
The Salafi movement in Egypt is the Egyptian version of Wahhabi
ultra-conservative radical movement in Saudi Arabia. The movement was
established by Mohamed Abdel Wahhab ( 1703-1792) in the 18th century and
was quelled by the Egyptian forces of Mohamed Ali Pasha in an
expedition in the Arabian peninsula in the present day Saudi Arabia. The
movement first traces in Egypt can be identified by the establishment
of “El Gameia El Shaaria” or the “The legitimate association” 1912 for
mainly charity reasons but it was the backdoor in later years and
precisely after the 1970s oil-boom in the gulf for funding projects as a
façade for the extremists to fund Salafi and Wahhabi doctrine teachings
in Egypt.
The rise of the Salafis groups in Egypt started slowly in the early
years of the 1930’s and they found their way through society through
charity work and establishing clinics for the poor in rural and
impoverished areas where the consecutive governments failed to live up
to their duties.
For the past two decades Saudi Arabia along with several Persian Gulf
countries have funded a lot of the Salafis groups . Saudi Arabia is
believed to have spent an estimated amount of over 100 Billion dollars
in the past 2 decades to spread to the Wahabi doctrine worldwide
according to British TV presenter Antony Thomas. The funding is usually
directed to schools, mosques and charity organizations worldwide. Also
other nongovernmental organizations have spent billions others in the
form of charity money usually sent to Salafi groups in Egypt especially
“El Gamaia El Shaaria” and “Ahl El Sunna” or the “People of the Sunni” .
That flow of money has helped the Salafi groups and their scholars to
gain a strong ground in the Egyptian society particularly in
impoverished areas within the country where social services were badly
sought after. The launching of the two Salafi Satellite channels “Al
Hikma” (Wisdom) and “ Al Nas” (People) have marked a shift in the
Salafis strategy in reaching further masses with the Egyptian version of
Tele-evangelists presenting the programs in these channels and
preaching for a rigid intolerant version of Islam that hardly has
nothing to do with the original message of Islam. In fact it has a lot
to do with the Wahabi version of Mohamed Abd El Wahab. Surprisingly, the
Egyptian government looked the other away from that sort of Wahhabi
propagation in the society.
The Egyptian government and National Security Bureau have used Salafi
Sheikhs and leaders for decades to curb the growing influence of Muslim
Brotherhood. They relied on the Salafis continuos declarations and
ideology of Salafis that practicing democracy is “Haram” (Forbidden) as
they believed back democracy is an evil invention of the west. However,
that resulted that Salafis has gained much further ground in the
Egyptian society and once their leaders decided that it’s “Halal” or
Permitted to practice democracy and elections as a mandatory practice
after the revolution, the face of Egyptian politics have chhanged
forever.
Post 25th of January Revolution
The Salafi groups in Egypt with their different factions from
ultra-extremists to relatively moderate (Costa Salafis) have decided by
some miracle that’s it’s no longer “Haram” or forbidden to practice
politics and democracy and decided to establish several political
parties. The most prominent of them is the Nour Party meaning “The
light” which is an oxymoron judging by the amount of dark ideologies
that this party adopts. The Nour capitalized on the Salafi group already
widespread believes and utilized the religious rhetoric to the extreme
during their elections campaign. They called their opponents infidels
and crusaders to push their followers among them many overzealous and
also illiterate people away from voting for their opponents. Yet all
these infringements to the Egyptian law received the blessings of the
government and SCAF.
They managed to hold about 27% of the Parliament seats thanks to
overspending and the vicious smear campaign against their opponents.
However, their performance in the parliament is still abysmal starting
from calls to ban internet pornography as a priority that precedes any
other economic all the way to moral scandals.
El Balkimy
Members of El Nour party with surrounded by s scandals as in the
case of representative El Balkimy who had a nose job operation and lied
about it and filed a report that he was mugged then apologized for
lying. One week later a bigger scandal to be found that he was married
in secret to a belly dancer. Further scandals about the part of
receiving about 300 Million Egyptian pounds funded from overseas sources
through Salafi groups are still lingering.
However, there is still a good chunk of Egyptians who still believe
they are puritans and they are men of God. The latest episode is the
Salafi Presidential candidate Hazem Abou Ismail with extremist
anti-American rhetoric whose deceased mother and sister were found to be
carrying American nationalities side by side to his Egyptian one. Once
proven his application for presidency will be rejected..Very few Salafis
have common sense and wisdom not to provoke others and maintain an
enlightened moderate stance like Sheikh Osama El Quosy who appears to be
more moderate than Al Azhar clerics. But the large majority are still
radical and posseses extreme views of the religion .The Salafis will
still play a role in the Egyptian politics for years but inch by inch
the halo around them will fade as their real face is uncovered to the
common Egyptian.
3-Jihadists (Militant Islamists)
Pre January 25th revolution
The word “Jihad” resonates a bad sound in the ears of the western
hemisphere due to its utilization by what’s known in the media as
Jihadist in their holy war against the west and those whom they deem as
infidels whether they are Muslims or any other religion.
The fact is that, the actual word means doing an effort to achieve a
goal like studying for exams or creating a new project. The word now is
reserved for Militant Islamists in the likes of the “Islamic Group in
Egypt”, “Al Jihad group” and the notorious “Al Qaeda” There is no space
enough to describe the atrocities and the killings performed by these
groups from the assassination of late Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat,
Speaker of the House Refaat El Hahgoub , prominent writer Farag Fouda
all the way to the bombings in Cairo, Sinai, Luxor and dozens of other
incidents that taken away the lives of thousands of Egyptians.
On international scale Al Qaeda is of course the household name of
terror personified. Hundreds of these groups were arrested, imprisoned
and many executed for their deeds but they found themselves a new place
in the new Post revolution Egypt. They preceded that with what they
called the “Revisions” of their Ideology and modus operandi a few years
ago written by the founder of Al Jihad group Sheikh Sayed Imam which he
denounced their formal terrorist activities and asked all his followers
to start a new chapter with society. However, still the bulk of
Egyptian society is weary from Jihadists due to the years of turmoil
they caused to the Egyptian society and for which the former Mubarak’s
regime stripped away a lot of freedoms under the pretext of fighting
these terrorists.
Post 25th January Revolution
Many Jihadists found themselves released from prison even those who
spent life-time sentences (Usually 25 years in Egypt) were out , Among
them President Sadat’s assassin Aboud El Zomor and many others who
wreaked havoc in the Egyptian nation in the past years. The shocking
release of these highly dangerous elements provided a sign to Islamists
that their activities are finally tolerated by the authorities.
Added to that hundreds of members of the Jihadist groups found their
way back to Egypt from Albania, Afghanistan, Iran and others in the days
that followed the Fall of Mubarak. This represents a clear and present
danger to the Egyptian national security for these are highly battled
hardened militants who can are unpredictable in their next course of
action. The reason they were permitted to enter the country again after
being banned for years remains an enigma in the eyes of many Egyptians.
Some deemed it as a scare tactic from SCAF to curb the revolutionary
powers that these will be the replacements in case we are gone.
In the parliamentary elections they collected a small number of seats
in the parliament and they are still shunned by a big sector of society
despite some of them like to appear in the media as more tolerant like
Nageh Ibrahim but they all fail to convince anyone except the hardcore
Islamists of their clear intentions.
Nageh Ibrahim
The likeness that they play a stronger role in future remains reliant
on the success of the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis to grow in power
even further. Statements from the likes of Khalid Al Islamboli’s
(Sadat’s Assassin) brother Mohamed that a Taliban like system in Egypt
will be the key to security proves once again that all the so called
revisions in their ideologies were just a method for them to acquire a
release from imprisonment. Given the chance most these militants will
raise arms again against the Egyptian state and its people. The way to
counter the negative effects for such groups will not be only
counter-violence but awareness programs led by Al Azhar and other
enlightened institutions in Egypt.
Part B
Growing Islamist exploitations in Egypt
THE GOALS OF ISLAMIST AND POLITICAL ISLAM IN EGYPT
A- Islamization of the Egyptian Society:
For centuries Islam in Egypt managed to maintain a moderate stance
that inspired other nations from all around the world. During the
darkest periods of religious wars in Europe, Egypt maintained tolerance
to with Muslims alongside Christians and Jews living together in
harmony. All monotheistic religions were tolerated and practiced freely
for centuries all the way till 1952 coup d’etat .
Before 1952, there were a Muslim King and a Christian Prime Minister
and Jewish Minister of Finance at one time. However, the entire scene
started to change during the years that followed 1952 with many Jews
were hassled after what was known as the Israeli plotted “Lavon Affair”
terrorist operation in 1954 and left for Europe, USA and Israel.
Christians started to be marginalized politically and slowly from the
higher seats in governments. The situation didn’t change much as the
years went through and during the last 20 years forms of radical Islam
brought by my mainly expatriates who lived in the Gulf-states and back
home started to replace the moderate Islam. The Full Veil (Niqab) and
long beards started to be more common scenery in the streets of Cairo
and all Egyptians cities. The sectarian tension and dismissal from
public offices for Christians and minorities becomes more prevalent as
their power grows.
Before the 1990s even the regular veil wasn’t very common in many
rural areas especially in the north of the country. But now it’s even
very common in the most urban areas. While the latter doesn’t represent a
problem but the full veil have caused a wide stir in the ranks of
Egyptian society, since it’s an identity as well as a security problem.
Islamists have been propagating this look in the society for decades and
assisted by billions of dollars donations coming from a variety of
overseas sources as well as their own businesses run in Egypt. Their
business is on the rise and fueled by the overzealous status they
created in the society. The billions of pounds spend on buying their
products be that ring tones with prayers, , Islamic veils, niqab, books
of Salafi doctrine and other Islamic related products. Religion is a
mutli-billion dollar business in Egypt and it’s possibly the only
thriving sector of the economy after the revolution.
B- Full implementation of Islamic Jurisprudence “Sharia’”:
Islamists and particularly Salafis never miss an opportunity to
demand for the full implementation of the Islamic Jurisprudence laws.
While 80% of the Jurisprudence laws are already applied in the Egyptian
law without the use of the medieval methods of capital punishments and
replaced instead by jail terms and sometimes death sentences for crimes
of murder.
Islamic
Jurisprudence have been revolutionary 1400 years at time that
Byzantine, Roman& Persian laws dominated known societies of the old
world at that time. Human rights guaranteed by these laws especially
regarding women rights of freedom of marriage, work, inheritance and
ownership that no one women in the world possessed under any system at
that time. Even the family names of women were kept after marriages as a
sign of their independence. At the earlier days of Islam women traded,
worked and even joined forces with men in wars. However, eventually
these rights were stripped one after another through the years thanks to
interpretations some radical Islamic Scholars after the death of
prophet Mohamed by a century. Eventually things went from bad to worse
with more radical interpretations of the Quran surfacing from famous
Islamic Scholars in the centuries to follow thus rendering women rights
to be very limited and in certain cases almost non-existent in some
societies like Saudi Arabia.
These pioneering jurisprudence laws can be utilized as some
guidelines but they cannot be in total coherence with the modern times
especially due to the conflicting interpretations from the Islamic
narratives and the huge difference between the modern societies of today
to the nomadic societies of the past. Also the there have been issues
which was not been dealt with decisively in the Islamic Jurisprudence
like slavery and although Islam urges people to free slaves as a good
will and deed but there wasn’t a decisive order to free them because
1400 years ago they represented the labour in those societies so the
gradual emancipation of slaves was called to all Muslims. Yet many
Muslims have found some loopholes in the jurisprudence and the actual
numbers of slaves increased in the Islamic societies to the extent that
some of them became too powerful in the army that they managed to rule
countries like Egypt for over 200 years like the Mamluks dynasty.
The Islamists fail to understand that it was actually the narrative
and counseling of great Islamic Scholars such as Sheikh Mohamed Abdou
that inspired the 1923 constitution and constitutions that followed.
Sheikh Mohamed Abdou was inspired by western progress and civilization
and wished to incorporate that into the Islamic world while preserving
the identity. Islamists fail to listen to anything beyond their own
voices concerning politics. Even the advice and inspirational work of
Mohamed Abdou and other more liberal Islamic scholars like Gamal El
Banaa (Ironically Hassan El Banna Brother) never attract their
attention.
It’s would be unreal that Egyptians after a glorious revolution
seeking freedoms would succumb to punishments that governed mainly
tribal societies over centuries ago and were even ceased in most periods
due to famines and other social and political issues. The Islamic
Jurisprudence is already applied and implemented in laws of Marriage,
trade and many others facets in Egypt but not the medieval punishments.
Therefore, these demands of applying the medieval punishments are
preposterous to say the least. The problem with Islamic Jurisprudence
punishments is that it’s not applied by God almighty but by people who
claim to act on his behalf rendering them unsuitable for the modern
world.
C- Establishment of a new Islamic Caliphate
Now this is the part where delusion meets historical nostalgia among
Islamists. Since the fall of the last Ottoman Caliphate in 1922 and the
establishment of the republic of Turkey, many Islamist scholars have
been longing for the day they would revive what they believe as the old
glories of the caliphates. While their argument relies on the power of
Muslims during the periods that lasted from the 7th century to the 20th
century, they still ignore categorically the weaknesses and the real
reasons why the last caliphate fell. The Islamic caliphates might have
been the necessity of their own time but living in the period of
nationalism and nations founded on the basis of national identity
regardless of creeds makes that argument very weak.
Furthermore,
they fail to acknowledge that during these caliphates a lot of
atrocities and human rights infringements took place in the name of
religion despite the existence of some golden periods like the Rashidin
Caliphates and Umayyad Caliphate in Andalusia (Spain&Portugal).
However, those short periods are not a valid reason to turn the clock
backwards and establish a Caliphate lead by a single man who has all the
powers over Muslims and non=Muslims from east to west. The current
democratic and national foundations surpass any benefits that could ever
occur from the establishment of a caliphate. However, hardcore
Islamists master plan is still to topple all the governments in the
Middle East and establish a new caliphate that unites Muslims under one
banner. All Islamists have the same ideology of recreating the caliphate
from Muslim Brotherhood to Al Qaeda. They all believe in the same goal
and have vowed to fulfill their dreams even at the expense and demise of
their own nations.
Conclusion:
- First they came for the communists and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.
- Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
- Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.
- Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me!
Martin Niemöller (1892-1984)
These
were the simple words of a German Theologian and Anti- Nazi Pastor
describing his initial reaction towards the rise of the Nazis in his
country and how they took factions one by one till the dominated the
political scene. This statement was published in 1955 book by Milton
Mayer’s book “They Thought They Were Free” as part of the interviews
conducted with Germans who lived through the Nazi rise and fall.
Niemöller was initially a supporter of the rise of the Nazis before he
realized later the blatant truth about them and started to criticize
them which led to his arrest and he narrowly escaped execution.
Ironically, this statement summarizes it all as well for post
Egyptian society towards the Islamists attitude and the apologists who
surround them and asking people to give them a chance despite their
blatant disregard of the others opinions and rights. Also the Islamists
endless quest to hold all political positions in Egypt be that the
parliament, government or Presidency proves that they will stop at
nothing before Egypt is turned into a state with a larger scale
caliphate.
Religion and Politics is a lethal cocktail when mixed together that
always kills anyone who drinks It and it seems Egyptians have been
sipping a lot of it lately. Religion in politics is the equivalent of
Anabolic Steroid doping in Sports, it marginalizes the competitiveness
of athletes into who has a better mix of chemicals injected into their
bodies. Similarly, when politics mix with religion it’s a doping process
that favours those who claim to be more pious and holier than thou
without presenting viable programs for the public hence it’s an
infringement to all traditions of democracy and equal rights.
Egyptians as well as their Islamists politicians are still failing to
grasp that the purpose of government is to establish a profitable free
economic system, form a good healthcare system, create a modern
educational system, pave the roads, and establish ports, airports, etc…
But no government’s task should ever include providing an entry ticket
to heaven for its people. That would be asking too much from the wrong
persons who have no hand in them entering heaven or hell.
Indulging in matters of afterlife with politics is a plague that
struck the Egyptian social and political life in recent years. Matters
of afterlife are totally in the hand of God and nothing to do with
politics. Furthermore, it should always remain within the boundaries of
mosques or churches. People will not be judged in afterlife as nations,
cities, villages nor families but as individuals. Each on his own will
face the consequence of his own deeds and not the deeds of his country
or fellowmen.
There are no countries going to heaven or hell. Egypt will not go to
heaven because we have Islamists in power and France going to hell
because they don’t have them as rulers. This entire notion is ridiculous
and a rhetoric created by Islamists throughout their campaign for the
past 80 years to attract the attention and hold the votes of some of the
simpler minded masses. The dreams of establishing an Islamic utopia
must be given up for the simple fact that there is no such thing not
before and not ever. Society’s progress as time do and all those who
keep looking in the past will never build a future which resembles 18th
century British Politician and scholar Edmund Burke saying “You can
never plan the future with the past”
The path Egyptians have chosen will lead into further divisions
within the country and Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Algeria, Gaza, Saudi
Arabia and Afghanistan are living proof that Islamists when in power
they never bring the milk and honey to people’s lives.
The educational system in Egypt should emphasize on the importance of
coexistence between all Egyptians of all faces. A more modern and
secular education should replace the antiquated educational system that
belongs to the early 20th century in Egypt. An education system that
stresses on the civic duties of each Egyptian and equal rights and
obligations of all citizens alike.
Islamists are gaining ground now inch by inch and step by step for
total hegemony on the country and very soon on the Middle East region,
they have used every deception trick from the Machiavelli’s “Prince”
book and added an appendix of their own to it.
Moreover, the once cosmopolitan society that amalgamated all nations,
creeds and ethnicities into one melting pot throughout history cannot
be poised towards a totalitarian single polar society.
One doesn’t need to be a man of God to be a good politician or even a
good man, in fact hypocrisy and double standards still taint the
reputations of many of those holier than thou types in Egyptian
politics. Moreover it’s necessary for all politicians to possess a
vision for the country regardless of how pious he/she is. Piety is a
great trait but the holier-than-thou attitude usually a façade to cover
deeper vices. It would be better to have politicians with some vices but
actual capability to serve the country than others who appear to be
immaculate but incapable of running a country.
Maybe everyone would reflect and think what they might learn from
a simple phrase made by the greatest American leader of all time President
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) which could resemble the exact situation in
post revolution Egypt. “It has been my experience that folks who have
no vices have very few virtues.”
