My Opinion on the Egyptian "Situation"

It seems like Egypt has been all over the news for the past three years. And for good reason.  Egypt’s a mess. Whether you’re an Egyptian or just a person who follows the news, you know how unstable Egypt has been. Being an Egyptian American makes it especially hard no to get caught up in the black hole that is now Egyptian politics.Three years after the revolution, Egypt still seems to be fighting the same battle. I’ve been to Egypt twice in the last three years and many times before the revolution and I can honestly say that the country now is worse than it has ever been.

Let me break it down for you. After Mubarak, Egypt’s former dictator, was ousted, the Egyptian military ruled what was an interim government. During that period, many political parties formed or regained their vigor with the hope that democracy will allow them to pursue their political goals. The Egyptian people were impatient and protested against the military’s rule of Egypt. “Down, down with military rule” was the chant that I and many others took to the streets with.Mubarak was just another army general after all, and repeating the same mistake of trusting the military was something Egyptians were not willing to do. Back in 2011 that is. Anyway, one of the political groups that rose to power during that period was the Muslim Brotherhood. Yes, and who are they exactly you might ask? Well, the Muslim Brotherhood, or MB, is an old Egyptian political party that was founded on basic Islamic principles. They aren’t extremists, but they’re also not the most liberal, as with most religious political organizations out there.

Nonetheless, the MB gained a lot of supporters and won Egypt’s first democratic and fair presidential elections, making Morsy Egypt’s first democratically elected president.  I was there when Morsy won and the happiness and hope people had regarding the new president was at an all-time high. Of course not everyone agreed with the MB or Morsy and I myself was hesitant about the dangerous mixture of religion and politics especially that Egypt has a considerable Coptic population, and did not want the MB in power during such a critical time for Egypt.

A year or so passed and Egypt’s thirty years of corruption weren’t magically fixed. What strikes me as most detrimental to the Egyptian revolution (the failed revolution) is that people were not patient and expected results from Morsy right away. They hadn’t even let him finish his four year term when again Egyptians took to the streets in June of 2013 and gave what the military called “permission” to throw him out of office. Soon afterwards, none other than the military took over Egypt again in what many described as a military coup and the head of the military, General Sisi, is “running” for president in the upcoming elections. An election in which there will probably be no opposition.

Even more concerning is the fact that many anti-military protesters have died, with around 50 people dying on the revolution’s third anniversary due to clashes with police and army forces. The MB has been since called a terrorist group and any outward support for them may lead to police brutality or a jail sentence. What’s even more baffling is the number of Egyptians who support the military after all the blood shed they’ve caused. 

Still, I have hope for Egypt. Hope that one day the poor and powerless will have a say in their future. That religion won’t be used as a political tool to gather votes and neither will the media use people’s ignorance to their advantage. Times like these are when I most appreciate being an American. I can voice my opinions with a greater amount of freedom than almost anywhere else. I just hope one day that freedom can be extended to people all over the world.  

Peace and much love to y'all :)