When Democracy Dies to Roaring Applause

Apache Helicopters Circling Downtown Cairo.
Photo By Nav S'okay

Last night, five helicopters circled over downtown Cairo, flying the Egyptian flag and the flag of the armed forces as I sat on my balcony. The victory parade of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).  Every time they passed over head, the whole neighborhood erupted into cheers. In the distance, the sound of  honking horns and the pops of fireworks were audible. All of Cairo seemed to be celebrating the eminent end of a single year of semi-democratic rule and the downfall of the Muslim Brotherhood. The SCAF had just announced that were giving President Morsi 48-hours to find a solution to the current political crisis or they would impose there own road map. Few people are using the word coup d'état in Egypt. In spite of this, it clearly appears that we are only days away from the military toppling an elected but extremely unpopular government. And people are ecstatic...

My Egyptian friends went down to Midan at-Tahrir to celebrate the news, counting down the hours until Morsi is gone. I keep hearing over and over again that people trust the military and that it will protect the people's interest. In their minds, anyone is better than those "thugs," the Muslim Brotherhood. A friend promised to take me to Midan at-Tahrir when the government falls to celebrate.

Headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood

It was the end to an whirlwind of activity over the previous 16 hours. The morning thad started with the ransacking of the Muslim Brotherhood offices. No one seemed quiet what to expect next after a day in which thirteen million people demonstrated around the country.  Developments in Egypt almost all happen in the evening so the days are largely long, hot waiting games. The news that a series of ministers had resigned in response to the demonstrations trickled in over the course of the later afternoon and then came the announcement by the military at around 6pm. Twitter and social media exploded...

At around 7:30, I went for a run with two colleagues around Dokki and into Zamelak. The announcement of a possible coup may seem like an odd time to take a jog but you quickly learn that life goes on in Cairo even as the political future remains uncertain. We had spent much of the two days before cooped up watching events unfold on the television and just wanted to get outside. The streets were live and a carnival-like atmosphere prevailed around Cairo. Cairenes drove in circles honking their horns and the street was a sea of waving flags. I seem to be the only one around me both standing with the opposition but with serious reservations about these events.

Midan al-Galaa

It may be too early to tell exactly what is going to happen or what the SCAF plans to do if and when they take power. However, recent as well as historical memory seems rather short among those around me. After the January 2011 Revolution, the SCAF ruled Egypt for 18 months, before the Muslim Brotherhood, without great success. They oversaw the trial of  journalists and protester in closed military trials as well unleashed violence against protestors that included the massacre of 20 Coptic Christians in October 2011. For women in Egypt, the period of military rule was more than a bit problematic with the 'Blue bra girl' atrocity and virginity tests preformed on female protests coming to mind. This history has been swept away in a wave of enthusiasm. Besides the most recent history, Egypt, like many countries in the region, has its own legacy of coups and military rule that failed to bring about democratic reforms and set the stage for the crisis that is unfolding around me.

People's excitement has yet to dissipate today although things are significantly more sober than last night. The biggest question seems to be what will Morsi do next. He has yet make a public appearance since the military's announcement. His few remaining allies seem determined to defend him and I somehow doubt that the Muslim Brotherhood will slink off into the shadows. Big demonstrations are expected this evening and clashes remain a possibility. In spite of this, a take over by SCAF seems like a foregone conclusion.

My greatest fear is that the military plans to take power and keep it, ending Egypt's short lived experiment with democracy. Regardless of what criticisms I have of the Muslim Brotherhood and the seriously flawed nature of the elections that brought Morsi to power, this seems to set an unfortunate precedent for the construction of pluralistic, democratic future. This is no revolutionary government that is taking power but the same entrench interests of the Mubarak era, who sought to divide the revolution after its original success. In this sense, I feel like the prophet Cassandra, doomed to see the future and not be believed.  

I hope that I am wrong. The SCAF will face the same challenges as the Morsi and clearly does not have any solution. Egyptians' patience is running short. This is not 1952 and the military will not be able to ignore the Egyptian people after the outpouring of popular opposition seen over the last couple of days. It seems increasingly unlikely that they can hold power alone. However, this does not mean that the coalition of forces that come together will not represent the same entrenched interests as the previous regimes. I hope that this is just the next step towards building a system that serves the people's interest and not the end of Egypt's unfinished revolution. The obstacles seem even greater than they did before June 30th.

The revolution continues for now.  At this point, the only thing to do is wait and see...

Scaremongering in the Media: Egypt, Orientalism and the Abuse of Facts

Cairo: 7AM

A few headlines from the News this morning:

The Image from the New York Times

Tension roils Egypt as protests grow

At least four dead as violence erupts in Egypt and clerics warn of civil war 

Egyptians Pour Into Streets, Demanding Morsi’s Ouster

 

A side by side comparison of two articles about yesterday's events in Cairo:

1. In an outpouring of rage against the president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, a core of demonstrators set fire to the headquarters of Mr. Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement. 

2. Millions of opposition protesters hit the streets across Egypt to call for the ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Sunday (which marked the end of his first year in office), with violence in leaving at least seven dead.

The first quotation is the opening paragraph of the of the New York Times and the second is from the English website of the Egypt newspaper Ahram. In general, I disagree with the emphasis on violence in both paragraphs but that is a questions for another day. The quotation from the New York Times clearly highlights conflict and anger over any other emotions from yesterday's demonstrations. The unprecedented size of the protests does not even merit a mention in the opening lines. Somehow two million people marching in the streets is an afterthought, a footnotes, to the larger narrative that they have been crafting for days now. It does not fit with the story they are trying to tell so they bury it.

The emotions that I would use to describe yesterdays protests are joy, elation, happiness, excitement. It was quite possibly the largest single demonstration ever seen. Period. While there was of course anger against Morsi and his government, this was not the only emotion in Midan al-Tahrir. Speaking with friends and following events from my apartment, rage was not diving Egyptians into the streets in the millions.  They were seeking fundamental change to an incompetent government that they felt did not represent their interests and did provide a way forward given the current political and economic crises facing Egypt. In spite of this, the media continued to drag out its tired narrative of the Arab street, characterized by irrationality, violence and chaos.

Photo by Hasan Amin

I do not want to downplay the fact that there was some violence yesterday. The burning of Muslim Brotherhood office is unfortunate but not surprising. We should mourn the lives lost yesterday and honor those that died fighting for the future of their country. However, we should not let a few isolate acts of violence become the primary focus of our understanding of the events that are unfolding in Egypt. 

Egypt is Rising and the Revolution Continues....

For more photos by Karim Hesham go to http://www.karimhesham.com/ and for more on Hasan Amin go to https://www.facebook.com/Hasan.Amin.Photographer.From.Egypt

Revolution: Today in a Single Image

It is rare the chaos of a day can captured in a single image. However, I think this photo tweeted by Bassem Sabry comes pretty close. It depicts Midan at-Tahrir filled with people as more arrive, crossing the bridge from Zamalek into Downtown. The exact number of demonstrators is still unknown but current estimates claim it was the biggest demonstration in the history of Egypt. While my body is under house arrest, my heart is in Midan at-Tahrir with the thousands of other demonstrators. Misr, you truly are Umm al-Douna today.

Photo by Bassem Sabry

Follow Bassem Sabry on twitter at @Bassem_Sabry or you can read his blog at http://anarabcitizen.blogspot.com/.

Ya Misr.... The Revolution Continues....

Dokki, Cairo: 7PM

Midan al-Galaa at around 6pm. Photo Courtesy of

Nav S'okay.

As the sun sets on a long day in Cairo, I sit watching al-Jazeera, my computer propped up on my knee. The call to prayer just sounded and the image from Tahrir is a mass open air mosque with thousands of people bowing their heads together. For most of day, I have struggled to pretend to do work while switching between facebook and twitter, reading the live feeds as they come in from around the country. While most of Egypt seems to be out in the streets, I spent the day confined to my apartment in Dokki due to security concerns.

Cairo. Photo Courtesy of Ahmed Farag.

This morning I watched event with cautious optimism but still waiting for the other shoe to drop. We had been inundated with so many emails cautioning us against potential violence and clashes. The New York Times refereed to Cairo as a tinder box on the brink of civil war. Clearly, those writers were not actually in Cairo speaking with actual Egyptians. While there were a few disturbing reports of armed members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the violence of the last few days hanging over the demonstration, this predicted chaos has yet to materialize. As the afternoon wore on that optimism shift to a kind of infectious joy mixed with a hint of remorse. The protests exceeded everyone's expectations with people pouring from all over the city. My only regret being that I am not out on the streets with what appears to be most of Egypt. Images of Midan at-Tahrir show an endless sea of people and noise, flags and banner waving in the wind. Another group of demonstrators, marched towards the presidential palace, filling the street as far as the eye can see. Some commentators are even claiming that these demonstrations are the largest in Egypt's history and bigger than those in January 2011, which toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.


Throughout the day,  I periodically checked in with friends participating in the demonstrations over social media. All of them expressed the excited they felt in the demonstrations, describing them as a wonderful experience of comradeship. For them, it seems as if they are waking form a long nightmare to find Egypt united, throwing around the term revolution with ease. They asked me to describe the scenes that I was watching on TV since it was impossible to get a sense of the size of the demonstrations from the ground. Even as the sun sets, the protests show no sign of winding down and will most likely continue long into the night with fireworks lighting the sky.

Alexandria. Photo Courtesy of Moustafa Alaa El-din Badawy.

In spite of the inspirational nature of these demonstrations, the way forward is less than clear. No one seems to know the next step. Most people seem confident that Morsi will resign quickly after this outpouring of opposition. However, I have never known leaders to relinquish the reigns of power so easily. I am apprehensive that this optimism may turn to frustration and possibly violence without a clear path forward. In spite of these reservations, I am determined to enjoy the moment with most of the rest of Egypt.

Tomorrow is a new day... Egypt is rising

الديمقراطية هي الحل