By Jason Apuzzo. Here is a revealing piece of on-the-spot documentary work by Sky News’ Duncan Sharp, from the scene of the current protests in Cairo.
We support the Egyptian people in their aspiration for genuine (i.e., non-fraudulent) democracy.
Posted on January 29th, 2011 at 9:42am.
I don’t support genuine democracy in Egypt. It will produce what it produced in Gaza: an intolerant, bloodthirsty Islamist government. We’ll have another Iran on our hands before you known it.
Gaza isn’t Cairo. There’s a world of difference there. An Islamist government wouldn’t survive for 5 minutes in a city as cosmopolitan as Cairo.
That’s what they once said about Istanbul. And Teheran. And Lebanon. The rest of Egypt is not nearly so cosmopolitan as Cairo, if at all, and the Muslim Brotherhood is very strong throughout the country, and they can bring out the votes. It’s naive to imagine that they will not exploit the unrest. I would not be surprised if they were behind it.
But Istanbul hasn’t gone radical – and, more generally, we’re not living in the 1970s any more.
Look, I don’t mean to suggest that there isn’t a danger of the Muslim Brotherhood or their radical allies turning the situation into something sinister – but the circumstances in Egypt do not seem ripe for an Islamic revolution there at the moment. I should point out that I’ve actually been to Egypt (and Istanbul), and I can tell you that what happens in Cairo will absolutely be determinative of what happens overall for the country.
Much of the reason that radicals like Muhammed Atta actually wind up leaving Egypt is that the country actually has something resembling a progressive middle class – people who aren’t interested in the solutions offered by the imams. Those appear to be the people currently taking to the streets.
I pray your right Jason and I do feel a hair more confident in Egypt and it’s people than I did during the Iranian Revolution. I was a college student then and I recall the Iranian students protesting here just like the Egyptians are doing today. The Iranians at that time in the U.S. seemed to me to be cosmopolitan and sophisticated (just like the Egyptians today) and We know how that ended. We had a weak President just like today and it ended in disaster with a horrible regime and a inflamed region of the world that We’re still having to deal with to this very day.
I want the Egyptians to be free just like I am however my concern is the United States first and foremost. This chain reaction of protests across several countries is no accident. This is the scariest time I’ve seen in the Middle East since the late seventies. This administration should remember the saying “Be careful what you wish for”. Because wishful thinking in regard to the Middle East leads to the bloodshed of innocent Americans.
All true. I’m hoping here – and I emphasize the word hope – that the miserable example of Iran over the past 30 years is something that these protestors are not eager to embrace.
Well, Turkey has definitely taken a very sharp turn toward Islamism. The secularists are on the run; witness the trial of the generals. The government has taken a hard Islamist line against Israel. I don’t believe it will stop here. All courtesy of a democratic election that ushered in an Islamist party.
I hope you’re right regarding Cairo, but I’m not hopeful. According to this story, the Muslim Brotherhood is already talking about forming a government:
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/egypt-s-muslim-brotherhood-eyes-unity-gov-t-without-mubarak-1.340168
And surprise, surprise, some of these seekers for democracy are now blaming Israel for their country’s problems:
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=205931
If that’s who we’re dealing with, I can’t see that the downfall of Mubarak, should it occur, will lead to anything good.
I think that a larger reason for people like Atta leaving Egypt is Mubarak’s repressive government, which doesn’t give an inch to the Islamists.
We’ll see what happens. You certainly could be right …
Here’s more crap from the peace-loving democrats in the streets of Cairo. The peace treaty with Israel has made them lose their precious dignity, see? The more I read, the more I hope Mubarak crushes these people. They are seriously bad news.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=206357
Uugh.