ANGEL HEART
( إذَا مَاتَ الإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُ إلاَّ مِنْ ثَلاَثٍ : صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ ، أَوْ عِلْم
 الديانة : 
 الجنسية : بلادي وإن جارت عليّ عزيزةُ وأهلي وإن ضنوا عليّ كرامُ
عدد المساهمات : 7806
 العمر : 48
 المهنة : معلم خبير لغة إنجليزية
 الابراج : 
 الأبراج الصينية : 
نقاط : 186830
السمعة : 246
تاريخ الميلاد : 07/12/1975
تاريخ التسجيل : 29/03/2010
الموقع : https://fgec.ahlamontada.com/
 العمل/الترفيه : Expert master of English
 المزاج : عبد ذليل لرب جليل
 |  موضوع: Egyptians are committed in ensuring a strong foundation for democratic reconstruction. 2011-08-30, 3:44 am | |
|   | | Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators protest demanding political reform in Cairo [AP] |
Egypt’s political landscape can be likened to tectonic plates: constantly shifting.The aftershocks of the country’s political tsunami continue to be
felt in the alignments, re-alignments and coalition building unfolding
day by day.The latest to enter the foray are the Sufis - at the invitation of
the country's fragile liberal forces struggling to make an impact
against the more solidified religious forces.How is the grab for power and short-term gain corrupting the quest for genuine and substantive long-term institution building?Religious EgyptThere is no escape from religion in Egypt - in this regard
post-revolution is more like pre-revolution. Copts and Muslims are
equally spiritual and take the religious experience very seriously. It
is difficult to imagine Egypt without the Nile. Likewise, it is
impossible to imagine Egypt without religion and religiosity. In theory, liberal and secular recipes might have some value in them
as templates of political correctness and modernising veneer. In
practice, they are not enabling enough, at least not as yet, for forces
and voices espousing them to bite into the body politic.Stay tuned for the coming battles over what kind of constitution,
namely the status of Islamic law in legislation, the country should
develop after the November parliamentary elections - if not postponed
again.The battle lines are already drawn between the liberal and secular
forces on one side and the Islamists (Muslim Brotherhood [MB] and the
Salafists) on the other. What complicates matters is the sympathy by the
Prime Minister's office and the Military Council for such tenets, and
the - Freedom & Justice Party (MB-FJP) does not wish to sabotage
the excellent relations they have thus far maintained with the Military
Council.The Immutable and Mutable in EgyptLargely, historical pedigree and institutionalisation will provide
the political pivots around which politics is organised, informed and
shaped in the Arab World's leading state.One is the army which is a professional institution par excellence
and is a major stakeholder in the state. Even under Mubarak it has
remained autonomous, which like in Tunisia explains its non-use of force
against the civilian population. It will remain a mover and shaker of
politics, however.The Wafd's historical role and aura, especially under Saad Zaghloul,
and its role in recruitment during state-formation and de-colonisation
provides it with a political repertoire for rebuilding itself into a key
political party. Today's Wafd is riddled with problems, with
internecine fighting dimming its previous shine.Like the Wafd, the Muslim Brotherhood, now licensed and empowered
through having a political arm is a formidable force, versed into the
politics of Egypt from the time of the monarchy till present. Its
wealth, cadres, resourcefulness, global ties, networks amongst Egypt's
religious and non-religious elites, grmindroots struggles and welfarism,
and popular following endows it with unmatched weight in the current
political topography in Egypt.Closeness and affinity with the Azhar, which is not in any way
institutional is a bonus, but they do not always see eye to eye on
numerous matters of national importance. In the post-revolution period,
the Azhar will inevitably become more embroiled in politics, and it
already is. Short of fielding candidates to parliament, its say in
politics will be of import to all.The above three forces are chief political pivots.The Sufi brotherhoods are ubiquitous in Egypt. But unlike in
neighbouring Sudan and Libya their political role has been negligible.
Like the Salafis, they will need time to be coached into the mastery of
the art of politics. The 6th of April Movement, which has divided after the revolution,
and the National Movement for Change have lots of potential, and their
political instinct to engage the current phase through
coalition-building is judicious. This gives the old and new small
parties political texture and a margin of existence. Trade unions remain
weak and their role will in the foreseeable future remain limited.The above forces represent the new face of post-revolutionary Egypt,
and their role in politics is bound to solidify, either by coalescing
within and without, by drawing on the weight of existing pivotal actors.Emergence of Excluded Religion The Salafis probably outnumber the MB in terms of popular reach. They
have been functioning underground and the the Alexandria-based
so-called 'Tanzeem 2' (apparatus 2, on the right of political Islam’s
spectrum) has been lying low but not idle. Today they want a place in
post-Mubarak Egypt and have either formed political parties (e.g.
Al-Adl, Al-Nour) or have parties under construction, as it were.What they lack now is the civic continuity, visibility and political
know-how of the MB. The MB is weighty today because it has invested so
much capital in struggles against the state, competition for power in
local and parliamentary elections, and networked widely, nationally and
globally. Whether in Gaza or Bosnia they have had a role to play, no
matter how minimal.To raise the banner of 'khilafa' (Islamic Caliplove) in
today's world, as does Hizb al-Tahrir in London, is political bankruptcy
in a country like Egypt. This is a language not found within the MB,
but integral to many Salafi groups politico-religious template. No
wonder the liberals and the secular forces, including many Copts, were
petrified by such banners the day the Salafis descended on Tahrir Square
on the 29th of July.Some of the current re-alignments happening today are reactionary, seeking to respond to the Salafis' call for Sharia'h,
Islamic law, by dragging into politics the Sufis, supposedly and
theoretically the soft, moderate and accommodating face of Islam.The Al-'Azmiyya Brotherhood Shaykh, Alaa Al-Din Abu Al-'Azayim tried to oblige, promising what is named here a 'malyuniyya'
(one-million people) to gather in Tahrir Square on the 12th of August
for a Friday 'for the love of Egypt’ show of force. The Sufis never came
either for disagreement, which is the view of most Sufi Brotherhoods,
or for inability to recruit enough people for the malyuniyya of patriotic 'love'.Plus, the timing is bad: the Military Council is banning all 'malyuniyyas',
and future ones will be held in conjunction with it, including the one
planned for August 19. All arteries to Tahrir Square are heavily policed
with security forces trucks flanking streets in and out of Tahrir.In politics, the liberals and the secularists, despite the best of
intentions, are looking like political dervishes. They are overwhelmed
by the power of religion in a country where they will for some time to
come be dwarfed by Islamists of all kinds.The penny has finally dropped. The liberals and secularists may have
just realised that in politics they, too, might need the mysterious hand
of the lord to forge their inexistent political careers and breathe
some life into their causes.Where does that leave liberalism? And secularism? All long they have
maintained that a key tenet of their political philosophy to be
separation of religion and politics! They are entitled, in my view, to
adapt to the local reality whose sensibilities and sensitivities differ
from the birthplace and context of Western liberalism.The MB has been adept at seeking coalitions with secular parties,
including the Wafd these days, even if there are differences threatening
a split between the two. Copts are becoming visible in the FJP and will
join its electoral lists in November. The Wafd itself is flirting with
the Salafists, as an insurance policy should their coalition with the
MB-FJP come unstuck. Most likely, if the debate about the constitutional
tenets heats up, the Salafists and MB-FJP would form joint lists for
the November elections, with or without the Wafd.Post-Revolutionary EgyptEgyptians are brilliant people. They are just facing the travails for
democratic reconstruction and the challenges of coming together to
re-imagine political community.They are entitled to differ, to make mistakes, and even act clumsily.
There are benefits to this: it is a democratic learning curve they must
measure up to.In describing the coalition building and the battle lines, I am not
naively stating that Egypt is in a state of crisis. I am saying exactly
the opposite: that I am optimistic about how this great nation is
learning to parley, rely on its own resources instead of importing
democratic moulds from without. All this I do this in the knowledge, as a
committed student of Arab democratic transformation, that the road to
democratic Egypt has just begun; may be the revolution has just begun.As for the labels, MB, FJP, Salafis, Sufis, liberals, secularists or
the followers of Shaykh Imam, the 8th of July or the 'poverty first'
campaign, they are just the political capillaries to pluralism and
pluralisation, some keys of how to open up the Pandora’s box of the
struggle for good government in Egypt.Egypt is finally breathing freedom.Dr
Larbi Sadiki is a Senior Lecturer in Middle East Politics at the
University of Exeter, and author of Arab Democratisation: Elections
without Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2009) and The Search for
Arab Democracy: Discourses and Counter-Discourses (Columbia University
Press, 2004), and the forthcoming Hamas and the Political Process
(2011).[b]The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent Al Jazeera's editorial policy.[/b] | |
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