What do Egyptians want?
What are the aspirations of Egyptians? Could it be an outcome for Egyptians or an outcome which is preferred by the Americans, Europeans, Israel and Saudi Arabia etc?
Now that Hosni Mubarak has resigned, would the Americans, Europeans and Israelis support a military dictatorship in Egypt or a thorough democratic transition processes?! It is the case that, with the resignation of Mubarak, the real heavy lifting or fundamental change in Egypt really begins now.
General Omar Suleiman is severely tainted. He is part of the Mubarak cabal, and part of the Egyptian military industrial complex, he is part of the old guard, and literally very old at 75, while Mubarak his predecessor is 82. General Omar Suleiman is notoriously in the pockets of external forces outside Egypt as in the United States, Europe and Israel etc
General Suleiman was the point man for America’s Extraordinary Rendition, he is known to have said that he wanted Gaza to be hungry, but not starve as Egypt and Israel inflicted the continuing blockade of Gaza. WikiLeaks has a tome dossier on General Omar Suleiman’s cozy relationship with America and Israel, at the expense of citizens of Egypt and the interests of Arabs, Persia and the entire Middle East. General Suleiman is a persona non grata and a pariah within the Human Rights community globally.
Citizens of Egypt commenced a revolution a couple of weeks ago, and the revolution has succeeded, it has culminated in the eventual departure today, of the tyrant who has been a fixture in Egyptian political space for far too long!
But what do Egyptians want and why should anyone care? Why is it important at all to ask what Egyptians want?
Discussions by the Americans, Europeans and Israelis about Egyptians demonstrators-protesters against the dictatorship and tyranny which have been operated by Hosni Mubarak for over thirty years have centered on their interests and benefits.
Hosni Mubarak is the linchpin and bulwark of American, European and Israeli policies in the Middle East towards Arabs, Persians and Palestinians. This is the foundation and predicate of the instability and intractable crises in the Middle East. It is an extremely myopic and shortsighted policy which prefers personality over institutions. This is an unreasoned and illogical policy which is based on expediency and arrogance of power.
Clearly, it is the case that, the Americans, Europeans n and Israelis have no robust, vigorous and reasoned long term policies for the Middle East, Arabia and Persia. There is no Egyptian policy, there instead a fluid and quicksand policy which surrounds and revolves around Hosni Mubarak and other dictators in the Middle East
Americans, Europeans and Israelis are in trepidation of Islam and Muslims and this is what drives their foreign policy toward Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Palestine, Indonesia, Afghanistan etc. And this is why there is this pretense on their part, that Hosni Mubarak is the only Egyptian with “leadership skills” and the last person standing that can lead Egypt, even after 30 years of Mubarak’s tyranny and persisting state of emergency. The fear of Islam, Muslims and Islamic Brotherhood is what drives the spurious arguments which pretends that Egypt will become an Islamic theocracy made up of extremists with lust for the bloods of western nations and Israel
The fact on the ground in Egypt is significantly and remarkably different from how it has been portrayed by the Americans, Europeans and Israelis. There are for instance, more than 26 political parties in Egypt. It is also the case that Muslim Brotherhood are not the drivers of the current revolution, which is in fact very diverse and multicultural and multi-religious and cuts across every age groups and every income groups.
There is a persisting refusal by western nations sift the wheat from chaff . race to the top democracy, instead of a race to the bottom in which every Muslim is deemed an extremist and this have been exemplified by the truncation of democracy and constitutionalism as when HAMAS triumphed in elections in 2006, as well as when the Islamic Party in Algeria won elections in that nation several years before.
HAMAS is maligned and demeaned and labeled a terrorist organization by America, Europeans and Israelis, despite the fact that HAMAS is popular with Palestinians. And despite the fact that HAMAS have over the years provided more social services than any of the handpicked puppets who have headed the Palestinian Authority for years. HAMAS have provided health care, schools, after school programs, reconstruction and rebuilding supports after arbitrary demolitions by Israel, of Palestinian properties in West Bank, Gaza Strip etc.
America touted democracy and pushed for elections in Palestine, but, America did not like the outcome when HAMAS won the elections fair and square! Former President George W. Bush claimed famously that the invasion and occupation of Iraq would cause democracy to take root in Iraq and by extension of all the Middle East, but Americans are suddenly loathe of democracy taking roots in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia? Why are the Americans not rooting for the domino effects of Tunisia protests, and now Egypt and slippery slopes to blissful democratization in the Middle East
It is rather astounding and extremely astonishing that Americans are quick to demonize HAMAS, Hezbollah and other symbols of Political Islam, when in fact, Americans, all through history, have allowed, tolerated and accepted political leaders who are openly racists and those who open advocates of segregationists who were elected to the US Congress from Strum Thurmond to Rand Paul
Americans who Christian extremist, who advocate shooting, killing and murdering doctors and nurses, whose only offense is providing legitimate medical care in their capacities as medical care givers also known as abortions are seen as normal or almost normal
Americans who unreasonably and irrational hold on to their Second Amendment rights to own guns regardless of the fact that gun violence is responsible for the untimely and needless deaths of over 25, 000 and yet, the fear of the National Rifle Association by American politicians is the beginning of wisdom and political survival, and yet, the NRA does not produce goods and services.
Additionally, religious organizations in America are aggressively political; Christians, Jews and others are very politically influential. The Catholic Church for instance, sought to derail President Obama’s Healthcare Reform Act, and as a consequence, the Catholic Church and other Christian groups spent hundreds of millions of dollars in attempts to defeat Mr. Obama’s reform efforts. Why would religious organization want to defeat health care insurance for all, particularly for the poor? Christian demagogues predicated their asinine arguments against health care reforms on their anti abortion conservative Christian worldview.
Fear, particularly, irrational and unreasonable fears, are the foundations of worst cases hatreds and bigotries which the world have known and witnessed. The fear of what is presumed about others, the fear of real and imagined foes have been the basis of needless and pointless human suffering globally.
The fear of physical and fiscal domination, the fear of being subsumed by other cultures, languages, and ideologies, the fear of the other turning us into their otherness, are roots of all human conflicts worldwide.
The fear of Islam, especially political Islam, has motivated inspired wrongheaded public policies during the preceding ten years. Fear is central to the debates regarding the wearing of burka/veil coverings in France, Egypt and even here as well in the United States. All attempts to sugarcoat it and camouflage it as some dispassionate and objective advocacy and promotion of gender equality for Muslim women, have not deceived anyone about the irrational fears by
some, upon beholding women in burkah/veils
Similarly, it is must be said that attempts by some notwithstanding, no one is deceived and oblivious to the vehemence and extreme stridency with which some resist efforts by people of Islamic faith to pursue and fulfill the meaning of life while in complete obeisance to Islamic norms and precepts.
Several years ago, democracy was put on trial by those who sought defeat and scuttle the outcomes of free and fair elections which were conducted in Algeria, in Palestinian territory of Gaza and West Bank, as well as in Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq etc
The fear of political Islam is once again, front and center, the spurious and scurrilous arguments being made against the yearning of 87 million Egyptian citizens who are seeking legitimate democratic change from several decades of dictatorship and absolute tyrannical power which have been wielded by Hosni Mubarak.
Democracy, is ideally supposed to be a form of government by of the people by the people for the people. But quite curiously, some persons in the American, European and Israeli governments have demonstrated fervent aversions to democracy of the people, by the people for the people of Egypt, Palestine, Algeria, etc
Democracy seem only perfect and acceptable within developing nations, only when the American, Israeli and their western European allies are able to install a predetermined puppet, a puppet who is an internal opportunist and who is similarly amenable to external manipulators.
The preferred view ought to be that political aspirants, political candidates and political gladiators of every nation are able to canvass for votes through public policy driven electioneering in which the candidates subject themselves to thorough and heightened scrutiny by the public, press and more importantly, the electorate of such given nation.
The stridency, the vehemence and the extreme negative vigor with which western nations have undermined democratic processes and democratic victories every time that Muslim Brotherhood, HAMAS, Hezbollah, Motada followers have been triumphant at elections, are illustrative of western hypocrisies in which the west sanctimoniously engage in preachment of democracy and hold themselves out as bastions of democracy, while simultaneously doing everything in order to subvert democracy when and if, it favors Muslim Brotherhood, HAMAS, Hezbollah etc
Westerners seem to insist that Islam and Muslims are monolithic, and that they the westerners know best what is good for Islam and Muslims? It takes an overdose of industrial strength arrogance in mindsets and policy formulations and implementations by and through which westerners and their allies seek to tell those of the Islamic faith what to do and in fact, what is good for Islam and Muslim. This is the same identical mindsets which informed slavery, colonialism and apartheid. The idea that non-Christians are primitive and savages who needed to be civilized by all knowing, all altruistic and benevolent Christian westerners!
Too many in America, Europe and Israel are engaging in bigotries, hatred and clear cases of Islamophobia, with feeble attempts at camouflaging and concealing their prejudices and biases against Islam, particularly, Political Islam!
There just too many with such stridency and vehemence against Islam and Muslims, so much so, that they deploy hyperbole in their acerbic criticisms of Islam and Muslims, take for instance, the statement to the effect, that, “Muslim Brotherhood is more dangerous than Al Qaeda because the Muslim Brotherhood have capacity to participate in democracy through elections Ayaan Hirsi Ali? Ayaan Hirsi Ali wants a divorce between Islam and Sharia, she want Muslims who are politicians to renounce Sharia, she insist that they should say yes to Islam and no to Sharia. Ayaan Hirsi Ali blames Iran for having aggressive foreign policy through pursuit of nuclear weapons! But how can she justify these generalizations against Muslims and Islam?
How tenable for instance, would she or anyone be, to demand that ultra conservative Christians, the Evangelicals and other power Political Christians renounce and divorce their Christian worldview, Christian “morality” from their political aspirations? And, if she would not make such demands of Christians and or Jews or such other politically active religious groups, why should anyone, make such demands of Islam and Muslims?
It is the case that every major religion on earth have within it, extremists, such as those who assassinated Yizak Rabin of Israel and Indira Gandhi of India and Hariri of Lebanon. Besides, the Spanish Inquisition, Pedophile priests and forced conversion to Christianity are all reminders of how impure the history of Christianity has been. Christianity has extremists and a huge historical baggage.
100 million Americans are ultra conservatives and Christian evangelicals opposed to abortion rights and many civil liberties. And depending on who is analyzing and evaluating Christian extremism, it is quite arguably dangerous!
Muslim Brotherhood social service to citizens is legendary; Muslim Brotherhood has demonstrated a keen sense and astute sense of responsibility
The world is presented with false choices, between a lifetime of Mubarak’s dictatorship and Muslim Brotherhood which will bring civilization as we know it to an end in Egypt! Two extremes, Mubarak or extremists, America have used Mubarak as she has used General Zia Ul Haq in Pakistan, Ul Haq who implemented Sharia law, and Sharia was not an issue to the Americans then, but it is now as blasphemy law in Pakistan is in the news
America, Europeans and Israelis must now get ready to compete with Muslim brotherhood and political Islam, and they should be reminded that the world is a market place for ideas and the best should prevail with superior arguments or market savvy. We should all advocate, promote and support democracy and let the best democrats rise to the top, after careful scrutiny by a given electorate and after such electorate in particular nation have thoroughly weighed all options.
The course of democracy may be slow. Democracy can be unruly, unwieldy, and democracy like due process and the rule of law can be painfully slow, hence, it is often said, that democracy is the worst form of government except the alternatives. Americans, Europeans and Israelis should therefore learn to cultivate relationships with other nations, without seeking to undermine democratic processes in other nations and without preferring dictators and tyrants who are contemptuous of their citizens, and their electorate and national democratic institutions.
Those who claim to advance promote and support democracy; there should be no preference for antidemocratic forces. Expedient policies produced historical failures of democracy in the Philippines after the dictator client Ferdinand Marcos fell.
Expedient policy and myopia drove the support for Sulharto in Indonesia, as it did for the Shah of Iran and Pinochet in Chile, the Mujahideen in Afghanistan and the list is endless. Those who provide support for dictators for short term gains, sow the seeds of terrible consequences when dictators die or when they are overthrown. Investment in democratic institutions is clearly always better than sponsorships of military and antidemocratic brigandage in nations across the world.
All reasonable persons should advocate, promote and support true democracy, government of the people, by the people and for the people. Democracy is a form of government which the people of a given nation freely choose and distilled to suit their national collective interests and purpose of particular nation.
America, Europeans and Israelis must now get ready to compete with Muslim brotherhood and political Islam, and they should be reminded that the world is a market place for ideas and the best should prevail with superior arguments or market savvy. We should all advocate, promote and suppor
t democracy and let the best democrats rise to the top, after careful scrutiny by a given electorate and after such electorate in particular nation have thoroughly weighed all options. The battle of civilizations some may call these duels, we should all contribute our arguments!
The course of democracy may be slow. Democracy can be unruly, unwieldy, and democracy like due process and the rule of law can be painfully slow, hence, it is often said, that democracy is the worst form of government except the alternatives. Americans, Europeans and Israelis should therefore learn to cultivate relationships with other nations, without seeking to undermine democratic processes in other nations and without preferring dictators and tyrants who are contemptuous of their citizens, and their electorate and national democratic institutions.
Those who claim to advance promote and support democracy; there should be no preference for antidemocratic forces. Expedient policies produced historical failures of democracy in the Philippines after the dictator client Ferdinand Marcos fell.
Expedient policy and myopia drove the support for Sulharto in Indonesia, as it did for the Shah of Iran and Pinochet in Chile, the Mujahideen in Afghanistan and the list is endless. Those who provide support for dictators for short term gains, sow the seeds of terrible consequences when dictators die or when they are overthrown. Investment in democratic institutions is clearly always better than sponsorships of military and antidemocratic brigandage in nations across the world.
All reasonable persons should advocate, promote and support true democracy, government of the people, by the people and for the people. Democracy is a form of government which the people of a given nation freely choose and distilled to suit their national collective interests and purpose of particular nation.
