Military or Fundamentalism? Egypt Between A Rock and A Hard Place

Editor's Note:  If you believe that Muslim fundamentalism and its ensuing terrorism pose serious threats to the world, you will begin to have more answers about what is happening in Egypt than questions and frustrations.

Cairo, home of Islam’s most renowned mosque and authoritative university, Al-Azhar, is also home to the Muslim Brotherhood which gave the world the chief al-Qaeda man Ayman al-Zawahiri and his likes. The same Muslim Brotherhood that was outlawed because of its fundamentalist ideology, bloody history and murderous plots against any individual or entire people who didn’t fit its doctrine. That same Brotherhood came to power democratically last year (only because of years of organized underground activism and a sizeable number of followers who do exactly as they’re told).

We owe it to Egypt not to see things as only black and white, good and bad or life and death. What makes us unique is our diversity and the critical mind that makes us skeptics, able to doubt and reviewing our position, maybe even change our mind and accept that “the other” might be right while we're wrong in finding our way to the truth.


The new Egypt did not repress the Brotherhood, quite the contrary, in the spirit of newfound freedom and inclusivity, Egypt embraced them and gave them a chance to prove how worthy they are of ruling a country and representing a nation as large, as diverse and as excited about its fresh revolution as Egypt was after toppling Hosni Mubarak.

The Muslim Brotherhood failed at governing for all Egypt; but the true elephant in the room here is the Islamist agenda. Egyptians knew that the longer Morsi was to remain in power the worse things were going to get for non-Brotherhood Egyptians and for the country as a whole. They acted on this main fear by toppling Morsi as they did Mubarak before him. The military helped realize their demand and stopped short of a military takeover, knowing very well it can do that any time in the future.

Many mass media, Arab and Western, have played a role in a quagmire of disinformation and lack of substance. Early on after June 30, some media took sides, and focused on the insignificant details when lives were in danger and real action was needed.

The west remains locked: Coup or Not, Cutting U.S. Aid to Egyptian Military or Not. Discussions continue to rotate around those two themes totally disregarding calls and provocation by Muslim Brotherhood leaders for endless sit-in’s and “rage” demonstrations. The majority of western media are turning a deaf ear to their mottos and shouting slogans, “We won’t stop until death.”

When people wage violent demonstrations against a military, what can one expect other than bloodshed? When someone brings the family to a square to “restore Morsi to power or die,” what can the outcome be other than massacres in a country known for its ruthless and bloody military, especially when chaos engulfs all aspects of life of millions Egyptians? There was a time for this conversation to be had but many missed it. Instead they waited for blood to spill to talk about it. By then, most people had gotten it wrong and the media circus carries on.

All violence and all killings should be condemned whether committed by the military or the Brotherhood. Neither is an answer to Egypt’s future.

In the meantime, some tough questions remain.

Can someone who voluntarily offer their life and blood on the altar of the Brotherhood and vows to fight till death, or more correctly, till “martyrdom,” and provokes violence and torches churches to incite more violence.. Can a person like that really claim a victim status for himself and others like him after that? You become a warrior when you bear arms in a conflict.. You become an accomplice when you remain in a protest knowing that it is not peaceful and extremely violent.