By Philip Whitfield
What’s up? In the media Egypt is fixated with wrangling, fighting and shooting. When you go out people are shopping, mixing and fasting. How much would you give to keep it that way? A million bucks? $29.95 is a steal.
Karima Bennoune takes us on an eye-opener. Bennoune is a professor of international law, the Middle East, human rights and women’s studies at Davis, University of California. Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here* charts the fight against Muslim fundamentalism: how bravery is reversing the tide of extremism engulfing the Islamic world.
Trailblazers risk death combating fanatics. In Senegal, wheelchair-bound Aïssatou Cissé’s comic book illustrates injustices meted out to disabled women and girls. Algerian journalists got their newspaper out the night jihadists killed 18 colleagues. Young Women for Change took to Kabul’s streets denouncing sexual harassment.
In Egypt extremists are a scintilla in the mass. The Democracy Index reports anti-Morsi demonstrators outnumbering Morsi’s 30 to1 in millions. The overwhelming majority is middle of the road, faithful, devoted to family and determined to improve their kids’ lives.
The Muslim Brothers are carpetbaggers. They steered clear of Tahrir until it was plain Mubarak was done for, crossing over to justice momentarily. Just as dope-ridden Olympians lost their medals, the Brotherhood’s presidential perks were withdrawn when their motives eked out.
According to Dr. Mona El Kouedi, assistant professor of Political Science at Cairo University with a PhD from the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, Morsi’s attempt to marginalise the military created angst among the officer corps.
His embrace of the Syrian insurgents sent shivers down their spines. Taking the economy to the brink of collapse sealed his fate, she says in an article for the NATO Defence College.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton’s shuttling is a waste of time. She should swerve around Brotherhood encampments like the Heliopolis commuters do.
How do you get rid of the sit-ins? Ignore them, not kill them. Join the millions of ordinary people who challenge recalcitrance every day. They get on with their lives.
The army? Ring-fence the sit-ins. End their walkabouts spending the Brotherhood’s pocket money tormenting the locals.
Why wait?
Eid augurs more brawling.
* Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here (ISBN 978-0-393-08158-9) W. W. Norton & Co. New York.
Philip Whitfield is a Cairo commentator.
