In the two days since President Morsi's ouster there have been various suggestions as to "What Went
Wrong." One headline was something like "How did the US lose the Egyptian people." That is eerily similar to the question asked in 1949, "Who lost China?" Those are dumb questions. China and Egypt were never the US's to lose. The decisions in both cases were the decisions of the Chinese and Egyptian people. Smarter questions with Egypt are went wrong with the Morsi democracy? Why did the first democracy in Egyptian history fail after one year. One suggestion, in McPaper, I believe, is "it's the economy, stupid." Wrong. If the economy was preeminent in the minds of the Egyptian people, they never would have ousted Mubarak. The Egyptian economy is a basket case after two years of continual protests. The people of Egypt have continued to protest despite the declining economy being directly caused by the protesters turmoil. This economic theory misunderstands the people of Egypt. The economy is not their foremost concern. Fidelity to the Koran is. Another theory is essentially that there were no safeguards for minority rights in democratic Egypt. There was no separation of powers so to speak. And there are those who make a distinction between democrats (whoever gets the most votes wins, and governs) and "liberals," the latter would protect minority rights. McNewYorkTimes likes that theory, I understand. That theory, in my view, comes closer to the mark than the others but still does not focus on the fundamental problem. I would ask a less Egypt-centric question: why is there now, again, no democracy in Arabia? And I firmly believe that "the answer is Islam," the Muslim Brotherhood's slogan.
I agree with those who say Egyptians are capable of holding fair democratic elections. I was among those who said they could. Hell, they just had one a year ago. Holding a free election can be hard but it's a damned sight easier than governing a democracy. I believe that the key to governing a democracy is that the people of the democratic country must have the mindset to compromise. You have competing loci of power in a democracy: the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, the military, minorities, interest groups. No matter what power loci you occupy, you are not going to get 100% of what you want. You have to horse-trade, settle for second best, swallow your pride and your principles or the democracy cannot be governed. And it is here that I agree with critics who say "Egyptians are not ready for democracy." They are not ready for democracy because they are Muslim and Islam as it is practiced and preached today in Egypt and throughout Arabia does not compromise. Why was Anwar Sadat assassinated right there in Tahrir Square after he made peace with Israel? Why didn't Yasser Arafat accept the best deal he was ever to get years ago? Why did Egypt's democracy immediately begin to unravel and completely unravel. "The Answer is Islam." When, in a democracy, you believe, and most Egyptians really believe that Allah is on their sectarian side and condemns their opponents, how can you compromise? Why do all the toilets in Arabia face east toward Mecca? "The answer is Islam." Political Islam is a totalitarian political philosophy with that level of political and social reach. Until this uncompromising hold is broken on the minds of those who revere the Prophet, the people of Muslim Arabia will not be ready to govern a democracy. Can a "Reformation," as others, and I, believe is the only solution, occur in Muslim Arabia? It happened in Turkey. Ataturk grabbed the remnants of the Ottoman Empire and dragged it kicking and screaming into the 20th century. And communism had a Martin Luther in China with Deng Xiaoping. China today is not a communist state as a result. It is fascist and that's an improvement! China practices statist capitalism with severe authoritarian political control. A Reformation can happen in Muslim Arabia. It must if Arabia is to function. It will not unless the people accept that Islam is not the answer and that compromise is. Is this reformation likely to occur in Egypt? It is not. The Pew Trust survey of public opinion earlier this year showed Egyptians to be the most uncompromising people in the Islamic world. Pursuing the goal of inclusiveness, if you put representatives of the different groups into an Egypt 3.0 government, giving this seat to one, this ministry to the other, you will get a representative government of non-compromisers. Egypt is the worst place in Arabia for democratic government.
Wrong." One headline was something like "How did the US lose the Egyptian people." That is eerily similar to the question asked in 1949, "Who lost China?" Those are dumb questions. China and Egypt were never the US's to lose. The decisions in both cases were the decisions of the Chinese and Egyptian people. Smarter questions with Egypt are went wrong with the Morsi democracy? Why did the first democracy in Egyptian history fail after one year. One suggestion, in McPaper, I believe, is "it's the economy, stupid." Wrong. If the economy was preeminent in the minds of the Egyptian people, they never would have ousted Mubarak. The Egyptian economy is a basket case after two years of continual protests. The people of Egypt have continued to protest despite the declining economy being directly caused by the protesters turmoil. This economic theory misunderstands the people of Egypt. The economy is not their foremost concern. Fidelity to the Koran is. Another theory is essentially that there were no safeguards for minority rights in democratic Egypt. There was no separation of powers so to speak. And there are those who make a distinction between democrats (whoever gets the most votes wins, and governs) and "liberals," the latter would protect minority rights. McNewYorkTimes likes that theory, I understand. That theory, in my view, comes closer to the mark than the others but still does not focus on the fundamental problem. I would ask a less Egypt-centric question: why is there now, again, no democracy in Arabia? And I firmly believe that "the answer is Islam," the Muslim Brotherhood's slogan.
I agree with those who say Egyptians are capable of holding fair democratic elections. I was among those who said they could. Hell, they just had one a year ago. Holding a free election can be hard but it's a damned sight easier than governing a democracy. I believe that the key to governing a democracy is that the people of the democratic country must have the mindset to compromise. You have competing loci of power in a democracy: the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, the military, minorities, interest groups. No matter what power loci you occupy, you are not going to get 100% of what you want. You have to horse-trade, settle for second best, swallow your pride and your principles or the democracy cannot be governed. And it is here that I agree with critics who say "Egyptians are not ready for democracy." They are not ready for democracy because they are Muslim and Islam as it is practiced and preached today in Egypt and throughout Arabia does not compromise. Why was Anwar Sadat assassinated right there in Tahrir Square after he made peace with Israel? Why didn't Yasser Arafat accept the best deal he was ever to get years ago? Why did Egypt's democracy immediately begin to unravel and completely unravel. "The Answer is Islam." When, in a democracy, you believe, and most Egyptians really believe that Allah is on their sectarian side and condemns their opponents, how can you compromise? Why do all the toilets in Arabia face east toward Mecca? "The answer is Islam." Political Islam is a totalitarian political philosophy with that level of political and social reach. Until this uncompromising hold is broken on the minds of those who revere the Prophet, the people of Muslim Arabia will not be ready to govern a democracy. Can a "Reformation," as others, and I, believe is the only solution, occur in Muslim Arabia? It happened in Turkey. Ataturk grabbed the remnants of the Ottoman Empire and dragged it kicking and screaming into the 20th century. And communism had a Martin Luther in China with Deng Xiaoping. China today is not a communist state as a result. It is fascist and that's an improvement! China practices statist capitalism with severe authoritarian political control. A Reformation can happen in Muslim Arabia. It must if Arabia is to function. It will not unless the people accept that Islam is not the answer and that compromise is. Is this reformation likely to occur in Egypt? It is not. The Pew Trust survey of public opinion earlier this year showed Egyptians to be the most uncompromising people in the Islamic world. Pursuing the goal of inclusiveness, if you put representatives of the different groups into an Egypt 3.0 government, giving this seat to one, this ministry to the other, you will get a representative government of non-compromisers. Egypt is the worst place in Arabia for democratic government.
