Misreading Egypt… again
Nidra Poller
Willful illiteracy has reached new levels in the misreading of recent events in Egypt. The democracy-loving [sic] Muslim Brotherhood replaced the Facebook-Twitter generation in the hearts of journalists, and the Joint Forces for The Good—the United Nations, the European Union, and Leaders of the Western World –demanded the restoration of President Morsi, placing the Good squarely in the Muslim Brotherhood camp. As for the military, they have been given the role usually attributed to Israel: heavy-handed, heartless, trigger happy oppressors. In fact, the narrative fabricated to hide the truth about what is happening in Egypt is a variation on the theme of the “Arab-Israeli” conflict.
When Tahrir Square started filling up again this year, sympathy naturally flowed to the anti-Morsi contingent. The story was that the democratic revolution had been hijacked by the Islamist government that turned out to be not as moderate as expected. Morsi’s destitution was seen from the viewpoint of young secular-looking Egyptians. The army was with the people, as in 2011, using force to ensure their freedom. And the pro-Morsi operation was cutely described as “sit-ins”… one more example of the vibrant democracy that had wafted into Egypt on the petals of the Arab Spring.
Commentators, emissaries, and those ever-present “specialists” who specialize in making sure that no harsh truths about Islam will pierce the intellectual fog, did the peace process routine. Now that the balance of power has shifted, the winners must make concessions, offer the ousted Islamists a seat at the table, release Morsi and let him try on a new pair of political shoes. Never mind that the pro-Morsi camp swelled, agitated, and clearly articulated its position: we won’t disband until our democratically elected president is back in power. We won’t retreat, we won’t compromise, we are ready to die as martyrs [shahid]. Commentators, emissaries, and those comical specialists read the ultimatum as a prelude to negotiations.