Mehdi Hasan

Mehdi Hasan’s polemical take on politics, economics and foreign affairs

Forget the Brotherhood. It’s Egypt’s generals who should worry us

By Mehdi Hasan Published 28 June 2012 11:45

General Mamduh Shahin (R) and army Ismail Etman

General Mamduh Shahin (R) and army spokesman Ismail Etman. Photograph: Getty Images

Should we be worried by the Muslim Brotherhood’s victory in the Egyptian presidential election? Earlier this year, I interviewed Wael Ghonim, the young Google executive and anti-Mubarak activist who became the face of Egypt’s inspiring revolution back in January and February of 2011.

Was he concerned by the Muslim Brotherhood’s victory in Egypt’s parliamentary elections in December? “No,” he said. “The western media, and even some sections of the Arab media, are taking a very pessimistic view. But what is going on here is very healthy. The Muslim Brotherhood was the strongest party and got almost 50 per cent of the seats.” He argued: “We should give democracy a chance and respect the choices of the Egyptian people.”

Six months on, Ghonim remains hopeful. “1st elected civilian in modern history of Egypt as President,” he tweeted, after the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi’s cliffhanger victory over the Mubarak loyalist and ex-premier Ahmed Shafiq in the presidential run-off on 24 June. “Critical milestone. Revolution isn’t an event, it’s a process so it continues!”

There is a stark contrast between the undimmed optimism of Ghonim – the young, secular, liberal Egyptian activist – and the pessimism of western politicians and pundits, petrified by the rise of the dastardly Muslim Brotherhood. The latter, the world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movement, is seen by many as a threat to women’s rights, non-Muslims and, of course, western interests in the Middle East.

Bigger picture

We need to take a collective step back and look again at the big picture. The Arab world’s most populous nation has, for the first time, elected its own head of state in a multi-candidate, free and fair election. The repulsive Hosni Mubarak and his corrupt sons are gone; their 30-year reign of terror is over. Lest we forget, in 2006, Morsi was in prison and Mubarak was in the presidential palace; today, just six years later, Mubarak is in prison and Morsi is in the palace. This is a remarkable and historic moment for Egypt, and for the wider Arab world.

That said, Morsi is far from perfect. He wasn’t even the Muslim Brotherhood’s first choice as presidential candidate (the party’s deputy chairman, Khairat al-Shater, was barred from standing). Morsi is a 9/11 conspiracy theorist (“Something must have happened from the inside,” he declared in May 2010) who has said that the state should enforce sharia law and has called for women and Christians to be banned from running for president.

But we shouldn’t write him off – yet. On winning the election, he promptly quit the Brotherhood, pledged to be the “president of all Egyptians” and promised to appoint a cabinet of “technocrats”, not card-carrying Islamists.

Here in the west, however, our obsession with Muslim Brothers such as Morsi distracts attention from two points. First, the changes we want to see in the Middle East won’t happen overnight. Revolutions, as Ghonim pointed out, take time. Yet there seems to be a wilful amnesia on the part of some pessimistic pundits in the west.

At a recent Oxford Union debate on the future of the Arab spring, a retired US general, Keith Dayton, decried the ongoing discrimination against women, homosexuals and religious minorities in countries such as Egypt and Libya. I couldn’t help but point out to the good general that it took his own country, “the land of the free”, 89 years, between independence in 1776 and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, to abolish slavery. Here in the UK, there was a 96-year gap between the first Reform Act of 1832, which extended the franchise to property owners, and the sixth Reform Act of 1928, which gave women the vote on the same terms as men.

Second, the most powerful man in Egypt is not President-Elect Morsi but Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf), which, in effect, has ruled Egypt since Mubarak left office on 11 February 2011.

It is the military that dominates modern Egyptian politics. All four presidents since a group of officers overthrew the monarchy in 1952 have come from the military. The country’s armed forces – the world’s tenth-biggest – are believed to control between 30 and 40 per cent of the Egyptian economy. And in June Scaf dissolved the elected parliament and claimed legislative power for itself. Egypt, in the words of one commentator, is a military with a state rather than a state with a military.

Making waives

Shamefully, the United States has spent the past three decades propping up Egypt’s generals. Since the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, the US has lavished $35bn in aid on the Egyptian military, making it the largest recipient of US military and economic aid after Israel.

But things have changed since the fall of Mubarak, right? Wrong. “Once imperilled, US aid to Egypt is restored”, read the headline in the New York Times on 23 March. In December 2011, President Obama signed a law that required the Egyptian government to support the transition to civilian government and protect freedoms of speech and assembly before any US military aid could be approved. But, said the NYT, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “used her authority under the new law to waive a requirement that she certify Egypt’s protection of human rights”, thereby allowing “the Egyptian military to continue to arm and equip its forces”. So much for Obama’s vow, in May 2011, “to promote reform across the region, and to support transitions to democracy”.

The biggest obstacles to greater freedom and democracy in Egypt are the generals, not the Brothers. Yet they, too, like their former boss Mubarak, as well as their paymasters in the US, are on the wrong side of history. The “reform genie”, as an unnamed western diplomat told the Financial Times on 20 June, is out of the bottle. The Egyptian people, whether secularist or Islamist, Muslim or Christian, won’t tolerate another three decades of Mubarak-style rule. As Ghonim told his half-million followers on Twitter in June: “The only thing that will make us go back to living in fear, oppression and silence is a time machine – they haven’t invented that yet.”

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Tags: Egypt

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40 comments

Mon, 2012-08-27 01:56 — the statesman (not verified)

too many racist people on this site
i feel sorry for you guys, my name is also hassan, guess what its gonna stay that way, I'm a Muslim, guess what I'm always gonna be Muslim ha ha ha, I'm black guess what I'm always gonna be black till the day i die, and finally I'm BRITISH and i think you have already guessed I'll always be British till the day i die

so to the NF guys on this site i suggest you drown in your sorrows, because there is nothing you can do to me or any other Muslim.

if you cant handle the heat then go jump of a building, or just carry on making a fool of your self on every platform ha ha ha you are waited the lot of ya.

Mon, 2012-08-06 17:08 — Thomas45 (not verified)

I think anyone wanting us to rely on the opinion of a Google worker is drinking some bad kool aid. The Germans voted Hitler in and so have Egyptians voted in a murderous group. Not too much to like about that.

Thu, 2012-07-19 04:27 — freedom man (not verified)

Personally I think US should step foot and give Egypt a lift.dr drum

Mon, 2012-07-16 16:55 — new statesman freedemocrat (not verified)

Forget apologist for islamofacism Mehdi Hasan. Egypt and every other country with a large number of adherents of islam need representative democracy, the rule of a genuinely independent judiciary, the true human right of freedom from religious ideology and other forms of facism, and equality for women and gay people.

Mon, 2012-07-16 16:55 — new statesman freedemocrat (not verified)

Mon, 2012-07-16 16:55 — new statesmanfreedemocrat (not verified)

Mon, 2012-07-16 16:54 — new statesmanfreedemocrat (not verified)

Fri, 2012-07-13 08:44 — Julia Harris

Watch these two TV clips, http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/07/michael-coren-exposes-ground-zero-mosq...

First shows the Brilliant Michael Coren take apart Imam Rauf who spouts the same kind of Islamic propaganda as Mehdi Hasan.

Then the equally brilliant Robert Spencer explaining that the Koran is the cause for Muslims crimes.

This is the truth, the liberal left main stream media don't have the balls to tell it like it is and don't listen to the Islamic supremacist like Mehdi who apologize for his breatheren that it our fault for how they behave and act.

Thu, 2012-07-12 23:21 — Shamit123 (not verified)

For once I completely agree with Mehdi - the army must go back to the barracks and Morsi should be the real President not a doll in the hands of the corrupt Egyptian military. The armed forces' grip on the economy needs to be scrapped and these general should all be retired (with a warning - you step out of line you will be prosecuted for crimes).

The Judiciary needs to be replaced as well and the International Community needs to stand by the man who has a mandate from the Egyptian public to be their President.

Thu, 2012-07-12 23:21 — Shamit123 (not verified)

The Judiciary needs to be replaced as well and the International Community needs to stand by the man who has a mandate from the Egyptian public to be their President.

Thu, 2012-07-12 23:04 — Frederick. (not verified)

...and after penning total Islamist garbage like this, the fanatic Hasan just can't understand why comment threads exhibit a degree of hostility to his totalitarian, racist, misogynist, homophobic views! He describes himself as some sort of "victim" in this week's Guardian. How pathetic.

Thu, 2012-07-12 17:33 — Coleridge (not verified)

Should we be worried about the Moslem Brotherhood the Islamist fanatic Mehdi Hasan asks another Islamist fanatic? Of course not.
We should embrace the ethnic cleansing of Christian Copts;
embrace The MB's open Jew-hatred;
embrace the subjugation of women,
embrace the killing of Egyptian Gays;
Look forward to the legalisation of necrophilia;
Look forward to people having their heads severed and to women being stoned to death.
Does the Islamist fanatic Mehdi "non-Moslems live like animals" Hasan not appreciate that his idea of a model society is one in which most normal people view as primitive and savage?

Thu, 2012-07-12 17:32 — Coleridge (not verified)

Thu, 2012-07-12 17:31 — Coleridge (not verified)

Thu, 2012-07-12 11:40 — Julia Harris

That many Egyptian Muslims heeded these commands to lie, cheat, steal, and kill in order to empower Sharia, there is no doubt. Story after story appeared in the Egyptian media—much of it missed in the West—demonstrating as much.
Those dealing with brutal violence speak for themselves. For example, a Muslim man "beat his pregnant wife to death upon learning that she had not voted for the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Muhammad Morsi." According to police reports, "despite her pleas," the husband "battered and bruised" her after discovering she had voted for the secularist candidate, Ahmed Shafiq. She died later in the hospital "from injuries sustained."

Likewise, a farmer was "stabbed" by a "supporter of Morsi," simply for putting up a picture of the secular Shafiq on his motorcycle. Another 52-year-old man and "supporter of Morsi" slapped his mother for voting for Shafiq. The man took his elderly mother to the voting booth, informing her that she must vote for Morsi; after she voted, he pressed her to confirm that she did in fact vote for the Islamist—only to be told that she did not. The man "lost his temper" and slapped her in front of the other voters and electoral supervisors.

Finally, and in accord with the Muslim Brotherhood's own directives, whole segments of Coptic Christians were prevented from voting. According to Al Ahram, Egypt's national newspaper, in Upper Egypt, where millions of Copts live, "the Muslim Brotherhood blockaded entire streets, prevented Copts from voting at gunpoint, and threatened Christian families not to let their children go out and vote."

Three observations:

1. Many analysts would like to rationalize these anecdotes away as byproducts of "third world culture"—not the Islamic religion per se. Yet it is curious to note that all the violence and threats of violence that revolved around Egypt's presidential elections were committed by the supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, not the supporters of the secular candidate, who instead were at the receiving end of the abuses, including death, violence, humiliation, and injustices in general. This fact speaks for itself.

2. Noteworthy, too, is that most of those abused were either women (including wives and mothers) or "dhimmi" Christian Copts—both members of society that, according to Sharia, are treated as "second-class citizens," to be kept in subjugation by Muslim males, the only "full" citizens of an Islamic state.

3. Despite all these concrete facts and more, including widespread allegations of electoral fraud at the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Obama administration's only response was to pressure Egypt's ruling junta into declaring a victor—the administration's favorite, Muhammad Morsi—thereby making the United States an accomplice of the Brotherhood's electoral holy war.

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/11971/muslim-brotherhood-democracy-slappin...

Tue, 2012-07-10 13:36 — test-test (not verified)

Islam-st tells Mehdi Hasan that election of fellow Islam-st is nothing to worry about; all is well, nothing to see here, whats to worry about, I've had assurances you know...

Hasan: "And the cattle, I mean "kuffar", have they anything to worry about?"
Islam-st: "Well, all true Muslims will be fine. But the cattle, well, it's the hijab for them! This is a Muslin country y'know"
Hasan: "Splendid, can I quote you on that?"

Bang! Easy article for the Staggers and the HuffPo at £1000 a pop. Same again for Comment is Free, so long as they ban & delete anyone who dares to contradict me. All my comments about the kuffar being cattle have been taken "out of context" you see, and that's enough to ban/delete anyone who deviates from the Islamist/CIF line.

Hasan, you're a sell-out to Western democratic standards. Only a fasc-st-sympathising mag like the Staggers, and an outright collaborationist paper like the Graun, would accept your drivel. In any strong, decent, society you'd be imprisoned under Defence Regulation 18B, aid and succour to the enemy and all that.

Wed, 2012-07-11 00:04 — jankaas (not verified)

ffs, and i thought my posts were shit....you win, i am humbled.

Thu, 2012-07-12 12:48 — Julia Harris

First accurate and insightful thing you've ever said.

" and i thought my posts were shit...."

Thu, 2012-07-12 19:48 — JJJ (not verified)

LOL!

Tue, 2012-07-10 13:35 — test-test (not verified)

Islam-st tells Mehdi Hasan that election of fellow Islam-st is nothing to worry about; all is well, nothing to see here, whats to worry about, I've had assurances you know...

Mon, 2012-07-09 08:51 — Vassy Brown (not verified)

I enjoyed reading this blog post! Keep up the great work.

http://www.pwffi.com/tunate/

Sun, 2012-07-08 14:01 — peace1940 (not verified)

Under Muslim brotherhood dictatorship or military dictatorship, Egypt still doomed.

Sun, 2012-07-08 18:57 — jankaas (not verified)

fingers crossed eh?

Sun, 2012-07-08 19:08 — Red Rain (not verified)

No the Egyptian are doomed.

Sun, 2012-07-08 21:18 — peace1940 (not verified)

Either way Egypt and Egyptians are doomed.

Sun, 2012-07-08 20:41 — jankaas (not verified)

erm, fingers crossed eh..?

Tue, 2012-07-10 05:06 — Red Rain (not verified)

Twpsyn.

Tue, 2012-07-10 12:54 — jankaas (not verified)

stop trolling you petty loser.

Tue, 2012-07-10 22:12 — JJJ (not verified)

Pot calling the kettle black?

Wed, 2012-07-11 00:00 — jankaas (not verified)

Wed, 2012-07-11 19:46 — JJJ (not verified)

So this is what it has come to: repeating the same banal post, using full stops and making an ar*e of oneself.

Jankaas, if you have nothing of consequence to say, no point to make then please troll elsewhere.

Sat, 2012-07-07 08:15 — Charles Frith (not verified)

Mehdi Hasan pulls his pants down in an otherwise sober and informative piece. For a grown adult to believe the 911 commission report is a matter of embarrassment. A conspiracy theorist is someone who doesn't trust known liars. Mehdi Hasan trusts known liars and thus is judgement on all other matters is at fault.

The unanimity with which media people scoff at 9/11 is fairly simple to compute. They wouldn't have a job otherwise. They know it. We know it and so they're in the way of a better future.

Sat, 2012-07-07 19:49 — jankaas (not verified)

"For a grown adult to believe the 911 commission report is a matter of embarrassment."

because...?

Fri, 2012-07-06 19:48 — islamophobe (not verified)

"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property - either as a child, a wife, or a concubine - must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.

"Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities. But the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytising faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science - the science against which it had vainly struggled - the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome." - Winston Churchill

Fri, 2012-07-06 20:02 — jankaas (not verified)

folderol you are a troll.
this is the 3rd time you've posted this, in 3 days, under 3 different names.
do fcuk off, there a good lad.

Sun, 2012-07-08 19:11 — Red Rain (not verified)

And you are a medieval apologist.

Sun, 2012-07-08 20:43 — jankaas (not verified)

en jij bent een laffe klootzak.

Fri, 2012-07-06 15:16 — Des Demona (not verified)

''Morsi is a 9/11 conspiracy theorist (“Something must have happened from the inside,” he declared in May 2010) who has said that the state should enforce sharia law and has called for women and Christians to be banned from running for president.
But we shouldn’t write him off – yet. On winning the election, he promptly quit the Brotherhood, pledged to be the “president of all Egyptians.......''

Ahhhh so he's just an opportunist. Great - a politician we can understand.