Arab-West Report, January 26, 2013 

Two years after the revolution; national unity needed more than ever 

On Friday, the 25th I was in Tahrir for many hours meeting people and discussing the future of Egypt. I saw a few young men with faces covered in black. 

Foto: BlackBloc Twitter

“These belong to the Black Block,” George Messiha said, who had led a march from his hometown, Qanater, to Tahrir. This is a new group, fighters who are ready to fight both security forces and Muslim Brothers. George did not like this idea. This is not the way to address the problems the country is facing.

Mohsen had travelled several hours from his town Mansoura to Tahrir to demonstrate with his wife and two small children. His six-year-old son, Karim, had the colors of the Egyptian flag painted on his cheeks. Mohsen had not only voted for President Mursī during the presidential elections, but had campaigned for him after a member of the Guidance Office of the Muslim Brotherhood had promised him that if Mursī would win he would form a government of national unity. This did not happen.  Mohsen is disappointed and joined the Destour Party, but is also in contact with other political parties.  He is obviously not tied to a particular political stream but no longer supports President Mursī.

Some demonstrators at Tahrir called for the downfall of President Mursī. George, a member of the Wafd Party, is totally opposed to that. “Mursī is our first freely elected president and he has to remain our president in the coming period, but we need unity.”

Others in the square spoke about the Muslim Brotherhood militia. The name of “Squadron 95” fell as well as Khairat el-Shater, who was said to be behind organizing this militia. Mohsen is not so certain such a militia exists. At least he did not see them. George believes the talks about the Muslim Brotherhood militia are exaggerated. There are Muslim Brotherhood youth groups, trained in martial arts, but that is not the same as an armed militia, such as the one we have seen during the civil war in Lebanon.  George does not believe they are out in the streets now to fight, but if the Brotherhood would feel truly cornered they could well turn into such militia.

Talks about a militia are dangerous. It adds to fear and that, in turn, encourages some youth to turn to what they believe to be necessary violence.  Last week, the Egyptian Moral Rearmament Association invited some former militia leaders from Lebanon.  They warned against all talk that beautifies violence. Civil war is ugly; it is neighbor against neighbor with constantly-shifting alliances. Jayson Casper is writing a report about their experiences.

Most people I saw at Tahrir were below 30 years old. The atmosphere was fine. Groups of people were talking. Others were waving banners and screaming slogans. I told George that is appeared to me like a big moulid, or festival. I have moved around Tahrir and saw no violence, but knew that I had to stay away from that part of Tahrir where demonstrators were facing security.

Most people carried mobile phones and of course through phone calls we heard about what happened elsewhere in demonstrations.  Karim called me about clashes involving the Black Block near the Presidential Palace in Heliopolis. Other clashes took place in Port Said, Suez, and Alexandria. Salafī Muslims reportedly attacked a church in Beba, south of Beni Suef. Of course that creates fear and anger. There is a terrible polarization taking place.

We at Arab-West Report believe that the country only can overcome its current problems if a government of national unity is formed. A few days ago I met with former Assistant President, Samir Marcos, who said that Mursī and the Brotherhood are now excluding non-Islamists from any political influence. Samir and others speak about the Mursī government as being weak.  In an unprecedented move, several members of the Guidance Office of the Brotherhood have resigned. But, an Egyptian diplomat told me last week that the opposition is also weak. There is no united leadership. There is no charismatic leader with a vision to drag Egypt out of this current nightmare.

It is wrong, as many do, to blame only the Islamists for the polarization we witness now. Throughout the past two years we have seen both some Islamists and non-Islamists involved in activities that have contributed to polarization. For more on this, see my article about incitement as a tool in the polarization we see today. This is not the responsibility of one party only.

Arab-West Report is focused on dialogue. Unity does not mean people share one vision, but it means dialogue, listening to the arguments of your political opponents, opposing all forms of demonization and exclusivity for one particular group in society. It is obvious that Islamists have a role to play in the new Egypt, but Islamists cannot do so alone. It is also obvious that non-Islamists, liberals and socialists, have a role to play, but they, too, cannot and should not do this without Islamists.  Egypt is suffering from great economic problems. It now needs a government of national unity that the people can rally behind.

I much appreciate the interns working in our office. They understand the need for a pluralist society that is united in addressing the huge socioeconomic needs of the country. Diana Serodio has joined me in the past months in meetings with leaders of many different political parties, both with Islamists and non-Islamists. She has met with representatives of the youth wings of the different parties and developed a great proposal to make them meet with European youth who could share experiences from Europe and at the same time learn about the difficulties of the transition Egypt is going through. Members from different Egyptian parties, Islamist and non-Islamist, are most willing to participate, but we cannot possibly cover the costs that are involved.  There is not much time. Such meetings and workshops should ideally take place before the coming parliamentary elections that are expected to take place in April. We have thus presented her with a proposal to different organizations for support. That is a focus on unity! Please write me if you want to receive her proposal. Please also inform me of ways to find support for her proposal. We need to continue working towards unity in diversity. Egyptians are suffering from the economic crisis the country is going through. Only unity in diversity will help Egyptians to overcome this. 

Sincerely,

Cornelis Hulsman,

Editor-in-chief of Arab-West Report