What Would Overthrowing Mursi Actually
Mean? Playing With An Extremely Dangerous Card
28 December 2012
By Dr. Hamad Al-Majid
Is the fierce campaign being launched by the "remnants
alliance" seeking to topple President Mursi?
The answer is yes. Implicit and explicit statements
issued by the alliance's symbols have been reported by
media outlets, and we are not talking about secret
leaks from closed meetings. For example, let us
consider what ElBaradei meant when he said the regime
has lost its legitimacy.
Before I proceed any further, I would like to point
out that when I use the term "remnants alliance" I do
not only mean the remnants of the former regime and
Mubarak's inner circle such as Ahmed Ezz, Ahmad Fathi
Sorour, Safwat El-Sherif or Ahmed Shafik. Rather, I
also mean anyone who ever used the regime, its
mechanisms and individuals as a shield from opponents,
and anyone who benefitted from it politically,
economically or ideologically.
The remnants alliance is currently fooling people into
thinking that the mass mobility on the Egyptian street
stems from President Mursi's temporary constitutional
decrees, even though they will be invalid in a few
days after the Egyptian people endorse the
constitution by means of a fair and democratic vote.
In fact, the impartial and well-organized nature of
the referendum can already be seen in the marginal
difference between those who have voted yes and those
who have voted no. It is hard to believe that the
remnants alliance is inciting its supporters in front
of the presidential palace (a dangerous and far from
innocent act) simply because of two or three articles
in the constitution. Everyone is well aware that key
figures within this alliance participated in the
drafting of the constitution over six months, yet all
of a sudden the whole group decided to withdraw in
order to spark off a crisis that the country is yet to
recover from. This is the very same tactic used by the
Egyptian security services during the million man
marches in Tahrir Square, which sought to overthrow
the Mubarak regime. At that time policemen would
suddenly withdraw from the Egyptian street in order to
create a security vacuum that would delude the
Egyptian people into thinking that the bleariness of
the Mubarak regime would be better than the blindness
of the revolution.
Here a key question must be asked: Is the remnants
alliance aware of the consequences of its attempts to
topple President Mursi? The movement has insisted on
staging demonstrations in front of the presidential
palace, with some protestors climbing the outer walls
without a word of condemnation. Furthermore, the
remnants alliance failed to issue any form of
denouncement when twenty five headquarters of the
Muslim Brotherhood and the Freedom and Justice Party
were burned down. Thus the answer to my above question
is "no" because partisan maneuvers have blinded this
alliance, and now it fails to see the gravity of its
actions.
Let us suppose that the remnants alliance, by
provoking and escalating Egypt's crises, was
eventually successful in toppling President Mursi.
Then Egypt would lose its bet on integrating the
peaceful Islamist movements, whether Brotherhood or
Salafi affiliates, into the democratic process. In
fact, this integration has already reached a degree
whereby the Salafi current has accepted the democratic
process and voted on constitutional articles,
something that would have been considered blasphemous
in the past. Furthermore, overthrowing the president
would pave the way for the rise of extremist currents
such as al-Qaeda and others. If this were to happen it
would have a greater impact on Brotherhood and Salafi
youths, for the overwhelming sense of despair and
frustration would push them towards violence as a
means of achieving change. Without a doubt, Egypt
would then experience a rapid deterioration and a
potential civil war that could wreak havoc. And as we
all know, if Egypt sneezes other Arab states soon
catch the cold.
The former Salafi presidential candidate Hazem Abu
Ismail recently warned that if demonstrators stormed
the presidential palace then the Islamists would
declare an Islamic revolution from the Maspero. Here
we can see how the state of frustration in Egypt has
influenced this elderly figure, whose group until
recently considered the revolution against the Mubarak
regime to be illegitimate, so we can only imagine the
reaction of more fervent and zealous youths! The
remnants alliance must realize that by seeking to
overthrow an elected president it is playing with an
extremely dangerous card.
Dr. Hamad Al-Majid is a journalist and former member
of the official Saudi National Organization for Human
Rights. Al-Majid is a graduate of Imam Muhammad Bin
Saud Islamic University in Riyadh and holds an M.A.
from California and a Doctorate from the University of
Hull in the United Kingdom.
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