Egypt : Council has an historic task ahead

The much-reported raids conducted by the Egyptian authorities against rights groups, including U.S.-based Freedom House, the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute , in Cairo and other locations on December 29 are in violation of the universal human rights guaranteed to citizens in any democratic state and offer yet another manifestation of the lack of political pragmatism on the part of the interim Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in the country. This is likely to weaken further the morale of the very pro-democracy and genuinely progressive forces the Council is supposed to bolster in the post- Arab Spring.

Already, as the results  of  the two rounds of the ongoing parliamentary elections show, the progressive forces are  on the decline and the Islamists the rise in post-Mubarak Egypt.   In the elections the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party is in the lead followed by the  ultra-conservative Al Nour coalition (comprising mainly Salafi activists )  and the Kutla al-Masriya (the Egypt bloc, a coalition of liberal and leftist parties) .

This  trend in favour of the Islamists is very likely to continue for obvious reasons.  Instead of sustaining the spirit behind the Arab Spring  in the post- Mubarak Egypt,  progressive elements committed to values of pluralism , non-violence and democracy have gone increasingly missing in the politics of the country. The Brotherhood--- banned since its aborted bid to assassinate Egyptian supremo Gemal Abdel Nasser-- has risen as the single largest political group with its estimated membership of 600 000 and is calling the shots in the country today. All other groups and dominant religious communities such as those under the influence of Grand Shaykh of Sunni’s most important religious center al-Azhar Ahmad al-Tayyeb have rallied behind the Brotherhood.

Against this backdrop, it does not require a genius to anticipate what kind of a political order may come into being after the ongoing three phase parliamentary elections are over and the elected ones sit to deliberate over a  draft  for a new constitution for their nation . With the possible dominance of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists in the country’s future parliament , their religio- socio-economic  ideologies  are likely to influence the constitution . Founded in 1928 by Hassan al- Banna,  the Brotherhood has been dedicated to the creation of an Islamic Egyptian state. It shares a common ideology with the Iranian clergy to promote Islam not just as a religion but as an ideology governing all aspects of political, economic and social life. Both al Banna and Ayatollah Khomeini have openly advocated an alliance between the two main branches of Islam.  As for the Salafists, they don’t believe in women’s rights and personal freedoms.  Nor do they believe in Western democracy that considers the people as the source of authority . According to them , the principle of Hakimiyya ( God is the sole authority ) is sacrosanct and the revolution against rulers un-Islamic .

One hopes the Egyptian Council led by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi would take into account  the ground realities and respond in the days ahead in such a way that the progressive forces of the larger civil society  are encouraged into taking part in the country’s ongoing political process  and reactionary forces  checkmated from acquiring power . Egyptians have overthrown the President Hosni Mubarak regime in order to establish a republic in real sense of the term with an inclusive democracy, the rule of law,  independence of the judiciary and the freedom of the press . Egypt also needs a political system that preserves and promotes its  time-tested regional and international agreements and treaties.

The Council is expected today to accomplish its historic task of working out a constitution to fulfill genuine expectations of all its people and communities and placing it for a referendum after the parliamentary elections. It has to ensure that the very spirit of the Egyptian Spring flourishes and a retrogressive constitution based on the Islamists’ distorted version of Islam with no respect for the principles of democracy, women’s rights, peaceful co-existence with other nations and rule of law is not thrust on its citizens.

In its new mission the Council could well bond with the leftist and liberal forces —especially women activists— and devise a joint strategy  aimed at foiling the designs of the Islamists . Ironically, according to  knowledgeable sources, the Council has so far not performed reasonably on this count. The picture on the women’s rights  front has rather turned worse in the post- Mubarak Egypt .  The interim regime has marginalized women in the reform process and been complicit in their physical and sexual abuse, including “virginity tests.” Earlier , the “Suzanne Laws” (made after Mubarak's wife name) had a quota of  64 parliamentary seats (12 per cent) for women in parliament.  They also mandated that divorced mothers could retain custody of their children until an older age. The khul' law allowed women to initiate and procure divorce in court without the consent of their husbands. But there has of late been a backlash against all such laws and their advocacy groups. The quota for women stands cancelled. The Council could do well to address such ironies .

One also hopes that leading democracies such as the United States and India think afresh over their overall Middle East policy. While they have ,  mostly under the pressure of its domestic public opinion, intended to support democracy and human rights in the region , they do not seem to have cared if there are organized, progressive forces around to sustain the spirit of any ongoing mass movements against authoritarianism  .  In the past this lapse on the part of the democracies has been used by some of the well-organized fascist gangs first to penetrate into  the unorganized mass movements against authoritarianism and then impose their own retrogressive agenda with much greater force. Such errors of the past have to be avoided.

Pertinently,  New Delhi needs to be specifically cautious in its policy towards Cairo .  Ever since the days of  President Nasser , India has had excellent relations with Egypt.  If the reactionary forces come to power in Cairo,  the situation may change . In that case the ideologically similar jihadist groups based in India and its immediate neighbourhood  are likely to feel far more emboldened to execute their well-documented designs against New Delhi.

Dr Jagdish N Singh is a Senior Journalist and Visiting Fellow, Centre for Land Warfare Studies

Views expressed are personal