Ayoon Wa Azan (Change or step down)

If the Muslim Brotherhood administration does not change course, then the people of Egypt will change the administration. I write to caution, because the political, economic and social conditions in Egypt have reached a crisis point. Politically, the regime is at odds with half of the Egyptian people, and is trying to impose its convictions on them. Economically, there is no economy left to speak of, amid rising unemployment, lower value for the Egyptian pound, and soaring prices of basic goods. Many factories have also shut down. And socially, Egyptian women are being oppressed and marginalized. Meanwhile, the “intellectuals” who emerged from the “gutter” want women to remain in the kitchen or the bedroom, and find them guilty even when they are victims of rape or assault. All that the Egyptians have demanded and expected to achieve after the departure of Hosni Mubarak has been lost along the way. In fact, things may have even gotten worse. I do not want to add to the woes of the Egyptians, or indeed my own. I therefore choose to bypass the issue of the economy, because its dismal condition needs no explanation; instead, I choose to convey what I heard, saw and observed abroad. The U.S. administration is dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood rule positively, and is not searching for an alternative. The U.S. administration is aware of how the U.S. occupation handed over Iraq to the ayatollahs in Qom, and sees the possible alternatives to the Syrian regime. So it has decided that when it comes to the Muslim Brotherhood, better the devil that you know. Furthermore, the relationship with Egypt mainly depends on the latter remaining adherent to the peace treaty with Israel. To this end, the U.S. provides the known annual aid, and any additional aid is directed to Israel, as it is designed to stop Egypt from abolishing the peace treaty. The Muslim Brotherhood spent more than 80 years in the opposition, on and off in prison. They took power without carrying out a revolution, mainly because of the blunders of the previous regime. But it seems that their survival in power is to them a more important matter than any other position, whether in the past, the present or the future. As a result, the Muslim Brotherhood place allegiance to the group above allegiance to Egypt. They even place power ahead of other of their peers in the group. Indeed, the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood – Hamas – thought that if their counterparts took office in Cairo, then this would open many doors for them. However, the doors of the Gaza Strip itself are now closed, and the new regime in Cairo ended up demolishing tunnels between Al Arish and Gaza, and flooded others with water. There also seems to be a palpable tension in relations between Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza. Meanwhile, the only “good” relations maintained by President Morsi seem to be the ones with the United States and Israel. By contrast, Morsi can hardly visit an Egyptian city nowadays without being met with hostile demonstrations. I would have preferred it if the new regime sought to dispel the suspicions of the Gulf countries and their fears about the Muslim Brotherhood. Indeed, the relationship with Arab countries must supersede that with the United States or the neighboring enemy. But I did not see any honest efforts being made in that direction, which reinforced old fears about the Muslim Brotherhood. Now, if two bearded Egyptians meet in the Gulf, they are immediately accused of seeking to form a secret Muslim Brotherhood cell and are deported. Likewise, if two bearded Shias meet, then they are soon seen as members of Hezbollah, who are conspiring against the local regime. I note, in the clearest possible terms, that only a few Gulf Arab states are being unjust to Arab expatriates working on their territories, including some who have been there for 20 to 30 years. But I want to add here that the actions of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and Hezbollah in Lebanon and between Syria and Iran, have inflicted severe harm on Egyptian and Lebanese nationals in the Gulf. Denying this would be a stubborn denial equivalent to claiming that the Egyptian economy is improving, or that the Syrian regime is fighting foreign terrorists, when it is denying the existence of a majority that supports the honest national opposition. I write about the situation as it is, not as the Muslim Brotherhood or others wish it to be. The situation is so bad that the police in Egypt are going on strike, something I have never heard happen before, while the army is complaining and threatening, and everyone is protesting. All Arab people who had suffered from military rule soon demanded civilian and democratic rule. But today, we have reached such an abysmal situation in Egypt that many are calling for a military coup. Again, this is something I have never heard of in any Arab country before. Not everyone who writes criticizing the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood is an infidel or an agent of Zionism and colonialism. I write because I have always seen Egypt as the pioneer and the leader and it to me is the beginning and the end. Arabs only progress and advance with and through Egypt, and fall only when it falls. Will the Muslim Brotherhood change? I fear that the answer may be that the Islamist group is expecting for the entire people to become in its image and example, which will never happen. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.