When President Obama delivered his Egyptian version of hope and “change” in a speech at the Cairo University in June 2009, members of the then outlawed Muslim Brotherhood were attendance upon the president’s insistence. Egypt’s President Mubarak did not show up. ‘Change’ was already in the air.
The Obama administration then supported a revolution that is rapidly moving Egypt in the direction of extremism.
Decades of Arab rule under Gamal Abdel Nasser Nasser, Anwar Sadat, and then 31 years under Hosni Mubarak had not been kind to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt which was viewed as a threat. They were repressed and forced onto the sidelines, waiting for future opportunities to re-enter Egypt’s political arena.
Now, under the guise of an Arab spring, the Islamic revolution in Egypt has commenced. The Muslim Brotherhood saw its chance. The young Face book and Twitter generation from Tahrir Square who spread the news of the anti- Mubarak demonstrations, are now only bystanders.
The recent Egyptian elections in January have given the Muslim Brotherhood 47% of the Parliament, and the radical Islamist Salafi Party 25%. That’s an overwhelming 72%. A slam dunk!
America has its Founding Fathers and mentors; Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, who spoke of liberty, equality, and risked all in the fight for independence.
The founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan Al Banna, over eighty-years ago stressed the ideal of world revolution to establish the dominance of Islam. According to Al-Banna, Islam “invades the Western heartland to overcome it until the world shouts the name of the prophet.”
It is now becoming a little more worrisome to the bleary eyed Western media, enthusiastically swept off their feet by initial euphoria; they are beginning to fathom that the results they envisioned might be somewhat elusive. There are few reports these days about the ‘dawning of freedom’. Now, it’s a more subdued, ‘wait and see’ attitude as reports of rioting, murder, as well as the re-establishment of ties with Iran after 31 years follow one another.
So many had hoped that Tahrir Square was an event akin to the collapse of the Berlin Wall, but their visions were mere dreams. Tahrir Square was not a JFK, ‘Ich bin Ein Berliner’ in 1963, or a Ronald Reagan, “Mr. Gorbechov, Tear Down This Wall” 1987, moment. This is the Middle East.
Israeli leaders were stunned that the American President actually abandoned Hosni Mubarak, a longtime US ally, as they contemplated the consequences.
When the uprising was in full swing, the American President jubilantly praised the Tahrir Square demonstrators as a model of non-violence (he didn't ask Lara Logan) and a moral force, proclaiming that they are an “inspiration to people around the world. The President also stated that Egypt will never be the same. He was right about that, at least.
In effect, the Obama administration has rolled the dice with the stability of the Mid-East. It is now trying to contain the debacle it helped create. But one and a half billion dollars in aid will not in the long term influence a nation whose agenda and ideology is vastly different. The Obama Administration’s attempts to have impact will ultimately be resented as outside Western influence.
Will there be human rights? The recent wave of persecution of the Coptic Christians of Egypt has been appalling, terrifying a community of eight million.
Will there be an increase in woman’s rights? Female representation in the new parliament is a miniscule two percent, in total, ten deputies.
Will Egypt continue to honor the 1979 Camp David Accords? Its leaders have called for their abrogation several times and have rejected the suggestion of dialogue with the Israeli Government, while describing the Jewish State in very derisive terms.
Has the Egyptian junta responded to the US and its financial and political backing? The decision to bar exit to Americans working for human rights NGOs, which include the son of a member of the Obama Administration, would indicate otherwise.
Last week, Egypt’s new Parliamentary speaker, Saad El-Katatni, spurned American requests to re-examine the issue, stating “We don’t expect this interference from the American ambassador.” The most recent decision to prosecute these human rights workers speaks loudly.
An NGO human rights monitoring organization is a touchy issue to a regime in which the abuse of civilians is on the increase.
From Yemen to Libya, others will follow Egypt’s example.
Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stated, after he stepped down, that “history will judge me.” History will also judge President Obama.