The Egyptian Revolution: Between Hope and Despair - Essay Example

Egypt, geographically, politically and historically enjoys importance in the context of the global community of the nations. It finds its location tothe Northern part of the African continent. Egypt has a rich history of ancient rulers who were world famous. The total area of Egypt comprises of 1,000,450 square kilo meter. Neighboring countries: The bordering countries of Egypt include Israel, parts of Palestine, the most important Mediterranean Sea. Apart from this, the fact that Egypt is on the shores of River Nile makes it ever so important and strategically significant. The presence of the water cultivated areas make the land ever so fertile and suitable for agriculture and farming. Egypt also shares its borders with Sudan and Libya on two corners makings it geo strategic importance more valuable. Major dams in Egypt: Egypt has one of the world’s most established barrage and dam systems. The presence of Aswa Dam is a remarkable achievement in this regard. It fulfills the requirements on many fronts. It was the achievement of the middle twentieth century governing after the Revolution of 1952(El-Bendary,p 4). Other significant dams include Sadd el- Kafarra. Major Cities: Egypt has a richly developed urban side. the cities are characterized by the presence of established networks of transport, buildings, communication means and other basic facilities of the life. The major cities of Egypt include Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Tanta, Port Said and Assiut to name a few (Pateman& El-Hamamsy, p. 137). Population: The Population of Egypt according to the 2012 findings amount to eighty five million people (Goldsmith, p. 332). Making it one of the most populated country in Africa. It at present ranks third amongst the top most populated countries of Africa. The other two countries that have larger population than Egypt are Nigeria and Ethiopia. Capital City: Cairo is the capital city of Egypt and it remains the central hub towards the political activities and major government institutional head offices. Official News Agency: The official News Agency of Egypt is Mena that largely works under the guidance and patronage of the Egyptian government. Official Language of Egypt: Arabic is the official language of Egypt and is spoken by the ordinary citizens and also used for communication and official exchange within the country between the government institutions. Population segmentation: Egypt’s population is largely Muslims. The other minorities within the country include the Christians. Amongst Muslims, the Sunni community makes up for the largest percentage of the Muslims population, with Shiites in very small percentage. Brief history: Egypt has a rich history with regard to the historic significance. From the days of to Pharaohs to the modern time ruling styles and ruling setups, Egypt has undergone significant change and development through the course of history. The contribution of the female rulers: Egypt perhaps is one of the few countries of the world that has had so many female rulers in the old days. This includes the likes of Ptolemy, Cleopatra, Nefertiti, Hathshepsut and Ashotep to name a few( Ashton, p 68). Each of these led the country in complete authority and had significant influence over their people. They led with authority and domination. Egypt makes up for part of the world that has one of the oldest and richest civilizations in the world. In parallel with the Roman civilization the Egyptian civilization stretches back to the days of B.C millennium. Cultural Ethos: According to the Egyptian cultural ethos, the women have to wear properly covered dress, usually in the form of black gown and veil while going out in the public places. The women and men are kept separate on the account of the business places and there is restriction on their inter mingling in between. Interactional activities between the two genders are kept separate. The men would greet each other by shaking hand or hugging one another. The women may not do so. The elder ones may kiss the younger ones on their foreheads or their hands. Recreational places: Egypt is richly abundant with the historic places. These places make up for good recreational places for the families and tourists. As a result of these important and attractive places, the Egyptian economy earns considerable percentage of their values through the foreign tourists who visit Egypt every year. Few of the worth mentioning places in Egypt include the Pyramids. This makes up for one of the wonders of the world. The Great Pyramids of Gaza, Egyptian Museum, Great Sphinx of Gaza, Abu Simbel temple, Luxor Temple, Saqqara, River Nile and various other places make up for the tourists attention and regardless of the seasons, they attract large number of tourists from far and wide. Egypt’s governmental structure: Egypt is a Republic in its original outlook. It was declared Republic after the 1952 revolution. The President is the Head of the state. Other major entities include the Cabinet and the Legislative entity. The democratic process is in place, although it has seen manipulation and establishment of the sham governments yet it has a formal outlook of a democratic government. The principles followed are in line with the constitution of the country which is largely Islamic in its outlook. Political parties are actively involved in the political processes. The major political parties of Egypt include National Democratic Party, Muslim Brotherhood, Bread and Freedom Party, Egyptian Will party, Flag Party, and We are the People party to name a few. Egyptian Economy and trading trends: Egypt has a relatively large economy. The net foreign reserves maintained by Egyptian state amount to over seventeen billion dollars. Major Imports and Exports of Egypt: Egypt has a broadly scattered trading ties and relationship with the different parts of the world. It has established good relationship with majority of the nations, as a result it enables it exchanging goods, fulfilling the needs of its people and at the same time making up for considerable amount of G.D.P and economic needs through the trading means. The trading ties are spread within the continent of Egypt, across Europe, and parts of Asia as well. Egypt has good working and trading relationships established with the E.U. This came about towards 2004. Based on this fact the E.U Egypt trading relationship amounts to double digits in billions of dollars per year. Major items of imports and exports include the following: Cereals, fuel, oil export, grains, wheat, steel and iron, fruit, fertilizers, industry parts and machinery, defense purpose items make up for few of the major items being exchanged either way and contribute towards a healthy Egyptian economy. Political Configuration of Egypt: Egyptian has had a twisted and complicated affair with regard to the political activities. It has had an uneven affair of political affairs. In the ancient times the ruling and supremacy of the Pharaohs was dominant. Literature review: Post Sadat and Husseini Mubarak to Present day: Anwar Sadat’s demise brought about Husseini Mubarak to power. His rule lasted for over two decades and above (Roccu,p. 2). He was the sole authority over the entire affairs and democracy was strangulated during his era. The last few years saw a breath of fresh air in the form of Arab Spring. This was one of the most historic moments in the modern days of Egyptian history. The people of Egypt took to the streets against the established regime and demanded the resignation of the President. Initially the president and his ruling junta was undeterred, however, with time, they had to give in to the demands of the people. Tehrir square became the emblem of freedom and revolution and Egypt saw a revolution in form of Arab Spring. Tehrir square was covered with over a million people making it a million March (Manhire). In modern times the rise of Egypt as a republic came about in 1952. This came about in the form of Egyptian revolution under the guidance and patronage of Gamal Abdel Naseer. Abdel Naseer established the Republic of Egypt. The form of ruling by the incumbent was relatively autocratic and he was the sole man responsible and in the decision making. His ruled for nearly two decades. He was followed by another military man in the form of Anwar Saddat (Ascher). Anwar Saddat ruled for remaining part of his life and he went on to rule till he was assassinated in a military parade by his own solider, possibly to the reason of his relationship establishment with Israel. As a result of this Muslim Brotherhood came to power. This was the first time in the history of Egypt that people had directly chosen their representatives unlike the past. Egypt has had a history of dictators and other rulers ruling against the will of the people. The Muslim Brotherhood came to power through the general elections. Mohammad Mursi went on to become the first elected president towards 2011-2012. At present an interim government is place under the guidance and directions of the military. The country is in a state of standstill with regard to the political activities. The Muslim Brotherhood has still not reconciled to the fact that they have been out thrown. On the other hand, the military backed government has declared Muslim Brotherhood as outlawed outfit and is banned from performing any political activities. The deposed president Mohammad Mursi is behind the bars and he is being tested and trialed for alleged murder of number of citizens on one of the accounts of revolt within the country. Conflicts with Neighbors: Egypt has had an important role towards the political landscape in the region. With regard to the Israel crisis and the wars fought time and again, Egypt played a vital role. Since Egypt was one of the most stable and powerful states amongst the Arab states, it therefore had greater influence, say and participation in the wars against Israel. The 1967 war, the 1973 war, on both occasions Egypt was the front runner against Israel. The major breakthrough came about in the form of Camp David dialogue when Israel was formally recognized by Egypt through the efforts of United States of America (Bottaro, p. 8). However this was to last for a short time and July 2013 (Cesari, p.140)saw turn in affairs when coup was staged against the elected government. As a result of which El Sisi, the military general came into authority and power and he has recently way for election towards becoming the President of Egypt. With possible another long, indefinite and uncertain military leadership based government looming over the political horizon, it can be feared that the Egypt political scenario is again going back to the 80s and 90s decade where the military dictators came over, made way for themselves and ruled for multiple decades violating the democratic norms. Critical view of Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood is the front runner political party in Egypt. Its views are political, social and ideological and the aim is to establish Islamic rule and Sharia in Egypt. Their relatively strict views have often come under criticism of the west and other liberal forces on account of the views and actions undertaken by them. Muslim Brotherhood came into existence in 1928 when the nationalistic movement and spirit was running high in the Arab region after the post First World War political scenario. It was one similar move and amendment by Mohammad Mursi in the constitution that resulted in resentment all over and brought out the people to the streets. With the potential aims of grabbing the power and dictating the terms upon the other institutions, the people took to the streets. The overall atmosphere grew grave when there were riots on the road and police had to tackle the masses leading to number of casualties. The Army’s stance was critical and it became more so when it showed its disapproval to confining and limiting the protestors from agitation. Towards July 3rd the situation turned from bad to worse and ultimately the military had to enforce coup and the incumbent president was sent packing along with his government getting dissolved. In the global perspective, the relationship and warmth between Muslim Brotherhood and Iran is not looked up to positively by the Western powers as well as Saudi Arabia. As a result, these countries seemed relatively relaxed on the disposing off of the Mohammad Mursi’s government. Possible Consequences of Muslim Brotherhood’s accession to power: Incase Muslim brotherhood gains power again, although this at present seems relatively unlikely, but if it does, it would be based on vendetta towards the military establishment and all those pro military political parties that supported the military take over. Secondly the amendments within the constitution may come up as another area of concern with Mohammad Mursi and his contemporaries aiming to further strengthen their power through amendments. Their last turn saw the restriction and limitation of the powers of judiciary. Possible Islamization is another fear being feared by the people who do not want Muslim Brotherhood coming into power. The west may find it difficult negotiating with Egypt. Muslim Brotherhood does not show a more flexible stance towards Israel and this may also become a point of concern for the West. its relationship with Iran, which is already termed as an axis of evil by United States, Saudi Arabia and its allies, all fears will once more come into action. The Muslim Brotherhood has not been a much greater advocate of the women’s rights and participation in the political sphere. This may see sidelining and minimal participation in case Muslim Brotherhood comes to power once again (Mauro). Why I decided to choose this topic: The present day situation of Egypt is quite grave. It underwent the revolution in the form of Arab spring, giving people hope. However the very recent events in the form of toppling of the government indirectly meant back to square one situation. This situation is a form of stalemate. The direct suffering of this process falls upon the Egyptian citizens. It is democracy that provides the people with the basic rights and basic protection and resources. The lack of democracy means the absence of the means and resources that are needed for the prosperity of the state and the welfare of the people. People’s representation has been long a miss as a result of the absence of democracy. The same might be observed in case of the Al Sisi government establishment in near future. Secondly the events of political agitation and the sending of the political activists to the prisons across Cairo is a negative sign and the Western world has looked at it with serious concerns and disapproval of entire action. The other reason why this topic and studying of the Egyptian situation is important is the fact that the Arab region is already marred by conflict and instability. The Syrian case is one prime example along with the fragile outlook of Iran. In such scenarios the presence of Egypt struggling within for the power between military dictator and democracy would not help the overall cause of conflicts that have overshadowed the global piece in the entire region. References: Ascher, William. The Economic Roots of Conflict and Cooperation in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Bottaro, Jean. History for the IB Diploma: The Arab-Israeli Conflict 1945-79. Cambridge University Press, 2012. Cesari, Jocelyne. The Awakening of Muslim Democracy. Cambridge University Press, 2014. Ashton, Sally-Ann. Cleopatra and Egypt. John Wiley & Sons, 2009. El-Bendary, Mohamed. The Egyptian Revolution: Between Hope and Despair : Mubarak to Morsi. Algora Publishing, 2013. Goldschmidt. Historical Dictionary of Egypt. Scarecrow Press, 2013. Manhire, Toby. The Arab Spring: Rebellion, Revolution, and a New World Order. Guardian Books, 2012. Mauro, Ryan. Muslim Brotherhood Draws Up Plans to Islamize Egypt. 26 June 2012. 9 April 2014 . Pateman, Robert and Salwa El-Hamamsy. Egypt. Marshall Cavendish, 2003. Roccu, Roberto. The Political Economy of the Egyptian Revolution: Mubarak, Economic Reforms and Failed Hegemony. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Read More