Violence has gripped Egypt after leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood took to streets protesting the ouster of President Muhammad Mursi. The president was removed following massive protests against him. The images of the dead and billowing smoke across the country evoke memories of events that shook Algeria in 1992 after the general elections were declared null and void.
The analogy might be correct but we need to look all aspects that led to the crisis in Algeria.
Chaos preceded the suspension of elections in Algeria and there were growing calls to reject the new regime. Violence took place after the suspension and then extremists lost the public trust and they failed to fulfill their objectives.
Until 1988, Algeria was an isolated country but it gradually started opening up its economy. And when the late President Shadhli Bin Jadid tried to build the economy and called for austerity measures, people revolted against him.
Bin Jadid carried out reforms and adopted a new constitution, ending one-party rule. He allowed elections and freedom of media.
Because of the competition, the country entered the chaotic phase. Demonstrations lasted for more than a year. Tens of political parties were born including the Front of the Islamic Salvation “FIS,” leading the pack.
It was not easy to recognize the new party. Some of the FIS leaders, most prominently Ali Belhaj, led extremist demonstrations in the capital squares calling for abrogation of the constitution after winning the elections. Violent incidents spiked and initially no one believed that the FIS was behind them.
The army was accused of fomenting violence and it was believable then because it had the motive to derail the elections and tighten grip of the power. But the army was proved to be innocent as the same kind of violent activities continues for the next 20 years.
In addition to the violence, extremists threatened to repeal the constitution and said that democracy was haram. They burned shops on religious pretexts. All of this and no one believed that the FIS was behind it. In the 1980s, Algerian culture and establishments weren’t ready for the change, especially with the extremists entering the show. The Islamists proved that it was impossible to moderate them in the democratic setup.
Egypt can’t be understood without reading the Algerian and Turkish experiences. In Turkey, an Islamist party is providing a modern Islamic version that can rule and adjust. But the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is closer to the Algerian FIS which wanted to win the elections without adhering to the conditions.
MB in Egypt is a political movement that tries to possess whatever enables it to win and rule the country. Technically, this is a proper political group but the extremist voices inside the movement seem to prevail. The movement committed constitutional violations to tighten grip of the power instead of sharing it by targeting the authorities. Will Egypt enter the Algerian tunnel? I don/t know, every society has its own characteristics. It looks that Egyptians are capable to sort out their mess and come up with their own project that will take them out of the dark tunnel.
