The administration in Egypt appears to be contradicting itself if one were to go by the happenings in that country. Only recently, I was watching a television program featuring the Egyptian tourism minister who asserted that his country continued to be a great place of hospitality. He seemed to be going to great lengths to convince the viewers that everything was hunky-dory in Egypt and even promised that his government would not interfere in affairs concerning tourist — what they eat or drink or the manner in which they dressed.
And what happens a few days after the minister’s attempts to paint a positive picture? The president appoints a member from the Muslim Brotherhood as the governor of Luxor, arguably the most popular tourist destination on Egypt’s map. I wonder if even the president is aware of the consequences that such contradictions throw up. One wonders if it is the lack of political sagacity on the part of the leadership or the fact that there are power centers within the Muslim Brotherhood that lead to such audacious decisions.
The Muslim Brotherhood has proved to be a dangerous opposition and at the same time a failure in governance. They still don’t accept the presidential form of governance and to work under norms established by society. They don’t believe in following a supreme leader in the form of a president. Indeed, it is a strange situation that we are seeing where there is a presidential republic but with several leaders lurking around.
Over time, the Muslim Brotherhood would only alienate itself from the rest, and a situation may arise where a second uprising cannot be ruled out which nobody thought would happen after Mursi won the elections.
On his part, Mursi, instead of opening communication channels with his enemies inside and reassuring them, has only made more international enemies. The West, which according to opposition accusations has been supporting the MB, might turn against it. The situation in Egypt is getting complex and more complicated after Mursi appointed a minister who was and still belongs to a terrorist group led by Omer Abdul Rahman, who was arrested in the US on charges of terrorism.
Many people are skeptical about the American stand on the issue, and believe that they would like to see MB in power, despite the society’s anti-West literature. And why not? The Americans would be happy so long as MB adapts itself and conforms to international reality.
Actually, MB didn’t waste any time after they came to power, reassuring everybody including the Israelis on many occasions. Sometimes they used Essam Al-Erian, the vice chairman of the Freedom And Justice Party, and sometimes through the presidential protocol letters.
This is evident in the protection of borders with Israel and the landfill of hundreds of tunnels that linked Hamas to the world and the biggest war ever carried on by terrorists in Sinai. All these can be viewed as mere political actions to reassure the West that the MB government respects the agreements and relations.
The real threat to Mursi is not the West or the opposition. The real threat is the Egyptian citizen whose hopes reached sky high by the promises given to him after the revolution.
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