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egypts new IslamIc democracy

today tuesday 3 July 2012

An Egyptian holding up a poster of Mr Morsi which reads: Mohammed Morsi: President of Egypt. Peoples will. PhoTo AP

Morsi could show the way for the Arab world

Con Coughlin

hen Mr Mohammed Morsi, the political face of Egypts Muslim Brotherhood, sent his top aides to London recently, the seasoned Arabists of the Foreign Office were pleasantly surprised. Rather than embarking on a long rant against the decadence of the West which is what normally happens with visitors of an Islamist persuasion the quietly spoken group of Egyptian leaders gave a concise and rational appraisal of the many challenges their country faces as it makes the difficult transition from military dictatorship to a more democratic system of government. While insisting that Egypts future

would be immeasurably better served by an Islamic government than by a secular or military one, they nonetheless conceded that not even political Islam could provide all the answers for a country that has struggled for decades to fulfil its potential. Consequently, if Egypt were to develop its moribund political and economic institutions properly, it would require much more than the Muslim Brotherhoods limited resources. To reclaim the countrys former glory as one of the pre-eminent powers in the Arab world, Mr Morsi and his followers would need all the help they could get.
EARLY-DAY UNCERTAINTIES

cratically-elected President remarked shortly after his victory: No one political party can fix all the countrys problems. Among those reportedly vying for favour in the new government is Nobel laureate Dr Mohamed El-Baradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Authority, who took a leading role in negotiating with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme. The United States - educated Mr Morsi, sworn in as President at the weekend, has also said he intends to appoint a woman and a Christian to senior positions concessions not normally made by Islamist hardliners.

IMPACT ON THE REGION

If the events of the past week are anything to go by, Egypts newly-elected President has been as good as his word as he begins the daunting task of forming a new government in the wake of his historic election victory. It is, of course, early days in this brave new democratic world. For a start, it is still unclear just how much power the Egyptian military, which dissolved the countrys Parliament on the eve of the elections and stripped the presidency of many of its powers, intends to retain in the wake of the Islamists surprise victory. And significant questions remain about how committed some of the more hard-line activists within the Muslim Brotherhood such as those who have recently taken to burning down Coptic churches are about upholding the principles of the newlyadopted system of Western-style governance. That said, Mr Morsi should be judged by his own deeds, rather than the repressive actions of others. And on that basis, he deserves credit for the measured and balanced approach he has so far adopted in forming the new Egyptian government. The 60-year-old is no stranger to the wickedness of the previous regime, having been jailed by former President Hosni Mubarak for membership of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was then a banned organisation. But rather than seeking revenge on his former persecutors, he seems more interested in taking a leaf out of Mr Nelson Mandelas book and building a rainbow coalition that represents the interests of all Egyptians, rather than just those who voted for him. Echoing the sentiments of the supporters who visited the Foreign Office earlier this year, Mr Morsi has confounded his critics by inviting liberals, former Tahrir Square activists, Christians and women to join his new Islamist-led government. As an aide to Egypts first demo-

There will still be many Egyptians, particularly those who campaigned for secular, Western-style democracy during last years Tahrir Square protests, who feel they have been shortchanged. The new President may be making all the right noises about preserving the status of women in society and tolerating alcohol consumption, but there will be many of his followers who are not so open-minded and demand a more fundamentalist approach. Yet, it is certainly to be hoped that Mr Morsis more relaxed and inclusive style prevails, not least because of the positive impact that establishing democracy would have on the rest of the region. The Arab world has a long-held tradition of looking to Cairo for leadership, whether it be the anti-Western nationalism of Gamal Abdel Nasser or the more conciliatory approach of Anwar Sadat, who showed that it was possible for an Arab state to make peace with Israel. Given the current wave of political unrest sweeping the region, a democratic Egypt would, for example, provide a viable model for the warring factions in neighbouring Libya to uphold, as well as encouraging other autocratic regimes in the area to embrace a more representative form of government. The success of Mr Morsis project would be most profoundly felt in Syria, where concerns about the Islamist nature of the opposition to President Bashar Al Assad has undermined the Wests campaign for regime change. If Mr Morsi can demonstrate in Egypt that it is possible to be both proIslam and pro-West, then there is no reason why the same formula cannot be applied in Damascus.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Con Coughlin is an expert on international terrorism and the Middle East, with 25 years in foreign journalism.