The might of the military has consolidated the new administration’s legitimacy which enables it to issue directives and decrees. In so doing, it has acquired legality. General El-Sisi was wise enough before staging his coup to widely consult highly respected community leaders from all walks of life who encouraged him to do so. The political coup subsequently installed the Chief Justice as the interim Head of State.
Youth movements had earlier staged demonstrations urging the Morsi regime to resign for its failure to improve the peoples’ standard of living, besides its exclusivity in public appointments. The demonstrations which appeared to pose threats to national security led to the sudden military intervention which has been exerting concerted efforts to maintain peace and order. It is unfortunate that many lives are being lost, as demonstrators continue to condemn the coup and persistently demand the restoration of democracy under Morsi’s leadership. It is indeed a tight rope walking to balance the stability of the polity with the safety of the agitators urging the reinstatement of President Morsi. Fears of spates of insurgency and acts of terrorism loom large considering the current death toll of over 600 protestors.
The interim admi-nistration of President Adl al Mansur has however announced a political programme of returning the country to democracy in six months’ time after a constitutional review. Some provisions of the document which stress the principles of Islam as the sources of state law are incompatible with the secular status of Egypt. Under Morsi’s regime, these provisions were entrenched and approved in a referendum by 60 per cent of the people.
One wonders whether the review of the constitution will not exclude the registration of religiously based parties or those sponsored by religious movements obviating the participation, under the new political dispensation, of Freedom and Justice Party which came into existence on the advent of the Arab Spring revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak from power. Hitherto Egyptian constitution prohibited religiously based organizations for registration as political parties.
The role played by the Muslim Brotherhood in the Egyptian politics has been quite significant. It was founded as far back as 1928 by Hassan Al Banna, Islamic scholar and preacher. It has been the country’s longest political opposition organization financed by its members and some Muslim countries where it has spread. It has focused its attention on preaching Islam as a religion and ideology which covers comprehensive way of life. It criticizes and condemns European imperialism, secularization of Muslims communities as well as moral decadence in the open consumption of alcohol and promiscuity.
It blames Egyptian leaders of blindly copying western concepts of development, insisting that modernization and progress based on science and technology must be carried out within the context of Islamic principles. It opposed British rule in Egypt in 1936 and actively participated in the revolution which ousted King Farouk from power in 1952. In a succession of crackdowns by the Egyptian governments, the Brotherhood was proscribed for its repeated attempts to carry out political assassinations. One time Prime Minister of Egypt, Mahmud Pasha, was believed to be assassinated by the Brotherhood. Hassan al Banna, Sayyid Qutb and its other leaders were also alleged to have been murdered by government security agents.
The Brotherhood was revived and registered as a non-governmental organization in 2011 following the revolution that ousted Mubarak. It then floated a political party, the Freedom and Justice Party, whose candidate, Dr Mohammed Morsi, won the presidential election in June 2012. The fear of uncertainties shrouding the Brotherhood’s style of governance, vendetta, non-commitment to pluralism and discrimination on the ground of religion could be among the reasons for the abrupt military intervention.
The role of the military is to defend its country from external threats. Admittedly too, extenuating circumstances often compel military intervention in some Arab countries to avert chaos in domestic affairs and protect national interest. In the case of Egypt, the military came into public limelight when it ousted the regime of King Farouk in 1952. For over 60 years the leadership of the country has been in the hands of civilianized military heads of state whose leadership qualities have been applauded by the majority of the population. General Abdul Nasar, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak were professional soldiers who converted to politics. Dr Morsi is the odd one out who briefly led the country without military background.
The Egyptian military has thus acquired significant influence in running state affairs which made it a very powerful political force to be reckoned with. It remains obedient to civil authorities under normal circumstances but poke noses involuntarily in government policies if prevailing circumstances warrant. Its military might, occasioned by its legitimate possession of dangerous arsenal, underscores its involvement in political decision making.
In Turkey and Algeria, the military consider their role to be of saviour of their nations. In 1998 Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan was forced out of office by the military and banned from politics for life by the Constitutional Court for violating secular state ideology when his Welfare Party government embarked upon the construction of massive Islamic educational projects considered discriminatory, if not detrimental, to other religious minority interests. In Algeria too, the Islamic Salvation Front won the presidential and parliamentary elections in 1992 which were brazenly cancelled by the Military Council under the leadership of General Liamine Zerroul. The military feared that the Islamic oriented party would bring about radical changes that would not only adversely affect Algeria’s plural society but also undermine state security.
The leaders of the Front, notably, Sheikh Ali Abbasi Madani and Ali Belhadj were detained. The backlash was horrifying to recount. The military thus see themselves as the guardians of the state! They are major institutional interest articulation groups in governance. This phenomenon of military incursion into politics must be stemmed. The civil society can do so through resistance. Increased literacy and political awareness will make it increasingly difficult for the people to accept military intervention in the political process. Time will tell.
In the meantime, all stakeholders to the on-going Egyptian crisis must engage in constructive dialogue to sort out differences as a matter of urgency. Blood shedding and other acts of violence must stop at once so that peace and stability will prevail.
Ambassador Sani, mni, wrote from Sharada Qtrs, Kano
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