NINE REASONS BEHIND THE POLARIZED DISCOURSE ON EGYPT by Bassam Haddad Coming from a poisoned and explosive discourse on Syria, I still believe matters are less complex, and certainly less brutal, in Egypt. But the developments in the latter case are no less consequential. We have a responsibility to ask more of ourselves as observers, writers, and analysts. Maybe a very productive place to start—away from the details of the days’ events—is in exploring the ascendance of a new liberalism allied with political and, to a significant extent in some cases, economic power. 1. Many commentators, on all sides of the political spectrum, come to the Egyptian scene as spectators who did not closely follow the events between 11 February 2011 and 30 June 2013. 2. Most [commentators] know little about the history of the Muslim Brotherhood nor for that matter the organization’s preferences, behavior, and policies after Morsi’s election. 3. Unending and thorough demonization [by the media] of the Muslim Brotherhood was countered by most Brotherhood supporters/defenders with utter neglect of their excesses, complicity with the army/fuloul, and transgressions, especially after 2011. 4. Many interpret events inside Egypt in relation to external factors and relations that are independent from the streets and in the corridors of Egypt. Sometimes, the gaze is based on an anti-imperial lens. At other times, it proceeds from observations regarding the progress or regress of the Arab uprisings. 5. Sectarian and seemingly sectarian violence and the disgusting acts of burning Churches (not a recent trend) must be vehemently condemned. But as with the Iraq situation, these horrendous acts must be put in a broader perspective. Some commentators privilege these heinous acts at the expense of all else that happened in Egypt recently. 6. Those who know the Brotherhood’s history, particularly their official positions and relations under Morsi, know that much of what the Brotherhood has stood for recently is not laudable, to say the least—and the list is very long and disturbing. But the degree and kind of dehumanization that Brotherhood supporters are subjected to in the Egyptian media and in many hearts and minds are not only horrendous, but also deeply blinding. 7. What is missing [in the discourse], and what will emerge in due time is that what we are witnessing in Egypt now is also a struggle over defining or imposing a common identity. 8. I am now convinced that the mere invocation of the phrase “war on terror” (however “popular”) by any government is akin to justifying scrupulous action, or a “war of terror.” 9. The rise of a refurbished Arab liberal discourse that mimics that of the United States, centered on a combination of privilege, membership, categorization, social hierarchies, and a healthy dose of Islamophobia. jadaliyya/pages/index/13696/discourse-polarization-and-the-liberal-triumph-in
Posted on: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 19:20:52 +0000
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