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Egypt's secularists repeating Islamists' mistakes
By Bassem Youssef, Special to CNN
July 20, 2013 -- Updated 1632 GMT (0032 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Bassem Youssef warns against the "victory high' some feel after Morsy's
ouster
Youssef: Some of the anti-Morsy forces are just as objectionable as the
Islamists
There seems to be no home in Egypt right now for those with moderate views,
Youssef says
Editor's note: Bassem Youssef is the host of "The Program" and "America in
Arabic." Dubbed the "Jon Stewart of the Arab world," he was named one of the
"100 Most Influential People in the World" by Time magazine. He tweets at
@DrBassemYoussef.
(CNN) -- Congratulations, everyone: We've finally got rid of the Muslim
Brotherhood forever. What a burden off our shoulders!
Finally, we will have a Muslim Brotherhood-less Egypt. It's only a matter of
days until the Muslim Brotherhood's members are rounded up in jail once again,
and Egypt's normal state is restored. That normal state, where people look good
without beards or veils, those "good-looking people" we see on TV. Egypt will
finally be a free, liberal country. Good riddance, Islamists.
What's that? Some Muslim Brotherhood members died at the Republican Guard
headquarters? And why were they there in the first place? Aren't you glad this
happened to them? Why aren't you gloating? You must be a Brotherhood supporter!
You must be an enemy of the military and the state and probably work as a
part-time terrorist!
No. I support the demonstrations that started on June 30th and saw that former
president Mohamed Morsy was unfit to be president, but that doesn't deny the
fact that I believe there needs to be a thorough investigation into the events
at the Republican Guard headquarters, that I'd like to know how long the
Islamists' TV channels will be closed; and that I find the private media to be
full of discrimination and inciting rhetoric.
No, no, critics might say: you're being soft! Keep your human rights to
yourself. These people can only be dealt with violently. We have to purge the
country of these people.
Bassem Youssef
Bassem Youssef
The above is a reflection of the state of mind of many who are on a "victory
high," or so they imagine themselves to be. The fascist nature of those people
is no different than that of the Islamists who think that their enemies'
disappearance off this planet would be a victory for the religion of God. But
those on this victory high consider themselves to be different; they justify
their fascism for the "good of the country." These people with their liberal
values and reverence for freedom differ very little from radical preacher
Khaled Abdullah, who was infamous for his favorite quote: "May God relieve us
of you and your likes (the liberals)."
I do not trust or believe the Muslim Brotherhood. We have witnessed from
experience that they do not keep their word and lie time and again, as long as
it serves their political agenda. They have their means of manipulating
religion and justifying their actions so long as it serves their politics.
Yes, the Muslim Brotherhood has done all of this and more; and for that, Morsy
deserved to be protested against by the masses, and his organization deserved
the abhorrence and repulsion towards them from the people. The senior
Brotherhood leaders need to undergo investigation on charges of inciting
violence, as well as their shady international relations. This is the legal and
political course that needs to take place.
I could write volumes on the lack of intelligence on the part of the
Brotherhood and their corruption of both religion and politics, but that is
another battle that requires different tools. We are losing this battle before
it has even begun: those who claim to be freedom fighters and have been
denouncing the fascism and discrimination of the Brotherhood are now
contributing to the building of sympathy towards them. They are a disgrace to
the principles of freedom they claim to stand for.
We are returning par excellence to the atmosphere of the 90s when we settled
for "the security option" and the media corruption and let the chests rage with
a fire of hatred and allowed extremism to deepen day after day. I do believe
that shutting down the Islamist channels was an important decision during a
sensitive period, but I'm now calling for their return. Let them talk as they
wish; it has only served to make people hate and be repulsed by them. Do not
give them the chance to play the victim. What are you afraid of? Of their
discriminatory media rhetoric? Or of their public political stupidity?
My dear anti-Brotherhood liberal, allow me to remind you that just a few weeks
ago you were desperately complaining about how grim the future looked, but now
that you have been "relieved" of them you have become a carbon copy of their
fascism and discrimination. You could respond by saying that they deserve it,
that they supported the security forces and used them to overpower you, to
cheat and spread rumors and widen sectarian strife. But is that really your
argument? Have you made of their lowly ways a better alternative for you than
abiding by the principles you have stood by for so long? They lost their moral
compass a long time ago. Do you want to follow suit?
We have replaced the 'enemies of Islam' scarecrow with the 'enemies of the
state' scarecrow.
Bassem Youssef
Don't you see that by inciting violence towards Palestinians and Syrians you
are exactly like them, when they incite violence towards the Shi'is, the
Baha'is, the Christians, and the other Muslims who opposed the Brotherhood? We
have replaced the "enemies of Islam" scarecrow with the "enemies of the state"
scarecrow. The ideas, approaches and appearances have disappeared, and all that
remains are fascism and discrimination that unite us over hatred, rather than
reconcile our prejudices.
Take the leaders of the Brotherhood to court and investigate the events at the
Republican Guard headquarters. Ensure the autonomy of justice whether the
victims are from your camp or the other's. Demand a clear framework within
which all political parties are to operate, so that no party can ever spread
such discriminatory, sectarian rhetoric again. Yes, the leaders of the
Brotherhood must be tried just as the leaders of the National Democratic Party
were tried in the case of provision of enough evidence and within the limits of
the law.
But remember you will never be able to erase the existence of those thousands
off the face of the Earth. You will not be able arrest those thousands and
their families and children, and you will not be able to prevent them from
winning syndicate elections. All you're currently doing is repeating their past
mistakes by turning a blind eye to those thousands, but you are only burying a
living truth that will come back to hit you, or the coming generations, in the
face.
Kudos to those who have not allowed the "victory high" to rob them of their
humanity; to those few who are currently isolated by everyone else and are not
welcome in either camp unless they go with the current flow of hatred and
gloating.
Humanity has now become an isolated island among wild waves of discrimination
and extremism. On this island live those isolated few, their voices fading in
the midst of the roaring cries for vengeance and murder. I'm not optimistic
about a population increase on that island anytime soon. But maybe in the
future people will migrate to it and try to get to know this thing called
humanity that we've all been stripped of.
What I fear most is if a time comes when we pass by that island and cry in
dismay: "Alas, nobody lives there anymore."
This is an edited version of an article that was first published in Al-Shorouk
newspaper in Egypt on July 16 in Arabic and was translated by Nadine H. Hafez
at Bassem Youssef's request for the website Tahrir Squared.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bassem Youssef.
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