Egypt in Crisis

By David Noor, posted on 8 February, 2011

What's going on in Egypt and what may be the upshot? It's being called anything from a democratic revolution to an Islamic revolution on the order of 1979 Iran. Having just returned from co-hosting a history and culture commentary show in Egypt and still having relatives there, this hits close to home for me.

Since January 25, Cairo's "Liberation Square" has been filled with thousands to a million Egyptians, mostly young and male, demanding that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak leave office. The last few days have seen violent clashes between these protestors and groups of Mubarak's supporters. Other major Egyptian cities have seen riots as well and the death count may be around 300, besides several thousand injured.

Away from the main square, gangs of escaped criminals have been robbing and looting. Several personal contacts in Cairo have told me that the youth of each neighborhood have banded together—Muslims and Christians alike[1]—armed with broomsticks and kitchen knives to fend off the marauders. One of the virtues of the Egyptian people has always been unity when faced with adversity. Another virtue, good-natured good humor, is also in evidence. One photo on Facebook shows a protester, who's obviously been sitting there for a while, holding up a sign inscribed (in Arabic): "Leave already. My hand's tired."[2]

But whatever Egyptians hope about the outcome, the vast majority appear to simply be watching and waiting. Viewing video of what's happening over there, I've been struck by how much like Cairo it still sounds— incessant car horns, traffic moving slowly through seas of pedestrians, and much more talking and shouting than action. But the noises have a jarring unity and intensity that is new and unsettling for anyone used to the normal unceasing sounds of Cairo.

The protests going on right now are probably unprecedented in Egyptian history. Egypt is not new to mob violence,[3] and literally hundreds of tyrants have met their ends in Egypt, but it has always been at the hand of ambitious successors. If successful, this would be the first time in history that the Egyptian people, without an obvious and ambitious leader, ever ousted their ruler.[4]

The discontent evident in the faces and slogans of the protesters has been growing for a long time, but no one knows how long it would have remained under the surface were it not for Tunisia's recent example. I've talked to many young men on the street in Egypt during the past few years, and their complaints are uniform across the board: There are no jobs; jobs don't pay enough; and apartment (a prerequisite for marriage in Cairene society) prices have been rising. Food is also increasing in price with the rapid devaluation of the Egyptian pound by inflation.

These young men, and the many older men and women[5] who've joined them, genuinely want the prosperity and freedoms they see in western nations. For years, they've had vicarious access to the liberties and licenses of western culture through media. Most young Cairenes have a mobile phone and some means of Internet access, besides TV and movies. Egyptians want freedom from the fear of police brutality. They want freedom from the corrupt bureaucracy in which nothing gets done without a liberal application of baksheesh ("baksheesh" is money given to grease the wheels or flex the rules; not to be confused with bribery[6]). They want the prosperity that comes from a free economy. And they want the free exercise of licentiousness and leisure that Hollywood portrays.[7] Nearly every young Egyptian I've ever encountered has told me he wants to emigrate to America, usually very early in our conversation.

But there is a cognitive dissonance in the minds of Egyptians. While western media preaches the Hollywood dream, Islam preaches its 1400-year-old call to all-encompassing social and political order as the noble antidote to the ills of a "too-secular" Egyptian society. Last year the Pew Research Center noted that 84 percent of Egyptian Muslims favor the death penalty for those who leave Islam. Yet 90 percent say they believe in freedom of religion. 54 percent believe that suicide bombing can be justified. But 80 percent place a high value on free speech. 59 percent believe that "democracy" is preferable to any other form of government, but 85 percent believe that Islam's influence in politics is positive.[8]

Islam's domination is increasingly evident in Egyptian society. Women's clothing is one very visible example. 50 years ago middle and upper class Egyptian women wore short sleeved, knee-length dresses like their Western counterparts. Now, few women venture out unswathed from wrist to ankle, and the full black niqab (face veil) is becoming more and more common. When I was in Egypt a month and a half ago, I was struck by the irony of the fully-veiled women we saw window-shopping for western styles sported by avant garde mannequins in downtown Cairo shops. I think the conflicting attractions of Western culture and traditional Islam are a big part of the disconnect and the discontent, which is threatening tyrants across the Middle East.

The protesters, who don't have a coherent agenda for what should come next, do have one consistent demand: "Mubarak must go." They have reason to dislike President Mubarak, who has maintained a tight hold on power since 1981. Mubarak is only the third president of Egypt since the 1952 army officers' coup which exiled Egypt's last king and established an Arab nationalistic government.[9] Gamal Abdul Nasser and Anwar Sadat, the other two presidents, only relinquished their offices in death. No one realistically claims that Mubarak does not doctor elections, and it is common knowledge (as in, everyone on the street in Egypt believes) that he has amassed a nice fortune from the public coffers. This last, of course, is only tradition in Egypt. Roman governors, Arab emirs, Mameluke sultans, and Turkish pashas have been doing the same for 2000 years. Reports of police brutality and torture directed against jihadis, Christians, and especially Muslim converts to Christianity, have been flowing from Egypt for years as well. Only Mubarak's status as a key U.S. ally has kept away the handslap of Egypt being listed as a "human rights" violator. In these latest protests, police have fired not just tear gas and rubber bullets, but live ammunition at protesters. Some Egyptians want Mubarak regardless, some columnists point out that he is nicer than other tyrannical dictators, but aside from the U.S. Vice President, no one really claims that he is not a dictator.

But Mubarak's badness doesn't give the protesters the moral high ground in this faceoff. Despite many media sources describing the opposing sides in the fighting as Mubarak's "thugs" and "largely peaceful protesters", images and videos show Mubarak's supporters and opponents exchanging insults, blows, rocks, and Molotov cocktails with equal gusto. While some of this may be legitimate self defense, the protesters have also been doing something that is clearly not: destroying government property merely for symbolic reasons. There is a right and wrong way to oppose tyrannical government. Torching public property and stoning police because they represent the hated order are illegitimate activities.[10] The lesson taught to the protesters themselves and all watching is destructive: If you want to get your way, get angry and break stuff.[11] "This is freedom," said one protester, apparently referring to the day's activities. "Now we know Mubarak will leave. The only question is when."

A change of president will not magically correct Egypt's economy. Nor can it purge the corruption which burdens its government. There is basic truth in the saying, "People always get the government they deserve." For hundreds of years in Egypt, those in power have been using their positions to extort baksheesh from those who are not. Covetousness runs so old and deep in Egyptian society that there is a whole web of traditions, spells, and talismans for warding off the evil eye of greed. Tourists[12] get to personally experience efforts to get as much for as little effort as possible from "rich" foreigners. The Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak governments only reinforced this attitude with socialistic promises of government-funded education and guaranteed jobs for college graduates. Vices like this can't be changed overnight, and never by a simple change in politics.[13]

The political outcome for Egypt is still far from certain. If Mubarak and his supporters retain power, police thuggery could operate on an unprecedented scale. If newly-appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman takes over, he may just be a new face on the old system. Mohammed el Baradei, a longtime U.N. Diplomat is favored internationally, but he has little respect in the eyes of the man on the street in Egypt. Egypt's only significant opposition party, the Muslim Brotherhood, stands to increase its influence, but I've encountered no firsthand evidence that Egyptians anticipate them rising to political dominance, an event which would be bad news for Egypt's Christian minority.[14]

One thing is certain: No amount of protesting, or beating up protesters, can bring genuine peace and lasting blessings to Egypt. The only thing that can bring lasting peace is submission to Jesus Christ. He's the one whose reign sees nations beating "their swords into plowshares."[15]

Only God knows the outcome for Egypt, but American Christians can do this: Pray for the Christians of Egypt.[16] Times of difficulty are always times of opportunity. Christians need winsomeness, boldness, and selfless love for their Muslim neighbors to win their country to Christ. Jesus commands all people everywhere to repent and obey His gospel (Acts 17:30), and only He can save Egyptians from sin and from slavery to the state. His Gospel can transform Egypt into a mature society capable of lasting freedom.

Further Reading:

David Noor is a second-generation Egyptian American. He lives with his family in Middle Tennessee. Image credit: Mariam Soliman

1. Despite recent tensions, Muslims and Christians are showing remarkable unity right now. Pictures have shown up online of Christians forming human chains to protect Muslims during prayer. In this video, a singing team from one of the largest Evangelical churches in the Middle East, located just off Tahrir Square, leads a crowd of protesters in song and prayer.

2. YouTube videos like this one show Egyptian humor still at work in the middle of the protests, providing laughs for those around. Some Egyptians have told me that humor, including the ability to laugh at themselves, is what allows Egyptians to weather the hardships of life and most sets them apart from the other Middle Eastern populations.

3. Muslim mobs repeatedly pillaged and destroyed Christian homes and churches and raped or murdered their occupants during the centuries following the Muslim conquest. E. L. Butcher documents many of these depredations in her Story of the Church of Egypt, Vol. 2. European pressure from the late 1800s on forced a succession of Muslim-dominated governments to begin protecting the Christians and exercise less partial justice.

4. Arguably, the last widespread popular uprising in Egypt took place in A.D. 831. For an overview of this event see Butcher, Vol. 1, Ch. VII.. Orabi's 1879 revolt seems to have really been an attempt by an ambitious officer to seize power. Likewise with Nasser, for all his touted idealism, in 1952.

5. As a side comment, one of the little-understood facts about Islamic societies is how much power women exercise in them. Despite the legal inequalities and outward subjugation, it would not be too strong to call them matriarchal. I think this paradox stems from a cycle of mutual sins that have become ingrained in Arab culture: men domineer over and even despise women, but women get back by raising their boys (the next generation of men) to be immature and dependent on them (Bojidar Marinov has written an excellent study of masculine immaturity in Islam culture). These sorts of basic sins in male-female relationships—male oppression and female usurpation—tend to perpetuate themselves over generations. Some credit this young woman with spurring the demonstrations of the last two weeks. Her appeal is a typical combination of encouraging and shaming. I'm reminded of the story of the Battle of Yarmuk, which saw retreat turned into victory for the desperate Arab soldiers, who were charged from the rear by their women wielding tent poles and hurling taunts of cowardice.

6. People have actually told me in all seriousness that this "is not considered bribery." In one sense, they are right. High-stakes bribery is a serious game with complex etiquette of negotiation— not to be entered into lightly.

7. Most Americans are aware of the pre-attack activities of the 9/11 hijackers. Fewer know of the disproportionate rates of sexual crimes by Middle Eastern immigrants to Europe; the perpetrators place the blame for these on their victims. Young Saudis have an unmatched reputation for wild license when away from the strict Wahabism of their own country (or behind closed doors). Pornography and prostitution are widespread in Middle Eastern nations, though with a low profile. This may seem counterintuitive, since Islam is supposed to preach chastity, but Islamic theology places the blame for male sexual deviance on women, arguing that men cannot control themselves. External restraints, like burqas, which protect women from male lust, are therefore required to maintain civility in society.

8. It is not an accident that the political legacy of the Arab world, starting with Mohammad himself, has been one of autocratic tyrants replacing each other by bloodshed. A study of Islamic history brings the inescapable conclusion that Islam has bred fatalistic submission punctuated by murderous explosions rather than the kind of mature self-control required to undergird self-government. Of course, tyranny in Egypt did not start with Islam. Egypt has been a top-down society for far longer than that. The pharaohs ruled for over 2000 years at the head of a unified political-religious order which claimed to be the source of all meaning in life. Sadly, the Coptic Church perpetuated the resulting attitude of dependence in Egypt's people through a strong clergy-laity hierarchy. The rest of the Navigating History team and I examine all three of these dominant culture-shapers in the Navigating History: Egypt video series and forthcoming study guide.

9. Incorrectly called a "Republic", of course, as are many other non-representative governments. Officially, Mohammad Naguib was Egypt's first president, bringing the total to four, but he was merely a convenient figurehead for Nasser and the other young officers and did not exercise the powers that the other three have had.

10. The American War for Independence is one of the few historical conflicts which displayed the proper model of resistance: legitimate lesser magistrates leading the people in defense of established constitutional order against the covenant-breaking tyranny of the king.

11. Update, 3/11/2011: It has been stated to me that only a minority of the protesters destroyed property and that they were condemned by the rest. Therefore, it may be unfair to generalize this lesson. The lesson taught, of course, largely depends on what others perceived.

12. Granted, tourists seem to encounter the greediest and least scrupulous segments of society wherever they go.

13. Since religion is the driver of all human action, political revolutions always shadow ideological revolutions. What people believe eventually fleshes itself out in their actions. I use "religion" here in its most basic sense of a person's network of core beliefs about reality—his worldview. All men are equally religious in this basic sense. "Religion" as the opposite of "atheism" is a polemical rather than philosophically helpful definition.

14. The motto of the Muslim Brotherhood: “Allah is our objective; the Qur'an is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations.” The Brotherhood has formally renounced violent activities, but retains ties and common objectives with groups like Hamas, al-Qaeda, and the Counsel on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

15. Not the U.N., which claims messiahship; this verse from Isaiah is prominently inscribed across from its New York headquarters.

16. Roughly 10% of Egyptians are members of the Coptic Orthodox church, which traces its heritage back to the first century A.D. Sadly, this body has been crippled by inward-looking theology and has little influence outside its own membership. Perhaps 0.1% of Egypt's population are Evangelical (largely Presbyterian), stemming from 19th-century missions.

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