CAIRO - Here we have again two versions of the same story regarding the shooting that took place yesterday at dawn outside the Republican Guard building in Cairo, where the lives of Egyptians, irrespective of their affiliation, were claimed, not to mention hundreds of casualties. Muslim Brotherhood (MB) sources claim that while their unarmed protesters were staging a peaceful sit-in and praying, they were taken by surprise by an army attack. The other side of the story says that the army had to stop a terrorist group from storming into the building, which is believed to hold Mohamed Morsi. Of course each side was ready with evidence to substantiate its claims. But a retrospective look at the kind of escalation in the past two weeks starting with Morsi's final speech, up to a few hours before the bloody incident, does have implications and indications. Morsi was very keen to insinuate that should his legitimacy be touched, his opponents would have to bear the consequences. This attitude was not unprecedented, as during the presidential elections of 20l2, there were leaked reports that the MB threatened to turn the country into pools of blood if their candidate were not to be instated in power. Given the well-known violent history of the MB as a power-seeking group since its foundation back in l928, Morsi's latent threat was not difficult to read. The seizure of quantities of arms and Molotov cocktails in the past few days by the police in MB headquarters and within the hands of some of their active members refutes their claims of the peaceful nature of their protests. Moreover, the MB propaganda that what civil forces deem as the second wave of the January revolution prompted by massive popular will, is nothing but a coup, has managed to charge MB loyalists and supporters with rage and spite. But what is more important is the rhetorical language they have been using in their major rally at the Rabaa el-Adawiya mosque in Nasr City. The televised addresses of the MB guide and key figures implied to the attentive mob that the whole thing has to do with creed, hence filling cohorts with enthusiasm and willingness to become ‘martyrs' while fighting the infidel Egyptians that refused to have Morsi end his first term in office. The MB leaders describing June 30 as a coup that transgressed the legitimacy of Mohamed Morsi, gave them cause to steer the grassroots base towards revenge making very good use of their organisational tactics and persuasive means. The comments of MB leaders on Twitter and Facebook spelt blood and violence in such a straightforward way, so how could they deny their violent tendencies? On the other hand, it goes beyond logical explanation that the army would open fire on a group of worshippers at dawn even if they were stationed outside a military building. If the Armed Forces had the prior intention to kill, risking a ‘massacre', they indeed had other appropriate opportunities to engage with protesters without being blamed for such an act. The MB has taken matters to the brink and by so doing, it has seriously put the security and social stability of this country at stake; MB choices so far denote a state of denial that they have lost a battle. They have so far made it clear that the choice lies between them and a civil war. If they are really sincere about national interests, they have to look at themselves in the mirror to see what went wrong during their one-year rule. Despite the tragic developments on the ground, society is still open to them as a political party once they redress their course. But if they continue to push for a war of make or break, they would be jeopardising their very existence as a group because it is so difficult to defy the will of millions.
