Egypt, yesterday and today

In exclusive opinion piece for Al-Ahram, Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie hails Egypt's 'blessed revolution,' calls on Egyptians to work together towards 'modern, democratic state'

The great events witnessed by Egypt over the past year have changed, and will continue to change, the face of the country, God willing. They will rewrite its history after the nation was restored to the people through their white revolution.
The revolution overthrew a detestable dictatorship that stifled us for decades, violating sanctities and robbing wealth, restricting freedoms and hindering progress, fabricating allegations against decent individuals and driving out and killing its people, ignoring court orders and skilfully manipulating the will of the public.
The Muslim Brotherhood warned the previous regime many times about the negative repercussions of its actions, holding numerous meetings with national Egyptian forces under the banner "A dialogue for Egypt." Three such meetings took place before the 2010 elections and a fourth was held after elections were fixed. At these meetings, we exposed the actions of the regime and blamed the dictator himself for these crimes, but he continued in his tyranny and unjust ways.
God willed that we hold a fifth meeting after the success of the blessed revolution, and we will continue on this path – along with our people – to protect them and the goals of their revolution. With the participation of all faithful and honourable people, we are now planning to convene a sixth "Dialogue for Egypt."
The Muslim Brotherhood resisted the former regime and its tyranny by enduring the imprisonment and unjust detention of more than 40,000 Muslim Brotherhood members for a combined total of 15,000 years of jail time, knowing that God would not forget. This did not deter us from taking to the streets across Egypt in numerous demonstrations to express our opposition to the regime and its practices and to demand reform, reject the Emergency Law, press for constitutional reform, decry assaults on judges, condemn the Zionist assault on Gaza, and highlight other key issues of import to Egypt, its people and its national security.
We did not blame those who did not join us in these protests. Still, we paid a high price for taking these positions and participating in these demonstrations, which once led to the arrest of 3,000 Muslim Brotherhood members in a single day. Some of us were killed, either in prison or during elections. But we took practical steps to oppose these practices through our representatives in parliament, proposing practical solutions to Egypt's problems that the ruling party's rubberstamp-majority rejected every time.
Our representatives in professional syndicates, clubs, teachers' associations and student unions also served as models of cooperation for all Egyptians – Muslim and Christian, men and women. This angered the guardians of the old regime, leading them to suspend some of these institutions for more than 15 years.
The depth of injustice, tyranny, fraud and corruption were the fuel that kindled the people's resentment, and their suppressed feelings over the years eventually exploded into a force to be reckoned with – one that moved to confront the tyrants and topple their bases of power, thus realising God's promise in the Holy Quran:
"O Allah, Lord of Power (and Rule), Thou givest power to whom Thou pleasest, and Thou strippest power from whom Thou pleasest: Thou enduest with honour whom Thou pleasest, and Thou bringest low whom Thou pleasest: In Thy hand is all good. Verily, over all things Thou hast power." (Surat Al-Imran, verse 26)
The blessed revolution erupted and the Muslim Brotherhood was at its heart from the first day. The former regime attempted to thwart our participation in the uprising by meeting with Muslim Brotherhood leaders in all governorates of Egypt and attempting to frighten them from taking part in demonstrations. Muslim Brotherhood leaders, however, rejected these threats, as noted in our statement from 23 January 2011 and subsequent statements, which documented our unwavering position on the former regime and the blessed revolution. This was not just bravado, but the right thing to do – in line with our duty to God and our love for the people.
Many of the demands of the blessed revolution were met during the past year, which also witnessed the emergence of many new challenges that we remain determined to overcome, God willing. The head of the regime was toppled, along with most of its henchmen. The notorious State Security apparatus was dismantled, which had been a main cause of the spread of injustice and tyranny. The fraudulent People's Assembly (the lower house of Egypt's parliament) and Shura Council (the upper, consultative house of parliament) were also dissolved, while icons of the former regime were prosecuted. At the same time, Egypt's constitution – with its flawed amendments that paved the way for presidential inheritance – was annulled.
Parliamentary elections were held under broad judicial supervision, and a new parliament was elected in free and fair elections that reflected the will of the people. For the first time, tens of millions of Egyptians took part in elections with a sense of participation in the building of their country. For the first time, the people participated in creating the future of their country by choosing those who would represent them. For the first time, the prime minister and his cabinet are being held accountable for their actions by the Egyptian people.
The first round of Shura Council elections is now complete, and, God willing, the second round will wrap up on schedule. The date for presidential nominations, meanwhile, has been brought forward, which means that, within weeks, all of Egypt's elected institutions will be functioning properly following decades of autocracy.
We seek to build a modern, democratic state on the basis of co-citizenship, the rule of law, freedom, equality and pluralism in all forms, as well as the peaceful rotation of power through the ballot box and respect for human rights. We seek a state based on freedom, justice and equality for all citizens, without discrimination based on creed, colour or faith. We seek to forge a new constitution that meets the demands of the people for genuine revival in the coming decades and centuries, with the understanding that national charters are written by consensus – not simply by majority.
Meanwhile, there is also a need to fight all forms of corruption in state institutions and hold the corrupt accountable, irrespective of their position or rank, while the criminals among them should be swiftly – albeit justly – prosecuted. There is also a need to quickly avenge the revolution's martyrs and compensate the injured; improve the deteriorating living conditions of the citizenry; end poverty and unemployment; and restore general safety and security. There is also a need to rehabilitate the country's security agencies and correct their mistaken perception of themselves as agents of repression, confining their new role to protecting the country and providing its people with security.
At the same time, all political, intellectual, social, cultural and economic trends and forces in the country – along with civil society – must be allowed to operate and express their views. This will enable them to play a patriotic role and participate in the maintenance of Egypt's institutions, thereby raising the nation's overall status. What's more, a culture of affection, tolerance, mutual respect and co-existence among all citizens should be practiced. These are the demands of the people and the duty of rulers everywhere in the world; it is the only way to end the current crisis and achieve our desired renaissance.
The good people of Egypt look to those who would preserve their religion; maintain their country's domestic and foreign security; respect and apply judicial rulings; value social justice; promote virtue and ethics; and make daily life easier. They also look to those who would increase Egypt's prosperity and assign important tasks to those who are worthy of them.
Our most valued national asset is our human resources, which we must invest in, develop and nurture in order to create a generation that puts the interest of the country over mere personal interest and consciously and instinctively makes sacrifices; a generation that fears Almighty God and that benefits others in order to be what Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him) had in mind when he said, "The best people are those who are most beneficial to others."
We must also pay close attention to the constitution of the individual, starting with quality education and health services. We must establish programmes for training and qualification in scientific, technical and professional areas to meet society's need for economic and social development and to keep up with technological, scientific and cultural advances. With these two fundamentals – the material and the moral – both the individual and society can achieve brighter horizons in the future, God willing.
Many challenges, however, remain, and we must face them together. Most prominent among these are the remnants of the previous regime, the agents of the State Security apparatus, and those within the business community who were nurtured by – and benefited from – the former regime, its followers, and certain media outlets associated with them that have worked against the revolution and its achievements. Both individually and collectively, these elements have attempted to instigate one crisis after another in hopes of obstructing the march towards democratic transformation, spreading chaos and instilling despair in the hearts of the people.
But these delusional individuals forgot that the blood of the righteous martyrs has watered the seeds of the people's will, which has in turn blossomed into a tree of freedom impossible to uproot, circumvent or deceive. No one should underestimate the resolve of the people. Rather, they should obey the people's will. No faction – no matter how strong it believes itself to be – should attempt to swim against the current. Instead, they should heed what befell their predecessors.
We should all hasten to work for our beloved Egypt and cooperate in advancing it, elevating it, building it, restoring its security and stability, and raising it to its rightful status. Let us connect our glorious past and remarkable history with our present and even brighter future, in which we will – God willing – all participate, as we did in the ancient Pharaonic civilisation, in our Coptic heritage and in our ongoing Islamic heritage. Egypt has always gathered the nectar of all civilisations, from which it produces a honey with an authentic Egyptian flavour that both nurtures and cures.
May God protect our beloved Egypt from harm and adversity, and may He help us exert all necessary effort to raise its status and work for its advancement. We must work for all that is good and virtuous, rather than what is evil and harmful.
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