Let us say that you are one of the poor millions of Egyptians that have been frustrated about the atrocities against demonstrators, the sexual abuse of women, the assault on human rights, the state of lawlessness in the country and the deterioration of the economy, with no effective actions by the Muslim Brotherhood-led government of President Mohamed Morsi. Would you be willing to set yourself on fire in Tahrir Square like the martyr Mohamed Bouazizi, the poor Tunisian street fruit vendor in Tunisia who, on 11 December 2010, sparked the Tunisian revolution that toppled dictator Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali and inspired the Egyptian revolution? In fact, Egypt's future is at stake in the same way it was during Hosni Mubarak's rule. Have the Egyptians returned to a dystopian state of fear of oppressive governments and lost the courage that drove Mubarak out? Has the government of Morsi lost its moral mission to serve the people and fulfil its promises to respect the constitution and treat all Egyptians equally and establish a real democracy? These and other questions are compelling and need immediate answers. We should find them in the constitution. The first phrase in the preamble of the new Egyptian constitution — “We the people of Egypt” — is comparable to that of many other countries' constitutions and may have its origin in the constitution of the United States. In the latter, the people of the United States granted themselves the principles included therein and pledged to defend them, put them in effect, and obligated all branches of government and every citizen to do the same. The new Egyptian constitution provides in Article 6 that the political system of the country is based on democratic principles, and that all citizens are equal in regard to rights and general obligations, political and partisan plurality, the rule of law, and the respect of human rights, all of which are universally followed by democratic countries. But it is now clear that the Muslim Brotherhood-led government of President Morsi, and other Islamist groups, think differently. They are not willing to abide themselves by those principles that contradict their ideologies and consider democracy an invention of heretic nations. They also do not want to admit that the country is in danger. Actually, they look as if they are plagiarising Mark Twain: “Rumours of the country's demise may be a little exaggerated.” Many would agree that without the Tunisian uprising the Egyptian revolution would not have erupted, or at least not so soon after. However, the Egyptian revolution caused a cascade of demonstrations in other Arab countries. But on the other hand, without the courage and sacrifice of Bouazizi, the Tunisian uprising wouldn't have had a chance to succeed or would have been delayed without hope. Consequently, and without this Tunisian tsunami-like effect, Mubarak would have probably been ruling Egypt until now. Is it time for Egypt to have its own tsunami? The state of chaos in Egypt and the assault on human rights, in addition to the deteriorating economy, made a mockery of the constitution and of the revolution. In one article in Al-Ahram Weekly I said that Egypt had been ruled by modern-time autocratic Pharaohs for more than 60 years. After former president Mubarak was driven from his throne by the revolution, he was replaced by the members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) who continued Mubarak's repressive rule. When the Brotherhood seized power, they became the new Pharaohs, ruling in the name of Islam without resorting to the true interpretation of Sharia, and even not according to the constitution they have written and approved in the absence of liberal and Christian Coptic consensus. As in the case with Mubarak, President Morsi has been impatient with those who exercise their rights of freedom of speech and of the press. He considers political criticism of him an insult. Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, said in a recent article, “The Arab Quarter Century”, that the Muslim Brotherhood has been incompetent in ruling Egypt and that the Brotherhood presided “over an economic death spiral and a judiciary caught up in idiocies like investigating the comedian Bassem Youssef for allegedly insulting President Morsi.” In his first speech to the nation after he took the oath of office, President Morsi vowed to respect the constitution and to usher in the rule of law as a president of all Egyptians; to respect all human rights, declaring that Egyptians would be treated on an equal basis with no discrimination for reasons of religion, belief or gender. Judging by his reaction to hundred of thousands of Egyptian demonstrators celebrating the first anniversary of their revolution, and to other subsequent events, it seems that the president has forgotten his promises and obligations under the old and present constitutions. I am sorry to repeat what I have previously said here: Egypt is divided, Egyptian against Egyptian, Islamist groups against revolutionaries, Islamists against Islamists and most recently, Islamists against women. President Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood allies and all other Islamist groups lost the peoples' trust. Demonstrators are still calling for the president's resignation, but he considers them as the counterrevolution. The people became desperate to see reform as chaos continues without any meaningful effort by the president to maintain security in the country or to save the economy from possible collapse, as local and international media have been expecting. The president offered no concrete solutions to the country's problems. Instead, he attributed deadly violence between Islamists and their opponents to a conspiracy by Mubarak's cronies, his own political rivals, and to foreign agents, thus following the same line of Mubarak. Some Egyptian writers have called for a new awakening and/or a new revolution. But I think Egypt needs more than that amid the great sense of frustration and despair that has permeated Egypt. President Mubarak was toppled by the Tahrir Square youth revolution. But President Morsi, who was himself imprisoned by Mubarak, is still ruling as his former jailer ruled and has not been toppled. Actually some of the people who demonstrated against Mubarak wish him back to establish security in the country. This is a very dangerous way to imagine solving the country's problems. I am not for a suicidal inferno. Bouazizi sacrificed himself for his country, but that does not mean his actions should be copied by Egyptians. The Egyptian revolutionaries should do more to save the country. Let us be fair and blunt. As I have said before, revolutionaries and the political opponents of President Morsi should bear responsibility for what has been happening since SCAF took over from Mubarak. First, the revolutionaries had aspirations for change but they never thought to make that change themselves, or planned to form a political party to participate in parliamentary or presidential elections, or let themselves be known to Egyptian constituents. I do believe that the Egyptian revolution was set in motion by groups of highly educated secular professionals who would have been healthy seeds for future governments. Second, the Egyptian political parties, who have been ineffective, should not boycott the forthcoming parliamentary elections. It is their chance to show their real adherence to democracy and human rights, to adopt a viable economic policy, and propose means to establish security in the country. The revolutionaries have to practice what they have been preaching; they have to make the change themselves and they can make a difference when the Brotherhood and Islamist groups in general have lost the people's confidence. Marc Lynch, an associate professor of political science at George Washington University and the author of The Arab Uprising: The unfinished revolution of the new Middle East, said: “You can't teach someone to be a great basketball player by showing them videos. They have to play — and the opposition will not become effective until they compete and lose and win again.” As the Egyptian revolution was inspired by the Tunisian uprising it had a domino effect on other Arab revolutions, and it seems they all may share an uneasy future in their drive for democracy and economic development. The liberal journalist Hazem Saghieh could not hide his worry about the future of the Arab uprisings after the toppling of the Tunisian dictator. In his article in Al-Hayat newspaper on 11 January 2011, he said that Tunisia was then testing the question of change in the Arab world. “Can a corrupt dictator be overthrown without descending into chaos or a new tyranny?” he asked. Looking at what has been happening in Egypt, Libya, and also Syria where the civil war is going to destroy the country, we realise that Saghieh's predictions came true. I hope the Egyptians, who realise better than anyone the overwhelming challenge and sacrifice of building a real democracy and a pluralistic system after more than 60 years of autocratic rule, address that point. Time is running out on Egypt's fate as a leader in the Arab world. But it is not too late yet to recover its past glory of more than 6,000 years of civilisation with a new democratic touch.
