What is happening now in Egypt is revolution par excellence — one that is unprecedented in this country and the region, if not in the whole world. Have any people, at any moment in time, seen a whole nation take to the streets in their millions? From one end of the country to the other, Egyptians from all their backgrounds, in all their factional, political, social and cultural denominations, took to the streets, and they stayed for four full days. On the surface, Egypt's revolution is against the Muslim Brotherhood. But in essence, this revolution goes beyond the realm of politics. The nation has passed its judgement on the creed that the Muslim Brotherhood embraces, hides behind and purports mercilessly; the creed that this group employs only in the service of its goals. This may be a revolution against the Muslim Brotherhood. But it is also a revolution for Islam, not against it. It is a revolution against the Muslim Brotherhood's brand of Islam, which places divine texts and their interpretation in the service of a totalitarian movement that aims to grab power — in its most mundane sense — and keep it forever. Challenging the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies, millions of Egyptians from all walks of life stood as one, demanding freedom and defending the ideals of liberty. Egyptians know how to demand freedom and how to fight for it. The nation that has been enslaved by the Pharaohs of old cannot possibly give in to the Pharaohs of the modern day. The free people of Egypt saw the Muslim Brotherhood for what it really is: a movement of despots who use Islam as a facade in order to turn Muslims into malleable subjects. The people of Egypt refused to recognise the Muslim Brotherhood's supreme guide as their ultimate master. The history of enslavement in Egypt is long and bitter. And so is the history of their revolution against their masters — a history that began when, in the seventh century, Caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab chastised Amr Ibn Al-As, his governor in Egypt, with these famous words: “When did you enslave people who were born free?” The Muslim Brotherhood acted like Amr Ibn Al-Aas. It placed political machinations ahead of people's rights and interests and conspired against the people's freedoms. Since the 25 January Revolution, this is exactly what the Brotherhood did. It joined belatedly in the revolution against the tyrannical regime of Hosni Mubarak. And as soon as the regime was ousted, the Brotherhood colluded with the new rulers in the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to contain the revolution. Finally, they corrupted the very essence of the revolution. It was the Muslim Brotherhood who pressed the SCAF — upon US advice, some say — to hold the elections ahead of writing the constitution. Why did they do so? Because the Muslim Brotherhood is an old and cohesive organisation, with branches all over the country, and it relies on the religious vote, of which there is no shortage in this country. Meanwhile, the revolutionaries of 25 January were divided among various groups, none of which had parties or organisations. So, the revolutionaries lacked the ability to run for elections on cohesive lists and come up with unified programmes. The early elections of the People's Assembly and Shura Council, followed by the presidential elections, gave the Muslim Brotherhood in particular, and the Islamists in general, the chance to upstage the true makers of the revolution and to monopolise power after dispensing with SCAF. Once in power, the Muslim Brotherhood borrowed a page from Mubarak's book. The group monopolised power, excluded everyone else, became extreme in rhetoric and action, treated the judiciary disdainfully, at times through intimidation and at other times through temptation with office. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood did its best to stay on Israel's good side and keep the Americans happy. It followed the same policies as the Mubarak regime, totally ignoring the young and their demands while bullying the media and journalists and assaulting public freedoms. Within a year of Mohamed Morsi's presidency, Muslim Brotherhood popularity plummeted, its prestige eroded, and its hold on the people and state agencies slackened. The opposition benefited from the multi-faceted failures of the Muslim Brotherhood, especially its disdain for freedom, a disdain consistently flaunted by the group, its government, and its supporters. Once in power, the Muslim Brotherhood became tyrannical, bigoted, repressive, impervious to change, disrespectful of others, paranoid and insular. On 30 June, the entire Egyptian people revolted against the rule of these new Pharaohs, against their political tyranny and religious fanaticism, against their intellectual imperviousness, against their cultural insularity, against their subservience to the Americans and Israelis, and against their hate of people of different creeds around the region. The popular outrage against the Muslim Brotherhood was deep as it was wide. This is what terrified the Muslim Brotherhood, for they felt that the nation doesn't only want them out of power, but out of public life. The nation has had enough. The 30 June revolution has another dimension that is yet to unfold. This dimension is not confined to the Brotherhood's brand of political Islam, but to Islam as such. There is an intellectual revolution in the heart of the 30 June Revolution, one that aims to break from the ossified moulds outmoded scholars had designated as Sharia, and to pursue religious awareness beyond clerical interpretations that are not only unsuited for our time but hazardous to our future. After the 30 June Revolution, and regardless of who is to succeed the Muslim Brotherhood regime, Islam and Muslims will be free to transcend the outmoded formulas of the religious scholars of the past. Once again, Islam will be free to explore its roots and rediscover the aspects of its spirit that are compatible with human nature and that aspire to shared values of love, justice and freedom.
